Click here to submit your prems footprint.

Click here to submit your angel’s footprint.

(twins footprints are left & right prints together)

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]]> http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/premmie-footprints-page-6/feed/ 0 http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/green-for-premmies-wrap-up-2013/ http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/green-for-premmies-wrap-up-2013/#comments Tue, 07 May 2013 13:56:49 +0000 trikiron http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/?p=10890 On Wednesday 3rd April 2013, we celebrated our annual `Wear Green for Premmies` event and what successful day it was in raising awareness of all children born too soon. The event saw our dedicated patrons, hospitals, sponsors, families, friends, work colleagues, Facebook pages and strangers united in celebrating all our precious children. Amazing stories of survival and heartbreaking loss were shared by families with each journey bringing the community together.

This year, we reached an incredible amount of families on Facebook with stories and posters being shared and much awareness for our campaign was also supported by the media encouraging everyone to wear green. Many pages and websites shared our event and thousands of profile pictures were changed in support of the day. The kind team at ShoeSales.com.au generously spread the word and donated a pair of their beautiful green heals to one of our premmie mums.

The support our day received was so widespread with hospitals around the country taking part by not only wearing green but also hosting celebrations of their own with yummy green cupcakes to share around their nurseries. The hospitals we know who celebrated the day included Monash Medical Centre, St Vincent’s Private Hospital, Blacktown Hospital, Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital and Royal Hobart Hospital. If you do know of a hospital who joined in the  celebrations that we have not mentioned please let us know so we can thank them for their participation.

Each year our event raises awareness of premature birth and the struggles that each family is faced with when a baby is born too soon. The day also helps to raise funds to directly support our organisation which assists us in expanding our important and community focused support for thousands of families every year whilst also allowing us to generously give back to the community which we have done each year since our first celebration took place in 2011.

This year part of the proceeds from your fundraising efforts and the sale of our green wristbands has given us the chance to continue making a difference whilst providing financial assistance direct to our organisation. Through your amazing fundraising efforts, we raised a total of $11,594.

The 2013 hospital recipient’s we are supporting as chosen by our members are; Ipswich Base Hospital (SCN) Monash Medical Centre (NICU), Ballarat Base Hospital (SCN) and the Royal Brisbane Woman’s Hospital (NICU). Through the generosity from each and every one of you, we are pleased to announce that we will be donating a total of $5,000 towards the purchase of equipment that will directly support these nurseries. We are currently sourcing items from the ‘wish lists’ that have been provided by each hospital and will keep you all updated once the items have been donated. Next year four new hospitals will be chosen so that over time, all public nurseries will be supported through our fundraising efforts.

On the day, an online Auction was held on Facebook with beautiful handmade items being donated by various businesses in support of the auction. It was a huge task to undertake with just under 100 items donated and we thank Sally, Vicki & Kyla from the Australia Handmade Sharing page who hosted the event, the businesses who contributed with items and the winning bidders for their truly amazing efforts. The Auction raised $2,827 with all the funds raised going towards our first print run of the Premmie Gift of Hope Journals, a joint project co-created with Yasminah’s Gift of Hope and launched in November 2011. Another auction was held by Shower the Baby Nappy Cakes & Gifts on the day with the item up for auction being a beautiful nappy cake which included our very own baby bodysuit & bib from our merchandise range.

So many wonderful events took place on the day with one mum, Trish taking the gutsy plunge and dying her long locks lime green all in the name of raising awareness. Her aim has been to maintain her hair green for an entire month after our event and in a few short days, she will be cutting short her long locks and starting anew. The day saw generosity shine throughout Australia with 35 online fundraising pages created, online auctions and offline fundraising efforts taking place encouraging family and friends to donate to our cause. We thank everyone who contributed and we hope that you are proud to know you have made a difference. The kind staff at Corney & Lind Lawyers joined in the celebrations with their entire office wearing green on the day. We appreciate their ongoing support in providing legal advice direct to our Foundation so that we can continue on the right path in supporting families.

Generosity for our celebration continued with super mum Karen from Sewing Mummy kindly donating over x 60 premmie gowns and the lovely ladies from the Blind Bight Knitting Group donating x 36 hand knitted green beanies. Each gown and beanie was created with much love and thought for the special babies who would be wearing them. Special packages of beanies and gowns were donated between the following hospitals; Bundaberg Hospital, Royal Darwin Hospital, Geelong Hospital, Coffs Harbour Base Hospital, Launceston General Hospital, King Edward Memorial, John Hunter Hospital, Angliss Hospital, Canberra Hospital and Royal Women’s Hospital in NSW. Julie from Sensory Matters also kindly donated 12 x hand sewn lime green wraps to our friends at St Vincent’s Private Hospital who are amazing supporters of our event each year.

This year saw the addition of new products to our merchandise range. The new items included our lime green adult & kid size t-shirts, baby bodysuits & bibs. It was fabulous seeing the sea of bright green everywhere we looked. The clothing range was designed with simplicity in mind whilst being able to wear our organisations logo with pride. With no event date anywhere to be seen, they can be worn anywhere anytime all year round. All our merchandise is available through our online shop.

Thank you to Little Tales Photography and Yuz Rozenblum (& family) for allowing us to include their precious images in all of our promotional posters and material for the event and KC Marketing for designing all our event banners. We will be searching for the next premmie to be featured in our 2014 campaign soon. Keep an eye out for details later in the year if you think your premmie would enjoy being apart of our campaign.

We would like to extend a warm thank you also to our kind sponsors Earlybirds, Your Cheeky Monkey, Bellabee Candles and Nashi Baby who each understand our vision and continue to support our organisation each year. We thank them for continiously joining in and celebrating our events. Mums Bubs & Gifts also continues to generously sell our lime green wristbands through their online store and do so all year round. Our Patrons Lucy, Luke, Susie & Carly play an integral role in promoting our charity and we are truly honored for their ongoing dedication and support. Also thank you to Aleesha & Emily for their support each day helping to run our Facebook pages.

A final thank you must go to our members and the LAPF committee for their truly amazing dedication to our organisation. Their incredible teamwork as volunteers ensured that every part of the event was attentioned with the highest of priority. They are an amazing team of mums who have each been through the rollercoaster journey and their passion in supporting premmie families. Together with our members, they are integral in the incredible success of the day.

Our next ‘Wear Green for Premmies’ celebration will be taking place on Wednesday 9th April 2014. Add the date into your calendar and we look forward to celebrating with you once again in 2014! If you wish to nominate a hospital as a recipient for 2014, you must be a member of our community forum, it is quick and free to register. Nominations will open in early 2014.

Nominations for our upcoming Premmie Hero Awards open in July 2013. Please join our awards Facebook page for further updates about the event.

Below is a video from Earlybirds joining us in raising awareness on the day. You can also view the photos submitted to us of families celebrating our 2013 event.

We look forward to celebrating World Prematurity Day on the 17th November 2013 hosted by the National Premmie Foundation in Australia. Please visit their website for further details.

Below are some photos submitted to us from families and friends celebrating on the day.

Early babies can be late developers

26th April 2013

PREMATURE babies may need memory training to prevent learning and behavioural problems at school, researchers recommend.

Seven in every 10 babies born more than two months early, or weighing less than a kilogram, have an intellectual, learning or behavioural problem at eight years of age, an Australian study shows.

Probiotic gives new hope to premature babies

10th April 2013

Australian doctors have discovered a cheap and simple solution to a deadly health problem suffered by very premature babies.

One in eight babies born in Australia are born premature, and many babies born eight weeks early can develop a serious bowel condition called necrotising enterocolitis, or NEC.

Read Full Article

Colour yourself green for premature babies

2nd April 2013

FOR many pregnant mothers the birth of their child cannot come quickly enough.

For others whose children arrive prematurely the birth is fraught with uncertainty and at considerable risk to both infant and mother.

Mudjimba’s Kerryn Hill-McKay knows the incredible heartache involved in having to go home from hospital while a baby stays behind in intensive care.

Now two years on from Che’s birth she is keenly promoting tomorrow’s Wear Green for Premmies Day organised by the L’il Aussie Prems Foundation, which raises money for equipment and awareness about the realities of premature birth.

Read Full Article

After 118 days in hospital, premature baby Fynn is heading home

1st April 2013

MOST people did not even know Annie Lyttle was pregnant when she went into labour.

At 23 weeks, she had another four months for her belly to swell as her body nurtured her baby, allowing her baby’s eyes to finish forming, his lungs to grow big enough to support breath and for him to triple in size.

Read Full Article

Amniotic fluid ‘may heal premature baby gut’

25th March 2013

Amniotic fluid may hold the key to healing a fatal gut disease which affects premature babies, doctors say.

Severe inflammation, called necrotizing enterocolitis, can destroy the gut’s tissues and lead to major organ failure.

Early animal tests, published in the journal Gut, showed that stem cells inside amniotic fluid could heal some of the damage and increase survival.

Further tests are still needed before it is tried in premature babies.

Read Full Article

Breakthrough research gives premature babies hope

3rd March 2013

THE damaged lungs of premature babies could be repaired in the days after their birth using a stem-cell-like treatment pioneered at Melbourne’s Monash Institute of Medical Research.

The world-first research will be tested on 10 premature babies in Malaysian hospitals starting in the next three months.

If successful, wider trials are planned in Australia at Monash Children’s Hospital and overseas to find out if introducing cells harvested from a baby’s amniotic membrane could save dangerously premature babies suffering severe and life-long lung conditions.

Thank you for your support.

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We invite you to share each one with your family and friends but we ask that the author is noted at the end.

I never knew a person could be so small.

Touching the hand of my newborn baby,
I never knew a person could be so small.
So fragile, so vulnerable, so amazingly precious,
Lying in a makeshift cocoon for one.

Our baby was born early, we are in shock,
The best chance of survival is with medical support.
This miracle baby has entered our lives,
We monitor their growth morning and night.

The journey ahead with strengthen our love,
Our baby needs us to hold onto hope.
As i continue to touch my tiny babies hand,
I will forever be by their side.

Author
Julia Toivonen

Star Light, Star Bright

Star light, star bright
A premature baby is born tonight.
A precious gift, who fights for life,
With every ounce of their might.
Tonight we wish upon a star,
That our baby stays safe forever in our arms.

Author
Julia Toivonen

A Premmie Baby Merry Christmas

Sitting beside our baby in the NICU/SCN,
We monitor oxygen levels on the display.
Christmas feels like a lifetime away,
But we know tomorrow is the day.
This is our babies 1st Christmas with us,
We will be hospital bound with our Christmas lunch.
The hospital staff have made a fuss,
The decorated wards and tree are a delight.
We are not alone on this Christmas day,
As we are celebrating Christmas with our tiny born child.

Author
Julia Toivonen

Kangaroo Care

When your baby spends time in a NICU/SCN, Kangaroo care for the parents of a premmie or sick baby gives this unimaginable acknowledgement in their hearts that the child is theirs.

We can wait hours, days or months before we are able to hold our babies but to feel that tiny heart beating on your chest, gives you an inner calmness that you will never forget.

Author
Julia Toivonen

Leaving the hospital without my premature baby

My tiny baby was born three months early today,
Throwing our hearts into total disarray.
Lying in the incubator needing a rest,
With breathing tubes and cords wrapped around his tiny nest.

As i express milk droplets from my breasts,
I reflect on the chaos of today’s events.
Back in the ward with babies crying,
I too am crying wishing my baby was beside me.

The day has come to go home and leave my baby,
It is a heartbreaking moment for our family.
What will happen tomorrow, nobody knows,
But he is in caring hands and we will see him tomorrow.

Author
Julia Toivonen

No matter the gestation…

No matter the gestation a premature baby is born,
The journey no matter how long or short,
Will never change the very personal and heartbreaking journey,
Of watching your child fight for their life.
Each families journey in the NICU or SCN,
Will always be personal and unique to them.

Author
Julia Toivonen

A premature baby fights on….

A baby is born with the need to be loved,
A premmie or sick newborn are born with the need to fight on,
An angel is born and leaves a footprint upon many hearts.

No matter how small,
No matter how big,
No matter the birth,
No matter the place,

Each baby needs the very same thing,
Love, warmth, comfort and a warm embrace.

Author
Julia Toivonen

The premmie baby community…..

The NICU/SCN journey throws many families into a community you may NEVER knew existed.

It is a community full of love, support, empathy, understanding, heartbreak, sadness, eye opening moments, tears, laughter and celebration.

One thing you quickly realise though, is that it is a unique community in itself. One where strangers unite together, offer a lifeline and become some of your closest friends.

Author
Julia Toivonen

Premature birth defines your family….

No matter the gestation a baby is born,
A baby seeks comfort and needs to be kept warm.
A baby born early or who struggles to take their first breaths,
Needs comfort from a NICU or SCN bed.

With each beep of the machine you watch with intent,
And wonder how they will look in the years ahead.
As you watch other babies getting closer to home,
You await for your baby to reach that next milestone.

It’s been days, months or even years since your babies birth,
And whilst the memories have faded, your heart never forgets.
Embrace the journey that defined you and your family,
For your own experience will have changed your perspective of life forever.

Author
Julia Toivonen

A Premature Baby Is……..

Determined
Precious
Strong
Inspirational
Miracle
Fighter
Hope
Courageous

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Our forum is a supportive and relaxed community for families who have been touched by prematurity reaching parents from not only Australia but also worldwide. We have many areas not only specific to premature babies but also toddlers, school aged & children with special needs. The forum boasts over 350,000 post on a range of topics and over 2,000 registered users. You can be sure to find many answers to questions you have about the prem journey, if not we encourage you to join as there are many families who would like to offer you a sympathetic shoulder.

We look forward to you sharing your prems journey with us.

Join Now

We are pleased to provide a forum for sharing, and remind everyone that the viewpoints, opinions and actions expressed here are those of the individuals themselves, and may not reflect L’il Aussie Prems policies or positions. Information on this site does not take the place of guidance from your health care provider. Always verify information with your health care provider before taking action.

In 2013, L’il Aussie Prems Foundation will use part of the proceeds from the sale of our green wristbands and part of the funds received from our event fundraising to provide equipment direct to the nurseries of 2 x Neonatal and 2 x Special Care Nurseries in Australia.

The 2013 hospital recipient’s are listed below;

Ipswich Base Hospital (SCN)
Monash Medical Centre (NICU)
Ballarat Base Hospital (SCN)
Royal Brisbane Woman’s Hospital (NICU)

There are over 60 hospitals in Australia that care for premature and sick newborns in their NICU or SCN.  Each year 4 new hospitals will be chosen so that over time, all of these special nurseries will be supported through our fundraising efforts.

If you wish to help support the wonderful hospitals listed for 2013, please visit our online shop and purchase a band in support of our Wear Green for Premmies event on Wednesday 3rd April 2013.

If you would like to fundraise for our upcoming event, you can create an individual page for your family, create a team and have fun with seeing how much green you can wear on the day or simply support a friend.

Please visit our fundraising page to get started.

Please join our event and help spread the word to your family and friends.

Listed below are the charities and causes that we have donated proceeds from the sale of our wristbands to from our events in 2011 and 2012.

2011 – each received a donation of between $400 – $500 each

Yasminah’s Gift of Hope
Sewing Mummy
Backpacks 4 Aussie Kids
Heartfelt
C.H.I.L.D

2012 – each received a donation of $500 each

Scope
Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank
King Edward Memorial Hospital PREM Bank
Mother’s Milk Bank – RBWH
Heartkids

3^rd February 2013

Last year saw the phenomenal success of the annual ‘Wear Green for Premmies’ day, an event hosted by the L’il Aussie Prems Foundation and organisers are looking forward to this year’s fundraiser and hope to repeat that success again on Wednesday 3rd April 2013.

Wear Green for Premmies is a day where thousands of people in Australia and around the world wear green clothing or purchase wristbands to show their support and raise awareness of the trials and hardships of premature babies and their families.

Over the past two years, members and their families have joined in the celebration with photos being posted on the event’s page to show a sea of green in support of all children born too soon. Last year saw thousands of Facebook participants including eight hospitals and many businesses showing their support.

L’il Aussie Prems Foundation’s President and Founder Ms Julia Toivonen said the event is a truly momentous day each year.

“We have gained so much support for our event over the years, it is just phenomenal. So many of us know someone who has been touched by prematurity, this event is such a simple way for all of us to recognise the personal and unique journey that each family is faced with after giving birth prematurely” she said.

“It shows that people are enthusiastic about recognising the issue and social media is allowing the topic to hit mainstream interest.”

Part of the proceeds from wristband sales from the past two years of celebrations has been equally distributed to charities and causes all over the country but this year proceeds will be used to purchase items and are being donated directly to 2 Special Care Nurseries and 2 Neonatal Intensive Care Units all for the benefit of affected families. Participants don’t have to attend a physical event, but are invited to sign up to the Facebook event and encourage family and friends to wear green, purchase a wristband and fundraise online directly to support the cause.

Now entering into its third year of celebrations, the event and website has grown well beyond the expectations of Ms Toivonen who started the support website in 2007 after the premature birth of her first son at 27 weeks gestation. Ms Toivonen built the online support group as a way to reach out to new parents but also for her own family to gain support from others who had travelled a similar journey.

In late 2012, a committee was formed and the website soon became a registered not-for-profit charity. The committee comprises of parents themselves who are all long time members of the online community. The website and forum has blossomed over the past six years into Australia’s largest online community and forum for families with prematurely born children and sick newborns.

For photo opportunities with families in your state or further information:

Nicole Powell, Vice President (Communications)
nicole@lilaussieprems.com.au

This area is dedicated to families with premature babies currently in the hospital and seperated as per each babies gestation when born.

