1. We are a family of 5. We have Caleb 11, Ruby 2, Cody 4 months (1 month corrected), Alex (Dad) 31 & myself, Luarna 31.

2. I went into spontaneous labour with what started out as menstrual like cramping at 11am after leaving my mother in laws house with our daughter. We only live a short distance away so by the time I got home & put Ruby down for her nap I started trying everything to help them subside. My partner works fifo and was away at work so I called him to let him know what was happening. Nothing seemed to help ease the pain, so I decided to call my local maternity ward at 12:20pm to advise them I’d like to come in for an assessment. Due to only being 26 weeks they tried to convince me to stay home and see if the pain would ease but I decided against it & so I put my daughter in the car and drove the short distance to the hospital. Within 5 minutes of driving the pain became almost unbearable & upon arriving to the hospital, two people saw me struggling and helped me get up to maternity. I arrived by 12:50 and Cody was born at 1:12pm weighing in at 1.1kg & measuring 40cm.

3. I had Cody at Rockingham General Hospital, however he was transported to King Edward Memorial Hospital. He weighed 1100grams & measured 40cm. He was 26 weeks gestation.

 4. We faced a lot of medical challenges whilst in the nicu over the 101 days. Cody was born poorly. His infection levels were over 140 & he was born with 2 brain bleeds. He also dealt with early onset sepsis, ROP, jaundice & somehow contracted both rhinovirus & enterovirus which put him into isolation for 4-5 days. Whilst in isolation it was also discovered through a lumbar puncture that Cody was fighting viral meningitis. 

At his term MRI it was discovered that one of the bleeds didn’t dissolve as the doctor had hoped it would and instead the brain tissue had died & filled with fluid, putting him at risk for cerebral palsy. At this stage we still aren’t sure if he has it for certain, that will be discussed during his 3 month fidget assessment video at pch. 

 Aside from the medial challenges, we also faced difficulty in balancing 2 other children at home. KEMH doesn’t allow siblings to visit so finding the perfect visiting schedule that worked with our family was tricky at first, especially living over an hour away. Having Alex work fifo was also challenging on us mentally.

 5. Absolutely. We both didn’t know anyone or know of anyone that had gone through the journey of having a premature baby. Of course the doctors & nurses can offer advice & story’s but it was much more reassuring to us to read peoples actual story’s of their journeys & give us hope that we would come out the other end together, especially in those first weeks.

 5. Cody is doing great. He is growing amazingly & is settling in to our family perfectly. 

 6. Believe in miracles. These premature babies are so amazingly strong & resilient, they’ll amaze you everyday. The doctors & nurses are absolutely incredible. Feel confident in them to take the best care of your babies whilst you can’t be there