When we hear the word 'Prematurity', we hear monitors sounding.
We smell hand sanitiser and hospital chemicals.
We remember little closed-in plastic beds.
And, we remember intense heartache and anxiety.
We remember first cuddles and touching tiny little fingers.
We remember how far we have come and are reminded of how much Dexter fights, every day.
Dexter was born nine weeks early, with pneumonia and his little lungs weren't steroid ready. He fought some big battles in the first hours, days, weeks...
His brain bleed was detected when he was 30 days old.
Everything changed.
Dexter still can't sit, independently. He can't feed himself, yet.
But, he can wrap his arms around us, for a hug.
He can open his fingers, reach out and hold our hands.
He is showing us what strength and determination can do.
He's teaching us to be brave and tough, as well as gentle and patient.
And, that sense of humour he has? That brings us so many smiles. He is a cheeky little kid with a real quirkiness to his personality.
And, he's clever.
When we think of Prematurity Day, we remember the hard stuff we had to endure, the daily challenges that have become part of our lives and we remember all the successes Dexter has achieved.
Our hearts go out to the people who lost their babies.
We send love and strength to the people who have stories like ours. There are so many incredible kids out there.
And, with a little sadness at what we don't have, we send love to the kids who were born early and grew up into kids who can run and play, sing and laugh, eat and drink, learn and thrive.
Dexter's sister is one of those. The Noisy Sister was born a month early. She spent a night in the NICU, because she needed help regulating her body heat.
The first week we had her at home, was tough. She hadn't developed the sucking reflex and was having difficulty drinking. We were anxious and sad, but determined. Her mum would try to feed her, which usually didn't work and ended in tears.
She would then express milk (using the pump, hearing the noise and bringing back a whole load of anxiety triggers.) I'd take Dexter's sister, then, and I would try to feed her, using a bottle. We were back to counting millilitres.
We made sure we kept as calm as possible; we took our stress and tears to another room.
The doctor was worried and it looked like we would be going back to hospital, with her.... but, the doctor knew the family. She gave us a few more days...
And so, on 'weighing day', we held our breaths (again) as the scales had another chance to rule our lives. Luckily, the Noisy Sister had gained just enough weight, and we were allowed to take her home!
Since then, she has continued to thrive. She sings and dances. She says numbers and counts with success. She sounds out phonetically spelt words (cat, spot, rat) and attempts to write some words. She has empathy beyond her years and loves being around other people. She's still only four, so there are tantrums and arguments, but she is a beautiful, strong, clever and caring little girl.
We have two premature birth stories, We never think of The Noisy One as a premmie baby, but she was.
And, while Dexter has brought us such heartache and worry, grey hairs and wrinkles, we could not be prouder of him.
We could not love him more.
(Oh, and the Little One? She wasn't a premmie baby... She refused to come out.)
And, while Dexter has brought us such heartache and worry, grey hairs and wrinkles, we could not be prouder of him.
We could not love him more.
(Oh, and the Little One? She wasn't a premmie baby... She refused to come out.)
Dexter's first month in photos: (More videos on his you tube channel)
Premmie Day – Dexter’s First Month
My Birth
Dexter Doll
When I Was Tiny
Dexter Hit 3 Months Old
Dexter’s Earliest Days
My Prematurity
They Want Octopus Arms
Little Fingers Reaching
When Your Heart Aches with Sadness
My Sister is Four
Dexter's Vision
Dexter's Cerebral Palsy
Dexter's Cancer
Who is Dexter?
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