MARCH FOR BABIES: A MOTHER OF A MOVEMENT™
FORT WAYNE
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Headwaters Park
333 S Clinton St , Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2017 10:00 AM
333 S Clinton St , Fort Wayne, IN 46802
Date: Saturday, April 29, 2017 10:00 AM
Our ambassador
2017 Fort Wayne Ambassador Emmett Tuttle
2017 Fort Wayne Ambassador Emmett Tuttle
From the start we knew Emmett would be early. We had been fighting preterm labor for so long that when he was born on Memorial Day 2016, “only” 10 weeks early, it felt like an accomplishment. I started strict bedrest at 18 weeks pregnant after I had started having contractions. Twelve weeks of bedrest, 52 Progesterone injections, two meetings with the NICU staff, and nine hospital trips later we woke up on Memorial Day to my water breaking. This was the third time prematurity had affected our family. Our first, Aiden was born at 35 weeks with a two week NICU stay; our second, Adelyn, was born at twenty weeks from PPROM and did not survive. Our last, Emmett, was born by emergency C-section at 30 weeks. He weighed 3 lbs. 6 oz. Fortunately, because we expected his premature birth, I was given steroids to help develop his lungs and he was born kicking and screaming.
He spent 6 long weeks in the NICU. Older children weren’t welcome in the NICU for more than a few minutes a day and our oldest was home on summer break. I spent days at home worrying about what was going on in the NICU and late nights in the NICU trying to savor the snuggles and tune out all of the machines and wires. I pumped around the clock trying to do whatever I possibly could to help him thrive and spent my weekends sleeping on the NICU couch. It was every bit of the rollercoaster ride they promised. Through sleep deprivation and constant stress, we celebrated every little milestone and did our best to remain strong during the trials. He left the NICU after 46 days weighing 6lbs 5oz.
Within two months of coming home our worst fears came true and he was re-hospitalized with aspiration pneumonia. He was struggling with severe reflux, an air way defect, and a swallowing disorder. The doctors weren’t sure what to do but after developing pneumonia again, only a few weeks later, we realized he was silently aspirating his milk.
His treatment required surgery to stop his reflux and to place a g-tube in his stomach where he now receives all of his nutrition through. It was the longest three hours of my life. But looking back the procedure was life changing. He is finally happy, healthy, and growing.
We’re still not sure what his future looks like and when he’ll be able to drink or eat orally but we hold out hope that like every preemie, he just needs a little extra time to catch up. And as he’s continued to show us, he’s a very tough and stubborn little boy who will do things in his own way. My family and I are proud to be representing the March of Dimes and sharing our story, in hopes that some day, every baby is born healthy.
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