If you would like to submit photos of your premature baby please fill out the following form.

Parents of twins, triplets or more please use this form.

Created – April 2010

Please use the following form if you wish to submit photos of your premature children.

Name: James 
Gestation Born: 35 weeks
Birth Weight: 2780 grams
Age Now: 5 years old
State: NSW

How do you think as a parent, you will feel watching your child starting primary school on their first day? Nervous, worried and excited!

Was your child deferred from starting primary school? He technically could have gone this year as he was born 5 days before the cutoff, but we decided to wait as we didn’t feel he was ready.

How do you think they will transition into primary school? He is a little shy and nervous but very excited!

Did your child have any transition days with their new school prior to starting in 2013? Yes he went for 5 x Wednesdays in a row from 9-10:30am.

Have there been any areas of concern prior to starting school regarding their education or learning skills? Separation anxiety.

Is your child excited about starting primary school? Yes, very excited!

Have they tried on their uniform yet? Yes, as soon as we got home from the shop.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? He played his first season of soccer and developed so much confidence. He even scored a goal!

Does your child have special needs? If so, explain about their needs & what support has been provided. No

Do you have any tips on how to support your child prior to starting primary school? Be supportive, encouraging, reassuring and make sure that he feels safe and comfortable.

Please click on the image below if you would like to submit your child’s details.

In 2011 & 2012, we saw thousands of people join us via our Facebook event by wearing something green. Literally thousands of photos were posted of families & friends wearing a sea of green including supporters wearing our green premmie wrist bands which are available via our website. With the amazing support from all of you in 2011 & 2012, up to $5,000 has been donated to ten different charities and causes. We will be supporting further causes again in 2013.

Wednesday 3rd of April 2013 is a day to celebrate all the precious children born early. You do not have to “attend” an event on the day all we ask is that you “wear” something green whether it is to work, school etc.. Examples are a green hat, scarf, pants, t-shirt, wrist band, lanyard, nail polish or even just a scrunchy.

Photos from our 2011 event

Premmie events, morning teas & celebrations take place throughout the month of November in Australia. Please visit the National Premmie Foundation’s website for further details www.prembaby.org.au. We are a proud member group of the Foundation.

We look forward to celebrating with all our wonderful LAP families, friends & supporters.

You can purchase our wristbands at the following online stores.

Thank you to the wonderful businesses & organisations who support our event in 2013.

Your Cheeky Monkey

]]> http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/wear-green-for-premmies-2013/feed/ 0 http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/educating-premmie-children/ http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/educating-premmie-children/#comments Wed, 09 Jan 2013 13:48:08 +0000 trikiron http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/?p=9046 As children grow and flourish with time they must soon start to learn about life through education. This section is dedicated to all children born too soon who have already entered into that big new world.

Each childs journey is unique especially for those children born too soon. Here you will find parents sharing the journey of their child from that first day of school, how they settled into the new routine, if they have special needs, what support was provided all the way to some achieving further life skills at university, tafe or in the working field. Many of us as parents have questions and are sometimes concerned about the integration into school life for our premmies. We hope that this new area will offer advice, provide support and give you inspiration for the years ahead.

We welcome all families to submit their childs details via our online submission forms below.

Created July 2012

Created – January 2009

If you wish to become a “Premmie Parent of the Moment” please submit your details here

Click on the images below to view each parents stories

If you wish to become a “Premmie Parent of the Moment” please submit your details here

Help assist us in expanding our important and community focused support for the thousands of families who have given birth prematurely every year. You may have had a premature baby yourself or know someone who has. For anyone who has experienced this rollercoaster ride, they will know how frightening and isolating it can feel when your baby is born too soon, this is where our parent focused community offers the lifeline that many families need.

From the donations we receive, we are able to help thousands of families through:

Personalised premmie birth announcement cards
Providing a free informative web site available to access 24/7
Access and encouragement for family involvement to share their journey
Provide a safe and secure online community forum
Additional support through our Facebook page
Live online chats with professionals on specific topics relevant to preterm birth
Electronic monthly e-newsletters
Printing the Premmie Gift of Hope Journals donated direct to families and hospitals
Donating vital equipment to hospitals throughout Australia
Providing financial support to families
Running our Melbourne East based “Knox Premmies” playgroup
Encouragement for family involvement in relevant research projects
24 hour phone line (1300 666 329)
Development of new online projects
Wear Green for Premmies social event held in April each year
Recognizing the selfless Australian’s who volunteer their time to support premmie families through our Premmie Hero Awards each year

As our organizations services are highly focused through online support, our committee members are volunteers who mostly work from their own homes. When you donate to our charity, you can be assured that most of your donation will not go towards high administration costs however they may support a small portion in helping to run our organization.

Donations made to L’il Aussie Prems Foundation Inc over $2.00 are tax deductible.
ABN: 42 701 326 952.

Make an online donation

Please note: All online donations are processed through the Mycause website.

Fundraising

If you would like to join an event, create a challenge, celebrate a birthday and much more….. your efforts can support our Foundation, please visit the Mycause website and start fundraising today!

Donate to us by mail

Donations can be sent direct to;

L’il Aussie Prems Foundation
PO Box 5548
Studfield VIC 3152

Make a donation via bank deposit/transfer

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We thank you for your kind donation.

Parent Testimonial

L’il Aussie Prems is my “mothers group”. When I came home with the boys I was alone , isolated and scared. I stumbled across L’il Aussie Prems. I have found that the mums all helped me feel welcome & normal. I was no longer isolated as a new mum. It is also the one place where milestones mean so much, even the small milestones. I can get excited about little things and not feel silly sharing them with you guys.Jules, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for creating a forum that reaches out & connects so many. I am proud to be a community member.

Jenny & twins Thomas & Alexander (born at 24 weeks) – VIC

We encourage parents, grandparents, friends and relatives to submit a birth announcement. You are welcome to add any additional information in your announcement and we all look forward to celebrating with you.

Click on the images to view each premature babies birth within that year. With every announcement, a single sided  “congratulations” photo card is sent to you in the mail. Great for scrapbooks or as a keepsake.

Created – November 2008

If you wish to submit your premature babies birth announcement please go to our submission form

Parent’s Name(s): Shane & Victoria
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jaxson Peter
D.O.B: 28/01/2013
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 32 weeks
Weight: 1.86kgs
Length:
Hospital Where Born: RPA
Age Now: 2 weeks 6 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Shane and Victoria are proud to introduce Jaxson, early but strong.

Parent’s Name(s): Tina & Aaron
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Abel Xander
D.O.B: 06/02/2013
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Vic
Gestation: 34 weeks 2 days
Weight: 1.79kg
Length: 38cm
Hospital Where Born: Geelong
Age Now: 24 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Tina & Aaron are proud to announce the safe arrival of Abel Xander on 06/02/2013
Weighing 3 pounds 15oz Our little miracle
Special thanks to the nurses at SCN for their support and help.

Parent’s Name(s): Cassie and Joshua
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Delilah Teliah May
D.O.B: 21/02/2013
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NT
Gestation: 27 weeks
Weight: 1002 grams
Length: 37cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Darwin Hospital
Age Now: 2 weeks 5 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Cassie and Josh would love to announce the birth of their little angel Delilah Teliah May! She came in to the world 12 weeks premature and is currently in SCN in Darwin. We would like to thank everyone so far for their love and support xoxo

Parent’s Name(s): Elise & Jame’s
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Leeah Harper
D.O.B: 28/02/2013
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: WA
Gestation: 29weeks 3days
Weight: 1450g
Length: 42cm
Hospital Where Born: King Edward’s
Age Now: 4 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our Beautiful baby girl arrived 11 week’s early after my waters broke at 26 weeks. leeah was born by emergency c section. we owe her live to the many amazing doctor’s and nurses at King edward’s.  She’s still in the nicu hoping to have her home soon.

Parent’s Name(s): Salvatore & Justine
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Isabella Venezia
D.O.B: 22/02/13
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation:
Weight: 2.06kg
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Hospital
Age Now: 10wks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Salvatore, Justine & big brothers Nicolas, Lucas & James are very proud to announce the very early yet safe arrival of our special little girl / sister. Special thanks to all the SCN nurses @ Royal Womens & Werribee Mercy for all there support on our journey at the SCN.

If you wish to submit your premature babies birth announcement please go to our submission form or visit our birth announcements

We worked together for 12 months to create these journals for parents to record their babies journey whilst they are on the roller-coaster ride after giving birth prematurely. Our journals are specifically designed to be placed inside the pocket of your child’s record book given to you at the hospital.

Included in the Premmie Gift Of Hope Journal is;

• A5 size x 48 page full colour journal
• Helpful articles relating to premature birth
• Special page to record details of your child’s birth
• Pages for hand and foot prints
• Pages to add photos taken along your journey

Our Premmie Gift Of Hope Journals are donated to families currently in hospital with their babies. If you are a parent and would like one of our journals, please email jenny@lilaussieprems.com.au with the following details.

Please note: To receive a journal your baby MUST be currently receiving treatment in an Australian hospital.

Parent(s) Name(s):
Postal Address:
Baby’s Name:
Baby’s DOB:
Baby’s Sex:
Gestation Born:
Weight:
Hospital Born:
Current Hospital: (leave blank if same as above)

Hospital Professionals -  The Premmie Gift of Hope journals are donated and distributed directly to nurseries throughout Australia by Yasminah’s Gift of Hope. Please contact Yasminah’s Gift of Hope on 1300 779 242 or email contact@ygoh.org.au should you wish to arrange distribution within your hospital.

You are also welcome to purchase a Premmie Gift Of Hope for your own little miracle as a unique keepsake via our online store. All journals purchased through us - 100% is donated towards the printing of further journals. Whilst you enjoy your keepsake, you will be supporting other premmie families!

We hope that our joint gift will become a treasured keepsake of the precious time their child spent in hospital. The families who receive the journals will be so touched knowing that their journal has been supported by amazing premmies who have been on the same journey and the special premmie angels who fought so hard.

Help us to give these families hope, light, love and happiness whilst they follow the same path that many of us have personally experienced.

The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare’s Australia’s Mothers and Babies report provides up-to-date information on women who have given birth in Australia. The results in 2010, show that 8.3% of babies were born preterm (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) in Australia. This equates to approximately 25,000 babies each year.

According to the report, of all premature babies born in Australia a small portion of mothers gave birth at 20–27 weeks (0.8%) and 28–31 weeks (0.8%), while 6.6% gave birth at 32–36 weeks.

There are many factors which will determine your premature babies chances for survival. Here are just a few very important factors:

• Gestational age at birth (number of completed weeks of pregnancy)
• The weight of the baby
• Indications of breathing problems or not
• Severe medical complications such as infections
• The presence or absence of congenital abnormalities or malformations
• The baby’s condition at birth
• Multiple pregnancy
• Antenatal steroids
• Birth at a hospital that offers specialised neonatal care

Extremely preterm (<28 weeks)
Very preterm (28 to <32 weeks)
Moderate to late preterm (32 to <37 weeks)

‘Low’ birth weight at birth: Weighs less than 2,500 grams
‘Very low’ birth weight at birth : Weighs less than 1,500 grams
‘Extremely low’ birth weight at birth: Weighs less than 1,000 grams

Other factors may influence survival by altering the rate of organ maturation or by changing the supply of oxygen to the developing fetus.

Rupture of the fetal membranes before 24 weeks of gestation with loss of amniotic fluid markedly decreases the baby’s chances of survival even if the baby is delivered much later.

Male infants are slightly less mature and have a slightly higher risk of dying than female infants.

For a given weight, African-American babies have a slightly better survival than Caucasian; most other races are intermediate between the two

Severe high blood pressure before the 8th month of pregnancy may cause changes in the placenta, decreasing the delivery of nutrients and/or oxygen to the developing fetus and leading to problems before and after delivery.

Each situation is different, each baby is different.  Your baby will be fighting to survive but their doctor will be able to give you the best estimate of your baby’s chances.

For further information about a premature babies outcome by their gestational age when born, please visit Preemiehelp.com.

Sources

Li Z, Zeki R, Hilder L & Sullivan EA 2012. Australia’s mothers and babies 2010. Perinatal statistics series no. 27. Cat. no. PER 57. Canberra: AIHW National Perinatal Epidemiology and Statistics Unit. www.aihw.gov.au/WorkArea/DownloadAsset.aspx?id=60129542372

Information compiled from Meriter Health
Table source – NSW Neonatal Intensive Care Study (NICUS) data for 2001 – 2004
WHO Fact Sheet www.who.int

The subject matter provided in these articles is strictly for informational purposes alone and should never be used in the place of a doctor’s advice. Please ALWAYS contact your doctor if you ever have questions or need advice in any area where medical advice is needed or medication is suggested.

The ribbon in the form of a lapel pin was launched in November 2012 as part of the World Prematurity Day celebrations.

Parents of premature infants may experience an enormous amount of trauma, stress and grief as they deal with the prolonged hospitalised of their child and the on-going health concerns and problems associated with their child’s early arrival. In addition to the emotional stress many families face logistical and financial difficulties, especially with regard to accommodation, child care and transport.

The ribbon has been designed to honour the thousands of babies born too soon in Australia each year and their struggle to survive. The colours of the ribbon represent the members of the National Premmie Foundation (Preterm Infants Parents Association, Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, L’il Aussie Prems Foundation, Loddon Mallee Kids and Yasminah’s Gift of Hope) who all work to provide support to parents of babies born early. The little feet on the ribbon symbolises the journey and of course the tiny size of the prem baby when born. The colour purple has long been used in Australia and elsewhere to represent premature birth.

When you buy a Premature Birth Awareness Ribbon you will help the parent associations to keep up their important work of providing support to affected families.

If you are a prem parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle etc buy a ribbon to honour the struggle of your tiny family member. Wear it visibly and explain to anyone who asks what it stands for.

You can purchase the awareness ribbon via the National Premmie Foundation’s online store.

“Premmie Hero”

An individual who volunteers their time supporting families of premature babies & children in Australia?

Nominations open mid 2013

(Nominees do not need to have any premature children of their own)

Please visit our FAQ’s page

Every year in Australia, thousands of babies are born prematurely. Their families ride a rollercoaster of emotions as they watch their children fight to overcome the health and developmental issues facing them as a result of their early arrival. These issues continue long after the babies are discharged from hospital.

Our Premmie Hero awards are an Australian first in recognising and celebrating the dedication of individual volunteers within the premature baby community. The awards were created by parents in our community in 2009 as a way to pay tribute and thank the amazing Australian’s who volunteer their time supporting families like our own after the premature birth of our children.

L’il Aussie Prems will be seeking nominations from around Australia of “premmie heroes” – the ordinary yet extraordinary people who give up their time to volunteer & support the families of premature babies both during their hospital stay and afterwards, doing everything from sewing tiny clothing for very low birth weight babies to setting up local playgroups for prematurely born children, fundraising for charities to continue their amazing work, funding research into the causes of premature birth or even simply visiting families in hospital and offering a shoulder to lean on. The list is endless.

If you know someone special who helps to the make the journey easier for the many families in the premature community nominate them in 2013!

____________________

L’il Aussie Prems Foundation has partnered with the Australian-developed Look@MyBaby solution which offers parents a private and secure live video “virtual baby visit” on site at hospitals and online via computers, mobile smart phones and iPads.

Look@MyBaby allows parents to continue bonding with their baby in special care/NICU when they cannot be in hospital and provides a means for other family members not permitted in the nursery to meet the new baby. One of the most difficult things for parents to deal with in a premmie baby situation is the separation from their newborn.

It is not possible for parents to be present physically in the hospital nursery with their baby 24/7. Life must go on with other demands at home and work, and the needs of other siblings have to be met.

Look@MyBaby and their partner hospitals offer a solution to assist families at this difficult time in their lives.

• Peace of mind for parents when new baby requires special care in hospital
• Siblings bond with the new baby from home
• Assists mother’s let-down reflex
• Online Guestbook to record real-time support and memories

Availability
Look@MyBaby is only available in select maternity hospitals across the country. Please check here for the current hospital list.

If your hospital is not listed, please contact the L@MB Concierge staff and they will assist you personally with what options may be available to you.

Family Stories
To learn how other families have benefited from Look@MyBaby, you can read some stories & testimonial via their blog.

Hear the latest from Look@MyBaby on their L@MB facebook page and watch television news reports via their website.

Bookings
To book the service at your hospital please visit their websites booking page.

Each hospital has different protocols for the use of Look@MyBaby. The Look@MyBaby Concierge staff will be able to help you.

Support Gift

If you would like to offer Look@MyBaby as a unique and wonderful support gift for family or friends you know with a baby in special care, you can book the service here and Look@MyBaby Concierge staff will take care of things directly:

Contact and Queries

We have set-up a dedicated section on our forum for discussions where Look@MyBaby Concierge staff will answer any general queries you have about the service.

You can also contact Look@MyBaby more personally in regards your individual needs at  support@lookatmybaby.net or call 1300 526 222.

We have been working together for the past 12 months to create these journals for parents to record their babies journey whilst they are on the rollercoaster ride of birth prematurely. Our journals are specifically designed to be placed inside the pocket of your child’s record book given to you at the hospital.

Included in the Premmie Gift Of Hope Journal is;

• 48 page full colour  journal
• Helpful articles relating to premature birth
• Special page to record details of your child’s birth
• Pages for hand and foot prints
• Pages to add photos taken along your journey

Our Premmie Gift Of Hope Journals are donated free to families currently in hospital with their babies. If you are a parent of know a family who would like one of our journals, please email jenny@lilaussieprems.com.au with the following details.

