Child's Birth Year
2021

State/Province/Territory
Florida

NICU Hospital for my journey
UF Health Hospital

My NICU Graduate's Journey
Milani was born when I was 23 weeks pregnant. She weighed 1 pound, she had blood in her brain, two wholes in her heart, her lungs weren’t functioning properly, doctors told me she didn’t have a high chance surviving. Milani was in the NICU for about 6 months, little by little every week was something that she accomplished and healed from. Leaving the hospital without a baby gets to you, it’s sad you feel like you’re abandoning them. All the staff were nice helped me get through it. Pumping helped me a lot and helped Milani too, I never gave up pumping for her, I knew deep inside my milk will help her get through this. Milani is now 3 and she’s healthy with no problems. She’s a happy little girl, we are blessed to have her.

What makes you proud of you NICU graduate?
She had a low chance of surviving, doctors were mentally preparing me to raise a handicap baby, they told me she was going to have a lot of complications, she’s not going to be normal, maybe not walk, talk or may lose hearing & despite all that she now has ZERO health issues. She’s is strong.

Weight at Birth (lbs. or Grams)
1 lb

Weeks Gestation
23 Weeks

Time spent in the NICU (Specify Number of Days, Months, or Years)
6 Months