Our story
At just 33 weeks, my waters broke — completely unexpected and frightening. The hospital we had originally planned to give birth at couldn’t take us, so we were transferred to another. The fear of the unknown set in quickly. I didn’t know much about premature babies, and my mind raced with worry: “Will my baby even survive at this time?”
But amid the panic, the doctors and nurses gave us hope. They reassured us that 33 to 34-weekers had a high survival rate. I clung to that hope. We were admitted to hospital, and suddenly everything became a whirlwind — blood tests, antibiotics, steroid shots — all to give our baby the best chance possible. Every doctor we spoke to had a slightly different plan, and the uncertainty was overwhelming.
I was scared. Everything was moving fast. But I had Juzzy, my partner, by my side, and an incredible team of midwives guiding me through it. At 10 p.m., our little boy, River, was born. It took him 5 to 9 minutes to stabilise and start breathing properly — the longest minutes of our lives. But he was strong. He had a tough time coming out, but he did it.
It took 15 minutes before he was placed on my chest — a moment I’ll never forget. Then he was wheeled off to the Special Care Nursery. We followed shortly after and held his tiny hand through the incubator. That night, we returned to our room and somehow managed to sleep.
The next morning, we visited him again — and held him skin to skin for the first time. That’s when our journey as parents truly began. A journey that started not as we imagined, but one filled with strength, love, and the beginning of our time in the Special Care Nursery with our beautiful, brave River.
This November I’m taking on the Premmie Marathon Challenge
I’ll be clocking up my kms in the Premmie Marathon Challenge to raise funds for life-saving neonatal equipment that will give critically ill and premature babies a better chance of survival.
I'd love your support - if you can, please make a generous tax-deductible donation here.
Thank you for your support.
Your donation will help keep me motivated as I complete my challenge through November, knowing that each km I complete is helping save the lives of sick and premature babies.
Fancy joining me? You can sign up for the Premmie Marathon Challenge too! Simply choose your challenge distance and start clocking your kms for premmie babies.
