Parents of premature babies check in here.

[MSSANDRA]

There seems to be a lot of us parents of premature babies here on the board. I think back to when my son was born and how important it was to have others to talk to and still today, I know i share a special bond with other moms and dads that have walked down that road. I would love to here your story.
I will go first.

My DS was born in 1992 at 24 weeks. I had NO problems during the pregnacy till i work up one morning with fluid leaking. I ended up delivering 2 days later. Now they would try everything to allow the baby more time in utero but that was not the thinking 15 years ago. Our local hospital did not even have a vent for an infant at that time. The large teaching hospital an hour away did not accept mothers less than 25-26 weeks for delivery but a small while lie on my OB's part got us tranfered. DS was born at 747 grams or just under 1 lb, 10 oz. He ran the gamlet of issues from pneumonia, to a total sepsis , an PDA to brain bleeds. He however was a fighter and beat them all. He however gained NO weight for almost a month. He spent around a 100 days in NICU before comming home well before his due date. His biggest issue once we got all the A's & B's under control was his eyes. He had three eye surgries before discharge. WE were told a one point that there was nothing else and to expect little or no sight. He however beat it again when the next exam showed huge healing. He was 4lb 8 oz when we took him home and he really took off. He was 17 lbs by his first b-day. He was a tough baby with feeding issues (one hour to get 2oz into him and he ate every 2 hours during the day. He also was a crying baby!! Often crying from 4-11 every eveing with out stopping!!! HOWEVER, from the time he hit 5 pounds, he slept all night long!!!
His eyes still continuted to be an issue. Glasses at 6 mo and we patched that better eye for years. Our goal was 20/40 so he could drive unrestriced. He pretty much did things , adjusted age except talk which he did really early. His balance and small motor have always lag a little but not to the point of any needed intervention. With an Oct. due date and a June b-day,gave him the gift of time and waited a year to send him to school. He started at 6-40lbs and already reading.

FAst Forward -15, bigger than me, eats me out of house and home. StraightA's, and will get his premit next week with 20/30 vision.

His odds of survial were 10% and changes of being normal 0%.


Now i want to hear your stories too.

Proud mom to Jordan

 

[mericletwins]

Hello~

Fabulous story. I loved it.


Our story.
Pregnant with twins through IVF after 5 years of trying. Started bleeding the day after positive blood test from Dr. That went away and at 6 weeks we found out we were having twins (on my 30th bday ) and was getting sick a minimum of 40x a day till 24 weeks. Two good weeks and then one day at 26 weeks I felt like I had the flu. I was just achey all over. I did not feel any contractions at all. I called doc, he sent me to the hospital and I was having contractions and starting to dilate. He told my DH to put me in the car and sent us to a hospital in Philadelphia. We got there and I was admitted. Put on mag sulfate and had an allergic reeaction, switched to procardia and it dropped my blood pressure to 80/40 then switched to another med that you can only be on for two days or so and finally to brethine. After two weeks sent home for complete bedrest. I was home two weeks and on Mother's Day started feeling contractions again and back to Philadelphia to the hospital. I was there three weeks and at 33 weeks and 1 day my water broke. Breakfast was on the way so I waited till after I ate to call the nurse.

At 8:45 and 9:13 my twins were born weighing in at 3.11 lbs and 4.5 lbs. Both babies did fairly well. My DD (3.11 lbs) had no real issues, except for jaundice. My DS (4.5 lbs) was intubated at three days old because of breathing problems. He was in the preemie NICU for two days I think before being sent back to be with his sister. They started co-sleeping and were part of a co-sleeping twin study. Both were on nasal canulas and NG feeding tubes for a bit.

They came home way earlier than the Drs. told us they would and we were totally unprepared. We didn't have ANYTHING! Not a crib, a baby blanket, a diaper, etc. They were discharged together after 13 days in the hospital. DD weighed in at 4 lbs even on discharge day. They came home on monitors and had them for about three months before the Drs forced ME to wean off them.

They were due July 7th, 1999 and were delivered on May 20th, the day before DH's 30th bday. We have not had any preemie issues other than being a bit behind for weight and height, but DH and I are not really large people, so who knows. DS was below the zero percentile for a few years, but now consistently hits the 10th percentile DD just got glasses in second grade, but I don't really think that has anything to do with her preemie status.


