TINY Jaylah Smith couldn’t wait to come into the world, but all her Tamworth parents, Aliese Morris and Shane Smith, want is to finally take her home.
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She was born 28 weeks and five days into Aliese’s pregnancy and is one of the 10 per cent of babies born in Australia between 28 and 31 weeks of gestation.
When The Leader met Jaylah she was five weeks old, however, her pregnancy developmental age would be 34 weeks and one day; still six weeks shy of a full-term baby.
As she slept in her mothers arms in Tamworth hospital’s critical care children’s ward, Jaylah was oblivious to the events that led to her first helicopter ride on April 5 .
“It has been stressful, but I think the stress and worry was greater be- fore she was born,” MAliese said.
Aliese was hospitalised two weeks prior to the birth because she was having difficulties carrying her first child to term.
She was initially admitted to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital but transferred to Sydney’s Liverpool Hospital, where she gave birth to Jaylah on March 7.
Jaylah weighed 1347 grams, just under three pounds, when she came into the world.
Aliese said she insisted on being transferred back to Newcastle as soon as possible after the birth.
While Jaylah remained in hospital care, Aliese and Shane called Ronald McDonald House home when they weren’t with her.
“The care and support we have received from the neonatal staff in each hospital and Ronald McDonald House has been amazing and we can never thank them enough.”
Jaylah’s ability to make things happen sooner than planned continued when the time came to return to Tamworth by Westpac helicopter.
“I knew she was being transferred that day, so I settled a few things before going to the hospital to see her off,” Aliese said.
“When I got there I had just missed her, which was a little disappointing, but we knew she was in safe hands. We just had to get home ourselves.
“After five weeks away it is good to be home – and it will be even better when we can take Jaylah with us.”
For the young family it is now a case of waiting until Jaylah is on full bottle feeds so she can finally go home with them, as most of her feeds are through a tube inserted in her nose and into her stomach.
“She is only having one or two bottles a day at the moment, but she loves her food and she has put on 158 grams in four days. Hopefully she keeps this up and we will have her home soon,” Aliese said.