Name:
Parent/s Name:
Postal Address:
Baby’s Name:
Baby’s DOB:
Gestation Born:
Current Hospital:

You are also welcome to purchase a Premmie Gift Of Hope for your own little miracle as a unique keepsake via our online store. All journals purchased through us - 100% is donated towards the printing of further journals. Whilst you enjoy your keepsake, you will be supporting other premmie families!

Help us to give these families hope, light, love and happiness whilst they follow the same path that many of us have personally experienced.

We hope that our Gift will become a treasured keepsake of the precious time their child spent in hospital. The families who receive the journals will be so touched knowing that their journal has been sponsored by amazing premmies who have been on the same journey and the special premmie angels who fought so hard.

The Fitness to Fly study will help them to understand how ex-premature infants respond to and cope with the lower levels of oxygen during air travel. To do this they need your help! They are looking for ex-premature infants:

• born < 35 weeks gestation
• currently aged between 1 to 12 months corrected
• flying within Australia
• and will be in Perth to participate in the study

Please call the PMH Respiratory department on 08 93408990 or email uwaflightstudy@gmail.com and ask about the fitness to fly study.

Further Information

Background and purpose of the study?
Each year many infants born prematurely travel vast distances to return home after treatment at KEMH or PMH or for holiday travel. Although air travel for these journeys is convenient it exposes babies to reduced oxygen levels on the aircraft. Normal air that we all breathe contains 21% oxygen, while aeroplanes travelling at high altitude are pressurised to provide the equivalent 15% oxygen only. Whilst for most of us this is well tolerated, the precise effect on babies, particularly those born premature, of this reduced oxygen level has not been scientifically evaluated. This study will investigate that question, together with the accuracy of pre-flight “safe to fly” testing, called a Hypoxia test. The hypoxia test is widely used in infants, children and adults, however it is not known if it is an accurate predictor of needing oxygen to fly or of not needing oxygen to fly in infants following their discharge from hospital.

Who is being asked to take part in this study?
We are asking all parents with babies aged 1 to 12 months corrected and born prematurely (less than 35 completed weeks gestation age) who are undertaking air travel to attend outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel to participate. Babies born at term (> 37 completed weeks gestation) and aged 1 to 12 months and undertaking travel for outpatient clinics at PMH or KEMH or for personal holiday travel are also being asked to participate as a healthy, term control group.

What will happen in the study?
Prior to air travel: In this study we will test (using a hypoxia test) for any potential decrease in oxygen saturation that might occur when your baby is exposed to 15% oxygen during a flight. The hypoxia test is performed by having your baby breathe a mixture of 14% oxygen via a face mask, during which time your baby will have continuous saturation monitoring. In ex-premature infants, if the saturation falls to less than 85% during the test, additional oxygen will be administered through nasal cannulas whilst still applying 14% oxygen. Oxygen will then be titrated to maintain oxygen saturation above 94% so that we can determine the amount of oxygen that your baby should receive during their flight. The test takes 30 minutes to complete.
You will be provided the results of the hypoxia test including its implications and limitations. This is the current standard of practice in the department for clinically referred patients for hypoxia testing.

Irrespective of the results of the hypoxia test we will train you in the use of supplemental oxygen during the flight. The use of oxygen in-flight is common in premature infants undertaking air travel and can be easily managed by parents. While we believe that air travel without supplemental oxygen is safe in premature infants this has not been scientifically studied. We will provide you with an air travel pack that includes an oxygen cylinder, regulator and nasal prongs. We will also provide you with small oxygen saturation monitor (the size of a large wrist watch) for use during the flight.

In Flight: During flight the oxygen saturation monitor will continuously monitor heart rate and oxygen saturation levels of your baby. If your baby desaturates on the flight below 85% for 2 minutes, or less than 75% for one minute, we will ask you to commence the supplemental oxygen therapy at the flow determined by us at your pre-flight visit. We will also ask you to record take off and landing times as well as your impression of the baby’s behaviour (awake, asleep, feeding and crying).
We will arrange to contact you after your first flight and depending on your flight arrangements the same procedure will be used for your return flight.

Potential risks and/or side effects
The hypoxia test as we apply it mimics the environment encountered by your baby during flight and is considered a safe test. Your baby will be closely monitored during the test and if any signs of hypoxia noted then supplemental oxygen will be commenced. This test is standard practice at PMH and confirms with international guidelines.
It is possible even if your baby passes the hypoxia test that during flight your baby may exhibit lowered oxygen saturation or other signs of clinical hypoxia. We will provide you with an oxygen saturation monitor and a small oxygen cylinder and you will be trained in their use. To date there are no reports of side effects or adverse advents in infants who have under taken air travel with supplemental oxygen.

Voluntary participation
This study does not involve any needles or any additional procedures other than described above. Participation in the study is completely voluntary and you may withdraw from the study at any time, without any effect on any future care your child may require. The results of this study may be published; however neither your child nor family will be identified in any way.

Consent
If you agree to take part, you will be asked to sign a Study Consent Form. This is a standard form, based on one developed by the Ethics Committee at PMH, and it will be witnessed by one of the Study staff. You should only sign the consent form once you are satisfied that you have read and understood the information leaflet and that any questions you have asked have been answered to your satisfaction. It does not take away any of your normal legal rights. The Princess Margaret Hospitals Ethics Committee has approved this study and the confidentiality of all participants is assured.

Complaints
If you have any complaints about any aspect of the study you can contact the Executive Director Medical Services of PMH on 9340 2222

Further information and contacts
If you have any questions about this study that and you would like further information or you have any concerns now or at any time about the study, please contact Maureen Verheggen on 9340 8987.

If you wish to share your premature baby photos in the gallery please use our online form

The rate of preterm birth is increasing and yet the general public knows little about the prevention of preterm birth and the problems and risks involved in the development of a preterm infant. So we want you to join the campaign to raise awareness of the issues these vulnerable newborns and their families face.

The National Premmie Foundation is a founding member of the World Prematurity Network. This means they have joined together with March of Dimes (USA), The European Foundation for the Care of Newborn Infants (Europe), LittleBigSoul (Africa), Bliss (UK) and Home for Premature Infants (China) to raise awareness and change the lives of babies born too soon everywhere.

How you can get involved

The National Premmie Foundation are asking people throughout Australia to get behind World Prematurity Day.

In 2011, the Empire State Building was lit up purple and it will do so again in 2012 with other buildings from around the world. This year in Australia, the Questacon building in Canberra, is lighting up purple. You can be a part of the “Light it up Purple” campaign in Australia by purchasing a National Premmie Foundation candle and lighting it at 7pm in your own home.

To participate

• Visit and become a fan of the Foundation’s Facebook page

• Change your profile picture on Facebook (the images are available here)

• Purchase your very own National Premmie Foundation candle via their online store

• Visit their Facebook event page and click “Join” add address

• Join the official World Prematurity Day Facebook page and add your story

• Light your candle on the 17th November 2012 @ 7pm; take a photo of you and your family with the candle and post it on the NPF Facebook event page and the official World Prematurity Facebook page.

• Make a donation online so that the National Premmie Foundation can continue its important work or simply in honour of someone whose life has been touched by a preterm birth.

Spread the word

The National Premmie Foundation invites everyone to help spread the word about the 17th November 2012. You can update your Facebook profile image and even your cover photo, place a WPD banner on your website or blog (linking to www.prembaby.org.au), share the link to the online store so your family and friends can purchase a candle and join in celebrating the day.

L’il Aussie Prems Foundation encourages you to join the National Premmie Foundation and it’s member groups – Loddon Mallee Kids, Life’s Little Treasures Foundation, Preterm Infant’s Parent’s Association, L’il Aussie Prems Foundation and Yasminah’s Gift of Hope on Saturday the 17^th November 2012. Let’s make some noise, unite together and be the voice for all the children born too soon in Australia.

L’il Aussie Prems Foundation is a proud member group of the National Premmie Foundation.

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Meet Our Patron

Lucy Holmes
(Entertainer, Singer, Radio Announcer)

Lucy Holmes has had a huge career in the entertainment industry in Australia and around the globe.

Lucy has worked as a television host on Channel 9 with game show The Mint and can be seen regularly on shows such as Channel 7’s The Morning Show, as the face of Australian companies such as Clark Rubber.

Lucy works as a professional singer and has backed artists like Florence and The Machine, Delta Goodrem and James Morrison. As an actress, she has been seen on TV shows such as the mini-series Paper Giants 2, and is also known as a voiceover artist, model and currently a breakfast radio host. Lucy can be heard every morning on 89.9 LightFM in Melbourne as part of the hit show – ‘It’s a Good Morning With Ken and Lucy’.

Lucy is perhaps most well known as being the most successful Kylie Minogue impersonator around the world, starring in the international hit show, 100% Kylie. The show has the support of Kylie Minogue herself who calls Lucy the “best Kylie act on the planet”. The show has toured the globe for ten years, and has sold out shows in over 15 countries.

A few of Lucy’s closest friends have been through the emotional rollercoaster of delivering their children prematurely, giving Lucy a heart for this topic. Lucy first heard about L’il Aussie Prems & the support the website provided to families after an interview with Julia, on her breakfast radio show in 2009. Lucy has remained a firm friend of our Foundation in what she calls ‘a vital organisation, supporting wonderful Aussie families and babies’.

Follow Lucy on 89.9 LightFM’s Facebook page or direct via Twitter.

Visit www.100percentkylie.com

Meet Our Patrons

Luke & Susie Holt
(Radio Announcer, Author, Parents)

Luke and Susie Holt are the parents of three young boys, Tyson (3) and twins Toby and Royden (1). Susie is a stay-at-home mum with their three sons, is an author and previously worked in the radio industry. Luke is the Breakfast Announcer and Program Director of Juice 107.3 on the Gold Coast. He previously worked in the same role at 89.9 LightFM in Melbourne.

It was in his role in Melbourne where he first came into contact with the work of L’il Aussie Prems through a radio interview. This became an invaluable contact when, in 2011, Luke and Susie were faced with their newborn twins being in NICU after they were born prematurely. As such, Luke and Susie are delighted to be patrons of L’il Aussie Prems Foundation and their crucial work to support families through a tumultuous, uncertain and emotional period.

Follow Luke on Juice 107.3FM’s Facebook page or via Twitter where you can chat directly to Luke & Susie.

Meet Our Patron

Dr Carly Molloy
(Clinical Researcher, Co-founder of Preemiehelp.com)

Carly Molloy is a PhD graduate and Clinical Researcher specialising in infants born preterm.

Motivated by the realisation that many parents feel isolated and unsupported, she co-founded the web-based information resource called preemiehelp.com. Carly currently works at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute in Melbourne and is working on projects in assessing visual processing, brain behaviour relationships, and social skills in preterm born children.  Carly has dedicated her life to greater understanding the outcomes, impacts and conditions of premature birth.

Carly is now sharing her 15 years of experience and has written two premmie reference guides; “The Complete Premmie Guide to: Surviving the NICU” and “The Complete Premmie Guide to: Premmie Development.” The aim of both guides was to produce easy-to-understand information in a format that is easy to follow.

Having seen first-hand the challenges faced by many families of preterm infants, Carly looks forward to being a Patron and working closely with L’il Aussie Prems Foundation in providing vital information and encouraging research to help better support families.

You can see Luke, Lucy, Julia & Shane Crawford on channel 9′s finance show, Money for Jam, which aired in October 2009. Since this video was aired, big changes have happened and L’il Aussie Prems is now a registered charity.

Parents Names: Dolina and Jason
Hospital where your baby was born: Royal Darwin Hospital
State: NT
Premmie Baby’s name(s): Xander
Premmie Baby’s year of birth(s):
Length of stay: 2010
Baby’s gestation: 24 days
Your thank you message: Dear everyone at the SCN, Thankyou so much for your love and care of not only our son Xander, but also of us too. We could not of done it without you guys. Xander is at home, happy, putting on weight and meeting milestones.
Thanks again.

If you would like to submit a thank you message to your hospital please fill out our submission form.

With each of us playing an important committee role, we wish the Foundation to be every bit the success that the site has been over the years and share the same passion in seeing this continue.

Meet Our Committee

Julia Toivonen ~ President & Founder

Julia founded and created L’il Aussie Prems in February 2007 further to her first pregnancy, which resulted in an extremely early delivery. Although not due until June, she gave birth to her first and eldest son Ronan at 27 weeks gestation, due to a placental abruption in March 2006 at Monash Medical Center in Victoria.

Ronan experienced a lengthy stay in the NICU and has developmental delays. He has worked very hard to catch up and has grown into a healthy 7 year old currently enjoying his second year of school. Julia credits the invaluable professional assistance and unlimited family support offered to them which ensured Ronan met milestones and the opportunity to thrive.

Like all good things, L’il Aussie Prems evolved from the need to talk to other parents who could understand the journey. Julia met with Nicole, another premmie mum and together they exchanged ideas on starting an online community. A few days later the website was in development. Julia has single-handedly developed, maintained and kept the L’il Aussie Prems website online since its inception in 2007, while additionally creating and coordinating events such as Wear Green for Premmies and the Premmie Hero Awards. The members have been instrumental in the success of the website, with many volunteering their time to support Julia who is grateful for their dedication to the community.

However, she is not only the driving force behind the success of L’il Aussie Prems, she has also played an integral part, as a founding committee member, in setting up the National Premmie Foundation in 2007, and is currently their Vice President of Communications. She was also a committee member for Life’s Little Treasures Foundation for a number of years.

She is no stranger to the premmie community, pouring her heart and soul into it which is continually recognised as she continues to be nominated for community awards, such as the `Local Hero` award which she won in 2008 from her local council. Julia is modest and is humbled by this along with the support both LAPF and her own family have received from the community that she supports.

Julia looks forward to the next journey that L’il Aussie Prems Foundation will take in continuing to support families with the same understanding and open arms that the community provided to her family.

Julia resides in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs with her husband and is a mum to three young children.

Email: president@lilaussieprems.com.au

Nicole Powell ~ Vice President

Nicole is a busy mum of 3 young boys. She gave birth to her first son, Nixon in April 2006 at 33 weeks at the Mercy Women’s Hospital in Heidelberg, Melbourne after PPROM at 32 weeks.

Living  in Melbourne at the time but originally from Sydney, Nicole found herself looking for some extra support as being a first time mum had its challenges but also a having premmie left many questions unanswered.

Nicole was one of the first ever members to join L’il Aussie Prems and has been a part of the online community ever since. “I have seen the community grow from just 2 members to over 2,000 members. It certainly highlights that support for families of sick or prematurely born children is needed. The community offers understanding from pregnancy, birth and the many years beyond ”, said Nicole.

Nixon had a rough start to life and attended over 3 years of early intervention for speech therapy, occupational therapy and behavioral psychology. Without the hours upon hours of therapies, Nixon’s outlook may be very different to what it is today. He is now a bright 6 year old boy who started kindergarten in 2012.

Nicole is excited to have been given the opportunity to be a part of the L’il Aussie Prems Foundation committee. She is eager to provide further support and to be a guiding hand in expanding the online services that the Foundation currently provides.

Nicole currently resides in the Southern suburbs of Sydney.

Email: vpcommunications@lilaussieprems.com.au

Jenny Bradley ~ Secretary

Jenny gave birth to her first children, twin boys at 24.4 weeks gestation, due to PPROM and a severe infection at Melbourne’s Royal Women’s Hospital in April 2007 . Thomas was born first weighing 630 grams and came home after 255 days in hospital. Alexander was born second weighing 546 grams and came home after 132 days in hospital.

Jenny first became a member of L’il Aussie Prems when she was home with her twins.  The support offered by L’il Aussie Prems, was invaluable to Jenny as she raised her two sons, both with developmental delays.  Jenny offered her assistance to Julia 2 years ago to help update the website, which she still does today.

Jenny is extremely passionate about supporting families of premature babies. Jenny knows that having someone to speak with, who understands is invaluable and is well aware of the many difficulties faced by parents in hospital and once they get home.

She has volunteered her time with other groups such as Life’s Little Treasures Foundation and was honored to be asked to become the secretary of the new look L’il Aussie Prems Foundation. Jenny looks forward to watching L’il Aussie Prems Foundation continue to grow and make a difference to the premmie community.

Jenny currently resides in the coastal villages in Melbourne’s south east.

Email: secretary@lilaussieprems.com.au

Kalee Henry ~ Treasurer

Kalee is mum to Elijana Bethany, born at 35 weeks gestation at Box Hill Hospital in Melbourne, in 2006.

Elijana arrived without warning and in a big hurry. So, as she had not yet developed her sucking reflex, she spent her first weeks of life in the Special Care Nursery being gavage fed. Additionally, she required oxygen, was jaundice, had an umbilical and inguinal hernia, torticollis, and hip dysplasia. This saw Kalee looking for many answers, much support and quite a lot of hugs and advice… enter L’il Aussie Prems!

Kalee has been affiliated with L’il Aussie Prems since 2007, attending Knox Premmie Playgroup and additionally receiving support from the L’il Aussie Prems supportive network as Elijana finally began corrective surgeries at the Royal Children’s Hospital in 2008.

Kalee is ecstatic that L’il Aussie Prems has grown into the success it has and is looking forward to L’il Aussie Prems Foundation Inc. continuing its successful role as a supportive and informative avenue for premmie families, both online and around the country.

Kalee has an accounting, business, events and management background and has been a member of several other committees, having previously held such Committee roles as Communications Officer, General Member, Fundraiser and Treasurer. She looks forward to offering her services and support to the Foundation in the same capacity that the Foundation supported her and Elijana, and continues to support the many other families it currently does and has over the last 6 years.