They are now eight years old, weigh in at 47 lbs and are entering third grade. Both do quite well in school and are involved in various activities. They are really a lot of fun.

As a side note, when the twins were 5 months old I got pregnant with a surprise. We had another bad pregnancy with early term bleeding, horrible sickness for months and then going into pre-term labor at 24 weeks. After multiple hospital admissions (in the double digits), complete bedrest, home monitoring, medications, etc. at 37 weeks the Drs told me that I could get up and resume normal life. I thought this baby would fall out. Noooppppeee. I did everything I could to go into labor. I mowed the lawn in July about two weeks before I was due. I think the neighbors were giving DH dirty looks. I went to the Dr for my 39 week check and he said "Wouldn't it be funny if you went past your due date?" I told him I would kill him. Anyway, I went into labor shortly thereafter and my DS was born only 6 days early after alll his attempts to get out early.

Can't wait to hear more stories. I like this thread. Thanks.

 

[GEM]

My little guy (now 4) was born at 26 weeks. Due to severe IUGR he was only 1lb and 7oz and 12 inches long. It was a total surprise. I went in one day for a check because I had noticed decreased movement and I was undergoing an emergency c-section two hours later! Up until then, all my doctor's visits had shown no problems. I had an ultrasound at 16 weeks, and all was fine. So, for some reason, he basically stopped growing some time between 16 and 27 weeks. By the time I went in that day, his heart rate was dropping dangerously low and he was in serious trouble. The doctor's told me that if I had waited an few more hours, he would have been dead.

He spent 83 days in the NICU. After the trials of the first week or so, our biggest scare was a very serious infection he developed. Other than that, he did very well. He was on a ventilator for the first month, but never had any problems with PDA, brain bleeds, ROP, NEC, or other issues common to micropreemies. I was able to pump milk for him the whole time, and he never had any digestive trouble or anything like that.

After 83 days, came home weighing 3lbs and 14 oz - no oxygen, no monitors, no meds, and completely breastfed!

Now, at 4, he's still tiny for his age (about 36 inches and 30 pounds). He wears a 2T. He is, however, totally healty in every way. He's never even had a sick doctor's visit. No colds, no ear infections, nothing. Aside from spending the first three months of his life in the NICU, he's the healtiest kid I've ever heard of.

He's goes to preschool, gymnastics, Kindermusik, and swim lessons and loves all of that. He's also the amabassador for our local March of Dimes Chapter.

Hugs to all the other preemie families out there. The whole NICU experience was terrifying.

Here's a link to our Flickr page that shows pics from the hospital.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thesains/collections/72157594587470294/

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Wow you ladies are troopers for all you've been thru. DD was only born six weeks early (technically, yes, premature) but nothing like what you all went thru. I had early pregnancy bleeding and was put on bedrest until that ended. Then I developed preeclampsia. I was hospitalized for the better part of a month, tried inducing me on 4 different days, and finally c-section!!! DD was due the week after Thanksgiving and was born the week before Halloween. I liked to joke that she didn't want to miss a year of Trick-or-Treating. She was released from the hospital on Halloween and has had no developmental delays (THANK GOD). We had some minor feeding issues. That's it. My admiration to all of you who have been thru so much.

 

[MSSANDRA]

Great Stories....Keep them coming.

 

[DbleTheFun]

Like Mericletwins, we also turned to IVF after years of trying to get pregnant. At our 6 week ultrasound, we discovered we were in fact pregnant... with TRIPLETS!! One of the 2 embryo we had placed back, had split! Making us pregnant with identical twins and a fraternal triplet!!! Overwhelmed but overjoyed... we carried on.

At 14 weeks, I was told that the fraternal triplet's heart had stopped beating, and that she hadnt survived... it was a rough period, but in the end we know it was what was best for my (and the surviving twins) health.

I was diagnosed with fibroids early on, but by 20 weeks they had ballooned to 25cm each... Making it as if I was carrying 5 babies! I was hospitalized a few times due to severe pain, but other than that the remainder of my pregnancy was pretty uneventful.

