A premature baby boy, who weighed around the same as a bag of sugar when born, is big and strong 18 months later.
Baby Louie was born prematurely at 25 weeks’ gestation, weighing only 490 grams and smaller than his mother’s hand. His mother Hannah, from Hereford, had been admitted to hospital at 20 weeks’ gestation, because she had a low-lying placenta, which caused her to experience heavy bleeding.
Mum Hannah was urgently transferred to Birmingham Women’s Hospital, however by 25 weeks’ gestation she had continued to destabilise, resulting in a placental abruption, whereby the placenta partly or completely separates from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery.
Louie was subsequently born at 25 weeks’ gestation.
For 11 weeks, baby Louie battled many complications in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), including problems with his lungs, sepsis, brain bleeds, a heart condition, and necrotising enterocolitis, in which tissues in the intestine become inflamed and start to die. Louie had to be intubated and extubated many times during his stay in the NICU.
“Our journey with Louie has been such a rollercoaster”, mum Hannah recalled, saying, “I held him for the first time when he was two weeks old, he was smaller than my hand”.
“It took the nurses ages to get all the tubes ready and place him on my chest. He went through so many ups and downs”, she added.
Hannah and Lewis, Louie’s father, stayed in the hospital’s on-site accommodation during this period for easier journeys to visit their baby, but things were still challenging.
“It was really hard, we barely saw each other”, Hannah said. “We took turns staying with Louie while the other was home with [his sister] Ellie”.
“We became so close to the NICU nurses; they were the only people we saw”, she revealed.
Despite their difficult and busy time, Hannah also was able to create a fundraiser during her time staying in the on-site accommodation to raise money for a laundry facility there to help improve the stay of other parents who find themselves in a similar situation.
“It was a proud moment. Doing something that would help other parents felt good at a time when we were so helpless”, she said.
After 11 weeks, Louie’s big sister, Ellie, was finally able to hold her brother before he was transferred to the family’s local hospital for four more weeks of care before finally being allowed to go home.
Once home, the challenges continued. Baby Louie required supplemental oxygen for his first three months at home, and was admitted to hospital on several occasions.
“Over winter he became unwell quite a few times, requiring hospital admissions”, his mother said, “because he was so premature, even a cold hit him hard”.
“But once spring came, Louie turned a corner”, Hannah explained.
Baby Louie is now 18 months old and thriving at home.
“He is the most loving little boy, he just adores giving kisses”, Hannah said. “Ellie loves him so much. Our little family feels complete”, she added.
“He went from being one of the smallest babies that year to a thriving 10kg ‘toddler’. We’re so thankful to the NICU staff for getting him through the darkest days”.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “We are so glad to hear that baby Louie is thriving at home at 18 months old – a big change since his challenging days in the NICU”.
“Louie’s development, overcoming all of the illnesses he faced, to become the strong toddler he is today is a testament to the strength that all premature babies have”.
