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Ballantine Family / Supplied
Little Lainey Ballantine was born last week at 27 weeks. He’s doing amazing, says Daddy Tim.
Lainey Ballantine was born last week at 27 weeks, possibly the first “locked baby” born in New Zealand.
Parents Tim and Bayleigh Ballantine from Hāwera are at Waikato Hospital with their fourth child and Lainey will likely be there for a few more weeks.
They discovered that Bayleigh was pregnant in May and had a due date of January 29, 2021.
Tim came home from work last Tuesday and the water broke in Bayleigh, and was flown to the Waikato hospital.
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Lainey was born on October 30 and weighed just 970g, just under two pounds of butter.
“They told us she’s amazing today,” Ballantine said, a week after she was born on Friday.
“She is quite active and feisty when they try to play with her lines.”
Ballantine Family / Supplied
Tim Ballentine with his daughter Lainey at Waikato Hospital, where he will likely stay for a few more weeks.
It is unknown if Lainey is officially the world’s first locked up baby to be welcomed into the world, but Tim thinks she could be pretty close.
New Zealand was locked in on March 25 and a full-term baby’s due date of 40 weeks would be December 30.
The Waikato Hospital staff had been amazing, he said.
“They had to put it in an incubator, like an artificial uterus, because it is so small,” he said.
They were not allowed to touch her for the first few days. He had no immune system and a breathing tube down his throat.
The breathing tube had been helping her, but she had mostly been breathing on her own, and the tube was removed a few days ago. They also did a head scan to look for things like brain bleeds and it was clear.
“Bayleigh has been able to have a couple of hugs with her and things like that.”
They had been told that three out of four babies born this way would be healthy enough to survive, Ballantine said.
The couple have three grown children: Tate, 7, Fletcher, 5, and Addison, 1, who especially misses their mother. It’s been a tough time with Bayleigh and Lainey trapped in the hospital, but both sets of grandparents have been really good, he said.
“Obviously, Bayleigh can’t go home and see the kids while I can.
“Both grandparents will come this weekend to see everyone.”