Kalee resides in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

Email: treasurer@lilaussieprems.com.au

Carolyn Lindsey ~ Fundraising

Carolyn is a mum to two children; Danielle born at 26 weeks weighing 722 grams in 2007, and Matthew who was born at full term in 2009. Danielle was born early due to Oligohydramnios and spontaneous labour. She spent a long and emotional 149 days in the NICU at Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne. Danielle came home on oxygen which she remained on until she was nearly 12 months old.

Today, Danielle is a happy and healthy 5 year old little girl excitedly preparing to start primary school in 2013. Considering Danielle’s tumultuous start, she has no ongoing health or development issues which continue to amaze her family.

Carolyn became a member of L’il Aussie Prems in mid 2007 and found it to be extremely supportive. Carolyn has made many close friends over the years whom she catches up with regularly. Carolyn started attending the Knox Premmie’s Playgroup a few months after Danielle came home from hospital in 2007, which was where she first met local mums, Julia and Kalee. Carolyn wanted to do more to support families on a larger scale so in 2011, she joined the National Premmie Foundation committee as the website co-ordinator. In mid 2012, Carolyn became the President of the Foundation and continues in this role to date.

Carolyn has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Honours and has worked in the Traffic and Transport field for almost 10 years. Carolyn currently works part time as a Senior Transport and Road Safety Engineer in Local Government.

Carolyn is excited to be apart of the LAPF committee and understands the emotional vulnerability parents are faced with after the premature birth of a child. She brings with her a wealth of knowledge in local Governments and looks forward to playing an integral role in the Foundation moving forward.

Carolyn resides in Melbourne’s south eastern suburbs.

Email: fundraising@lilaussieprems.com.au

Sarah Peatey ~ General Member

Sarah is a busy mum to 5 children with her last 3 children being born prematurely. Hayden was born at 32 weeks in 2006, William born at 30 weeks in 2008 and Thomas born at 28 weeks in 2012. They each spent their NICU/SCN time between the Royal Brisbane Woman’s Hospital and Mackay Base Hospital in Queensland.

Living in remote Central Queensland, Sarah found herself seeking out support from families in similar situations and joined the L’il Aussie Prems forum in mid 2007. The support and friendships she found in the online community has been invaluable throughout the last 6 years. Sarah has spent many years supporting the premmie community and volunteered on the National Premmie Foundation committee for 2 years.

Sarah is currently studying a Bachelor of Nursing and hopes to work closely with premature babies and their families in the near future.

Sarah is thrilled to be a committee member of L’il Aussie Prems Foundation and is looking forward to seeing the foundation continuing to grow.

Sarah currently resides in Central Queensland with her family.

Email: sarah@lilaussieprems.com.au

If you are interested in volunteering for our Foundation, please send an email to our Secretary, Jenny at contactus@lilaussieprems.com.au.

Get to know the other parents in the NICU. I have made very many great friends who helped me through the ups and downs that come with having premature baby. We are still providing support to each other 2 years down the track. Keep a journal of things that happen whilst they are in hospital. It’s ok to cry and let your emotions show the hospital staff are very supportive.

Mum of Jordan and Benjamin born at 24+5 weeks gestation

Talking to other parents certainly does help also joining forums where you can chat at your leisure from home connects you with other families. Take heaps of pictures and either keep a diary or start a blog!

Mum of Ronan born at 27+3 weeks gestation

Look after yourself too so you have the energy to look after your baby. Your baby is looking to you for love and strength and those are the most powerful medicines that you can give to them.

Mum of Rachel born at 24+2 weeks gestation

This is probably one of the most difficult experiences in your life, but try to find balance – easier said than done some days – between the worries and the joys. Don’t miss out on the happiness your amazing baby can bring you right now by stressing too much about the future. Take care of yourself, enjoy every little milestone and find people who will give you the emotional support you need (including other parents of a premature baby) to come to terms with what has happened and start the healing process.

Mum of Talia born at 26+6 weeks gestation

Don’t feel bad if you can’t be at the hospital ALL the time. You need time for you. It is completely exhausting travelling to and from the hospital every day. Take a long bath or get a takeaway. You need to be strong and healthy to take care of your baby when they come home.

Mum to Jade born at 28+1 weeks gestation

I would advise parents to take the time for each other and their other children if they have any. Family is so very important and having some ’space’ to be normal is vital.

Mum of Ava born at 25+6 weeks gestation

Take lots of photos!! Take comparison photo’s with a teddy or something to remind yourself how little they where and how far they have come. Remember to take care of you too… bubs needs you to be healthy.

Mum of Indiana born at 28+1 weeks gestation

Take LOTS of pictures & keep a diary. Stand up for yourself and your baby, don’t let anyone push you around just because they are looking after your baby. Take people up on their offers to help.

Mum to Brendan born at 30+1 weeks gestation

Giving birth to a prem baby is such an unexpected journey, ask the NICU nurses about all the amazing miracles they have seen… this gave me so much hope and you are allowed to cry… you can’t be strong the whole time.

Mum to Charlee-Belle born at 31+4 weeks gestation

It is not easy but it is worth every struggle. You will have ups and downs and many frustrations but the pain will be outweighed by the beautiful boy or girl you have who has struggled so hard to be with you. When times are tough spend a minute looking at your baby or holding your baby and you will know it was worth it. Also get as much support around you as you can. This includes family, friends and through L’il Aussie Prems

Dad to Kai born at 32 weeks gestation

Knowledge is power. Remember statistics are only that…and they are always changing – because our babies change them. Take loads of photos and still record all your “firsts” like first bath, first nappy change etc….

Mum to Harper & Cleo born at 32 weeks gestation

Remember it is your baby, advocate for him/her whenever possible & take tonnes of photos, you will never believe they were so small when they are nearly 10 years old!!!

Mum to Eloise born at 34 weeks gestation

Accept your child for whom they are. Don’t label them with problems just because of their gestational age. Tim at 36 weeks, caused us more dramas than his sister who was born at 32 weeks. Whatever gestation your baby is born at focus on what they achieve, not what they cannot achieve!

Mum to Tim born at 36+3 weeks gestation

Everyone who has had a premmie knows how tough they are, they are just born survivors, but on the other and they are still fragile. To find a balance of knowing how much to push them and shelter them is difficult. With all the developmental issues that comes with prematurity, my advice would be to get out there and be as involved as you can in ‘early intervention programs’, it makes a huge difference. Lots of appointments and alot of extra work was all worth it to see Will in school now thriving.

Mum to Will born at 26+4 weeks gestation

This is the hardest time of your life, once you get through this you can get through anything. Stay strong, do lots kangaroo care as much as possible as it does help you and your baby. Take lots of photos because as it may not seem like it now but the memories do fade as new beautiful memories take over. Take some time to relax and remember you didnt do anything wrong, this was not your fault.

Mum to Azaan born at 26+5 weeks gestation

Being our second prem, we had a little insight into what we were in for, but every baby is different. We went into this with the same positive determination we held with our first. Having a toddler being separated from Mummy most of the time was very hard, we tried to include her in everything, make sure she was a part of the whole journey whenever possible. Goodbyes were always the hardest thing, leaving our little tiny babe behind every night, but we always tried to say goodbye with a smile. The little ones are less likely to be very upset if you have a smile, they know that all must be ok, I know you love me, you aren’t really sad so I will try not to be. We still apply that to everyday.

Mum to Zach born at 34 weeks gestation

Make sure you continue to be pushy for answers, I found doctors left a lot out of you didn’t ask the questions.

Mum to Saxon born at 34 weeks gestation

Talk to other parents in the NICU, everyone is going through the highs and lows of having a premature baby and the support of someone who knows the hurdles and struggles of the hospital journey is comforting. They may become a life long friend.

Mum to Nixon born at 33+3 weeks gestation

I know it’s tough but try enjoy every day. Don’t let anyone pressure you about breastfeeding…. At the end of the day bub doesn’t care weather it’s breast or bottle milk so long as he/she is loved by you. Write a short diary entry so those tough days at home later you can read how much you went through and how your bub is lucky to be here.

Mum to Xavier born at 28 weeks gestation

A good friend who had also experienced a premature baby told me to keep thinking about the first birthday! The colour of the balloons..the food all of it! And remember, this is just a stage! A few months from now it will all be a distant memory!

Mum to Indie born at 28+5 weeks gestation

The information & advice from parents above is not intended to replace professional advice in anyway. We hope that it will give you comfort, advice & inspiration from other parents who have been in the NICU/SCN with their premature babies to help you along with your journey.

Click here to submit your prems footprint.

Click here to submit your angel’s footprint.

(twins footprints are left & right prints together)

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]]> http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/premmie-footprints-pg-5/feed/ 0 http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/educating-premmies-preschool-kids/ http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/educating-premmies-preschool-kids/#comments Sun, 15 Jul 2012 06:38:54 +0000 trikiron http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/?p=9135 As children grow and flourish with time they must soon start to learn about life through education. This section is dedicated to all children born prematurely who are currently attending prechool/kindergarten.

Child’s Name: Danielle
Gestation Born: 26+2 Weeks
Birth Weight: 722g
Age Now: 5yrs old
State: Victoria

What year did they start pre-school/homeschool? 2011

How was the transition into pre-school? Transition was smooth as she was doing preschool through the childcare centre that she had already been going to for about 8 months. Which meant the staff and the room etc was familiar to her.

Was your child deferred from starting pre-school for a year? She wasn’t deferred from starting pre-school but we opted for her to do a second year of 4 year old kinder as socially she wasn’t ready for school

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting pre-school on their first day? Was so proud & couldn’t believe how far she had come in a relatively short time

Does your child have special needs? If so, please explain a little about their needs & what support was provided. No she doesn’t

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? There haven’t been any concerns with her education or learning skills just her social and emotional development is a bit behind a lot of kids her age.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? Her ability to pick up new things so quickly. She’s able to write so many things on her own and can tell you so many facts about some topics, like plants, animals

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at pre-school? Chat regularly with them about what they are doing at preschool and continue those topics at home a little bit. Lots of encouragement.

Child’s Name: Hayward
Gestation Born: 27+4 weeks
Birth Weight: 870 grams
Age Now: 5yrs old
State: WA

What year did they start pre-school/homeschool? 2012 kindy

How was the transition into pre-school? He enjoys kindy and tries to make friends but the kids don’t play with him yet. His teacher is awesome. He was now allocated an aid to help him with fine motor activities. With the aid he is participating in so much more activities. He is doing reading eggs with success and makes me so proud

Was your child deferred from starting pre-school for a year? Yes with a great deal of resistance from ed dept

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting pre-school on their first day? I cried seeing him there, to think that he is also here like everyone else

Does your child have special needs? If so, please explain a little about their needs & what support was provided. He has global developmental delay, mild cerebral palsy, APD, SPD and on Autism diagnosis waitlist. The support is with the teachers aid and his teacher has restructured activities for the entire group to help Hayward

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? -

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? -

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at pre-school? I get him to do most things twice. He needs to work twice as hard now. I copy the sheets for cutting etc. and does his reading eggs twice during holiday

Child’s Name: Konur
Gestation Born: 28+4 weeks
Birth Weight: 1320 grams
Age Now: 4 years old
State: NSW

What year did they start pre-school/homeschool? 2011

How was the transition into pre-school? Konur is in childcare 5 days a week and the transition was simply moving from the toddler room to the pre-school room. His CC did orientation starting 2-3 months before his was officially able to move on his 3rd birthday. He coped so well near the end of the orientation period he was “orienting” 3-4 days a week. Since the beginning of 2012 he has been participating in the school readiness program.

Was your child deferred from starting pre-school for a year? No

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting pre-school on their first day? I was nervious when I was told he would start orientation but he had an absolutely fabulous time.

Does your child have special needs? If so, please explain a little about their needs & what support was provided. No

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? We are focusing on his drawing skills and concentrating in group situations.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? He loves choosing his “show and tell” item and asks everyday if its show and tell today. I am so proud that despite his early arrival he has no delays and his development is the same as his non-prem peers.

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at pre-school? Always take the time to talk with your child’s teachers, understand what they are teaching and support that at home.

Every evening have a talk about what happened at “school” that day.

Please click on the image below if you would like to submit your childs details.

Child’s Name: Ronan
Gestation Born: 27+3 weeks
Birth Weight: 1140 grams
Age Now: 6.5 years old
State: Victoria

What year did they start primary school/homeschool? Ronan started primary school in January 2012.

How was the transition into primary school? It was really difficult. I was picking up Ronan from school each day at 1pm because he was struggling to handle everything. He attended 8 transition days at the end of the year prior to starting school but it was still really hard. We slowly integrated him in school throughout the first term and continued the early pickups for about 6 weeks.

Was your child deferred from starting primary school for a year? Yes. We deferred Ronan before he even started preschool. He was not emotionally ready at the time and had delays in language and fine motor skills.

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting primary school on their first day? I think because we had overcome so many hurdles and achievements throughout his life already & whilst it was a very proud moment, i didn’t have as many mummy tears as other parents because i felt that we had already been through so many major achievements in his life already. It is hard to explain and i am hoping that many other parents can understand this.

Does your child have special needs? If so, explain about their needs & what support is provided. Ronan has Sensory Processing Disorder, severe speech delay and an ASD diagnosis for PDD-NOS. His school has been nothing short of brilliant with the support they provide. They meet with us twice a term and have a plan set out for Ronan each day. He will take a break from the usual classroom and spend time with an aide each day to help work on his fine motor development with writing and reading. The school is instrumental in Ronan receiving extra help and one on one time with a support aide. We are forever grateful for the wonderful and safe environment they provide him each day.

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? We believe that Ronan has some auditory processing issues and struggles to understand instructions when spoken to the class. His teacher does often repeat them directly to Ronan but also uses visual cues when able to do so. He started extra reading & speech therapy in term 4 at school which will continue on into grade 1.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? Ronan has made so much progress this year. He is a totally different child. His ability to complete his work, have the patience to do so and actually sit for longer periods of time amazes us everyday. His maturity level has grown and so has his confidence. On the last day of term 2, he was awarded the “Student of the Week” award and again in term 4, he was so proud of himself. I certainly had a lump in my throat when he received these awards at his schools assembly.

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at primary school? My best advice would be to speak with the school and arrange an appointment before they start school if you have any concerns. Trust in what your child will be learning and do everything you can at home to help better their skills with reading and writing. Taking that extra 10 minutes each day to listen to them read is such a reward. Communication between yourself and the school are key to ensuring that your child is better supported at school and make sure that you give them space to integrate into school. There is only so much that we, as parents, can do to make sure they are settling in ok, our children need to find their own feet and meet new friends. It’s ok to step back and is such a reward watching them blossom throughout the year.

Child’s Name: Emma
Gestation Born: 27 weeks
Birth Weight: 510 grams
Age Now: 6yrs old
State: Victoria

What year did they start primary school/homeschool? 2012

How was the transition into primary school? It was fantastic – even though she started two weeks late due to being overseas. There were no tears or stage fright. She is in her element.

Was your child deferred from starting primary school for a year? We held her back a year before putting her into kinder. It helped because she was so tiny

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting primary school on their first day? It was strange. Because Emma was late starting school, everyone was already settled, so she just walked in, waved bye and was off with her friends. It was amazing to see her all dressed up in her massive school uniform – but I was, and still am, very proud.

Does your child have special needs? If so, explain about their needs & what support is provided. She has feeding issues. The school is amazing and very supportive. They always make sure she has her formula during the day, and keep an eye out for when she is getting overloaded sensory wise. Also, help her when involved with messy or wet play.

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? None whatsoever. She is loving “all the learning”

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? Her reading and maths skills improving. But everything is amazing and I am proud of it all. To see her just go to school and be amongst all her friends is wonderful.

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at primary school? Make sure their learning is a positive experience. Talk to them about their day and make sure you do lots of reading with them.

Child’s Name: Nixon
Gestation Born: 33+3 Weeks
Birth Weight: 2296 grams
Age Now: 6 1/2years
State: NSW
What year did they start primary school/homeschool? 2012

How was the transition into primary school? Quite good, he was already attending a preschool that has a fantastic transition to school program, along with the schools meetings and orientations. He started with one of his preschool friends which really made him a lot more confident

Was your child deferred from starting primary school for a year? We held Nixon back a year, beiing he was born in April. I always thought that if he was born in June like he was meant to we would not have sent him, he also was still going through quite a fair bit of therapy.

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting primary school on their first day? So many emotions mixed together. Incredibly proud, excited, nervous though as it is such a big step for a child’s first year of school as it’s the first year of the next 13years of their life!

Does your child have special needs? If so, explain about their needs & what support is provided. Nixon was diagnosed at 3 1/2 years with Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) it’s a very mild form of Autism. He attended therapies such as speech therapy, Occupational therapy & psyhcology for over 3 years.

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? No. If anything the structure of school is just what Nixon needs. The routine and knowing what comes next allows him to move from one activity to another.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? Nixon is mind blowingly good at Maths! Even his teacher has been amazed at his skills. He has an ability to add up and subtract numbers in his head and I am excited to see where this may lead him as he grows older. Also it’s be lovely to see him make friends.

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at primary school? Discuss everything prior to starting school with the principle and teacher, have a plan set in place before they actually start. we did a lot of trips past school aswell in the lead up months before starting.

Child’s Name: Lee
Gestation Born: 24 weeks (surviving twin)
Birth Weight: 695 grams
Age Now: 9 years
State: Queensland
What year did they start primary school/homeschool? 2008

How was the transition into primary school? Lee enjoyed school when he began Prep in 2008, he especially loved interacting with the other children, however he took some time to comprehend some of the big school rules, for example sitting still on the mat and following directions.

Was your child deferred from starting primary school for a year? No we did not defer but we decided to repeat the first year (Qld Prep) due to maturity levels.

