Jeremiah H ~ Super Hero Alias: Captain JerBear!

Age: 2 months
Weight at birth: 5lbs 13 oz
Weeks gestation: 35 weeks
Time in the NICU: 9 days

Diagnosis, surgeries, complications?

Forgetting to breath at birth, jaundice, and low blood sugar.

Why Should Your Child Be Recognized as Preemie of the Year?

This little man is honestly a superhero to his family. He was a magnificent surprise. He just wanted to show everyone how cute he was, 4 weeks earlier than expected, but boy, was the journey something else. The day of his birth really didn’t feel like any ordinary day. I was extremely tired, had the worst headache I’ve ever had in my life, and it felt like I was looking through a glass of water. I had a doctor’s appointment that afternoon for a non-stress test. Oh Lord, my blood pressure was high. I was sent over to the hospital thinking the nurses were going to observe me for a few hours. Nope, I was being prepped for an emergency c-section, due to preeclampsia. They had to poke me 9 times, just to find the right spot in my spine, for the spinal. Every time they injected the medicine, I felt my little boy tense up, and all I wanted to do was speed things up. 20 minutes later, he had finally arrived, and I heard his first cries, but then it went silent. He was forgetting to breathe. The nurse brought him over, explained what was going on, told me that he needs to go to the NICU, took a picture of our new little family, and left. He was put into an incubator, had to be given sugar water, because his sugar dropped really low. He was hooked up to several machines, and had wires everywhere, I didn’t know what everything was for. I see him as Preemie of the Year because he fought through everything, and hardly cried, only a few times. He needed to tell everyone he was hungry.

Using Three Or More Characteristics of a Super Hero, Please Describe Your Child.

Determination- He came out of the NICU in only 9 days. He did struggle, though. He lost half a pound within a 24-hour period. He fought through it; he wanted to prove to everyone he could do it. Within 2 days, he had gained weight. He weighed an ounce more than he did when he was born.

He’s Strong- When he’s eating, he takes a grip on that bottle and will not let you take it from him at all. He loves to grap things, and fights you for them when you try to take it from him. At 3 weeks old, he could raise his head perfectly. We are all amazed.

Brave- He’s definitely brave, all preemies are brave in my eyes. He wasn’t ready for the real world yet, he was nice a cozy in his mommy’s tummy, just relaxing and being warm. Also, having to stay in the NICU, where there were shift changes every 12 hours. He wasn’t used to them, he never heard their voices before. For him to do so good, in a new environment most definitely makes my little man brave.