At 34 weeks, at my routine ultrasound early on a Friday morning... the technician spotted that somehow Baby A's heart was pumping backwards... and that it appeared he was going without oxygen! They rushed me to the OR and I had an emergency C-Section 45 minutes later. They had no idea how long it was going on, and we had no idea what the reprocussions would be. Both babies were born at 5 1/2 pounds, and Baby B seemed healthy enough. (He only stayed in the hospital for 8 days)

The first weekend we were given hours with Baby A... he was septic and had mass amounts of lactic acid flooding his entire system. He had no white blood cells, and despite getting 4 transfusions, kept depleting his platelets to 0... something all the specialists from the children's hospital had never seen. Everyone assumed he would not survive past the weekend. (everyone but me, who refused to give up hope)

After 28 days in the hospital, and still no answers as to why or how his little body found a way to survive without oxygen, Baby A had somehow found a way to fix everything... the doctor's didnt know how he did that either! They did repeated brain scans and testing and found that there was absolutely no damage to his brain or his vital organs even after his concerns early on... and now 6 months later he is a healthy typical baby! He has not shown any developmental delays and is exactly like his brother!!!!

They are truly miracles.

 

[jb2mw]

My daughter was born at 24 weeks weighing only 1 lb 3 1/2 ozs and 12 inches long. She stayed in the hospital for 5 1/2 months. She has has surgery for her ROP and a section of her colon removed due to NEC while she was in the hospital. Since she has come home she has been wonderful. No problems what so ever. She is eating well and loves baby food. She turned 1 on May 20 and she now weighs 12.5 lbs. She is still little, but she is now pulling up on everything, crawling all over the place.

I love to hear stories of other parents with premature babies.

 

[lori123]

I don't know if this qualifies - since 37 weeks is full term for twins - but here goes anyway!

After facing infertitliy - were were finally pregnant with twins via IVF/ICSI. I had a pretty uneventful pregnancy for the most part - I was just tickled to be pregnant!!! I started with contractions around 30 weeks - and had two trips to the ER. I took terbutaline for weeks - then at 36 the doc said it was time to see of my body would take off - so he stopped the meds. He said "your body is tired" - LOL! My uterus measured 42 weeks and my blood pressure was starting to rise (I am not a big person - only 5'1"). Needless to say - he ended up inducing me at 37 weeks - and after 12 hours of contractions - we went for a C-section! Guess I didn't need all the meds! DD was 4#14oz and DS was 4#8oz. Healthy as can be - just small!

 

[glorib]

Not a parent of a premie, but I am a NICU nurse and I loved reading all your stories! Congrats to all of you and your tiny fighters!

 

[tweedlemom]

My second son, Brendan, was born 5 1/2 weeks premature. Halfway through my pregnancy I was told I had placenta previa (placenta below the baby instead of above.) I thought I was home free until I woke up bleeding. I was rushed to he hospital and was found to be having contractions. They tried to give me medication to stop the contractions, but it just made the situation worse. With baby's blood supply lessening, they decided to do an emergency c-section. Brendan was born a healthy weight and height, but as a parent of a preemie knows, looks can be deceiving. I was allowed to kiss him once on the cheek, couldn't even hold him, before he was rushed to the NICU. He had trouble breathing, was jaundiced, had an unstable body temperature. I was recovering from my c-section and didn't get to see him until the next day. The nurse brought me a polaroid of this tiny little baby, dwarfed by all the tubes and monitors he was on. I just bawled because I was so overwhelmed. I was happy he was ok and safe, but extremely stressed because this was the complete opposite of my first, healthy, full-term delivery 16 months prior. Brendan was luckily in the NICU for only a week before he was allowed to come home, but I will NEVER forget that experience. It was hard having family come visit me in the hospital, but they couldn't see him (only parents and grandparents were allowed in the NICU.) I count my blessings because I know how lucky we are. (My family serves as an Ambassador Family for the March of Dimes and we have met many families whose preemies are not as fortunate.) Brendan is an energetic, healthy 4 year old now. He does attend a Preschool Disabled program for a speech delay, but he is doing great. Bless all you preemie families! 1 in 8 babies are born premature and that number is staggering. People don't seem to understand how scary this epidemic is becoming. They don't realize that even a baby born just a couple weeks early can have major issues. Thanks for this thread. Knowledge is power and spreading the word about premature birth is the first step in ensuring a healthy birth for every child!

