11/01/2025
November is Prematurity Awareness Month 💜
Every year, 1 in 10 babies are born too soon. Many spend their first days, weeks, or even months in the NICU fighting battles most of the world never sees. Prematurity is one of the leading causes of newborn death and lifelong health challenges, yet it’s something most parents never hear about until it touches their own lives.
When I was pregnant with JRob, no one ever told me how common premature birth was — that it could happen to anyone, at any time. I had no idea what the letters NICU would come to mean for us, or how deeply this journey would change me. 💜
We wear purple in November to honor the tiniest warriors, the angel babies gone too soon, and the parents and medical teams who walk this path with so much strength, hope, and love.
In honor of this month and every family whose story began earlier than expected, I’m resharing mine and JRob’s birth story — our reminder that even the smallest beginnings can lead to the most incredible miracles. 💜✨
JRob’s Story – Our 23-Week Miracle
I was originally supposed to be an August mama, but my little boy had other plans. My pregnancy took a turn I never could have imagined when, at just 23 weeks and 5 days, I went to the hospital for what I thought were Braxton Hicks contractions. I had been sick with a viral cold that just wasn’t getting better, and I figured maybe I was dehydrated.
When they checked on JRob, everything changed in an instant — I was already 2cm dilated with bulging membranes. My blood pressure was high, and I had protein in my urine. That’s when they told me I also had preeclampsia. I was quickly transferred to a hospital with a higher-level NICU, Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist Brenner’s Children’s Hospital, where the goal was to keep him in as long as possible.
Over the next few days, I received two rounds of steroids for his lungs and three rounds of magnesium to protect his brain and help with my preeclampsia. Still, on April 26th, 2025, at 12:58 PM, my tiny warrior entered the world via classical C-section. He weighed just 1 pound 6.2 ounces and measured 11.6 inches long — smaller than a Barbie doll.
The doctors were honest with me: his chances of survival were less than 20%. One even said it was like flipping a coin — he’ll either live or he won’t. But JRob had already decided — he was going to fight.
We spent 129 days in the NICU. It was the hardest and most beautiful journey of my life.
Early on, we faced setback after setback. After recovering from a UTI, JRob caught candida sepsis, a major infection that nearly took him from us. It affected his lungs so badly that the doctors thought they might have to put him back on the jet ventilator. He was reintubated, and we spent 21 long days fighting through antibiotics and prayers. But our little warrior pulled through — he beat sepsis. Then, during an X-ray to check his lungs, he decided he was done with the tube and self-extubated — and he never had to be reintubated again.
He faced other challenges too — a large PDA that thankfully closed with Tylenol, eye exams every two weeks for ROP (he’s now just stage one!), and feeding struggles that tested all of us. For weeks, he struggled to eat with Dr. Brown’s bottles. It wasn’t until we convinced the team to let us try MAM bottles that everything clicked. Overnight, he went from taking 30% of his feeds by mouth to 100%.
And, of course, he was our little drama king — he loved to keep everyone on their toes with constant brady desat events, even as he got older. We had to restart his Brady countdown three times before we could finally go home!
But in between the hard days, there were so many miracles.
On May 14th, I held my baby for the very first time. He was only 26 weeks gestation — three weeks old. I always imagined I’d cry, like you see in the movies, but in that moment I couldn’t. I was just so happy. It finally felt right to have him touching me again — like we were one.
Two days later, on May 16th, he was extubated for the first time and did amazing — something that’s almost unheard of for a 26-weeker. And the very next day, his daddy got to hold him for the first time — with no tube!
There were ups and downs after that, but JRob kept proving everyone wrong. On June 3rd, he self-extubated for the last time and never looked back. From there he went from NIPPV to CPAP, to high flow, to low flow, and finally, on August 23rd, he came completely off oxygen.
Feeding was another victory story. On July 23rd, he breastfed for the first time — such a magical moment for both of us. My supply was never the best, but those couple months of nursing gave us such a beautiful bond. On August 3rd, he finished his first bottle completely, and just a few weeks later, on August 24th, his feeding tube — the last tube he had — was removed.
After 129 long days, our miracle boy was ready. On September 2nd, 2025, we finally brought him home. At discharge, he weighed 7 pounds 7 ounces and was 19.3 inches long — 2 weeks adjusted, 4 months actual.
Today, JRob is thriving. He’s now 13 pounds and 21.5 inches long, in the 58th percentile for growth after starting in the 5th. He loves sitting up (with a little help), smiles all the time — especially in the mornings — and brings more joy than I ever thought possible. We still have some catching up to do with milestones, but he’s doing incredible. Our appointments are down to just his pediatrician monthly, NICU follow-up every six months, and eye doctor every two weeks — far fewer than we ever expected.
Our journey has been long, emotional, and filled with both heartbreak and joy — but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
To every NICU and preemie mom reading this: I know how heavy the days can feel. I know how it feels to wonder if you’ll ever take your baby home. But I want you to know — there is hope. These tiny babies are stronger than we can ever imagine.
Cherish every extra second you get with your little one. Take all the pictures — no matter how many wires or machines they’re attached to — because one day, you’ll look back and be amazed at how far they’ve come. Keep every keepsake, every milestone card, every bracelet.
And please, mama, don’t forget to take care of yourself too. You don’t deserve to be on the back burner just because your baby is in the NICU. You are important. You are strong. And you are doing an incredible job.
JRob is living proof that miracles happen — even when the odds say they shouldn’t. 💜
