Touching Video Diary Shows How 2-Pound Premature Baby Fought for Her Life and Won

National   |   Micaiah Bilger   |   Dec 18, 2015   |   3:13PM   |   Washington, DC

Vicki Aldridge had a rocky pregnancy from the beginning.

Struggling with diabetes and hyperemesis, the expecting British mother was in and out of the hospital as she experienced complication after complication, she told The Daily Mail.

“I literally couldn’t keep anything down, and it was like a vicious circle: the sickness would start and I couldn’t eat, which played havoc with my diabetes,” Aldridge said. “I struggled to get myself well again.”

At 20 weeks, doctors discovered Aldridge had placenta previa, which was blocking her baby’s exit from the womb, the article states. Later, she began to bleed heavily and was admitted to the hospital.

Despite her numerous struggles, Aldridge never mentioned abortion as an option in her story. Instead, she persisted through the roller coaster of health problems and gave birth to a baby girl via C-section on June 17 after just 26 weeks of pregnancy.

Little Sophia Aldridge was born weighing 2 pounds, 5 ounces, the report states.

“She was very tiny and needed to be incubated straight away,” her mother said. “From the outset she had an open heart duct and fluid on her lungs so her first days in the world were touch and go.”

The journey didn’t get easier for the family. To keep their family and friends updated about Sophia, Vicki and her husband, Adam, began posting photos and short videos on Facebook, the report states. They took photos of holding her for the first time – an “amazing and very emotional” moment, Vicki said – and measuring her tiny foot up to her dad’s finger.

Sophia developed an infection very early after her birth, and doctors performed a lumber puncture to treat it. The tiny little girl fought back and came out of intensive care a few days later, the report states.

At nine weeks, the feisty baby girl began pulling out her ventilation tubes and breathing on her own; a few days later, her feeding tube also was removed, according to the report.

In total, Sophia spent 14 weeks in the hospital. Her family finally took her home on Sept. 13, 10 days before her original due date, according to the report.

“Sophia is doing really well, putting on weight and smiling lots,” Vicki told the newspaper. “Her journey isn’t over as we now have to wait and hope she meets all her milestones and that there are no complications from being a premature baby, but for now she is doing very well.”

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To celebrate their little girl’s life, Adam, a web designer, created a video diary of the family’s most precious moments, including when Sophia met her big sister, Mia, for the first time and her first cuddle with mom.

Vicki said they created the video to “say thank you and to show off how proud we were that not only little Sophia had fought so hard but we had made it through.”

When the Aldridges posted the video on social media, they did not realize the reaction they would receive. The family was flooded with well-wishes as the video went viral, according to the report.

Though the Aldridges never mentioned abortion, it could easily have been a recommendation, given all the health problems Vicki Aldridge faced. Because the family believed in their little girl and fought for her, Sophia and her mom are alive today; and their video diary is touching countless other lives.

She is our miracle baby,” Vicki said. “It’s hard to believe when you look back and see how far we have all come from this journey. It certainly puts life into perspective!”

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