Little Allegra will celebrate her first birthday next Tuesday.
It’s a big moment for any first-time parents. But it’s of even greater significance for Keilor East’s Lauren and Dhurim Allison, who didn’t know if their daughter would survive after being born nearly 10 weeks premature.
Ms Allison went into labour 30 weeks and six days into her pregnancy.
She was rushed to Freemasons Epworth where Allegra was delivered by emergency caesarean, weighing in at just 1.4 kilograms.
“She was actually sitting breach and her placenta cord was around her neck,” Ms Allison said.
“She was resuscitated for three minutes, and within 45 minutes she was shipped out to Monash [hospital] in Clayton … it was just chaos.”
Allegra spent four weeks at Monash and another three weeks at Werribee Mercy.
She was allowed to go home after reaching 2 kilograms.
“It was really scary,” Ms Allison said. “As first-time parents, we didn’t know she was going to survive. I hadn’t finished work yet [when I went into labour] and we didn’t have anything prepared at home.’’
Ms Allison said the emotional impact of Allegra’s early birth was huge.
She was grateful for the support of Life’s Little Treasures, a charity that supports the families of premature and sick infants.
“A lot of the medical terminology over- whelmed us. That’s where Life’s Little Treasures helped me understand what we were going through.”
Allegra is still on the small side for her age, but she is eating solids and has just started crawling. She will see a paediatrician every 12 weeks until she is three or four.
The family will throw a big party to celebrate Allegra’s birthday.
“It’s a really big milestone for us,’’ Ms Allison said.