How did you feel as a parent watching your child starting primary school on their first day? To see him going into that classroom the very first day was something I had not pictured happening back when he was still in NICU. I was pretty emotional to put it mildly. We actually did an interview with the local newspaper the week before and they printed a story about Lee’s battles with coming into this world and his first few years of life, ie. 24 weeker, Chronic Lung disease with almost 2 years on oxygen, Retinopathy of prematurity and laser surgery, Open heart surgery at 7 weeks corrected for aortic stenosis and ASD… so when school started a few other parents already knew why I was acting the way I was.

Does your child have special needs? If so, explain about their needs & what support is provided. Lee requires a small amount of Learning Support as a general rule to assist with his reading and comprehension and any other areas the teacher feels assistance is required. He loves Maths but sometimes has issues with new concepts and needs help to grasp these. For example fractions and time have caused him some distress but he is getting there now. He is a bit of a dreamer and sometimes needs help to keep on track, he has had issues with focusing from the white board to his books so he has a behavioural optometrist working with him on this and he has shown improvement over the last 12 months. Lee did have laser eye surgery due to Grade 3 Retinopathy of Prematurity and now has perfect vision, it is the focus that he sometimes has to work at and this makes him tired in class.

Have there been any areas of concern regarding their education or learning skills? Lee sometimes does struggle to keep up in classwork, even though he is older than most due to repeating his first Prep year. Mostly he achieves results in the sound or demonstrating area but he has to work harder to keep in that level. Learning support is currently offered at 2 hours per week at his school and if I think he needs it later on I will look into tutoring at home. At the moment we are happy with how he is progressing and will continue to monitor his development.

What have they achieved that you are most proud of so far? Lee is known by his friends and teachers as being a caring boy. He always looks out for his friends and makes sure no one feels left out. Lee recently received a Quiet Achiever award and also got a wonderful report from his Japanese teacher as he just loves this subject.

Do you have any tips on how to support your child at primary school? Give them the space they need, but always monitor their progress and get them the help they need as soon as they need it. I make it a point to give a letter to their teacher at the start of each year so that they are aware of Lee’s medical history and so forth. I also sit down and discuss any concerns I might have, communication is very important. Lee spent the first 6-7 years of his life having Occupational Therapy, Physio and Speech Therapy and it has all paid off so that now he no longer needs any of this!

Please click on the image below if you would like to submit your child’s details.

Their gestation born: Lily Grace

How many premmie babies do you have? 32+1 Weeks

How long were they hospitalised for? 26 Days

Is there any prematurity in your families history? Yes. I have four cousins who were late term premmies.

How did you cope with the world of prematurity when your child/children were born? It was overwhelming to say the least.

As I had been in the hospital from 23 weeks, we had done a NICU tour, so I feel like the shock of seeing the NICU for the first time was already gone. The biggest thing was coping with the long and often lonely days and the even longer and anxiety filled nights (Would they mind if I called now? It’s only midnight!) and having rules about how I could interact with my sweet baby. I also struggled with trying to explain to people about what being premature meant for our daughter. People say some strange things and it’s hard not to get furious, especially when in your heart of hearts you know they really care about you and your child, they just haven’t got the right words.

How did you feel when you first saw your child/children after they were born? Overjoyed. She was so beautiful and healthy, I just cried and cried.

My husband tells this amazing story of when he was returning to me after delivering our daughter to the NICU and he bumped into another father taking a photo of the sunrise. They did the usual back and forth and then the father said “It’s amazing. His first sunrise.” And my husband smiled and nodded, but inside he was thinking “The sunrise isn’t amazing. She’s amazing. She’s alive!”

Did you find it hard deciding to have another baby or have you decided no more? No, were really excited for another baby and were blessed with a termie 17 months later

Have there been any lasting complications due to your child/children’s prematurity? If so how have you dealt with it? I’m not sure if these are premmie complications or not, but my termie doesn’t suffer from any of these, and neither do my husband or I.

She has excema, as well as allergies to a wide variety of things that come into contact with the skin, including bandaids, baby wipes and mosquitoes. She has been diagnosed with anaphylaxis after a reaction on Christmas Eve 2010, but we don’t know to what. We carry an epi-pen as a precaution.

She suffers from chronic constipation, which we are still trying to treat. Due to the excema and other allergies, we think it’s a food intolerance, but right now we are treating it as just common toddler constipation.

Her gross motor is also delayed, many things, including walking and rolling being late even for corrected age.

Otherwise she is so perfect.

How do you feel now about prematurity and how do you help others be aware of how serious it is for babies? We love to be active in fundraising events, like Wear Green for Prems day and we take every opportunity to educate people. Most people are really interested.

I always reach out to other mothers of prems when I hear of them and offer as much support as I can.

I also keep a blog, this is cathartic and I find gets quite a few hits when I talk about incompetent cervix and Lily being premature. It’s nice to know people are gaining information from my first hand experience.

If you wish to become a featured “Premmie Parents of the Moment” submit your details to us.

Click here to view the latest Premmie Parents of the Moment

Taking over from where Earlybirds left off, and Bigger Birds from Earlybirds caters for the commonly narrower hips and slimmer legs of a growing prem, taking them through the early toddler stages and beyond – right through to toilet training.

The Bigger Birds collection of rompers, jumpsuits, bodysuits and underpants maximise comfort and fit without sacrificing style and has been professionally designed to safeguard the comfort and well-being of your growing baby. All Earlybirds garments are rigorously tested and are free from harmful substances.

Earlybirds founder, Lynda Day, started Earlybirds because she wanted to be able to help other parents with prem babies find clothing that fit well and was practical for the medical needs of prems.  As her own earlybird, Jackson, has grown, Lynda discovered the continuing need for specially-designed clothes as prem babies got older.

To view the Bigger Birds collection please visit their website www.earlybirds.com.au

So our goal was to get to 12 weeks everything would be fine then less chance of a miscarriage. We did it and everything was perfected we went to our 19 week scan in which we got told that my placenta was low lying no need to worry it will move by 34 weeks otherwise you may need a c section. The next day i started bleeding thinking the worst we rushed to Osborne park hospital. They checked us over and Ella heart was beating strong the bleeding was linked to my placenta being low and i was told to take it easy for a few days then back to work, the next day i was bleeding again. So back to the hospital i went and again Ella was fine and i was told the same thing. This happened on and off for the rest of my pregnancy. I was never told that i need to be on complete bed rest and was always cleared for work within a week.

On Friday i went to the shops for some lunch before heading to work when i felt like i was bleeding so went to the bathroom to find myself bleeding again this time was much heavier. I headed to the car called Osborne park and told them i was coming in and they told me to keep driving to King Edward. I had never been there before and got lost, balling my eye out in a carpark, bleeding and worrying if Ella was ok. My partner was about an hour away so my mum left work and caught a taxi to me and then we went to King Edward. Up to assessment i went and the staff up there where great in straight away and checked out, and then moved to a room to stay till the bleeding stopped.

Well it didn’t take long and it started again that night even heavier i buzzed for the nurse and i was sent to labour ward having mild contractions. Michael came up and we were given steroid and the paediatric doctors came down and warned us of what would happen if Ella were born now, for some reason it never clicked that it would happen and we never really thought about it. Two days later i was back in my room.

Things were good and i was looking like i would be going home on Thursday as the bleeding had almost stopped. On Wednesday night i had a sore back so the nurse on changed my mattress to a softer one and gave me some panadol. In the morning after not much sleep i was in pain still and buzzed for some more panadol when my doctor came she looked at me and sent me to labour ward. I rang Michael and he said he would come up when he finished work. The midwife on wasn’t the nicest she didn’t want to listen to me and said i wasn’t in labour and told me to eat my breakfast and unhooked me so i could so to the toilet. I was interrupted by a doctor wanted to do a ultrasound. He said are you sure you have low lying placenta because Ella’s bottom was lower than my placenta and then did an internal and informed me i was 6cm and would be having my baby. I called Michael but couldn’t finish the call before Ella’s heart rate dropped. The Nurse ripped my clothes off as my room began to fill with people and called Michael and my mum. I was rushed off for a emergency c section under a general. It didn’t take long Michael was called at 9am and Ella was born at 9: 14am. Luckly he made it to the hospital in time to be able to walk with her to SCN3.

When i woke in recovery the staff couldn’t tell me if Ella was alive so they called Michael in. He told me she is alive and a tiny 755grams, 34 cm long with a head circumference of 30 cm she was born at 25+5 weeks. I wasn’t allowed to see her until i could sit up but they sent me up a photo.

We i first saw her i couldn’t stop crying or blaming myself how could i have not known sooner and gotten help to stop her from being born so prematurely and still to this day i seem to blame myself. We went through some ups and downs on our NICU journey ventilated, CPAP, PBF, several blood transfusions, bradys, d stats, thousands of heel pricks, long lines and we even got a staph infection (that was scary ). But we made it after 12 long weeks we took home our little princess Ella Grace Zito at 2.3kg and before her real due date.

Ella spent a total of 84 days in hospital.

Go back to read further birth stories

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The support our day received was so widespread with 8 hospitals around the country encouraging families to wear green. St Vincent Private Hospital & Sunshine Hospital (VIC), Lyell McEwin & The Women Children’s Hospital (SA), Westmead, Campbelltown & Fairfield Hospitals (NSW) & Launceston Hospital (TAS) all took part.

Our wonderful sponsors, Pumpkin Patch, Bellabee Candles, Emotive Images, Earlybirds & Your Cheeky Monkey were a huge support with Earlybirds creating one of their famous Team Earlybird videos (below) & they also included event flyers with every order posted from their website throughout March.

Bellabee Candles & Mums Bubs & Gifts very generously sold our wristbands via their online stores. Child care centres took part with Tyner Road Occassional Care in Wantirna, Victoria choosing a “green theme” day. The kids all had a blast.

Facebook was flooded with green! Thousands of status updates were mentioning the day, both our event pages were very busy with photos of prems with their siblings, parents, aunts, uncles, photos of grandparents overseas & even a gorgeous little boy meeting his favourite group `High-5` and taking a picture proudly wearing his green t-shirt.

Our posters were designed with “the face” of Caelan, a beautiful photo taken by his mum Andrena when he was in hospital. Included on the poster was also a handsome young man called Ethan & beautiful Nakita wearing a green nappy & wristband. Our good friends at Yasminah’s Gift of Hope drove around Sydney delivering Gift Bags to families currently in the NICU/SCN. They provided morning tea, support and a friendly chat. Included inside the giftbags were beautiful premmie gowns, our co-joint Premmie Gift of Hope Journals and other lovely items. The premmie gowns were kindly donated by Sewing Mummy, Karen Cuthbert. Karen cut and sewed 100 lime green premmie gowns. Between 7 children & yards of material, Karen is truly amazing. All gowns were donated and given to a handful of hospitals around the country. Another wonderful mum, Sarah was in the middle of sewing our newborn & premmie beanies when she went into labour. She gave birth to her 5th little man at 28 weeks. Sarah was more concerned about the beanies being completed than labour so she organised for her mum to finish making them for us. We are very grateful for the amazing support & generosity provided by everyone.

We also saw the event spread via the support of the media. St Vincent Private Hospital gracefully supported us with one of their precious nursery treasures being the face of our article featured in the Herald Sun. Practical Parenting & Mamamia featured the event on their websites and 100′s (literally) of Facebook pages posted and shared details about the day to their fans. A segment even aired on Channel 10′s The Circle! When we saw that they had turned their screen green we had tears in our eyes. We had worked so hard for many months in the lead up to the event, it was wonderful to see how far it had reached. We would love to list everyone individually who helped spread the word about our event but we wouldn’t want to miss anyone from the list so we would like to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who mentioned the day. You can visit our media page & see some of the pages we captured. We also wanted to acknowledge the wonderful members and friends who supported us behind the scenes. They certainly know who they are and we are very appreciative of everything they did to lift the spirits and profile of the day.

We saw almost 10,000 people `attend` the event page which was incredible. Thank you to everyone for sharing our pages. The day was about raising awareness, sharing support, acknowledging the struggle that all children born too early face & raising money for charities that support not only prems but all children who are faced with different challenges. In total we sold over 2,000 wristbands and a total of $2,500 was raised. Each of the charities received a $500 donation on behalf of the day with a further $500 donated to the National Premmie Foundation through generous people fundraising and donating directly.

The recipient’s in 2012 were chosen directly by our wonderful members. Their families have all been touched with the generosity of the charities below.

• Scope (for people with a disability) - www.scopevic.org.au
• Mercy Health Breastmilk Bank – www.mercyhealthbreastmilkbank.com.au
• King Edward Memorial Hospital PREM Bank – www.kemh.health.wa.gov.au
• Mother’s Milk Bank – RBWH – www.rbwhfoundation.com.au
• Heartkids – www.heartkids.org.au

Thank you to each and everyone of you who wore green on the day, brought a wristband and took a moment to remember our very special children. The day was a success because of how you all celebrated. It is such a simple and fun event where anyone who has known someone touched by prematurity can take part whilst also knowing that you are making a difference. Next year we will have our wristbands available as well as t-shirts, hats (which are available now), lanyards and more via our online shop.

The National Premmie Foundation will be celebrating World Prematurity Month in November. We will be taking part in this celebration alongside the other wonderful member groups of the Foundation. The National Premmie Foundation is the peak body in Australia for charitable organisations that operate to provide support to families who experience premature birth or neonatal loss. With member groups across Australia the NPF is the largest organisation in Australia representing the interests of families of preterm infants. Make sure you join the official NPF Facebook page and lookout for updates. We are grateful for the endless support and promotion of our event via the member group pages. We proudly support families alongside Lifes Little Treasures Foundation, Yasminah’s Gift of Hope, Loddon Mallee Kids & Preterm Infants’ Parents’ Association. Together we make a difference.

Below are some beautiful photos shared with us from families & friends celebrating on the 4th April 2012. Don’t forget to pen Wednesday 3rd April 2013 in your calendar for our event next year!

Below are some beautiful photos shared with us from families & friends celebrating on the 4th April 2012.

Don’t forget to pen Wednesday 3rd April 2013 in your calendar for our event this year!

We had over 190 premature births recorded from 23 week gestation up to 36 weeks to help figure out the average length of stay. The stats are very interesting and we hope will provide another insight for parents with premature babies currently in hospital. These stats are not reflected by the weight of each premature baby, just the length of time that they spent in hospital. The averages would of course change for twins & triplets.

They are below;

• Born at 23 weeks gestation – Average of 163 days (23+3 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 24 weeks gestation – Average of 147 days (21 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 25 weeks gestation – Average of 104 days (14+6 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 26 weeks gestation – Average of 114 days (16+2weeks) in hospital
• Born at 27 weeks gestation – Average of 89 days (12+5 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 28 weeks gestation – Average of 74 days (10+4 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 29 weeks gestation – Average of 60 days (8+4 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 30 weeks gestation – Average of 51 days (7+2 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 31 weeks gestation – Average of 39 days (5+4 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 32 weeks gestation – Average of 36 days (5+1 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 33 weeks gestation – Average of 21 days (3 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 34 weeks gestation – Average of 18 days (2+4 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 35 weeks gestation – Average of 14 days (2 weeks) in hospital
• Born at 36 weeks gestation – Average of 11 days (1+4 weeks) in hospital

Remember that this is just an average from 190 premature births recorded and not an Australian average. Not all babies will fit within the above results. Each of the babies included in these results all had different complications at birth including IUGR (growth restriction) so they were born smaller than the average for their gestational age, dependant on oxygen for longer due to lung complications so their time in hospital greatly differed. Many babies come home on their due date however others sometimes stay a little longer depending on each child’s growth, stabilisation & feeding.

Please join our forum to share your premmies journey with us.

The first of its kind, Premature Baby Journal is a global app that is easy to use, no matter where you are in the world and a great tool for parents with a Little Treasure. The app is designed to record information in imperial or metric measure, so that you can track your baby’s progress through hospital and beyond wherever you are. It is packed full of features making it easy to track your baby’s feeds, expressing times, weight gain as well as keeping a journal for all the milestones your baby achieves.

Some of the many features that the Premature Baby Journal app includes are:

• Records baby’s birth details
• Keep journals for multiple babies
• Converts actual age into corrected age (weeks)
• Tracks weight, feeding, expressing and temperature in graphs
• Tracks milestones and allows you to upload photos
• Records number of feeds, time of feeds, amount of feeds and method of feed
• Records total feeds given to baby per day
• Records number of expresses and amount expressed by mother
• Set alarm for when next express is due
• Record your feelings of all family members in journal section
• Set reminder for questions to ask to match the doctor’s rounds in hospital

The Premature Baby Journal is available to purchase from the iTunes store.

NICU Words is a glossary designed to provide clear explanations of what medical terms, medical machinery and what medical roles are in NICU and SCN.

Some of the many features that the NICU Words app includes are:

• Concise list of medical terms and medical machinery
• Description of roles of medical personnel in NICU
• Search function to help you search for words
• Over 170 words and terms featured
• Easy to use and a great tool for parents with a “little treasure” in hospital going through the NICU/SCN journey.

The NICU Words app is available for FREE download. Visit the iTunes store to download the app direct to your phone.

For further information please visit www.lifeslittletreasures.org.au

We are proud online support partners with Lifes Little Treasures Foundation.

Join them on this very special evening as they dress up, dance the night away, make new friends and also to remember the children who were miscarried, born premature, born sleeping, or who passed away during infancy or were born with a congenital abnormality.

Children will honoured, remembered and celebrated during the evening.

