A mother gave birth to her son four months prematurely. Now, more than 10 weeks later, her baby remains in the hospital but is getting stronger every day.
Amy Guild gave birth to baby Leo on 30 April at only 25 weeks gestation. Due to a life-threatening condition – a prolapsed umbilical cord – she had to undergo an emergency caesarean section.
“I went into shock and but of course, my first thought was like, okay, this is it, I have to say goodbye to my son. But thankfully, that wasn’t the case. There’s more to his story”, the mother said.
Weighing only 1 lb, 12 oz at the time of his birth, baby Leo was immediately taken to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), where he remains today. “This was one of the hardest days of my life”, mum Amy said.
“Tears streamed down my face as I met my son in the NICU”, Amy recalled. “The most perfect and tiny human I’ve ever seen”.
Amy created a fundraiser to help pay for the unexpected costs of life with an extremely premature baby in the NICU, including medical expenses and temporary housing near the hospital. Currently, it has raised almost $40,000.
“We have a long road ahead of us and we have no choice but to take it one hour at a time, one day at a time”, Amy said.
Now, however, baby Leo is thriving, and the family are making preparations for their tiny baby to finally go home.
“Leo is making great strides and we are so hopeful. I’ve started preparing for him to come home. Getting organised. Setting up space for him”, his mother revealed. “I just picked up some premmieclothes on [Facebook] Marketplace too! In the beginning my mind couldn’t prepare for this homecoming”, she added.
“there were so many tears from grief, fear, and feeling completely overwhelmed. These days, the tears are different”, mum Amy said. “They’re the tears that come from having to leave Leo at the hospital for another day when I’m soooo ready to take him home. Tears from the exhaustion, and from missing him every moment we’re apart.”
While there is a long road still to go, baby Leo is hitting important milestones. His lungs are getting stronger, his brain scans showed normal results, and he is growing well.
“This is going to work out. He’s going to be ok”, Amy said.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “We are pleased to hear that baby Leo is continuing to grow stronger every day, and that his family is looking forward to the day when he will be able to go home with them”.
“Tiny, premature babies like Leo demonstrate incredible strength and resilience, and stories like this are so inspirational”.
