Nothing cheers me up more than seeing that precious smile. It's like heaven on earth 😁
November 17th also happened to be World Prematurity Day. It's observed on this day each year to bring awareness to preterm birth. The objective is to spread the word, better understand how to care for premature babies, strengthen health care services for high risk pregnancies and premature babies, and to stimulate new avenues of research in preterm birth.
Buildings and landmarks shine purple in honour of the 1 in 10 babies born too soon around the globe.
I scroll through the various comments and posts on the WPD facebook page...and I get sucked in. I begin to realize just how many families have endured a similar journey.
One mom sums it up rather perfectly, "Prematurity is both my sons. It's having your newborn whisked away after delivery and longing to cuddle them. It's meeting your baby at a distance through a plastic crib. It's tubes and wires and beeping monitors. It's trying to navigate a world of fear and tears and fighting. It's going against every fiber of your being and walking out of a hospital without a part of you. It's long days that become weeks and months back and forth to the hospital. It's celebrating tiny milestones and defying the odds. It's becoming part of a club you never imagined yourself in. And it's loving your baby more deeply and more fiercely than you ever could have imagined possible."
Another mom's comment makes it clear that not every story is quite so glorious as Arabella's.
She writes, "It's a reminder of my first born angel Joseph born at 27 weeks and lived for two days and his angel twin brothers Anthony and John who were born at 26 weeks and lived for one and two days. In my heart forever."
That's when I start to get a little choked up... 😢
It's a miracle that Arabella is alive today. There's no other way to put it.
She was born one day shy of 28 weeks gestation, but her weight and development was comparable to a baby of 23 weeks (at 23 weeks, the survival rate is roughly 50/50).
And before Arabella made it to 1 pound, her odds of survival were calculated around 5-10% (we were told). It's the reason why doctors were preparing us for the worst, and it's why we're so overjoyed today. Arabella defied the odds, and at times we forget just how amazing she really is. She's fierce, she's a real fighter, and we owe it to her to celebrate her heart and grit.
It's easy to forget about everything she's been through. We're always trying to move on and leave the past behind us. But every once in a while you're hit with the cold, harsh reality...
That darkness was just around the corner. We were right there, in the upside-down world 😕. We walked in the shadows, we felt the uncomfortable chill, and somehow we managed to find our way out of there.
World Prematirity Day makes me realize that we shouldn't forget about where we came from. We shouldn't try to hide from it or repress it. We must embrace it.
The tears, the panic, the endless prayers, the sleepless nights, the help we received along the way...all of the good and bad that came with prematurity.
It's all part of this great and unique story.
It's all part of this great and unique story.
So whether it's World Prematurity Day, an image of a baby in an incubator, a nurse wearing scrubs, or a new show on TV (like the Hodges Half Dozen) - I'm constantly reminded of where we came from.
Happy 9 months Arabella, and happy World Prematurity Day!
No comments:
Post a Comment