Miracle girl

It was my little girl’s birthday this week. She technically turned 2, though if she hadn’t been born 15 weeks early, she wouldn’t have been celebrating her second birthday until October. It seems odd that she will forevermore have a summer birthday when she could easily have had an autumn one.

Guest blog from Ethan Ryan

Today’s post is a guest blog from Ethan Ryan whose son, Oliver, was born extremely prematurely during covid lockdown. Oliver very sadly passed away a few months after he was born and in this blog Ethan talks about how he helped his daughter, Rose, through her grieving process.

Preemie bumps and scrapes… Do they ever stop being triggers?

We took our ex preemie, who’s now nearly 2 years old corrected (see The corrected age conundrum for more information about corrected/adjusted age), to the zoo for the first time ever this week. A combination of her medical needs and issues, as well as covid restrictions, has meant we haven’t braved it until now, butContinue reading “Preemie bumps and scrapes… Do they ever stop being triggers?”

The fight to live

This hasn’t been an easy week. A preemie whose story I have been following for a while tragically passed away a few days ago. It was expected and inevitable, so did not come as a shock, but that did not make it any easier.

The corrected age conundrum

“She was born 15 weeks early,” I venture falteringly. Look of shock and disbelief followed by questions I’d rather not answer in the middle of a busy playgroup. I make a mental note not to mention the term ‘corrected’ next time.

Playing down the trauma

As a parent of a preemie or sick baby in NICU (neonatal intensive care), you get to hear of a lot of stories. Some are amazing stories about babies making miracle recoveries, nurses going above and beyond, and acts of kindness from other parents on the ward.