For David and Kim Michelsen, their best Christmas present came in a very small package.
Their daughter arrived June 27, weighing just 13 ounces.
Anna Marie's not fully developed lungs and her tiny size - about as big as a Beanie Baby - were the major concerns, doctors said. But the baby turned out to be feisty.
The only noticeable reminders of her dramatic start, besides Anna's still small size at 9 pounds, are a breathing tube across her face and a machine that monitors her heart. So far, Anna has passed all physical tests.
"A million things could have been wrong with her," said Kim, 29. "She's perfect."
Anna is celebrating the holidays in her Waterloo home on Hillcrest Road.
Here, the 6-month-old coos and gurgles, squirms in her daddy's lap and smiles a wide, toothless grin when she hears her mommy's voice.
The Michelsens said it's been quite a year for them, but Anna has made it worth it.
The year started with David and Kim ready to start their family. On New Year's Eve 1997, they toasted to the year of their baby. A week and a half later, Kim was pregnant.
It was difficult from the beginning. Kim has high blood pressure, which made the pregnancy high risk. Doctors knew she could deliver early, but did not expect it to be 24 weeks into her pregnancy. Morning sickness also plagued the expecting mom.
Kim's family does not have any history of high blood pressure. Doctors have not been able to determine why she suffers from it.
Kim was seeing a doctor in Waterloo, but when her blood pressure began to rise in May, she was sent to Iowa City.
Doctors at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics watched Kim closely. Finally, she was admitted on June 24 because her blood pressure had increased so much. For the next 2 1/2 days, doctors performed ultrasounds every few hours and checked Kim's blood pressure.
The time was tense.
If Kim delivered then, there would be many concerns for a baby born so early, doctors said. There was the question if whether Anna would survive.
Doctors told the parents the baby could be born with problems, possibly severe. If that happened, the Michelsens would need to decide if they wanted doctors to try to save their baby, or they could choose to let her die.
David and Kim wanted the baby, no matter what, they said.
When an ultrasound found that the umbilical cord was in reversal, an immediate Caesarean section was performed. Anna was born at 11:59 a.m. on June 27.
John Dagle, a neonatologist in Iowa City, was Anna's doctor in her first few weeks. He said Anna did very well.
"I knew Anna was tough," Kim said. "She's a fighter. We knew she was going to be OK."
Her biggest problem, Dagle said, was her size. Because of Kim's high blood pressure, Anna was smaller than most babies that far along. Her veins were so small a special catheter had to be used, and her lungs were not completely developed.
But Anna held on.
"I wished all my patients gained weight like she did," said Dagle.
Dagle said premature babies now stand a better chance of surviving and having fewer problems.
"They're normal kids," he said. "They just need to catch up."
That's what Anna has been doing since her birth.
During her first few weeks, the Michelsens kept busy. David, 33, had to go back to work, but he went to Iowa City on weekends and sometimes during the week. Kim spent the first few weeks in the hospital with Anna.
She went through a number of milestones: her eyes opening; gaining weight, ounce by ounce; being held the first time by her parents.
Finally, Anna came home on Oct. 14 - the day after her due date.
It was great to finally have her home, David and Kim said.
"We are thankful for her," said Kim. "She's a miracle."
The doctors have advised the Michelsens not to have another baby, but they seem content to have their firstborn home. Their living room is covered with Anna pictures and baby items.
They are very proud of her, just as family members are proud of the parents.
"I couldn't be happier for them," said Judy Derifield, Kim's mom. "The decisions that they made all seem to be in the right direction for Anna."
"You never dream of having a baby that weighs 13 ounces," said Kim.
"It's all worth it," David said.
Schultzes Watch With Glee as Daughter Grows
By Jennifer Jacobs
Waterloo Courier Staff Writer
After Rebecca Starr Schultz's birth, her father was able to slip his wedding band around her fragile thigh. The scale registered 12 ounces.
Today, as her fifth birthday approaches, she weighs about 30 pounds. She is finishing her second year of preschool and will start kindergarten next year.
She loves to watch "Barney & Friends" on television, draw pictures and play with her Barbie dolls. Her new best friend is a Beagle puppy she named Speedy.
"She's doing really well," said her father, Dann Schultz. "We're onto the happily-ever-after part now."
Born 13 weeks early on Jan. 1, 1994, Rebecca's palm was smaller than an adult's fingernail, her head was about the size of a baseball and her body weight equaled three sticks of butter.
On her first birthday, her 8-pound, 10-ounce body still swam in newborn dresses, but she was 11 times larger than when she exited the womb. Her parents planned to throw a small, quiet party.
"(The doctor) said to take hundreds of pictures and enjoy every moment we can with her," said her mother, Sylvia. "That sort of tells you."
The stress level remained high for Rebecca's first 2 1/2 years.
For weeks, Rebecca's dime-sized hand was the only thing Dann and Sylvia could touch. She was 7 weeks old before they could pick her up. She was 7 months old before they heard her cry.
Rebecca needed in-home nursing. Her care demanded a great deal of attention. Doctors forbade allowing the baby to fuss because crying burned calories essential for other body functions.
At one year, she was still too fragile for many typical activities. Her mouth was too small for teeth, and her arms weren't long enough to help her sit up. She was too little to sit on Santa's lap, and she couldn't go to the family Christmas get-together because of her precarious health.
To help her survive the October-to-March viral season, no children were allowed near her except her half sister, 12-year-old Keira, and half brother, 10-year-old Kyle. Visiting adults had to wear masks. One time, a minor cold for her parents landed Rebecca in the intensive care unit for four days on nine medications.
But that's all in the past.
Today Rebecca is thin. She's a finicky eater who is happy with peanut butter sandwiches, cheese and chocolate milk. She wears glasses and needs tubes inserted into her ears every winter. She's had two operations to correct eye problems.
She knows her ABCs and numbers. Her preschool teachers say she is progressing well, although she's a tad behind and needs extra attention in the classroom.
But Dann and Sylvia no longer panic if she catches a cold. She gets annual flu shots, and as a tiny infant was one of the first in the country to receive a chicken pox vaccine. She exited unscathed from a chicken pox outbreak at her school.
For Christmas, she asked for "everything," Dann said. "Everything she saw for on TV and in the catalogs she said, 'Can I have that? Can I have that?' We just told her yes."
The Schultzes knew they were doing the right thing in working to protect Rebecca's life.
Dann said, "We never doubted that for a second."
© Waterloo Courier 2000
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