When Rebekah Pegg and her partner Adam’s baby was born smaller than a Coke bottle in April, 2021, they feared she might not be strong enough to make it to Christmas.
Roxanne arrived three months prematurely weighing only 1lb 14oz. Her parents, Rebekah Pegg and Adam Bray, say they feel very fortunate to be starting 2022 with three-year-old Isabella and her big sister.
Rebekah, 26, says: “There were some very scary moments when we didn’t know if Roxanne would survive.
It wasn’t an easy start, with Rebekah rushed into theatre after her daughter’s heartbeat stopped.
She said: “It was terrifying but the midwives held my hand and reassured me that Roxanne would come out and not make a noise.
” But she made a whimper and from then on everything was a bit of a blur.”
“At two weeks old she was smaller than a bottle of Coke, she was so tiny and fragile I was scared to touch her.”
In addition, Rebekah, a school chef on maternity leave, says: “Having her at home with us and being able to celebrate Christmas with her and Isabella feels really special.”
Rebekah’s pregnancy with Roxanne almost ended four weeks in, when an ovarian cyst ruptured last October, 2020.
“I was rushed to hospital in a lot of pain and was given both wonderful and terrible news. I was informed that although I was pregnant and that it was only the first few weeks, there was a good chance that I would miscarry since I needed an urgent procedure to treat a ruptured cyst.”
On April 2, 2021, at just 28 weeks pregnant, Rebekah was admitted to hospital after feeling unwell and experiencing reduced movements.
Rebekah says: “I was placed on a monitor to check on the baby. Three hours later, the baby’s heartbeat dropped and the room was filled with medical staff, it was incredibly scary.
“I was rushed into theatre and within minutes, Roxanne was delivered by emergency section. She made a tiny whimper when she was born, but lost consciousness and medics spent the longest 11 minutes of my life working on her.
“I had the briefest glimpse of her, in an incubator in a plastic bag to keep her warm, with a tiny oxygen mask on her face, before she was whisked off to NICU.”
“I visited her every day, but leaving hospital without my baby was heartbreaking,” admits Rebekah.
“We had support from an amazing charity called Emily’s Star, which gifted me a neonatal box.
“We took the photo of her with the Coke bottle when she was a fortnight old, to show friends and family just how small she was. I really can’t believe how fragile she was.”
After 96 days in hospital Roxanne was able to come home. She still needs a supply of oxygen but was able to spend her first Christmas with her big sister and family.
Rebekah says: “Christmas is special but this year is extra precious having our little miracle here with us.”
