Saved resources
Trigger warning: The images below include photos of a baby being treated within the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). However, there is a happy ending.
The day we went into labour, I was having some pains and contractions at 2:20am. We rang the hospital and were advised to come in for monitoring. Little did we know we would be meeting our baby only a few hours later.
I was confirmed in spontaneous active labour at 6am and after a crazy four hours, little Lucas arrived by natural birth at 10:19am, before being quickly taken and looked after by an amazing team of midwives, doctors and paediatricians who quickly stabilised him. I was able to see him a few hours later in the special care nursery.
Little Lucas had respiratory distress syndrome and was also diagnosed with jaundice which required light therapy and a drip for nutrition. He was transferred to a larger hospital for more supportive care in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
Obviously its not a great thing to have a premature baby but there were a lot of positives for me having autism. I love routine and structure. So, having a premature baby, they have to be on a routine. Everything’s on a clock basis, so it was very easy for me to follow. I think one of the benefits of having a premature baby was that we were already put into a structure at the hospital. So, when we came home it was the same structure, nothing changed.
My lactation consultant gave me a whiteboard marker to mark everything down. I had like a little timeframe going on the whiteboard. I was able to set my alarm to my phone to get the feed times right. You get to go feed at the nursey and I was able to do my pumping sessions there as well. It was very structured, and I loved it.
Lucas was discharged fully from the hospital paediatrician from 6-months of age and has been smashing all goals since. He is now a happy 20-month old (October 2024) and meeting all his milestones. He is mostly above the 50 percentile and has just hit above the 10 percentile for height.
