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Support us with our 24 week NICU baby

  • We’ve moved to North Shore!

      21 October 2024
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    Last Tuesday we got the surprise news that Kitt was being moved to North Shore Hospital SCBU (Special Care Baby Unit), a level 2 facility. Kitt has been in level 3 intensive care at Auckland City up until now and it’s both scary and exciting that he’s ready to move. He’s now just over 2kg but still on breathing support with CPAP and a feeding tube. It’s hard watching him have desaturations and not be able to breathe independently but we’re cuddling him as often as we can.

    On the home front, we’re pushing through the exhaustion but we’ve almost run out of frozen meals folks made. If you can help, there’s a link to our support crew page on our main give a little page.

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  • 50 days old and raising $4k for RSV immunisation

      12 October 2024
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    Yesterday was day 50 in NICU for Kitt. He’s now 7 weeks 2 days old, or equivalent to 32 weeks gestation.

    We’re so thankful for all the support folks have provided. These have been the hardest 7 weeks of our lives, and we’re not even half way there. Sam is back at work, and any day now Kitt could be moved to North Shore Hospital’s SCBU (special care baby unit).

    We’ve had ups and downs. He’s had a small brain bleed which is terrifying, but he’s almost at air levels on his CPAP, and he’s growing well at 1.8kg now, over twice his birth weight. He’s had first immunisations and eye tests, and we’re starting to see his personality.

    We were so disappointed to discover that Pharmac no longer funds RSV immunisations for premature babies in their first winter, so now we’re saving up the $4000 to pay for them, as RSV can easily kill any baby, but especially prem ones in their first winter. Any contributions towards this are gratefully accepted.

    Feel free to follow nat on IG for more regular photos (@natdudley)

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  • Week 3 in NICU

      10 September 2024
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    Hard to believe we’re in our third week now. Last week Kitt got the all clear on his heart scan for PDA, a common prem baby condition where a hole in the heart doesn’t close fully.

    Yesterday, after a couple of days of steroids, we started a trial off the ventilator on NIPPV. The first 24 hours went well, and if it continues to go well, we’ll try him on CPAP.

    He’s had to receive a few blood transfusions which is scary, but overall he’s doing ok and has increased from 800g to 920g.

    We discovered that at birth, he was the same size and weight as a kororā (little blue penguin), so now Nat is hunting for cute penguin knitting patterns!

    Thank you to everyone for your support so far, we appreciate it so much. We’d also love if you shared this with your networks <3

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  • Week 2 in NICU

      2 September 2024
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    It’s been a week of ups and downs, we’ve had hard news, but we’ve also had good moments. Our boy opened his eyes for the first time, and Nat got to cuddle Kitt on Saturday, and Sam got Fathers Day cuddles for the first time.

    We also have a name: Christopher (Kitt) Wood.

    We’re so appreciative of everyone who has donated to help us while Kitt does his best to grow and thrive.

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