World Prematurity Day in Boise

Today is World Prematurity Day. It's a cause that is near and dear to my heart, since I was a premie myself. Here's some of the cool things that happened here in Boise today.

Having a baby that is born prematurely is probably one of the scariest experiences a parent can go through. I was lucky to have two full term healthy babies, but not all Mom's are that lucky.

Kelsey Nixon (who competed on America's Next Food Network Star and went on to host her own show "Kelsey's Essentials" on The Cooking Channel) spent 66 days in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit with her first son Oliver and sadly her second child Leo passed away after 30 days due to complications from prematurity.

With Kelsey's 3rd child she decided to use her sister in-law as a surrogate. Ironically her sister lives here in Boise and is scheduled to deliver the baby next week on November 21st.

Today Kelsey delivered care packages to Mom's at St. Alphonsus in the NICU.

Premature birth is the #1 killer of babies in the United States and it can happen to anyone.

I have heard countless stories of my birth at 29 weeks gestation. I weighed 2lbs 2oz and spent nearly 3 months in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit. My Mother wasn't allowed to see me for the first 3 days and most of the time my parents could only touch me with two fingers through an incubator. I was extremely lucky not to have any major complications, but I strongly feel that my birth shaped who I am today.

30 years later my sister gave birth to twin boys prematurely. My nephew Sam only weighed 1lb 14oz.

Thank you Kelsey for contributing to our community today and bringing awareness of this issue. For more information on premature birth visit The March of Dimes.