 

[WDWfor5]

My little guy is turning 6 next month. He was born 9/11/01 at 27 weeks and 6 days weighing 2 lbs 8 oz. When I was 13 weeks pregnant I had a partial placental abrubtion and bled profusely and was put on bed rest for the rest of pregnancy (with a 2 year old at home ). Thankfully my DMIL is a teacher and it was a week before she went on summer vacation so she babysat me all summer. As the summer came to an end, we were wonderng what would happen and hoping that the abruption was healed as I'd stopped bleeding finally. But at 26 weeks my water broke and I was taken to the hospital (which thankfully my DH was driving and took me to the one with a Level III NICU) The neonatologists told me & DH the odds for a 26 weeker and told me they were hoping I could stay pregnant for 2 more weeks .After exactly 2 weeks in trandelemburg (sp?) my DS was born.

At 2 lbs 8 oz he was pretty big for his gestational age and he was vented for 4 days during which the doctors said was great for his age. He was doing incredibly well and being weaned off CPAP onto the nasal canula until 3 weeks when he got MERSA and had to be revented and the A line wen back in. It was the worst week of my life and I didn't even realize how serious it was until he was out of the woods - it turns out they had 4 babies get MERSA that week and my DS was the only one to pull through

In the end he was in the NICU for 83 days (over 11 weeks) and came home on November 30th a week before his due date. He left the hospital needing no medication, no oxygen and no interventions. The only special advice was that he could not be given a bottle - which considering how hard I fought to keep him breastfed was the world's greatest thrill. It turned out that even the last week in the NICU he needed supplemental oxygen when he was bottle fed because he would desat but when I was there and he was nursing he stayed at 99% O2 saturation.

So the doctors agreed to send him home if I was really going to exclusively breastfeed him and the neonatolgists were stunned that breastfeeding was easier for him than the bottle (they all tramped through the breastfeeding room to see him nursing at 99-100% - so much for privacy )

Since he came home, we've never needed to go back to the hospital although he did have croup once and need oral steroids because of mild reactive airway disease which he's mostly outgrown but when he gets sick it takes him a little longer than my other 2 to beat the illness. He's also still tiny for his age and wears glasses to correct 20/200 vision in his one eye and 20/80 in the other which I'm pretty sure is related to him being a preemie as we have no family history of vision problems before middleage but in the overall scheme of things - it's minor.

He turns 6 next month and will start kindergarden and he's amazing - reading, incredibly ahead in math (tells people who ask how old he is that he's "half of ten" ), funny and loving and the light of our lives.

Living through having a preemie and the NICU roller coaster never really goes away - it's nice to be able to share with other moms who've lived through it. Unless you've lived it - you can't really understand how much it changes you. Looking forward to meeting the other DIS Preemie moms

 

[MSSANDRA]

ALL are welcome here!! You ICU nurses are angels from heaven. We still,15 year later,go back to see Jordan's primary nurse and his PA.

Size and gestation do not always matter. My DN was less that a month premature and stopped breathing minutes after birth. He also had a hard time maintaining body temps for a long time.

I have found that the emotions go everywhere with how mom and dad deals I have a friend that needs medication every aniversary of her now 15 year olds birth.

Knowing other parents is a great comfort.

 

[MSSANDRA]

WDWfor5 you gave me more goose bumps.

I was so impressed how the wonderful staff knows what to and not what to tell parents. We did not know for two or three years that the first time the nurse let us hold DS was becasue she knew how sick he was with a sepsis infection and was not sure he would live. She just told us she thought it was a good day to let us hold him. When Ds was bouncing around the NICU on a vist years later she told us. The baby next to him with the same infection she also let the parents hold and she died that night.

Keep up the stories!!!!!!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Tweedlemom...I got the same horrible polaroids (well of my daughter...not your child- but you know what I mean). BUT, it now sits proudly in the scrapbook, proof of how far she's come.

 

[tweedlemom]

Yeah, those polaroids are bittersweet. I keep one in my purse so that when I'm having a bad day I can just look at it and know that today is not as bad as THAT day was. I always made sure I brought one when I spoke at March of Dimes events because some people don't realize the power of a picture--that picture is a symbol of what we preemie families go through. It's so easy to take a healthy baby/delivery for granted! (I know I did with my first son.) A friend of ours asked if we took a lot of pictures while we were in the NICU. Before I even took a breath to answer him, he said," I guess you have those images so ingrained in your brain that you don't need pictures--you'll never forget." And that's so true.

