Parents of Micro-Preemie Celebrate Each Milestone
The larger hospital with specialized care for little Harlow was a couple of hours away from their home. So, the two commuted back and forth to visit their daughter.
“My husband and I have definitely struggled,” admitted Kaitlynn. “Some people, it’s easy for them to get pregnant and give birth. We have a lot of family around us and friends that are getting pregnant and having babies. The days are hard when we don’t get to go see her because we both work full-time jobs. It’s hard that we don’t get to spend every single day with her and we’ve missed out on some of the first things she’s done. But at the end of the day, we are just so thankful that we have her.”
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“She finally is not intubated anymore, so she doesn’t have a breathing tube. She has a chronic lung disease with being so premature,” Kaitlynn told PEOPLE. “They said that her lungs were the size of almonds whenever she came out. Right now, they’re working on her breathing and hopefully be able to get her down to one liter of a nasal cannula to get to come home.”
The family is hoping that Harlow will be developed enough to come home for Thanksgiving or maybe Christmas. They’re just grateful for each day with their precious daughter.
“We feel lucky because we’ve met a lot of people who weren’t as lucky,” said Kaitlynn. “Watching her grow is amazing. We’re still working on the lungs, but that’s another reason we’re lucky. She’s otherwise a healthy baby. And she’ll grow out of it. It’s just a mixture of being born too small. It may not be for a while, but she’ll grow out of it and live a long, healthy life.”
