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When Peyton Keir was born, she was only 24 weeks old, 16 weeks too early. Little Peyton had to be wrapped and placed in a ‘sandwich bag’ to protect her skin while she went through the first days of her life. Now that she’s nine months old, she seemed to be continuing to thrive and live, SWNS reports.
Peyton’s parents, Becky and Steve, spent more than one hundred days at the Jessop Wing maternity unit in Sheffield while their baby had to stay in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit until it was safe enough for her leave. Peyton was conceived through in-vitro fertilization.
Becky, who’s 27 years old, said, “I just couldn’t believe how small she was – but she was beautiful. She was so delicate and tiny but then my little girl was placed into a sandwich bag to protect her skin.
“She only weighed 811 grams and she gave out such a cute yawn when she was born – but then the nurses and doctors rushed her off to save her. I was heartbroken, angry at myself and guilty for not being able to keep my baby safe for a few more weeks.
“I was just so terrified that my baby, who has taken seven longy ears to get here, might not make it.”
Steve, 29 years old, immediately took his wife to the hospital as soon as she started bleeding in the middle of her pregnancy.
Becky, whose family lives in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, said, “During my pregnancy I did everything by the book and all the scans were normal. But then my blood pressure became dangerously high and I was rushed to the Jessop Wing and after examination I was found to be two centimeters dilated.
“I was given two steroid injections to mature my baby’s lungs – and was then prepared for what could happen. Within seconds of the birth, a team of doctors and nurses rushed in and put Peyton onto the Resuscitaire, before she was taken to NICU. I was warned that sixty per cent of babies born at 24 weeks only survive past the first month.
“But now Peyton is nine months and doing really well and I’ve been told that development-wise she is within the top fifty percent of babies for her age. They say she might have problems when she is older, but that might just be bad at maths or spelling.
“She could suffer from Cerebral Palsy, but so far there have been no signs of that – so we are both over the moon on how well she is doing.”
There are around 8,000 babies that are born prematurely each year at the Jessop Wing hospital alone. It was incredibly lucky for Peyton to be able to survive this ordeal.