 

[karenTX]

After trying to get pregnant for 2 years, having surgeries and then being told it wasn't going to happen, we relaxed and then got pregnant! It was pretty normal pregnancy...only 2 days of feeling slightly sick... but I had to have progestrone inserts (fun! ). At 26 weeks, I started swelling at my ankles...Dr said "normal pregnancy swelling". I had noticed less movement but thought that was because I was so busy I wasn't paying attention. I went to the ER at 28 weeks with extreme pain from Gallstones, my blood pressure was high then, they thought it was the pain. At 29 weeks, We had an appointment to have a 3-d sono and the tech couldn't do it as there wasn't enough fluid to see her. Went to the Drs the next day and my blood pressure was 110/160 (near stroke level).

I was admitted, put on Mag Sulfate (Such GREAT stuff! UGH!) and told I was going to be a mom in an hour as DD was unresponsive when tested. I had developed preeclampsia that progressed into HELLPS. I was starting to go into liver failure. She was born at 29 weeks, 1 lb 10.4 oz but had stopped growing at 26 weeks. I then had kidney failure on the table after she was born. She was unresponsive at birth, intibated and then pinked up. She had jaundice (remember those teeny tiny eyeshades!), she was on the vent for 4 days, CPAP/caffine for another 4 then onto room air. She had ROP that has since self resolved. Her CRIT numbers would go up and down but we never had to have a tranfusion! All in all, outside of the low weight gain, she did great, she was quite the fighter. I wasn't allowed to see her until she was 3 days old as I was in bad shape. I had DH bring me pictures all day. She spent 52 days in the NICU and came home at 3.5 lbs. We were never able to breast feed as we had to add supplements for her so the breast pump was my friend.

Flash forward to today, she's 28 months, EXTREMELY headstrong, stubborn, funny and fiesty!!! We've only had 2 sick visits. We are dealing with a bad speech and a moderate physical delay but we're getting there. She's still "underweight" according to her docs but both DH, I and our families are all short, small people. But try to explain that to a gastroenterologist, nutritionist, and regular peds. She's a pickey eater who's 2!!!

Unfortunately (or maybe not) she will be an only child. I was told that it would be "very hard and difficult" on my body to have another child, that "it would not be a good idea". I would be on bed rest and we think that might be difficult with an active toddler. It's ok...right now she's more then enough! She's my little blessed miracle!!

It's great to hear all the stories and to all you NICU nurses out there...THANK YOU FOR ALL YOU DO!!!

 

[Mono~rail]

My twins were born at 30 weeks to the day.

It started out as a regular pregnancy (or so we thought ). Our OB did an U/S at 11 weeks, and he didn't see both of them. Fast forward to our 20 week U/S, and there they were!

22 weeks - We had our first visit to the peri. Baby B was measuring 33% smaller than Baby A. He said they were sharing a placenta, and he diagnosed Twin Twin Transfusion Syndrome.

24 weeks - We had our 2nd visit with the peri. We saw a different one, and he said Baby B was measuring 48% smaller than Baby A. Not good. He told us to go home, get our affairs in order, and be at their hospital in Baton Rouge (4 1/2 hrs away) by noon the next day. I needed hospital bedrest with frequent U/S to monitor B's cord flow. Her official diagnosis was "absent end diastolic flow". TTTS was ruled out. Basically, Baby B had a bad cord, but they didn't know why.

I won't bore anyone with the details of my 5 1/2 weeks of bedrest.

30 weeks - The girls were born early that morning - C-section, of course. Both were intubated immediately.

A - 3# 2oz. 15" - spent 14 days on vent support, on c-pap for a few days then NC for weeks. She did have a minor brain bleed, and she developed Stage 2 ROP. She graduated from the NICU at 8.5 weeks weighing in at 5#.

B - 2# 0oz. 13.5" - spent 49 days on vent support, PDA surgery at 11 days old, enterobacter pneumonia, Stage 3 ROP eye surgery. . . ya know, I don't even feel like typing all we dealt with. I keep her medical history saved in a word document and I add to it as needed. It's 4 pages long.

She spent a total of 4 month and 4 days before she graduated from the NICU. She wouldn't eat and she was able to graduate except for eating so we consented to a feeding tube. As soon as we got her home, we started OT and ST. We had to wait about 4 months before we could start PT because she only weighed 4# and a few oz. Once she gained enough weight she started PT.