Cost: Tickets are $125 per person

Includes:
Pre-dinner drinks ~ Champagne, Champagne and Orange, Red & White Wine, Beer, Light Beer, 100% Orange Juice, Soft Drinks, Mineral and Soda Waters

Chef’s finest selection of canapes on arrival
Gourmet private plated 3 course meal

Lachlan’s is located within the National Trust’s Old Government House Parramatta Park. Access is easy with parking available within the park close to the front door. Public Transport is close by with the major rail bus terminus within 10 minutes walk of the park and the Phillip St ferry wharf a short 15 minute walk. Enter the park from Pitt Street.

To purchase your tickets please visit www.trybooking.com/BFAH

Sponsorship and donations for their silent and live call auction are welcomed. For more information please contact Peta at fundraising@ygoh.org.au

As most of us know, processing sensory information is a daily activity. It occurs without us even being aware of it. We are all constantly managing sensory information from our sight, our hearing, tasting, touching and smelling. Most of us are born with the ability to receive and process these sensations, and the ability organise them into correct responses such as reacting to a loud bang, or the smell of something burning. Sensory Processing Disorder, or SPD, exists when the brain cannot organise and manage the sensory information that we are receiving. This information comes in the form of sound, touch and movement.

But are you aware that there are actually eight senses in which we rely on getting our sensory information? These are touch, smell, taste, sight, hearing, balance, body and awareness. To be able to “sensory process”, we need to have the ability to organise and interpret the sensory information we receive from all these eight senses. This should be an automatic thing, but children who have SPD cannot do this. Their brains interpret the information they receive differently, and thus they react differently. For most people, this process is automatic. Children (and adults) who have SPD don’t experience this process in the same way.  SPD affects the way that their brains interpret the sensory information they receive.

So with this information, it is easy to come to the conclusion that that Sensory Processing Disorder is a complex disorder of the brain. What this means is that children who have SPD can misinterpret their everyday sensory information. Due to the lack of, or overload of information, they may seek out intense sensory experiences or they are unaware of what sensations they should be feeling and what other people experience. It also goes hand in hand with sensory-motor issues such as poor muscle development, delayed motor skills, clumsiness and stuttering.

So we can say that the term “sensory processing” includes:

1. The ability of our body and brain to take in information through our eight senses: the basic five (touch, smell, taste, vision and heading), plus the “hidden three”, proprioception (sensations of body parts in relation to each other), vestibular (sense of where body is in space relative to the earth’s gravity), and interioception (sense of internal organs)

2. Our ability to organise and interpret the sensory information we receive; and

3. Our ability to make a meaningful response to the sensory information coming into our brains.
Of course, with something as complex as SPD, it does not come in one form, but in different variants. There are the children that are over-responsive, those that are under-responsive, and those that crave sensory input (sensory seeking). It also appears in something called “Postural Control Disorder” and / or “Motor Planning Problems”. Let’s have a look at these.

Sensory Over-Responsivity
Children who are over-responsive appear to be more sensitive to sensory stimulation, in that their bodies feel sensation too intensely or too easily. With this occurring, it can make them seem they are getting bombarded with sensory information. When the body tends to get overwhelmed, the “fight or flight” response kicks in. When this happens it can cause parents a lot of angst as their child gets upset or unresponsive. So in order to avoid this happening, they can cover their ears to stop noises, and avoid being touched unexpectedly by withdrawing from people.

Sensory Under-Responsivity
If your child seems quiet and passive, and does not respond to certain stimuli, appear withdrawn, difficult to engage, or struggle to interact with other people, they tend to fall into this category of being under-responsive. When confronted with the possibility of becoming over-whelmed or receiving too much sensory information, they shut down and withdraw. So to stop this happening, they minimise everything they do.

Also, they can appear to enjoy deep pressure input, or intense tactile sensations e.g.: rubbing a piece of terry cloth, or silky ribbon while engaged in a sensory activity. As well as this, they can also be unaware of external senses, such as noticing items that are too hot or cold, or not realising pain in response to cuts, scrapes and falls.

Sensory Craving
I am sure all of us are aware of this at some time or another. We crave the feel of hot sun, an intense training session, or the mouth-watering smells of vinegar on hot chips, cakes baking etc. In children with this, they seem to have an almost insatiable desire for sensory input. They always seem to be constantly on the move, touching things, bumping into things, exploring things, tasting things, jumping over, onto or through things. They seem to not understand “personal space”, thus craving touch from people, or constantly touching others.

Postural Control Disorder
Put basically, these children have poor core strength. They can struggle doing simple tasks such as sitting up straight, standing up straight, pulling or pushing items, and they struggle to achieve certain motor tasks. This is also linked into the next one, Motor Planning Problems.

Motor Planning Problems
This can also be known as “dyspraxia”. Once again, they have trouble processing sensory information, and this manifests itself by making it difficult for them to carry out certain motor skill actions, such as catching a ball or riding a bike. Children who have dyspraxia can struggle planning a sequence of actions such as hop, skip and jump; performing new motor tasks; or forming a goal or idea. They can also come across as clumsy, accident prone and awkward. Due to this, they tend to avoid situations where this is apparent, but make up for it in other areas such as being highly developed with verbal activities and make-believe play.

So there you have it, the five different areas of SPD. It is a veritable minefield of responses and reactions. You have probably recognised certain aspects of your child in all five categories, and it also shows that it can be very difficult to get an assessment and diagnosis of SPD for your child. For this to be done correctly, all aspects of their life need to be examined by food therapists, speech therapists, psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists just to name a few.

It might be hard to believe, but one in twenty children can suffer some form of SPD, and as parents of premature babies, we seem to see the more common occurrences of it. There are still studies being conducted to link SPD with premature babies, but it seems to be that when a child’s sensory foundation is not established properly in early life, it can cause issues in later life. What seem like simple and normal activities for us and for the majority of children, – such as eating, dressing, making friends, giving or receiving a hug – can result in daily struggles which could affect them in social, emotional or academic areas.

So what aspects do you look for when thinking that SPD could be a factor influencing your child’s life? I have listed a few signs to look out for, but of course there are hundreds of different factors and influences. If there are any worrying signs or symptoms in your child relating to sensory input, it is best to get it checked out and assessed as soon as possible. Due to our children’s brains developing quickly, if we can change their brain wiring before certain habits are established, we can lessen the impact that SPD can have on their lives. So it is best to get it done as early as possible.

Some things to look out for are:-

• Has trouble with fine motor skills such as stacking blocks or simple jig-saw puzzles
• Might be accident prone
• Problems eating
• Problems sleeping
• Does not like being cuddled or stroked or held
• Hard to get into a normal and regular routine
• Does not like getting dressed, struggles getting dressed or disliking wearing certain clothes or colours
• Can be difficult to toilet train
• Delays in speech
• Stuttering
• Cannot sit still
• Does not actively explore new activities or toys
• Has major temper tantrums and/or meltdowns
• Cannot handle a noisy or brilliantly lit environment.

One of the main symptoms of SPD can relate to feeding, and feeding issues. There are a few aspects that you can also keep an eye on such as;

• gagging on soft lumps,
• unable to swallow properly
• not able to transition from purees at the age appropriate time (normally around 8-10 months)
• Cannot eat solid foods by around 1 year of age
• Meal-times are a constant battle, struggle and time of stress
• Cannot use a proper cup by around 18 months of age
• Not accepting a wide range of foods, but being pedantic on a particular item or texture by around 2 years of age. The experts say that they should be eating a range of up to 20 foods at this stage of life.

Or, relating to food issues, the other side of the spectrum is when children use food as their sensory seeking item. They cannot seem to switch off and you start to think that they have hollow legs. They over-eat to get the sensory information that they are craving.

So in conclusion, SPD is a challenge not only the children who are dealing with it, but the people and family in their lives. But it does not have to rule your life. There is help out there, and the knowledge is growing in regards to sensory issues. Just remember, as parents trust in your intuition that you think something may be not quite right with your child. SPD is not a disease, but it can have lasting impacts on a child’s growth and development in their outside world. There are health care providers out there that are able to help you in regards to this, and keep seeking the help you know and believe that your child needs. And in the words of a leading Psychologist, Dr. Lucy Miller – there is nothing wrong with children who have SPD; they are our “sensational kids”

Please join our Special Needs section on the forum if you would like to chat with other parents about Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD).

Article written by Roslyn Coles

_________________________

The subject matter provided in these articles is strictly for informational purposes alone and should never be used in the place of a doctor’s advice. Please ALWAYS contact your doctor if you ever have questions or need advice in any area where medical advice is needed or medication is suggested.

You can purchase our wrist bands, car signs, premmie lanyards  & any other merchandise  via our own online shop. Our wrist bands are also available through the wonderful Australian businesses below who have come on-board in support of our event.

Please note: Our “Glow in the Dark” wrist bands are only available via the L’il Aussie Prems Foundation website.

Click on the banners below to purchase our wrist bands. You will be automatically redirected to their online stores.

Thank you for your support!

]]> http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/purchase-our-premmie-wrist-bands/feed/ 0 http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/press-release-families-of-premmies-going-green-for-their-cause/ http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/press-release-families-of-premmies-going-green-for-their-cause/#comments Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:57:53 +0000 trikiron http://www.lilaussieprems.com.au/?p=7831 After the resounding success of the first “Wear Green for Premmies” Day in 2011, Ms Julia Toivonen, founder of the L’il Aussie Prems website which hosted the inaugural event, is eagerly looking forward to this year’s fundraiser. The 2012 “Wear Green for Premmies” Day will be held on 4^th April 2012.

Last year’s event attracted around 19,500 attendees and raised awareness of babies born prematurely. It raised much needed funds for five different charities all which support children.

In mid-January this year a Facebook event page was launched in an effort to reach as many families as possible in the lead up to April with over 3,000 already ‘attending’ the event. Word has spread through social networks of the fantastic work being done to raise funds through the “Wear Green for Premmies” Day. Ms Toivonen is expecting that this year’s event will attract an unprecedented number of attendees.

Funds will be raised through the sale of green wristbands sporting various premmie support messages chosen by the websites members. Funds will then be distributed amongst charities that support children throughout Australia. Attendees are also encouraged to fundraise on the day in support of the National Premmie Foundation.

Attendees do not attend a physical event but simply sign up to the event on the Wear Green for Premmies Day Facebook Page and encourage family and friends to wear something green on the 4^th of April 2012.

L’il Aussie Prems was launched five years ago to provide families with an interactive online community that they can access anywhere anytime. Ms Toivonen gave birth to her first baby at 27 weeks gestation with her son spending 110 days at Monash Medical Centre in Clayton. He started his first day of school this week at Templeton Primary School in Wantirna. She knew that her experience could help families like her own through her online support network which now reaches thousands of families each month. Subsequently, with the launch of social media, the Facebook page has also developed and has given L’il Aussie Prems the ability to reach a far wider audience of families needing assistance.

The website and Facebook page provide families with information and resources as well as the support needed through each stage of a premmie baby’s growth.

For photo opportunities with families or further information:
Contact Julia at L’il Aussie Prems admin@lilaussieprems.com.au

Go back to Green For Prems menu

Parent’s Name(s): Jane & Chris
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Lincoln James
D.O.B: 6 January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: SA
Gestation: 28+3
Weight: 1450 grams
Length: 39cm
Hospital Where Born: Flinders Medical Centre
Age Now: 65 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world precious boy.

Parent’s Name(s): Jodie & Simon 
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jackson
D.O.B: 7 Janurary 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Nsw
Gestation: 28 weeks
Weight: 520 grams
Length: 27 cm
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers Hospital Brisbane
Age Now: 54 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Jackson Karl was born on the 7th Jan 2012 at 28 weeks gestation. At Brisbane Mater Mothers HospitalBirth weight 520 gramsLength 27 cm

Parent’s Name(s): Sarah and Kynan
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ashton Luke
D.O.B: 9th January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 31 weeks
Weight: 1930 grams
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: John Hunter New Lambton
Age Now: 4 months old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Fiona & Greg
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Charles (Charlie) Michael
D.O.B: 10th January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 24 + 2
Weight: 988 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: The Mater Hospital
Age Now: 85 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world sweet baby Charlie. We are so proud of you and love you so very much.

Parent’s Name(s): Scott & Lauren
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Liam Riley
D.O.B: 11th January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 30 weeks & 6 days
Weight: 1770grams
Length: 44cm
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers Private Hospital
Age Now: 34 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our precious little man just couldn’t wait to meet us, we can’t wait until you can come home with us. We know your big brother & sister are looking out for you from heaven. xoxo

Parent’s Name(s): Brendan & Tracy
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jacques John
D.O.B: 11 January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: WA
Gestation: 31+6 weeks
Weight: 2.220Kg
Length: 44cm
Hospital Where Born: Joondalup Health Campus
Age Now: 11.5 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Brendan and Tracy welcomed their son, Jacques John at 4:03 am on Thursday 11th January 2012,8 weeks early.After four tough weeks in hospital Jacques came home and is continuing to grow stronger every day.

Parent’s Name(s): Brent & Tarryn
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Aeriella Rose
D.O.B: 13 January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: VIC
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 2.2kgs
Length: 40cms
Hospital Where Born: Mitcham Private Hospital
Age Now: 5 months old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our precious gift from heaven – whom we prayed and waited for has arrived. We are overjoyed and so grateful she is here.

Parent’s Name(s): Kate and Mahmoud
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ameena
D.O.B: 22/01/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): female
State: WA
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 1.70 kilo
Length: 40cm
Hospital Where Born: King Edwards
Age Now: 9 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: So proud to announce the birth of the beautiful Ameena

Parent’s Name(s): Leisha & Stuart
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Bailey Matthew, Miley Jayde, Tyler Blake
D.O.B: 26/1/12, 26/1/12. 26/1/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male, Female, Male
State: Victoria
Gestation: 28+5
Weight: Bailey 977gms, Miley 1403gms, Tyler 1136gms
Length: 34cm 38cm, 35.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal women’s hospital
Age Now: 72 days young!
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world! You are our little miracle babies! You have done soo well, you are our little fighters! Stay strong little ones! We all love you soo much!

Parent’s Name(s): Christena & Darian
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Faith Rose
D.O.B: 26th January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: WA
Gestation: 30 + 2 weeks
Weight: 1100 grams
Length: 37.5cms
Hospital Where Born: King Edward Memorial
Age Now: 17 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:A beautiful daughter for us and sister for Shayne, Katie-Maree and Jack! We are so proud of our gorgeous princess

Parent’s Name(s): Anastasia and Jason
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Noah Evan
D.O.B: 27/01/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 27+1
Weight: 1110grams
Length: 36cm
Hospital Where Born: The Canberra Hospital
Age Now: 5 weeks 4 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Marie and Ian
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Sophia
D.O.B: 27/01/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 1.88kg
Length: 40.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Adelaide
Age Now: 2 months 4 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our clever, feisty miracle baby! You make our hearts sing each and every day.

Parent’s Name(s): Christianne
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Bennjamin Thomas
D.O.B: 31st January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: SA
Gestation: 32 weeks
Weight: 1970 grams
Length: 43cms
Hospital Where Born: WCH
Age Now: 14 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Bennjamin Thomas was born on 31st Jan 2012 at 7.29pm, 1970gms, 43cm long, born at 32 weeks. Little brother to Blair, Aleeya and Lillyanna, proud parents Patrick and Christianne. Stay strong lil man, we love you xx big thanks to Prue from the women’s and children’s hospital and the teams from NICU and SCBU with special thanks to Michelle and Alisa from NICU.

Parent’s Name(s): Lisa and Peter
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): James Peter
D.O.B: 31st January 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 32 +5 weeks
Weight: 870 grams
Length: 31cms
Hospital Where Born: The Canberra Hospital
Age Now: 20 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our little fighting miracle

Parent’s Name(s): Edwin and Joanne
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Xavier Edwin
D.O.B: 1st February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 28+4 weeks
Weight: 1327 grams
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: Royal Brisbane and Womens Hospital
Age Now: 5 months 7 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are so proud of our little Xavier for being so strong during his stay in the ICN and the SCN. We are so glad to have him home after 2 long months in hospital. Hope you continue 2 grow strong little man. Love you always Mummy, Daddy, Nanna and Pop xoxo

Parent’s Name(s): Adam and Jodie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Lucy and Chloe
D.O.B: 03/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: VIC
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 5’3 and 5’13 pounds
Length: 49 cms
Hospital Where Born: William Angliss
Age Now: 9 months actual
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Adam and Jodie are proud to announce the birth of their wonderful Rainbow Twins – Lucy and Chloe. Sisters for Ethan and Jake, who’s a proud big brother watching up above.

Parent’s Name(s): Sarah & Justin
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Thomas Alexander Reese
D.O.B: 4th February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 28+ weeks
Weight: 1226 grans
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: The Royal Brisbane Woman’s Hospital
Age Now: 8 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world little guy, can’t wait till you get to join the rest of the tribe at home

Parent’s Name(s): Amy & Jesse
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Maleika-Jaye Laura
D.O.B: 7th February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 28+2 Weeks
Weight: 1070 Grams
Length: 37.5 cm
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers Hospital
Age Now: 1 Month
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are so proud of how strong and amazing our baby girl has been. We cannot wait for the day when we get to bring her home for the first time!

Parent’s Name(s): Danielle & Shaun
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Alexander & Connor
D.O.B: 07/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: WA
Gestation: 30 Weeks
Weight: Alex 1555g & Connor 1020g
Length: Alex 40cm & Connor 35.5cm
Hospital Where Born: King Edward Memorial
Age Now: 7 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Congratulations on the arrival of our two little bundles of joy!!

