Sharing our story--Jameson

I am a NICU nurse and a NICU mom.

In July of 2008, my husband and I were so happy when we found out that we were expecting our first baby. My pregnancy was uneventful until my 32-week appointment showed that my baby wasn't growing well. I was placed on bed-rest and made it two weeks before I became sick with preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome. Little Jameson Patrick was born via emergency c-section and weighed four pounds, five ounces. We didn't hear him cry. I remember straining from the operating table, trying to see past the sea of people, wondering if my little guy was okay. Finally, a little kitten mewed twice--that was Jameson's cry. We were so thankful.

Amazingly, he spent just six days in the NICU step-down unit. We couldn't believe it when we took him home weighing four pounds, two ounces! What I have learned about being a preemie mom, though, is that the story doesn't end when you leave the NICU. We struggled with some common preemie problems in his first eighteen months: low-weight gain, reflux (GERD), motor delays, and physical therapy. Now he is a thriving and quite wonderful two-year-old.

I have walked in the March of Dimes for five years. I walk not just for my son, but for all the babies that I take care of in the NICU. I walk for all the times I have administered surfactant to premature baby lungs that wouldn't work with out it; for babies that would not have lived if they hadn't been able to receive nitric oxide; for babies that have avoided heart surgery by receiving a medication instead. I walk for moms who pump breast milk every three hours for months so that I can feed that milk to their babies through a tube; parents who wait days, weeks, or even months to hold their babies. I walk because although March of Dimes research has brought great technical advances, we still don't know the reason why many babies are born preterm.

--Proud mom, Jenn Ross

Sharing our story--Baby Max

We are trying to spotlight several families that have been touched by March of Dimes. None of us are in this alone, and we are all walking together for stronger, healthier babies. Here is the story of Baby Max:

Max was born at 25 weeks gestation, EXACTLY! I was admitted two days earlier when my water broke. I woke up on that morning in labor and he was here within a couple of hours. I had an infection in my placenta. Not sure what caused it, no symptoms, etc...

Max was large for his gestational age at 2 lbs 2 ozs. He had good skin and those were two important things which really helped him along the way.

I waited 19 days to hold him... in that time he underwent heart surgery and bowel surgery, and my greatest fear was that I would hold him for the first time, when they placed his dead body in my arms. That was my lowest point...

It was hard to know whether to bond, or keep a distance until we knew things were safe. It was hard to juggle spending time in the NICU with him and still being a family unit and caring for our other two children, who were 3 and 5 at the time. It was hard watching him suffer and struggle and being powerless to help him, hold him or heal him.

Max underwent 5 surgeries, he had PDA ligation, 3 bowel surgeries for his NEC (necrotizing entercolitis) and a dual inguinal hernia repair. He was on the vent for more than 3+ months. He was on IV nutrition and no oral feeds for 3+ months.

Max received 3 doses of surfactant, the first right in the delivery room, to help him breathe. We know research funded by the MOD made this possible.

We also learned through March of Dimes research that breast milk would give him a 50% better chance of surviving NEC. So when I couldn't produce milk of my own, we found a milk donation option.

The ONLY parent information we received in the NICU was provided by the March of Dimes. They helped us understand the terminology, the treatments, and started us in the right direction so we could ask questions, consider options, and be involved in our baby's care.

Max is a whopping 23+ lbs and growing stronger every day. We still face struggles. But we are the lucky ones.. because Max is alive. He will l turn 1 on April 16th, and we've chosen to celebrate his birthday at the Kansas City March for Babies. Instead of gifts, we are asking friends and family to join us, and donate to the March of Dimes. They helped save our baby, and us, during those 123 days in the NICU. The most difficult 123 days of our lives...


Jennifer Hamblin Robinson