2 Pounds, 7 Ounces. A Story of Baby Jamie's Birth and NICU Stay

In January 2018, Amanda suffered a rare ovarian ectopic pregnancy. An emergency surgery at Orange Regional saved her life and ovary. She went on to conceive Jamie, due on March 2019.

We are so thankful to Amanda Pillitteri for sharing her experience at our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Garnet Health Medical Center, formerly Orange Regional Medical Center. Baby Jamie is so strong. We are consistently blown away by the strength, courage and love that permeates our NICU families throughout their journeys. Congratulations again and we wish you all the best in the future!

Video Transcription:

“My name is Amanda. My husband’s name is Sal. We have a 4 month old named Jamie.”

“A rainbow baby is a baby conceived after a loss. It’s the rainbow after a storm.” 

“January 10th. It was around 7:45PM, my husband was on his way from work to the hospital. It was our normal routine. And, Dr. Zectec came running into the room and he said, ‘OK, we’re going for a c-section right now. Where is your husband?'"

“My heart stopped. I was really scared, but at the same time I was confident that I was going to be ok. And then I woke up, and I called for Sal. And Sal was sitting there and he said ‘Jamie’s ok. The NICU has him. He’s breathing.’”

“And that was just the best news that we could he because they said that he wasn’t going to be when he came out. But, he was breathing. He was breathing on his own and he didn’t need oxygen.”

“Families come to us at their lowest moment. They’re not expecting to be in the NICU. This isn’t how they planned things. We have, not just a job but, the honor of helping them through this and taking care of them. They’re family now, and they’re babies are our babies.” – Cindy Peck, RN, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurse, Orange Regional Medical Center.

“He only weighed 2 pounds, 7 ounces. I got to put my hand in the incubator because he couldn’t be held yet. These tiny little fingers that were no bigger than your thumbnail. It was just amazing, and all the nurses were like, ‘He’s doing great, mama! He’s fine.’ And to hear them call me ‘mama’- it hit me. I’m somebody’s mom. That’s it, we did it. We’re here – and he’s going to be ok.”

“We get to conceive them as one of our family. In the NICU, the nurses are very supportive. And its very important for us also to deal with the parents and be support as well. It helps with the care and the healing process for these babies.” – Dr. Manuel DeCastro, Director, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Orange Regional Medical Center.

“We live only 20 minutes away so that was amazing that I didn’t have to drive 45 minutes all the way to the city or Westchester. He was literally right down the road – it was perfect.” “The NICU really knows what they are doing. They are so friendly and kind, but they are also so smart. They’re just so wonderful.”