Parent’s Name(s): Tim & Tamara
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Leah Jade
D.O.B: 12th February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Tasmania
Gestation: 34weeks
Weight: 5lb
Length: 46cm
Hospital Where Born: Mersey Community Hospital, Latrobe
Age Now:
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to our little rainbow, a tough start to life but you are now here safe and sound Love Always Daddy, Mummy, Kristie, Chloe & Kane xxx

Parent’s Name(s): Sonja and Brett
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Gracee
D.O.B: 12/2/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Queensland
Gestation: 24 + 5
Weight: 738g
Length: 32cm
Hospital Where Born: Florida hospital for children
Age Now: 6 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Kim and Cameron
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ebony Rose
D.O.B: 14/2/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Qld
Gestation: 26 weeks
Weight: 740 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Townsville district hospital
Age Now: 4 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our lil blessing

Parent’s Name(s): Matthew & Jillian
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Eamon
D.O.B: 17th February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boy
State: Qld
Gestation: 33 Weeks and 1 Day
Weight: 4 Pounds and 4 Ounces
Length: 40cm
Hospital Where Born: Logan Hospital
Age Now: 2 Weeks and 5 Days Old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our beautiful baby boy has joined us early and we couldn’t be happier.

Parent’s Name(s): Carissa & Kevin
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Logan Tayte
D.O.B: 19/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: VIC
Gestation: 34 weeks 5 days
Weight: 2598 grams
Length: 47.5 cms
Hospital Where Born: Sale
Age Now: 8 weeks 5 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Logan is definately a miracle baby after 5 years of trying and 7 angel babies we welcomed little Logan into the world after 160 injections to keep him alive and 5 days of rough labour ending in emergency c section after i stopped breathing. I wouldn’t change a thing because i got my precious little boy after all the injections and labour were over. He is my world, my everything i love him to pieces.

Parent’s Name(s): Melissa & Martin
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Molly
D.O.B: 19/2/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Girl
State: Tasmania
Gestation: 30 +2
Weight: 1380 grams
Length: 43 cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal Hobart Hospital
Age Now: 38 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Melissa & Martin welcome with love our precious little girl Molly Jane.Welcome to the world our gorgeous girl. You have made us a family and brought joy into our lives!

Parent’s Name(s): Stacey & Brodie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Mia Imogen Davis
D.O.B: 19/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 25 weeks
Weight: 620 grams
Length: 29cms
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers Hospital
Age Now: 61 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Mia together us 3 as a family will get through any obstacles life throws our way. You have already proved to us that you are a strong and determined girl. You will get where ever you want to in life. You are our little angel and now that you are here with us our life is complete. Sometimes the smallest things, take up the most room in your heart!! This is true… All our love is yours baby girl

Parent’s Name(s): Nick and Lana
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Lincoln
D.O.B: 19/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 2495g
Length: 44.5 cms
Hospital Where Born: Wollongong
Age Now: 6 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Nicholas & Lana are happy to announce the early arrival of baby Lincoln Ernest; 2495g and 44.5cms

Parent’s Name(s): Anthony and Katrina
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Liam Anthony
D.O.B: 20/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Tasmania
Gestation: 32 + 4 weeks
Weight: 2.484 kg
Length: 44 cms
Hospital Where Born: Launceston General Hospital
Age Now: 3 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Anthony & Katrina
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Liam Anthony
D.O.B: 20/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Tasmania
Gestation: 32 weeks + 4 days
Weight: 2.484 kg
Length: 44 cm
Hospital Where Born: Launceston General Hospital
Age Now: 11 weeks + 3 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Anthony and Katrina are excited to announce to early but safe arrival of our beautiful precious baby boy, Liam Anthony xx

Parent’s Name(s): Ben and Emma-Jayne
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jemimah Abigail
D.O.B: 20.02.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 33 + 6
Weight: 1788
Length: 41 cm
Hospital Where Born: The Royal Women’s Hospital-VIC
Age Now: 2 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our beautiful girls born early and doing well in the world

Parent’s Name(s): Ben and Emma-Jayne
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Naomi Esther
D.O.B: 20.02.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 33 + 6
Weight: 2188
Length: 47 cm
Hospital Where Born: The Royal Women’s Hospital-VIC
Age Now: 2 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our gorgeous girls born early and doing well in the world

Parent’s Name(s): Rebecca & Ben
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Flynn Oscar Brian
D.O.B: 23/2/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: VIC
Gestation: 30+3 weeks
Weight: 1289 grams
Length: 37.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Mercy Hospital for Women
Age Now: 13 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are thrilled to announce the birth of Flynn Oscar Brian. Born 10 weeks early weighing in at 1289grams. Much loved second son for Rebecca & Ben. Dearly loved brother for Zach.

A very big welcome little man we are so pleased you are here!!!

Parent’s Name(s): Keandra and Daniel
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jayden Aaron Taylor
D.O.B: 24/2/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: S.A
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 2155grams
Length: 45cm
Hospital Where Born: Lyell Mcewin
Age Now: 3 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Doing really well

Parent’s Name(s): Kelly & Scott
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jackson
D.O.B: 26/02/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Victoria
Gestation: 30+3 weeks
Weight: 1600g
Length: 45cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Hospital
Age Now: 12weeks 5days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world beautiful baby boy

Parent’s Name(s): Elise and Daniel
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Kaiden Mark
D.O.B: 26th February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: ACT
Gestation: 36 weeks
Weight: 2.43 kilo’s
Length: 45cm
Hospital Where Born: Canberra hospital
Age Now: 30 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: –

Parent’s Name(s): Krystal and Leigh
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Molly Rose
D.O.B: 26/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 24+6 weeks
Weight: 622 grams
Length: 29cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal North Shore
Age Now: 9weeks 2days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Krystal and Leigh welcomed their precious baby girl into the world on 26th Feb at 1215pm. Molly Rose could not wait to meet her mummy and daddy and help her poppy fight his battle with cancer.

Parent’s Name(s): Ashley and Rhys
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ava Elizabeth
D.O.B: 27th of February 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 30+2
Weight: 1300g
Length: 38cm
Hospital Where Born: Westmead Hospital
Age Now: 3 weeks 6 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world little princess! We love you so much and we can’t wait for you to come home

Parent’s Name(s): Scott and Jessica
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Madison Rose
D.O.B: 28/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 28 weeks
Weight: 660
Length: Unknown yet
Hospital Where Born: Nepean
Age Now: 4 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Scott and Jess are delighted that little Madison Rose has decided to join them early. Such a long road ahead little princess. Be brave and continue to fight. Mummy and Daddy love you and are Right here with you

Parent’s Name(s): Leslie & Geoff
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Brandon William Davis
D.O.B: 29/2/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 35 + 2 weeks
Weight: 2840 grams
Length: 50cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Brisbane & Woman’s Hospital
Age Now: 4 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Jennifer & Micheal
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Parker
D.O.B: Feburary 29th, 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): male
State:
Gestation: 24 weeks
Weight: 1.38lbs
Length: 31cm
Hospital Where Born: Mount Sinai
Age Now: 21hrs old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Congratulations Jenn & Mike on the beautiful birth on baby Parker. He was born a 7:45 pm on Feb. 29/12. He is definately a fighter! He came out and was breathing on his own. He is a true little miracle! Lots of support and love

Parent’s Name(s): Rachael and Scott
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Laylah Anne
D.O.B: 29/02/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): female
State: Queensland
Gestation: 32.5 weeks
Weight: 4 lb 14
Length: 41cm
Hospital Where Born: Logan Hospital
Age Now: 15 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Lisa & Matthew
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Zoey Pauline
D.O.B: 10th March 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 25+5 weeks
Weight: 740 grams
Length: 32cm
Hospital Where Born: Flinders Public Hospital
Age Now: 15 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Beautiful and doing well!!!

Parent’s Name(s): Katelyn and Jordan
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Saylah Renee
D.O.B: 11/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Vic
Gestation: 30 weeks 2 days
Weight: 1.760kgs
Length: 46 cm
Hospital Where Born: Bacchus Marsh
Age Now: 13 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Congratulations on the early but safe arrival of your precious daughter Saylah Renee

Parent’s Name(s): Matt and Andrea
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Harry Romulus
D.O.B: 13.03.12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boy
State: NSW
Gestation: 34+2 weeks
Weight: 1554 grams
Length: 41.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Mater mothers hospital, Brisbane
Age Now: 11 day
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Harry was born screaming with a 10/10 Apgar score and no breathing assistance so far after an emergency Caesarian due to IUGR, preeclampsia and heart decelerations. Harry is a little champion with a most expressive face. Needless to say his parents love him to bits!

Parent’s Name(s): Sharon & Maselino
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Scarlett Anne
D.O.B: 13th March 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Girl
State: VIC
Gestation: 31 Weeks 2 days
Weight: 1.586kg
Length: 40cm
Hospital Where Born: The Royal Womens Hospital
Age Now: 1 month
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our tiny little miracle girl Scarlett, we cant wait to bring you home xxx

Parent’s Name(s): Roweena & Eugene
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Sari
D.O.B: 16/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 27 weeks
Weight: 1023grams
Length: 36cm
Hospital Where Born: Monash Medical Centre
Age Now: 15 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our precious little princess, don’t give up this fight, we can’t wait to have you home and hear your giggles. We love you with all our heart.

Parent’s Name(s): Jodie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Maxwell Jacob
D.O.B: 17 March 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Vic
Gestation: 24w4d
Weight: 821gm
Length: 33.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Mercy for Women, Heidelberg
Age Now: 8days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Robert and Theresa
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Stella Arielle
D.O.B: 19/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: WA
Gestation: 22 weeks 5 days
Weight: 440 grams
Length: 27 cms
Hospital Where Born: King Edward Memorial Hospital
Age Now: 21 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Robert and Theresa wish to announce the arrival of their miracle baby Stella Arielle born very early at 22 weeks 5 days gestation. Stella is our everything, our world, our miracle, our joy. We love her so very much.

Parent’s Name(s): Samantha and Dean
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Zarliya Audrey
D.O.B: 20/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 2576 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Hospital
Age Now: 8 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our little princess is finally here!

Parent’s Name(s): Shaun and Nicole
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Riley Shaun
D.O.B: 21st March 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: VIC
Gestation: 34.6 weeks
Weight: 5 pound 11 ounces
Length: 48cms
Hospital Where Born: Wodonga Hospital
Age Now: 13 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: With much love, we welcome our gorgeous baby boy, Riley Shaun.

Parent’s Name(s): Hollie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Charlie
D.O.B: 22/3/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: WA
Gestation: 27+4
Weight: 765 grams
Length: 34 cm
Hospital Where Born: King Edwards Memorial Hospital for Women
Age Now: 2 weeks 5 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world my tiny angel

Parent’s Name(s): Simone and Bradley
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Chayse
D.O.B: 23/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): male
State: SA
Gestation: 36 weeks
Weight: 2985 gms
Length: 47.5 cm
Hospital Where Born: Lyell MaEwin
Age Now: 5 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: He is our little angel and so happy to have this sweetheart.

Parent’s Name(s): Mick and Nicole
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Rhyder Scott
D.O.B: 26.3.12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 27 + 5
Weight: 797 grams
Length: 26 cm
Hospital Where Born: Liverpool
Age Now: 6 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Proud Parents of little Rhyder who came 12 weeks early and was suppose to be a little girl .We love you from Daddy and Mummy

Parent’s Name(s): Todd & Kylie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Seth James
D.O.B: 27/03/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 31 weeks
Weight: 2105 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Townsville
Age Now: 11 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our precious little man. We are so proud of you. Love daddy & mummy xxxooo

Parent’s Name(s): Shannan & Heino
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Leo Maxwell
D.O.B: 29 March 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 28 wks
Weight: 1.1kg
Length: 35.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal North Shore
Age Now: 6 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Shannan and Heino are pleased to announce the surprise arrival of Leo Maxwell Human. Born at 28 wks and doing very well.

Parent’s Name(s): Anne & Gabriel
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ruby Elizabeth
D.O.B: 3/4/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 35+1 weeks
Weight: 2640grams
Length: 46 cms
Hospital Where Born: Calvary hospital
Age Now: 7 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: A beautiful little girl to cherish and love.

Parent’s Name(s): Mark and Jaimie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Cohen Grant
D.O.B: April 6, 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Queensland
Gestation: 33 weeks, 1 day
Weight: 1,945 grams
Length: 42.8 cm
Hospital Where Born: The Townsville Hospital
Age Now: 8 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Suddenly, you’re here and we couldn’t be happier. Welcome to the world Cohen, grow wise little owl

Parent’s Name(s): Shannon & Rick
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Charlie Rae
D.O.B: 6/4/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State:
Gestation: 33+4 weeks
Weight: 1472 grams
Length: 40cms
Hospital Where Born: QVMU Launceston
Age Now: 10 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Claire and Geoff
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Alice Charmaine
D.O.B: 6th April 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 35 wks
Weight: 1850 gms
Length: 41 cms
Hospital Where Born: Wallaroo Hospital
Age Now: 8 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world! After a rough start that even involved a trip in an aeroplane, it felt so good to finally bring you home xox

Parent’s Name(s): Leanne & Byron
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Sophie
D.O.B: 8/4/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 30 weeks 5 days
Weight: 1558 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Royal Womans Hospital Brisbane
Age Now: 43 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: My beautiful little princess, your so strong, you just wanted to see the world early, what a interesting Easter weekend.
Mummy and Daddy love you.

Parent’s Name(s): Adam & Rio
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Dakota Pepper & Hunter Rock
D.O.B: 9th April 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Girl & Boy
State: QLD
Gestation: 33weeks + 4days
Weight: 1760gms & 1600gms
Length: Both 41cms
Hospital Where Born: Sunnybank Private Hospital
Age Now: 6 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Arriving a little earlier than expected Your Mummy and Daddy’s tough little critters making them so proud being with how fast and well you are progressing.

Parent’s Name(s): Angela 
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Robert William
D.O.B: 12/04/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 32 + 4 days
Weight: 2098 grams
Length: 43cms
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers South Brisbane
Age Now: 18 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Little baby Robert William was eager to see the outside world and arrived early on the 12/4/12. He has changed his mums life for ever

Parent’s Name(s): Carole & Michael
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Chloe Rose
D.O.B: 15th April 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 29 weeks 3 days
Weight: 1.31kgs
Length: 37cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Randwick
Age Now: 49 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our precious angel Chloe Rose arrived unexpectedly 10 weeks early. Welcome to the world little one.

Parent’s Name(s): Matt & Tricia
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Noah
D.O.B: 06-05-2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: OH
Gestation: 32+2 weeks
Weight: 4lbs 14 oz
Length: 18 inches
Hospital Where Born: Toledo
Age Now: 1 day old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: He is so precious and doing very well in the NICU. Just because you might be at risk for preterm delivery, don’t let it scare you. By all means, be prepared, but my little boy has nothing wrong with him besides not being able to eat on his own, and that’s just because he hasn’t developed the ‘suck, swallow, breathe’ instinct. Not all preemies have bad problems.  Prepare for the worst, expect the worst, but don’t think s/he will be sick just because s/he’s early.

Parent’s Name(s): Mitchell & Jessica
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Mason Ross
D.O.B: 9/5/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 26+3 weeks
Weight: 1060 grams
Length: 31cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Brisbane and Womens
Age Now: 12 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Mason Ross Cooper entered the world on 09/05/2012. He is beautiful, strong and fights with all he has. He is extremely loved by all his family.

Parent’s Name(s): Carolyn and Terry
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ruby and Sophie
D.O.B: 11/05/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 2570 gms
Length: 53cms
Hospital Where Born: Logan hospital
Age Now: 6 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are proud to announce the birth of our beautiful twin girls, Ruby May Isabel and Sophie May Elsie born on the 11th of May 2012. Little sisters to Isaac, Malachi, Seth, Canaan, Jada, and Bethany.

Parent’s Name(s): Helena & Adam
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Bentley & Hudson
D.O.B: 11/5/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boys
State: Victoria
Gestation: 28+6 weeks
Weight: 1322gm & 1348gm
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s
Age Now: 2 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Early but safe arrival of our beautiful little boys 2 very proud parents and excited big sister who was also our lil 29 weeker nearly 9 years ago.

Welcome to the family guys… Lots of love around for you xxxx

Parent’s Name(s): Michelle
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Dabianca Belle
D.O.B: 14th May 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 28 weeks
Weight: 1274gms
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Hospital
Age Now: 2 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Precious baby Dabianca Belle born on the 14 May, at 28 weeks.

