Baby Bailey beats the odds to see his first Christmas

Hamish Hutchinson • Published 23 Dec 2009 10:54 0 Comments

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Bailey fights for life in his incubator just days after his birth.

A BABY boy born 15 weeks premature and only given a 50 per cent chance of survival will spend his first Christmas at home with his family in Alloa.

Tiny Bailey Watt was born on 27 April weighing just one pound and his mum Lauren Cook feared that the tot may never see his first Christmas after suffering setback after setback.

But Lauren told the Advertiser that Bailey is her very own Christmas miracle by defying the odds time and time again, overcoming MRSA, collapsed lungs and bleeding in the brain.

Doting mum Lauren said, "It really is a miracle he is here. There was many a time I thought he wouldn't make it but he just kept bouncing back.

"Having him home for Christmas is the best present I could have."

Lauren didn't suffer any complications during her pregnancy, but at 25 weeks she began to suffer pain, although she initially didn't think anything of it.

She said, "Everything seemed fine during the pregnancy but for a few days before I had Bailey I felt fluid coming from me when I was walking about.

"I read that was normal so I just put it to the back of my mind because I thought it was much too early.

"Then I got a really sore back, so much so that I could hardly move, and all I could do was lie in a bath.

"My mum told me I was being over dramatic but when I got out the bath I started bleeding."

When Lauren arrived at hospital she was already having contractions and was rushed straight to the labour ward where doctors tried to delay the birth for as long as possible to give the baby the best chance of survival.

But at 3am on 27 April Lauren woke up with strong contractions and shortly after Bailey was born.

"I was just in a daze and panicked," admitted Lauren.

"I couldn't believe it when I first went in to hospital and the nurses told me I was having contractions. I remember my mum walking in and I just burst out crying.

"Although I was worried, I was also a little bit excited because I knew I was going to have my baby.

"But once he was born I felt so empty because he was whisked away to be resuscitated. He wasn't breathing. To be honest, I think I was in shock.

"My mum and the rest of my family came in and I blurted out 'I've just had a baby' and then I started crying again.

"I never got to see him let alone cuddle him and I felt like a part of me was missing.

"I wasn't allowed to hold him until he was 11 weeks old."

It wasn't until 8pm on the day Bailey was born that Lauren was taken to the maternity ward to see him.

Bailey was in an incubator, but despite knowing that he was going to be small, Lauren was shocked by just how tiny he actually was.

Lauren was allowed home from hospital four days after she had Bailey, but he was in hospital for 16 weeks. She said that one of the worst things was leaving the hospital without her new born baby.

"The feeling I had coming out of hospital without Bailey was terrible. I saw other mums leave with their babies and when I get home there were cards and presents for him but he wasn't with me," she said.

At just three weeks old, Bailey contracted MRSA and he also suffered from bleeding in the brain, a hole in the heart, and relied on a ventilator to be able to breathe.

Lauren went on, "During those first few weeks we just had to take each day at a time. The doctors just kept telling us if he gets through one day there is a chance he will get through the next.

"At one point he got an infection and the doctors told us that if he got another one, that could be it.

"Just a week later he was diagnosed with MRSA. We really did think he might not make it but he surprised us all and bounced back yet again."

Thankfully the bleeding in Bailey's brain dissipated and the hole in his heart repaired itself after he was given a course of drugs, which meant he avoided a risky operation.

Lauren was told by doctors that it would be unlikely she would get Bailey home before his due date, which was 9 August. A week before that date she was told it would probably be October before he got out of hospital because he was still dependent on oxygen.

But Bailey once again beat the odds and started to breathe on his own meaning Lauren could take him home.

"It was just an amazing feeling carrying him out of the hospital in his car seat," she said.

"And the feeling of coming home and seeing all my family waiting on us, because they weren't allowed to see him when he was in hospital, was incredible. It was just such a relief."

However, just a few days later Bailey was back in Stirling's neo-natal unit with suspected meningitis and was transferred to Yorkhill for three days where he was treated for streptococcus B and pneumonia.

Lauren added, "His last stint in hospital was in September and he just seems to be getting stronger and stronger.

"The doctors thought his sight might have been affected by the oxygen but he went for an eye test recently and his sight is perfect. It's just amazing to think of everything he has got over.

"I think it is safe to say he will be well and truly spoiled this Christmas.

"I would just like to thank all the staff at Stirling's neo-natal unit who were absolutely brilliant and I really don't think we could have got through everything without them.

"They were just so strong and they got really close to us. I remember the day that Bailey got home they were all crying when we said goodbye."

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