Little Rose Chancellor-Wigg has settled into life at home oblivious to her rocky, early start to life.
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Mum Katie Chancellor's waters broke at 26 weeks and after being assessed at Ballarat Base Hospital she was transferred to a specialist hospital in Melbourne in case she went in to premature labour.
To make matters worse, she had COVID at the time and initially drove herself to Ballarat Base after her waters broke, then for her first week in hospital she was in isolation.
Ms Chancellor's husband John and son George, 2, drove down to visit twice a week
For four weeks Ms Chancellor was on bed rest in hospital before suffering a placental abruption that forced doctors to perform an emergency caesarean and deliver Rose at just under 31 weeks.
"I just had to stay put and wait and hang on as long as possible - every day she stayed in was a win," Ms Chancellor said.
Born more than nine weeks early and weighing just 1.5kg, Rose spent her first two days in the neonatal intensive care unit at Joan Kirner Women and Children's Hospital in Sunshine where she was on CPAP to support her breathing, and a further eight days in the hospital's special care nursery.
"For that four weeks they had to do assessments on me every four hours, constant monitoring to make sure everything was ok and I wasn't going in to labour or developing an infections which would mean I had to deliver.
After 10 days in the Joan Kirner hospital Rose was transferred to Ballarat Base Hospital's special care nursery where she spent a further 35 days, before finally being discharged to start family life at home in Ballarat East.
"It's a bit daunting coming home and a big mix of emotions. There's relief to be home and I love just being able to really relax at home, but you're looking around for that buzzer to call the nurse. At the same time though, we were ready to come home."
Almost three months on Rose now weighs just over 4.5kg and settled in well to life at home with big brother George.
"She is very relaxed but is on a clockwork schedule left over from special care - every three hours she got a feed so she wakes up three hours on the dot but she's doing great," Ms Chancellor said.
On their first night in NICU Ms Chancellor returned to Rose's crib to find a 'Precious Prems Pack' on the seat from the Life's Little Treasures Foundation.
"It had a parent information booklet which just outlined all the things to expect which was so helpful because it's a situation you can never really prepare for ... and some of the medical terminology, all that sort of thing, and a journal so we could keep track of her weight and what happens every day."
There were also 'calm cards' for affirmation, colouring books and activities for older children, clothes for the premature newborn and many other items.
"They thought of everything," she said.
The Chancellors are among thousands of families of sick or premature babies who have received support from the Life's Little Treasures Foundation.
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Foundation chief executive Felicia Welstead said the past two years has presented numerous challenges for families, especially those of premature and sick babies, with many feeling the impact of COVID on their traditional support networks.
"In these unprecedented times, parents of premature and sick babies have been doing it tough, struggling with feelings of isolation and uncertainty, and missing the in-person support and connection they so desperately need," Ms Welstead said.
The Foundation not only provide prem packs and little bags of calm for new parents, they also supply breakfast boxes with a fortnightly Brekkie Bar available in eight hospitals, Facebook group chats facilitated by trained peer support volunteers, milestones sent to families for Mothers Day and Fathers Day, and other support.
The Chancellors will be among hundreds of families across Ballarat and Victoria to take part in the annual Walk for Prems on October 23, held to raise awareness for the 48,000 babies born sick or premature in Australia each year.
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