Jolynne Marie - Then and Now

 

Our tiniest baby (when she was born), Jolynne turned one year old on October 26th 2012. She was born exactly two minutes after her sister Georgia and 1 minute after her brother Mickey. All 3 of our babies are miracles in my eyes, but Jolynne beat the odds more than once. While I was pregnant, after we were told I had TTTS and the chances of her surviving were slim. Her and Georgia were sharing nutrients and Jolynne was not getting what she needed to grow. Then, 3 days after she was born, we were told she had a hole in her intestine and she needed surgery right away. They said given her tiny size, they did not know whether she would even be able to survive the surgery but it was her only chance. Without the surgery she would die. But not only did Jolynne survive that surgery, today she thrives. Here is how much she has grown:

Then: 2 pounds, 6 ounces
Now: 20 pounds, 3 ounces

Then: 14.5 inches long
Now: 27 inches long

She is in the 35th percentile for her weight and the 5th percentile for her height. Jolynne made it through that first surgery, the scariest day of our life I think, then she waited in the hospital and grew until her second surgery when they were able to put her belly back together. At one point she went without food for 10 days, she was starving for 10 days until we knew her stomach could handle food again (she was given IV fluids during this time). She continued to struggle gaining weight because her intestines were not able to absorb the nutrients properly from her food. It went in and out without the body having a chance to soak in the good stuff. This extended her hospital stay as they wont let her leave until they see she can gain weight on a consistent basis.  We also learned she had a milk protein allergy before she left the hospital so she had to have special formula by prescription only.

At 32 weeks gestation, she was almost 3 weeks old, but still should not have even been born yet, we were told by the therapists in the NICU she was the most alert 32 week baby they had every seen and that they could not believe she had already been through what she had. It was every impressive.

Today Jolynne weighs more than her brother. She eats anything and everything without any troubles. Her intestines have healed and recovered completely. She has also overcome her milk protein allergy and can even drink regular milk. Jolynne is our little explorer. She is very smart and inquisitive. She will watch and study everything and gets into everything she can. She tries to squeeze through tiny spaces and then gets stuck, but she does not like being held captive behind baby gates. She will often sit on the other side and just look out through the bars, like there is whole world out there being kept from her. Jo also likes to follow her brother Mickey everywhere. Those two seem to have baby races and chase each other and laugh at each other and make squeals at each other. Jo also likes to take her siblings toys. She is very good at it to. She is quick, was our first baby to crawl despite her size and she will take your stuff if you are not careful.

Jolynne is probably the happiest of all 3 babies. She is always smiling, like a ray of sunshine. She has the most trouble sleeping of the 3 and we will still occasionally have to get up at odd hours to console her at night, but during the day, she's all smiles! I love how incredibly smart she is, and I love her curiosity. But mostly I love how extremely positive she is even though she has already had two surgeries and spent the first 3 months of her life in the hospital. We could all learn something from her.

I love you baby girl! Thanks for fighting so hard and proving everyone wrong. We can't imagine our lives without you!