This is already longer than I wanted it to be. They are 2 1/2 now and both weigh 34#'s. DD still has her feeding tube, and she will have it for quite a while.

ETA: At our last opthamology visit, he told us that they are both developing astygmatisms and one will most likely need glasses by this Christmas and the other one will need them by next Spring.

 

[blanq]

Hello everyone

I have really enjoyed reading about your preemies!

DS's birth, unfortunately, was a surprise. I remember thinking I might be having contractions, so called the hospital and they asked me to come in. I drove myself there at 10:10 pm, and within a half hour was told that this baby was going to be born. He was partially in the birth canal. My DH was at work, and I was such a wreck I could not even remember his phone number. I asked them to call my mom.

I had an emergency C-section, and my tiny little one was taken by ambulance to Children's in St Paul where he remained for the next 3 months. He was born on 7/7/93 at 26 weeks gestation, so 14 weeks early. He was just 2 lbs, and dropped to 1 lb 10 oz. I did not see him for three days, until I was released from the hospital. He was bruised and battered from his trauma of being partially in the birth canal. I remember thinking he looked like a skinned squirrel.

Without being able to prepare DS's lungs in advance for his early birth, he suffered. He was intubated for a long time, and remained on O2 when he went home. His vocal cords were damaged by the intubation. The O2 caused ROP, and we were told to expect him to need glasses at an early age. He had horrible apnea (many times every day, up to a week before he was discharged) and he came home with an apnea monitor. My nickname for him was "blueberry" because he often turned a horrible shade of blue before he would kick start his breathing again. He had a PDA, requiring surgery shortly after his birth. He had a brain bleed, but not significant (no CP). His lungs collapsed several times, requiring chest tubes. He had sepsis 2x, the 2nd time so significant that he was quarantined with a couple of other babies who contracted sepsis too, until he went home.

It sounds like gloom and doom, and his first months were often that, but when he came home he thrived. He was just 5 lbs when he came home. We made the decision to put him in his own room, in his crib, from the onset which was a scary prospect but one that was a good decision for us. He ate well, and gained weight quickly at home. He slept through the night two weeks after he came home, and we never had an apnea incident once he left the hospital. He was off O2 within about a month. He stayed healthy at home, and when I finally put him in daycare at 2 1/2 years of age, he ended up being the healthiest kid in preschool. He rarely caught anything that was going around, and rarely gets sick to this day. By age 3 1/2 he had caught up to his peers, developmentally.

Today there are no strong cues that DS was ever a preemie. There hasn't been any CP, learning disabilities or asthma, and DS has 20/20 vision. He is an average student, and has some wonderful qualities including his incredible sense of humor and sensitivity. He is taller than me, and wears a mens size 11shoe. His voice, which has always been very soft yet husky (we think due to the vocal cord damage), is the only sort of continuing reminder of his prematurity.

I wouldn't wish a preemie experience, especially those who have significantly low-weight babies with many medical complications as a result, on anyone. It can be such a scary experience, but it also can be wonderful with sweet and special moments that only parents of preemies can relate to and understand.

 

[Mono~rail]

His voice, which has always been very soft yet husky (we think due to the vocal cord damage), is the only sort of continuing reminder of his prematurity.

DD that was intubated for 7 weeks has a very soft sort of raspy voice. The Dr's told us we could expect it. I just found it interesting that another preemie intubated for an extended period of time has that in common.

 

[KJo719]

Hello! Everyone's stories are amazing! DD was born at 33 weeks. I had a pretty normal pregnancy- just a little spotting in the beginning. I woke up one morning and my water broke. Called the dr. and she said to get to the hospital ASAP. We rushed to the hospital and they confirmed that my water had broken. I wasn't having contractions yet, so they put me on antibiotics, started me on the steriod shots and were hoping to hold me off for at least another week. Within a few hours I started having contractions. They started me on Mag (nasty stuff!), but DD was determined and after just a few hours on the MAG, my contractions started again and by then I was 8cm. dilated, so there was no stopping her! She was born at 4 1/2 lbs. and was breathing on her own. We were very lucky and she only had to stay in the NICU for 2 weeks- she needed to learn to eat, maintain her body temp., and she had the lights for her jaundice. She will be 14 months next week and other than being a little behind developmentally the first few months (she's caught up now) and on the smaller side for her age, she doing great!