“The NICU team has been excellent,” says Manpreet. “They are supportive, caring, professional, and explain everything to us.” Harvie stayed cozy in his Giraffe Omnibed, a combined incubator and care station that can detect the very low respiration rates of small babies and send alerts directly to the care team’s phones.

Manpreet was 32 weeks pregnant when she learned that she would need to deliver her baby boy by unplanned C-Section after tests showed he was not growing quickly enough in utero.

She was given an injection to help speed up the development of the baby’s lungs and her C-Section was performed the very next day by Dr. Andre LaRoche at Humber River Hospital.

“We didn’t expect him to be born so early,” remembers Parjinderpreet, the baby’s father.

“We were both so scared,” remembers Manpreet. “My brother, who is a nurse, came into the operating room with me.”

Their newborn was very small – only 816g – but he was healthy to everyone’s relief. The family named him Harvie.

Manpreet stayed at Humber for three nights, and Harvie stayed in Humber’s NICU for just over a month while he grew bigger.

Humber now has the care team and equipment necessary to care for small babies like him without needing to transfer them. Harvie is the smallest baby that has ever been cared for in Humber River Hospital’s NICU.

Harvie stayed cozy in his Giraffe Omnibed, a combined incubator and care station that can be positioned in many ways, so that his care team could access him while disturbing him as little as possible. The bed’s specialized monitors can detect even the very low respiration rates of small babies and send alerts directly to the care team’s phones.

“I’m really proud of how our team came together to provide a high level of care for such a small baby,” says Dr. Graham Black.

“I’m really proud of how our team came together to provide a high level of care for such a small baby,” says Dr. Graham Black, the Paediatrician who was on call during Manpreet’s C-Section. “The dieticians quickly prepared his total parenteral nutrition, the nurses continue to be amazing around the clock, and the respiratory therapists ensure he is breathing well. He has been doing very well with no complications.”

“The NICU team has been excellent,” says Manpreet. “They are supportive, caring, professional, and explain everything to us.”