12 years ago today, I got a phone call at work that my sister was being taken into surgery for an emergency C-section. Her umbilical cord was not functioning properly and her baby wasn't getting enough nutrients. The baby was extremely underweight and was just not surviving well inside the womb. They had given her the shots for the lungs and decided it was time.
I rushed to the hospital with my then boyfriend (now husband) but there wasn't anything I could do. My Mom was with my sister for the surgery so we went back to my parents house to wait. Up until this point, we had thought the baby was a girl so we were expecting little miss Kayla Cheyenne to be born at any time.
Turns out, little miss Kayla was actually a boy! What a surprise! Want to know another surprise? My sister was only 26 weeks pregnant when her son was born. He weighed in at a whopping 1lb 12.9oz and 13 inches long. He was such a little peanut.
I wasn't allowed to see him or hold him for a month. It was too much of a risk since he was born in January and it was peak season for colds. The only reason I was allowed to see him after a month was because anyone who was going to be helping to take care of him had to go through a CPR course at the hospital. I was already CPR certified but I wanted to hold that baby!
He was so cute. He had the biggest head I had ever seen! And such a tiny body! You couldn't even see him with all the tubes and wires that were coming out of him.
When he was finally able to leave his home at the NICU and go to his real home, he was hooked up to a monitor that kept track of his breathing and alerted us if he stopped breathing. There was once instance when he stopped breathing and my Mom had to give him CPR.
He had bad reflux and spent his first few months on medications and slept in his car seat because sitting upright was the only way he could sleep comfortably. Of course this caused some issues with the shape of his head but that just means he won't ever be able to have a buzz cut!
It took him a long time to catch up. It took him a long time to look like a normal baby because his head was so big but he was till the most adorable little thing. It has been so amazing watching this little boy grow up. I was kind of a Momma even before I became a Momma because I was able to help raise this little boy.
Today that 1lb 12.9oz baby boy turns 12. I still remember the first time I held him. I remember feeling so devastated that I couldn't hold him the second he was born but then I remember how awesome it was to finally be able to see him and touch him.
I'm so lucky to call this kid my nephew. And my daughter...she LOVES him. They have the strongest cousin bond I have ever seen and I know it's just going to get stronger.
He asked me the other day if I thought I was going to have more kids. I told him I probably would and when I asked him why, he said because he thought Ashlyn could use a sister and Bryan could use a brother. He loves having cousins!
He's got my middle name and my daughter has my sister's middle name. Kinda cool huh?
I rushed to the hospital with my then boyfriend (now husband) but there wasn't anything I could do. My Mom was with my sister for the surgery so we went back to my parents house to wait. Up until this point, we had thought the baby was a girl so we were expecting little miss Kayla Cheyenne to be born at any time.
Turns out, little miss Kayla was actually a boy! What a surprise! Want to know another surprise? My sister was only 26 weeks pregnant when her son was born. He weighed in at a whopping 1lb 12.9oz and 13 inches long. He was such a little peanut.
I wasn't allowed to see him or hold him for a month. It was too much of a risk since he was born in January and it was peak season for colds. The only reason I was allowed to see him after a month was because anyone who was going to be helping to take care of him had to go through a CPR course at the hospital. I was already CPR certified but I wanted to hold that baby!
He was so cute. He had the biggest head I had ever seen! And such a tiny body! You couldn't even see him with all the tubes and wires that were coming out of him.
When he was finally able to leave his home at the NICU and go to his real home, he was hooked up to a monitor that kept track of his breathing and alerted us if he stopped breathing. There was once instance when he stopped breathing and my Mom had to give him CPR.
He had bad reflux and spent his first few months on medications and slept in his car seat because sitting upright was the only way he could sleep comfortably. Of course this caused some issues with the shape of his head but that just means he won't ever be able to have a buzz cut!
It took him a long time to catch up. It took him a long time to look like a normal baby because his head was so big but he was till the most adorable little thing. It has been so amazing watching this little boy grow up. I was kind of a Momma even before I became a Momma because I was able to help raise this little boy.
Today that 1lb 12.9oz baby boy turns 12. I still remember the first time I held him. I remember feeling so devastated that I couldn't hold him the second he was born but then I remember how awesome it was to finally be able to see him and touch him.
I'm so lucky to call this kid my nephew. And my daughter...she LOVES him. They have the strongest cousin bond I have ever seen and I know it's just going to get stronger.
He asked me the other day if I thought I was going to have more kids. I told him I probably would and when I asked him why, he said because he thought Ashlyn could use a sister and Bryan could use a brother. He loves having cousins!
He's got my middle name and my daughter has my sister's middle name. Kinda cool huh?
This was his hospital picture taken just before he went home. He was less than half this size when he was born.
Three years old
At my wedding almost 3.5 years ago
This was taken this past year when we had some family photos taken.
Happy Birthday Cameron!!!
Awww, what an amazing story!! Happy birthday to that miracle boy!
ReplyDeleteGreat story, Vanessa. He is in fact a miracle boy! :)
ReplyDeleteHe is truly a miracle baby..thanks for sharing his story!
ReplyDeleteWow what a miracle baby! OMG! This was so beautiful, I love happy endings.
ReplyDelete