Parent’s Name(s): Louise & Darren
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Harry & Jack
D.O.B: 15/5/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boys
State:
Gestation: 28weeks 5 days
Weight: 1050 grams & 1240 grams
Length: 33cms & 35cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal North Shore
Age Now: 10 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Melanie and Luke
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Summer Jade
D.O.B: 17/5/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 33 weeks and 6 days
Weight: 1940 grams
Length: 44.4 cms
Hospital Where Born: Lismore Base Hospital
Age Now: 11 weeks and 5 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our precious princess Summer. Our second beautiful daughter and baby sister for Ruby. After such a dramatic entrance into this world you beat the odds and survived. You are a little fighter and will grow to have a long and happy life. You truly are a little miracle and we a so lucky to have you with us. We love you with all our hearts xxoo Mummy Daddy and Ruby xxoo

Parent’s Name(s): Aaron & Toni
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Olivia Clara Pearl
D.O.B: 25/05/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 28 Weeks
Weight: 948 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Royal Brisbane Women Hospital
Age Now: 11 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our Beautiful Baby Girl

Parent’s Name(s): Rachel and Chris 
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Aiden Jack
D.O.B: 26th May 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boy
State: QLD
Gestation: 32 weeks
Weight: 1558gms
Length:
Hospital Where Born: RBWH
Age Now: 3 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Jessica & Matthew
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Sophie Grace
D.O.B: 6th June 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: South Australia
Gestation: 36 weeks & 3 days
Weight: 2170 grams
Length: 44.5cms
Hospital Where Born: Calvary North Adelaide
Age Now: 13 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Jess & Matt are delighted to announce the early but safe arrival of their precious baby girl, Sophie Grace. She is our little miracle baby xo

Parent’s Name(s): Emma
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Harper Willow
D.O.B: 7th June 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: -
Gestation: 32.2 weeks
Weight: 4lb 4oz
Length: 47cms
Hospital Where Born: Mercys Hospital for women
Age Now: 15 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Jason and Katrina
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Braxton Phoenix
D.O.B: 6th of June 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Tasmania
Gestation: 32 weeks
Weight: 2.606kg
Length: 46.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Launceston General Hospital
Age Now: 10 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Braxton has proved his strength and determination through his journey to survive, we welcome to the world our little fighter.
“

Parent’s Name(s): Jayson and Kate
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Bella Grace
D.O.B: 8th June 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 37 weeks
Weight: 2630 grams
Length: 46cms
Hospital Where Born: Wollongong
Age Now: 2weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Jayson and Kate would like to welcome baby Bella Grace on her safe arrival. She is baby sister to tarni-anne (6yrs) and kalinda (3yrs) Also…to danielle…thankyou for all the love and support during the labour. Xoxo

Parent’s Name(s): Alisia & Jemeel
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Noah & Isaiah
D.O.B: June 8th 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State:
Gestation: 24 +3
Weight: Noah 740g Isaiah 700g
Length:
Hospital Where Born: SunnyBrook
Age Now: 114 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Blessed with two beautiful baby boys unfortunately baby Noah was taken away much too soon, god bless

Parent’s Name(s): Robert and Peggy
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Christina Maryann Iris
D.O.B: 11 of June 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Girl
State: South Australia
Gestation: 36 weeks and 6 days
Weight: 2080 or 4 pounds 9
Length: 43.5cm
Hospital Where Born: L M H.S
Age Now: 4 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: after our lovely 2 year old who is born 27 weeks we age glad to have our little girl who arrived before plan she was a big surprise to us both as I was not expecting to have a baby at 44 years old I was 42 when I had our little boy

Parent’s Name(s): Danny & Belinda
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Pippa Hazel
D.O.B: 26/06/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 33 weeks
Weight: 1580 grams
Length: 40 cm
Hospital Where Born: The Northern Hospital
Age Now: 6 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Danny & Belinda are pleased to announce the safe arrival of pippa hazel. a little sister for Tayla, Jordan, Darcy and Noah.

Parent’s Name(s): Kristy & Paul
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Sebastian Charles
D.O.B: 14/6/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 31 weeks
Weight: 1820 grams
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: RPA Hospital
Age Now: 5 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We welcome our precious little boy to the world.

Parent’s Name(s): Steve & Amanda
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Harley Robert
D.O.B: 14/06/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Vic
Gestation: 28+4
Weight: 1415g
Length: 42cm
Hospital Where Born: Mercy for Women
Age Now: 9 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: we welcome our beautiful baby boy to our family what an amazing little fighter lots of love xxx

Parent’s Name(s): Dannielle & Orin
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Nevada Anne
D.O.B: 3/7/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 2745 grams
Length: 45cms
Hospital Where Born: Singleton Hospital
Age Now: 6 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Hannah and Joel
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ruby
D.O.B: 3/7/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Girl
State: NSW
Gestation: 29 weeks 6 days
Weight: 1005 grams
Length: 35.5cms
Hospital Where Born: Wollongong Hospital
Age Now: 45 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Ruby came into the world in a hurry, she is such a precious little girl

Parent’s Name(s): Amanda and Shannon
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Abigail Margaret
D.O.B: 7/7/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 27+1 weeks
Weight: 900 grams
Length: -
Hospital Where Born: RBWH
Age Now: 5 hours
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our beautiful daughter, Abby. Mummy and Daddy know you have a long road ahead of you but you are tough and we know you can do. All our love. xx

Parent’s Name(s): Jodie and Paul
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Geoffrey Elliott
D.O.B: 17/7/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: WA
Gestation: 36 weeks
Weight: 3.08kg
Length: 49cm
Hospital Where Born: SJOG Subiaco
Age Now: 5 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Linah
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Xaviar John-Thomas
D.O.B: 17.07.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 29 weeks 5 days
Weight: 1310grams, 2.8 pounds
Length:
Hospital Where Born: John Hunter Hospital
Age Now: 3 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: You surprised us all little man when you arrived screaming your heart out, nobody was expecting that at all.

Parent’s Name(s): Fatma & Domenic
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Amelia Allison
D.O.B: 18th July 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 26weeks & 4days
Weight: 779grams
Length: 31cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal Women’s Hospital
Age Now: 42 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world to our beautiful precious sweet baby Amelia. We love you more than you will ever know and are so proud of you. We can’t wait to bring you home. xx

Parent’s Name(s): Kelli & Be
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Lachlan
D.O.B: 23 July 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: SA
Gestation: 32+3
Weight: 1.73kgs (3lb 13oz)
Length: 42cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s Hospital Adelaide
Age Now: 73 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are very proud of our beautiful little boy. He’s achieved so much already in life. We love you Lachlan. Love Mummy, Daddy & Family x x x

Parent’s Name(s): Brad & Donna
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ella Maree
D.O.B: 26th July 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 25 weeks
Weight: 700 grams
Length: 33cms
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers
Age Now: 4 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: -

Parent’s Name(s): Mark & Donna
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Chelsea Lee
D.O.B: 27 July 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 25 weeks
Weight: 780grams
Length: 32.2cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s hospital
Age Now: 27 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Mark, Donna and proud big brother Cooper are pleased to announce the arrival of Chelsea Lee, born 2 minutes before her twin sister, Grace Addison

Parent’s Name(s): Mark & Donna
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Grace Addison
D.O.B: 27 July 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 25 weeks
Weight: 470grams
Length: 28cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s hospital
Age Now: 27 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Mark, Donna and proud big brother Cooper are pleased to announce the arrival of Grace Addison, born 2 minutes after her twin sister Chelsea Lee.

Parent’s Name(s): Kelly
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Amelia
D.O.B: 28/7/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: South Australia
Gestation: 33.6
Weight: 2110g
Length: 43
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s hospital (SA)
Age Now: 14 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Melanie & Christopher
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Hudson Solomone
D.O.B: 2nd August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 35wks 5 days
Weight: 3050 grams
Length: 49cms
Hospital Where Born: Ipswich Hospital
Age Now: 8 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are proud to announce the safe arrival of our little miracle Hudson Solomone Kamoto. After an eventful labour including PROM, BREECH, EVC, INDUCTION, CORD PROLAPSE, & EMERGENCY C-SECTION.

Parent’s Name(s): Donna and Jaime
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jensen Lee
D.O.B: 3rd August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: SA
Gestation: 28 weeks
Weight: 1090 grams
Length: 36 cms
Hospital Where Born: Women’s And Children’s Hospital
Age Now: 13 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Arrived screaming a little bit early but strong and with a fighting attitude he is impressing every day. With dads ears and mums smile he is already a very cute boy, and it wont be too long before he’s home having cuddles with his very proud Mum and Dad.

Parent’s Name(s): Megan and Ben
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Diesel James
D.O.B: 10/8/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NT
Gestation: 29+6 weeks
Weight: 1220grams
Length: 39cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and children’s hospital
Age Now: 2 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Ben, Megan and Indigo would like to announce the early but safe arrival of Diesel James on the 10th August 2012, weighing in at 2lb 11oz and 39cm in length.

Parent’s Name(s): Lee & Amanda
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jacob
D.O.B: 16/08/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 35wks + 1
Weight: 2760g
Length: 48cm
Hospital Where Born: St George Private
Age Now: 9 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: The Lord bless you & keep you;
The lord make His face shine upon you & be gracious to you;
The Lord turn His face toward you & give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26

Parent’s Name(s): Shontrese & Christopher
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Serenitee
D.O.B: 11th August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Alabama
Gestation: 27 weeks
Weight: 2 pounds 4 ozs
Length: 14 inches
Hospital Where Born: Baptist Medical Center East
Age Now: 11 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Little girls are blessings from heaven.
We are proud to announce the arrival of our little sweet angel .

Parent’s Name(s): Steve & Carly
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Hunter Fitch
D.O.B: 17/08/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State:
Gestation: 33 weeks
Weight: 2020 grams
Length: 41.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s & Children’s hospital
Age Now: 6 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Steve, Carly and big brother Silas are thrilled to announce Hunters arrival, everyone home and doing well.

Parent’s Name(s): Jacqui and Darryl
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Aislin Ivy
D.O.B: 25 August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 27weeks + 2days
Weight: 668 grams
Length: 33 cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal North Shore Hospital
Age Now: 9 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world Aislin !

Parent’s Name(s): Kellie and Craig
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Max Harry
D.O.B: 25 August, 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Queensland
Gestation: 24 weeks and 6 days
Weight: 680 grams
Length: 32.7 cms
Hospital Where Born: Mater Mothers – Brisbane
Age Now: 5 weeks old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We can’t wait to get our little man home. We are so proud of your strength Max, We love you…

Parent’s Name(s): Peta and Simon
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Zanda
D.O.B: 26th August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Qld
Gestation: 31 + 1
Weight: 1840g
Length: 42cm
Hospital Where Born: Townsville
Age Now: 4 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome to the world our little man that just didn’t want to wait. It was a huge adventure to get you here safe and sound and now we get to keep the adventure going watching you grow and learn.

Parent’s Name(s): Pamela & Darren
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Alexa Keelie-Jane
D.O.B: 27th August 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Queensland
Gestation: 30weeks
Weight: 1.315kgs
Length: 38cms
Hospital Where Born: Royal Brisbane Womans Hospital
Age Now: 17 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our family are very pleased to welcome little Miss Alexa to the world.

Parent’s Name(s): Amanda and Ken
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ella Rose
D.O.B: 29/08/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 30+4
Weight: 1290 grams
Length: 37.5 cm
Hospital Where Born: Liverpool
Age Now: 16 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are proud to announce the birth of our first child Ella Rose. She could not be more perfect we are so proud of her fighting spirit. Xxx

Parent’s Name(s): Ashleigh
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Elizabeth Piper
D.O.B: 03 September 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 23 weeks
Weight: 548 grams
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Liverpool Hospital
Age Now: 31 weeks 6 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: A little miracle

Parent’s Name(s): Jane and Dave
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Archer Banjo
D.O.B: 6th September 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: WA
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 1605 grams
Length: 42cm
Hospital Where Born: St John of God Hospital, Subiaco
Age Now: 5 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our little miracle ‘Baby Grape’

Parent’s Name(s): Gioanna and Chris
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Aroha
D.O.B: 9-9-2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 31 weeks
Weight: 5pound
Length: 44cm
Hospital Where Born: WCH Adelaide
Age Now: 6 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Congratulations little sister for Lulu Dylan Wiremu from Kynie & lucy

Parent’s Name(s): Paul and Kate
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Amelia
D.O.B: 20 September 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: VIC
Gestation: 28+1
Weight: 892g
Length:
Hospital Where Born: Frances Perry House / RWH
Age Now: 1 week
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Little Amelia,

So small, so loved. We’re so proud

Parent’s Name(s): Carl & Natalie
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Amélie Mabel
D.O.B: 20th September 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 33 weeks
Weight: 1.340kg
Length: 40cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal Woman’s Hospital, Frances Perry House
Age Now: 1 week old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are so proud to announce the birth of our beautiful daughter Amélie Mabel Ashleigh Reining, she is our precious angel sent from above. She came into the world at 8:36am on 20th September, 2012. Weighing 1.34kg.

Parent’s Name(s): Lance & Lisa
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jake Walter
D.O.B: 23/09/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Boy
State: NSW
Gestation: 25 weeks
Weight: 475g
Length: 26cm
Hospital Where Born: Lismore
Age Now: 3 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome Baby to our world
how brave of you to come.
We are here to welcome you
as your journeys just begun.

All our Love
Your Family

Parent’s Name(s): Laura & Toby
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Millicent Rose
D.O.B: 25.9.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Vic
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 1.67kgs
Length: 41 cm
Hospital Where Born: Mitcham private
Age Now: 17 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Thank you for all your love and support

Parent’s Name(s): Daniel and Nina
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ella Monika
D.O.B: 26.09.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 33 weeks 6 days
Weight: 1935 grams
Length: 45cm
Hospital Where Born: Frankston
Age Now: 4 1/2 months
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Yadira
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Noah Alexander
D.O.B: 29.09.2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: New Mexico
Gestation: 30 weeks
Weight: 3 ponds 14oz
Length: 14 in
Hospital Where Born: UNM Childrens Hospital ,Albuquerque NM
Age Now: 3 weeks 2 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome sweet baby boy

Parent’s Name(s): Anthony & Monica
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Harriet
D.O.B: 09/10/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Victoria
Gestation: 27 weeks
Weight: 1016 grams
Length: 36cm
Hospital Where Born: RWH
Age Now: 28 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcoming our beautiful little girl into the world. Harriet is our itty bitty baby girl who we long to bring home.

Parent’s Name(s): Lisa
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Chloe Ann
D.O.B: 10/10/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: SA
Gestation: 36 weeks 2 days
Weight: 2370
Length: 44.5
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and children’s adelaide
Age Now: 4 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We welcome baby Chloe into this world. A little early but we can’t wait to take you home xx

Parent’s Name(s): Jolene and Greg
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Zahri Angel
D.O.B: 10.10.12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: QLD
Gestation: 33 weeks
Weight: 2150 grams
Length: 43cm
Hospital Where Born: Cairns Private Hospital
Age Now: 6 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Zahri was born at 33 weeks weighing in at 2150 grams. Mummy and daddy are over the moon that she is doing really well!

Parent’s Name(s): Katoya
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Kairi Lanae
D.O.B: October 12, 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Texas
Gestation: 23 Weeks and 6 Days
Weight: 1 pound and 4 ounces
Length: 11 ½ inches
Hospital Where Born: Baylor All Saints
Age Now: 34 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: My 1 Pound 4 Oz Mircale Was Born A Fighter & She Fighting Everyday She is a blessing from god & I Love With All My Heart.
Welcome Baby Kairi

Parent’s Name(s): Tahlia & Dan
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Charlee Maddison & Summer Rose
D.O.B: 15/10/12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Vic
Gestation: 28.5 weeks
Weight: 1.350kg & 1.488kg
Length: 38cm & 38.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Royal Womens Melb
Age Now: 25 Days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We are super excited to announce the safe arrival of our momo twins Charlee Maddison & Summer Rose born at 28.5 weeks. They are so beautiful & their big brother adores them xx

Parent’s Name(s): Carly
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Samuel
D.O.B: 22/10/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 34 weeks
Weight: 2170grams
Length: 45 cm
Hospital Where Born: Kareena Private
Age Now: 23 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Samuel born 22nd October 2012 – 6 weeks early weighing 2.17kg

Parent’s Name(s): Rita & David
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Jordyn
D.O.B: 23/10/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 33+1
Weight: 2400gms
Length: 44.1cm
Hospital Where Born: Blacktown
Age Now: 3 weeks
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Ivan and Kathlyn
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Tripp Leonidas
D.O.B: 24-10-12
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: Victoria
Gestation: 35+6 weeks
Weight: 3700 grams
Length: 49cm
Hospital Where Born: Bendigo Health
Age Now: 28 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Our third ‘Little’ Premmie, A Wonderful addition to our growing family! Joining his older sisters Evoleht (35+3 weeks) and Aurora (34 weeks)

Parent’s Name(s): Chantelle & Dave
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Marli Elizabeth
D.O.B: 27 October 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: Qld
Gestation: 34+4
Weight: 2480g
Length: 48.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Cairns Base Hospital
Age Now: 5 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: We would like to welcome our beautiful little princess to our family. Although your off to a rocky start you have shown us that you are a real little fighter. We are so proud of you Marli.
Love Mummy, Daddy and your big brother Jhett xo

Parent’s Name(s): Simone
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Elizabeth ‘Beth’ Rose
D.O.B: 28th October 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 28 weeks & 3 days
Weight: 1100 gm
Length:
Hospital Where Born: RPA
Age Now: 8 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:

Parent’s Name(s): Grant & Robyn
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Emma Louise
D.O.B:8th November 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Female
State: NSW
Gestation: 31 weeks
Weight: 1500 grams
Length: 37cm
Hospital Where Born: Westmead
Age Now: 2 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message:Welcome Emma!

Parent’s Name(s): Tim & Madonna
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Theodore Ross Alan
D.O.B: 9 November 2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: SA
Gestation: 33 weeks 2 days
Weight: 2.17kg
Length: 44cm
Hospital Where Born: Women’s and Children’s Hospital
Age Now: 8 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Theodore was a little man in a big hurry. Tim & Madonna are very grateful that he’s here and doing much better than expected but he has a lot of growing to do.

Parent’s Name(s): Kylie Tamara-Ann & Nathan
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Zayden Leonard-Thomas
D.O.B: 16/11/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: QLD
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 2,340g
Length: 45cm
Hospital Where Born: Ipswich hospital
Age Now: 12 days
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: The birth of beautiful Zayden Leonard,
Proud son of Kylie & Nathan..

Parent’s Name(s): Kristy & William
Premmie Baby’s Name(s): Ethan
D.O.B: 22/11/2012
Premmie Baby’s Sex(s): Male
State: NSW
Gestation: 35 weeks
Weight: 1940g
Length: 44.5cm
Hospital Where Born: Gosford Public Hospital
Age Now: 17 days old
Premmie Baby – Announcement Message: Welcome “Ethan William”