Smiley and happy little Taylor lights up a room at only eight-months-old.

She is the biggest joy of parents Jonathan and Tiffany’s lives, but her entry into the world did not go as planned.

Tiffany said she felt great during her first and second trimesters, but at week 28 of her pregnancy she was diagnosed with high blood pressure and put on medication.

A few weeks later, her doctor recommended she be evaluated by the Maternal Fetal Medicine team at WVU Medicine Children’s.

“I saw them on a Wednesday, and it ended up in an admission,” Tiffany said. “They said ‘you’re going to have a baby on Saturday at 34 weeks. Wow.”

“I was working when I got the call that she was getting admitted to the hospital,” Jonathan remembered. “Immediately I rushed over there. The doctors started talking about Taylor coming early, so instead of December, we’re going to have an October baby. That part was a little scary.”

An early welcome to the world

Taylor was born via c-section at 34 weeks and taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) for care, so Tiffany couldn’t see her right away.

Jonathan showed her photos and gave updates.

“I cried very, very quickly,” he said. “She held my hand. She held my finger for the first time. Just seeing her was amazing.”

Both Tiffany and Jonathan remember how scared they were for little Taylor, but they were immediately reassured by the WVU Medicine Children’s team.

“Within the first day, I was much more comfortable,” Tiffany said. “They explained everything before it happened. Taylor hitting her goals was always celebrated and it made it much easier on us and it made us more hopeful that she would get to come home. She was a fighter.”

The NICU staff taught Tiffany and Jonathan all they needed to know to care for Taylor, from feeding her to changing her, while she was there.

“The primary objectives in neonatal intensive care extend far beyond mere survival and growth,” said Mahmoud Ali, M.D., neonatologist at WVU Medicine Children’s. “The goal is to bridge the gap between the protected environment of the womb and independent life, preparing the infant for a healthy future. Ultimately, the NICU strives not only to save lives, but also to optimize long-term outcomes for both the infant and the family.”

That time was difficult for Tiffany and Jonathan, but they made it work by dividing their days and making sure someone was with Taylor.

“There were times where I felt guilty leaving her,” Tiffany said. “I knew she was in great hands though. If I needed to call or anything, the nurses were very kind to talk to me.”

Tiffany also used NICVIEW, a HIPAA-secure video system that offers parents real-time monitoring of babies while they’re at WVU Medicine Children’s.

“For parents, the NICU journey is emotionally and physically taxing,” Dr. Ali said. “Their primary goals often center on understanding their baby’s condition, participating in medical decisions, bonding with their child, and managing the stress of the situation. Family-centered care is essential in addressing these needs. By empowering parents and creating a supportive environment, the NICU aims to strengthen the parent-infant bond and facilitate a smooth transition to home.”

Finally, after 17 days, Taylor was ready to come home.

“Being a nurse myself, I looked at the team every day and thought, ‘I don’t know how you do this,’ or, ‘that really takes a special person to be able to take care of all these babies and provide the care that they do’,” Tiffany said.

Protecting Taylor from illness

Taylor was born in October, which is when cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu are usually on the rise. During that time, WVU Medicine Children’s began offering a new FDA-approved RSV antibody injection, nirsevimab. Nirsevimab (Beyfortus®) was newly available to children who were less than eight months old.

“RSV can be particularly hard on babies and in young children,” said Hilary Morley, M.D., pediatrician at WVU Medicine Children’s, said. “It is 16 times more likely than influenza to put a baby in the hospital and have serious respiratory effects and trouble breathing.”

Tiffany and Jonathan discussed getting the injection for Taylor and agreed that it was the best course of action to protect her from RSV.

“With her being a NICU baby and being here, I didn’t want to have to go through that again and have her hospitalized,” Tiffany said. “I know what that felt like, so I was just trying to protect her as best as I could.”

Taylor made it through the winter safely, and is now thriving.

“I can’t remember a snotty nose,” Jonathan said. “I can’t remember a cough. She’s been honestly the healthy, perfect baby that we expected to have. I think the shot did help with that.”

A Bright Future for Taylor

Taylor is now 10 months old, and her parents say she is thriving.

“I look at her every day and tell my husband ‘I love her so much’,” Tiffany said. Taylor continues her regular check-ups with Dr. Morley to make sure she continues to grow and stay healthy.

“I love getting to know the families and watching the children grow,” Dr. Morley said. “It’s such a breath of fresh air to see Taylor thriving and growing and doing all of the things that a healthy baby should do.”

“The NICU is a world of extremes,” Dr. Ali added. “Tiny, fragile infants, often born prematurely, fight for survival surrounded by life-saving technology. It’s a demanding environment, filled with constant vigilance and the weight of responsibility. Yet, amidst the challenges, there is hope. To witness these once vulnerable infants thrive is a testament to the power of human care.”

Tiffany and Jonathan say they waited a long time to have a baby, and credit WVU Medicine Children’s for making sure they were able to safely deliver Taylor and bring her home.

“The care that Taylor got was beyond anything that I imagined,” Jonathan said. “I will never stray from WVU Medicine because of that. I feel like I owe them for having my daughter.”

Click here to watch Taylor’s story and hear from her parents.