My little miracle Freddie was born at 30 weeks weighing a tiny 2lbs 7oz. I had a great pregnancy up until a few days before Freddie had to be delivered by c-section at the Royal Infirmary in Edinburgh. Due to developing preeclampsia and my placenta dying, Freddie had to be brought into the world a bit early.
It was all so scary - the doctors telling me what could happen and the risks being involved with having a premature baby. I was given information booklets to read and a DVD to watch before his arrival, and the next day I was put on a drip to get medicine to mature my baby’s organs, I was terrified!
Then Freddie was here. Before I could see him, he was taken straight down to the neonatal unit. Me and Freddie’s dad finally got to see him when he was 4 hours old, but he was so tiny I burst into tears. But, just when I thought it was all over, our journey was actually beginning.
Freddie had surgery at 2 days old as his left lung had collapsed. Because of this, we weren’t allowed to hold or cuddle him, but he fought so hard to get better. It took a little longer than expected to overcome his operation, but when our boy was 9 days old, I got my first cuddle. (It was a 3-hour cuddle, and I didn’t want to end - it was amazing!)
Freddie kept fighting and, as the days and weeks went on, he got better. There were a few setbacks with infections along the way, but he always recovered well after antibiotics.
Finally, 5 days before his due date and after 9 weeks in neonatal, Freddie was allowed to come home. It was the best day of our life. I never thought the day he was born could be beaten but the day he was allowed home definitely won!
Freddie’s now thriving and is three years old, and will be starting school nursery soon. I’m so proud of him and what he’s achieved - he’s definitely our miracle baby.