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They were Queensland’s tiniest babies but look at them now

Some were deemed unviable for life when they arrived in the world too early weighing less than a loaf of bread, but these premmies are now healthy and lively little miracles. SEE THE PHOTOS

Best Mother's Day Ever: 108 days and my baby's coming home

THE odds were stacked against them but Queensland’s tiniest babies have not only survived but thrived.

Some of them were deemed unviable for life when they arrived in the world months too early and weighing less than a loaf of bread but look at them now - healthy, lively little miracles.

Many months in the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital, multiple surgeries and linked up to every tube and machine imaginable, the premmies beat all expectations and every one has grown with little sign of their traumatic start to life.

Alexander Clarke was born at 25 weeks and four days.
Alexander Clarke was born at 25 weeks and four days.
Alexander is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.
Alexander is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.

“When you are a premmie mum who know that the machine in NICU beats every 23 seconds, not 24 or 22 but exactly 23. When you are sitting beside your child in NICU you sit silently in hope and watch and count,” Alyssa, mum to two-year-old Alexander said.

Alexander was born at 24 weeks and four days.

“He weighed 767g. Back then I wasn’t sure I would ever have a “normal” child. Now every milestone is a celebration. I don’t remember exactly when the fear of losing him left me it was a gradual process but one day I eventually allowed myself to breathe,” she said.

Alexander was not the smallest of these tiny fighters.

Jack Casey, now four, was born at 23 weeks and four days gestation and weighed in at a premmie featherweight of 512 grams.

Jack comes close to being the earliest delivered baby at RBWH.

“The smallest baby in weight born at the hospital who survived was 370 grams and born at 23 weeks,” RBWH Director Neonatology, Pieter Koorts told The Courier-Mail.

Jack’s mum was admitted at 23 weeks and the clinicians worked hard to keep Jack in her womb.

Jack Casey weighed just 370 grams when he was born at 23 weeks and four days.
Jack Casey weighed just 370 grams when he was born at 23 weeks and four days.
Jack Casey, 4, was very close to the earliest baby born at the RBWH. Picture: Liam Kidston
Jack Casey, 4, was very close to the earliest baby born at the RBWH. Picture: Liam Kidston

“They told me every day, hour and minute that he stayed inside me mattered,” Tanya Casey said

“When he was born I was advised by the staff of the problems that Jack might face if he was to survive. He could have faced serious lung disease, cerebral palsy or hearing and seeing problems. We had the choice of just wrapping him up in a blanket and holding him tight to say goodbye but that wasn’t an option. I could see Jack had fight,” she said.

Jack went through serious surgeries on his bowel when he was as tiny as can of coke.

“He was so small that the surgical team at the Queensland Children’s Hospital packed up their equipment and came to the Royal. Doctors and nurses go to extreme lengths to try to ensure every child gets to go home,” Jack’s mum Tanya said.

“I lived on tenterhooks until I brought him home. I couldn’t even bring myself to buy baby stuff as I was scared,” she said.

Jack is a boisterous four-year-old and has been given the all clear on his health. The RBWH brings about miracles according to this ever grateful mum.

Izzy Grant weighed under a kilogram when she was born at 30 weeks.
Izzy Grant weighed under a kilogram when she was born at 30 weeks.
Izzy is now four years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.
Izzy is now four years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Izzy Grant is also four and was born at 30 weeks but at a low birth weight of 900 grams. Babies born under one kilo are a challenge for clinicians.

“At my scans it was clear that Izzy was very tiny and I was monitored but she did not grow so doctors decided on a C-section. She had a heart condition called pulmonary stenosis but as time has passed doctors say that condition is improving,” mum Steph said.

“I was only 25 when I had Izzy and when I heard of the problems that she might face I was so panicked. But I knew she had it in her to fight. When you look at your baby you have so much love you can’t imagine giving up on them but every night when I had to leave her in NICU I just cried in the lift,” she said.

Atlas Martin-Cooper was born at 28 weeks.
Atlas Martin-Cooper was born at 28 weeks.
Atlas is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.
Atlas is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Little Atlas Martin-Cooper lives up to his name as mum Christy calls him her tiny Titan.

Now two, Atlas was born at 28 weeks at 685 grams. He too did not grow in the womb and was very small.

“His name fits him perfectly. He is still small but he is a strong, lively and healthy little boy. A doctor told me back then that “The tiniest babies often fight the hardest” and that stuck with me. The whole experience was a whirlwind and very frightening but the staff at the RBWH are like family and they walk every step with you. I am forever grateful,” she said.

Dr Koorts pinpoints research and quality assurance programs over the last decade as game changers in the world of premature babies.

“We have seen improved resuscitation at birth and meticulous attention to the first hour of life, improved ventilation strategies, donor milk instead of formula in lieu of mother’s own milk, probiotics and improved neurodevelopmental care,” he said.

The risks to premmies change dramatically with each day of life. By the time of discharge from hospital, the risk of death decreases to less than one per cent and their chance of surviving free of major disability rise to 70 per cent.

Lilliana was born at 24 weeks and five days.
Lilliana was born at 24 weeks and five days.
The micro premmie is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.
The micro premmie is now two years old. Picture: Liam Kidston.

Lilliana Wood is here against all odds. Her mum’s waters broke at 22 weeks and thanks to the advancement of modern medicine doctors were able to keep her in the womb until 24 weeks and five days.

“She was still early and classified as a micro premmie as she was only 592 grams. No one ever told me she wouldn’t survive but they did say we were in for a very rough ride. And it certainly was. Lilliana was in NICU for seven months and on life support for four of those months. Her life was in the balance a few times due to multiple surgeries and ending up with a staph infection and sepsis,” mum Jacinta said.

Now Lilliana has hit the terrible twos and mum says she cannot believe how she has fought for life and except for some feeding problems is a lively happy and funny little girl.

“I truly never thought she would make it home as I watched other premmies leave one by one. I couldn’t be more grateful to her amazing doctors,” she said.

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Original URL: https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/they-were-queenslands-tiniest-babies-but-look-at-them-now/news-story/c9d5d8aec4aa663b5d7d127b059d81c8