November 17 is World Prematurity Day. This day was created in 2008 by the European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (EFCNI) in hopes to bring awareness to premature birth and the challenges these babies and their families face globally. Babies born before the 37th week of pregnancy are considered premature. Evie was born at 34 weeks and 3 days and is considered a late term preemie. 1 in 10 babies are born premature. Many of our friends and other warriors we have met are also preemies. Some were born much earlier than Evie and stayed in hospital for months. Recently, I have found myself coming across old photos and reflecting on my first few weeks of motherhood.

When I became pregnant with Evie, I was a first time Mom. I knew it was possible for a baby to be born before or after its’ due date by a week or two, as I was 2 weeks late and my brother was 2 weeks early but the idea of a premature baby never crossed my mind. So when my water broke at 34 weeks, I really didn’t think anything of it except, “It’s Baby Time!”

There were a lot of people in the delivery room. Doctors, several nurses and respitory therapists. I didn’t realize this may not be as common until I had my son. It was literally the doctor and us (he is a due date baby). Preterm labour is also different than full term labour I learned later. When Evie was born I was fortunate enough to be able to hold her before she was whisked away to the Special Care Nursery at our hospital. She was a pretty big baby for being early and came in at 6 lbs and 1 ounce (and I imagine she would have been a lot bigger if she made it to full term). Due to her size, no one appeared to be concerned about her but wanted her to sleep in the nursery instead of with me in my room, just to be safe.

Once I was discharged (we can’t forget about Moms and their health too!), I’m so grateful we were able to get a private room with two single beds and a bathroom down the hall from the nursery. We joked it was like residence life at university. This was our home during the weeks while Evie was in hospital. Since Evie was our first child, we did not have to worry about other children to look after. I can only imagine how difficult that is for those who have to balance life between the NICU and the outside world.

Thinking back on this time, one of the worst nights of my life was the second night Evie was here. I could not sleep. I went to the nursery three times that night, and each time Evie appeared to be in a worse situation. She went from being swaddled in a bassinet, to being under the lights with monitors on her, to being on a CPAP machine at the back of the nursery. Her oxygen levels kept dropping, she was having seizure like episodes and as an exhausted new Mom , I honestly didn’t know what they were telling me. I had to go and wake up my husband because I was so confused, except I knew something was wrong with my baby.

Evie was in the NICU for 18 days. During that time she had jaundice and was put under the lights, several blood tests, an IV, a feeding tube, a spinal tap was performed and ultrasounds done. Slowly as the days progressed she came out from under the lights and I was able to hold her more often. They told me any type of stimulation or touch took a lot of energy from preemies. When my husband went back to work (commuted from the hospital) my job was to feed her. I was a milking machine, pumping every three hours except at 3 am when I went to sleep for a few hours. If I wasn’t pumping, I was feeding Evie or cleaning my breast pump or changing her. In a 3 hour window, I had about a 45 minute break before it started all over again.

Evie was a feisty one even from the start. The nurses used to say she was the loudest baby and for anyone who knows Evie, you know she can still be pretty loud. Girl has some lungs on her! Evie got stronger but we could not leave until she could eat without the feeding tube. One day Evie just ripped it out and started drinking from a bottle immediately (and was able to nurse after some time).

After leaving the hospital we were told of the Preemie Clinic that would follow Evie’s progress. We learned what an adjusted or corrected age was and how that was the age we should follow in terms of milestones. Looking back during these first few weeks as a new parent, I think we handled it pretty well. Of course we did not know any different, but having hope and a great support system from my husband, family, friends and the hospital staff helped. I am sure a lot of the preemie parents out there can relate, that looking back at these times can be emotional, but also make you see how far you and your child (children) have come.

I am so thankful for the medical professionals and the technology that we have today that can help early babies. Even though every preemie has a different beginning and journey, one thig is for sure, PREEMIES ARE STRONG!

World Prematurity Day will always be a day close to our hearts.