A Premature Baby's Mom Tells Her Story

Being first time parents, we never knew anything was wrong. At six months pregnant, I was taken to the hospital for a double check on my blood. While in the hospital, I started having contractions –unbeknownst to me– and thus started a long journey for myself, my husband, and our son, Aidan.

Aidan came five days later, at 2 pounds, 12 ounces and 27 weeks gestation. We had no idea what to expect or what was going on. We spent 3 ½ months in the hospital, worrying about oxygen saturations, PDA ligations, brain bleeds, and whether or not our son would ever learn to eat on his own. In those 3 ½ months, we spent so much time working on making sure Aidan was healthy and therefore unable to focus on his developmental milestones. We never gave much thought as to what would happen next.

We were referred to Achievement Academy’s Birth to Three program because Aidan was a high risk for developmental delays. He was born so early that we were basically starting with a newborn the day he came home. Becky, the Early Interventionist, from the Achievement Academy (a United Way partner) was assigned to us and has done so much in easing our fears about Aidan’s development. She is always there to help us encourage Aidan in areas where we would not have known, offers us the advice we need as new parents, and gave us the peace of mind we need as parents of a preemie. At 20 months, Aidan is steadily closing the gap between his adjusted and his actual age. We owe so much to Achievement Academy and are so grateful for programs like this in our community.

By Jillyan McGraw, Aidan’s Mom