Mom Holds Premature Son For First Time Nearly 60 Hours After Birth
Baby Hugo was born nearly 10 weeks early.
— -- First-time mom Jessica Collinson waited nearly 60 hours to hold her son, Hugo, for the first time after he was born 10 weeks early.
The moment Collinson first held Hugo in her arms was captured on video by her partner and Hugo’s dad, Micheal Burritt.
“I was hoping to catch a moment and I caught something a lot more,” Burritt told ABC News of the video, which has since been viewed millions of times on Facebook.
Burritt was also by Collinson’s side when she gave birth to Hugo on Dec. 22, in a hospital near the couple’s Calgary, Canada, home. Collinson’s due date was Feb. 27.
Hugo weighed 2 pounds, 1 ounce at birth, according to his parents. He was immediately taken to the hospital’s NICU and then, 12 hours later, was transferred to a local children’s hospital.
Collinson remained at the original hospital to recover from her C-section. It was only when she was discharged on Dec. 24 that she was able to go to the children’s hospital and hold her son.
“I remember the moment very clearly,” Collinson said. “I’ll never forget it, regardless of the video.”
“It was just a feeling of peace and calm that came over me right away,” she continued. “It wasn’t the ideal meeting that every mom hopes for but it was probably even more profound because we had to wait and because of everything we went through.”
Hugo came home from the hospital earlier this month. He now weighs nearly five pounds.
“He’s doing absolutely phenomenal,” Burritt said.
“He was born very strong and we couldn’t have asked for anything more,” Collinson added. “We were very fortunate.”