#30DaysofBrave - Wanida

"Leo was born at 27+1. No one can tell me why he came early, but almost a year later and I still have type 2 diabetes. I went into labor the day of my gestational diabetes screen. I was rushed to the nearest hospital and the firefighters said they would try to stop the baby from coming, but when I arrived to the hospital the doctor said it was too late. We were having a baby today. We ended up having an emergency c-section and the whole process from calling 911 to pulling him out took less than 3 hours but it felt like an eternity.

He didn't cry or make a sound when he was born and it took two hours until we were able to see him. They quickly whisked him away to examine and ventilate him. They brought him by my room to see him before rushing him to UH Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

We were in a different network than my prenatal care so no one knew anything about me or the baby. He was big for his gestational age so at first they thought he may be older than I said. He had a full face and big belly, and just looked like a tiny full term baby. He was 2 lb 14 oz when he arrived at the NICU. But he quickly showed his prematurity.

About five days after he was born he went into respiratory failure and it felt like the whole floor rushed into his room to save him. It was the hardest night of our 99 day stay. But they were able to sedate and re-intubate him and a week later I was finally able to hold him for the first time.

He never followed the doctors plans. Everything was (and still is) on Leo's time and done Leo's way. He was known as the pod troublemaker. Everyone knew who he was even if they never met him. I'm not kidding when I say he would have up to 40 events a day. Nurses were constantly rushing into his room because he would set off the alarms. He always set off the alarms at shift change and we joked that he wanted to make sure his nurses said goodbye to him.

After a few weeks they actually thought he was younger than I originally said he was. There was never a big reason for all of his events and why he struggled to progress on their timeline. He had a small PDA and a grade 2 IVH but it neither require any intervention. He thankfully never had any infections. His nervous system just matured slowly.

He's now about 11 months actual (8 months adjusted) and hitting all of his milestones. He'll likely even be walking by his first actual birthday. One of his doctors joked that he thought he was born 6 months early when he was in the NICU and now forgot he was even born prematurely. He's defied all of our expectations with his health and development.

Throughout our stay I was fortunate to be able to live in his hospital room with him. I know not everyone is so lucky to have that flexibility and to have private rooms in the NICU. I'm grateful the staff didn't think I was crazy because being around him was the only thing that kept me feeling calm when he was so sick. I also had a Project NICU mentor who I spoke with regularly and assured me that my feelings were always normal and valid.

I'm so grateful for the love and support we received from everyone that crossed our path throughout our NICU and post NICU journey. And I'm beyond grateful for the medical team who saved my son. He's our little miracle baby 💚💜"