Scarlette’s story is filled with numbers.
She was born on November 7, 2010.
It was 3.5 months before her due date.
She weighed 1 pound 8.6 ounces.
She spent 156 days in the NICU.
She came home 5.5 months later on April 12, 2011.
And all of those numerical markers just punctuate the beauty of her story, the one in which we meet our daughter and finally bring her home. Prior to giving birth, I didn’t know that people could go into labor that early. I had never heard the term “micro-preemie.” I had never seen the inside of a NICU. I had never seen a baby with a feeding tube, let alone insert one.
I chronicled a lot of Scarlette’s story on my blog as it unfolded and I am sharing it here in hopes that it helps other families who find themselves in our situation. I had so many questions and wanted to read anything I could get my hands on when we first found ourselves staring down a lengthy NICU stay. Please feel free to email me if you have questions, I love talking to other parents with similar experiences.
Here is a post I wrote for World Prematurity Day that I hope helps to encourage women to not only know the signs of pre-term labor but to trust themselves, even if you think it’s all just in your (slightly neurotic) head. Because sometimes it isn’t and all of the sudden you are having a baby and you aren’t even at week twenty five.
You can read all of the posts I wrote about Scarlette while was in the NICU here. You can also read the medical journal I kept while she was in the NICU, her birth story and some of the books/products I found helpful.
We’re so indescribably grateful to everyone who has kept our sweet girl in their prayers.