"I remember going to a doctors appointment to see how Indigo was doing. The person doing our ultrasound that day was being very quiet and then the doctor came in and told us there was a chance that she could be born early. We were told I have an incompetent cervix, which meant I couldn't hold the weight of my baby. She was only 23 weeks at the time and I was immediately placed on strict bedrest and given steroid shots to help with her lungs if born early. She was able to stay in for about 2 more weeks before she was born. Indigo was born on October 21st, weighing only 1lb 7oz at 25 weeks, 2 days. We could tell she was very feisty, she pulled out a line in her umbilical cord within the first 3 hours and kept pushing all of the nurses hands away. We truly experienced the roller coaster ride that comes with being in the NICU. Indigo was doing okay at first with breathing but that soon became something we struggled with. We went back and forth between the Ventilator and the CPAP. We were on oxygen for about 4 months before she was able to come off. Before Indigo was born, we noticed that she had Hydrocephalus which causes the ventricles in your brain not to drain as they should and it can build up and increase the size of your baby’s head. When Indigo hit 4 months old, barely 1 month adjusted it was evident that she needed surgery. Indigo was transported to CHOA across from Northside to have surgery and a VP Shunt was placed on the right side of her head to help regulate the flow. The process was very smooth and she recovered beautifully and was transported back to Northside. Once Indigo was old enough we started the process with trying to get her to drink from a bottle. That soon became a long process because we discovered she could not handle thin liquids and needed to be paced frequently throughout her feedings. She soon was able to come home, however, she was sent home with a feeding tube. We were both trained on how to insert the tube in case it were to come out and what warning signs to lookout for if the tube was misplaced. We soon became experts because Indigo loved to pull out her feeding tube. Once home we did all of our follow ups and with the help of the feeding clinic Indigo was off the tube in 3 months. We spent a total of 5 months, 120 days in the NICU. Now, Indigo just turned 1years old and is a ball of sunshine. She loves to eat whatever we eat, play and smile and she even says dada now. She even started to crawl on Thanksgiving day. She does have a bit of delay when it comes to motor skills, however she works with a psychical therapist once a week to help catch her up. We’ve come a long way since our NICU days. While in the NICU March of Dimes helped us out tremendously with all of the support and information they have available to the parents. With Indigo being our first child, this process was all new to us and the March of Dimes website was able to explain so much about the NICU and some of the technology they use. We participate in the March for Babies to help share our story and raise awareness. We were completely unaware of how common premature births are and we were so unprepared. We want to help prepare and bring comfort to families who are going through what we have been through. We would like others to help join us on this life saving mission and help spread the word to everyone."