Hayden Pratt, soon to celebrate his second birthday, is
pictured with his parents, Beth and Ken Pratt of Orofino.
By Alannah Allbrett
Hayden Colt
Pratt, an Orofino boy born prematurely at one pound, 11 oz., will be
celebrating his second birthday next week. His mother, Beth Pratt came in to
give an update on this special little boy. Hayden was expected on January 11, 2011
but put in a surprise visit, much to everyone’s consternation, on October 1, 2010.
The baby’s
progress had been checked, via an ultrasound test, two weeks previously, and
everything appeared right on course. Without ever going into active labor, Beth
delivered the little guy at home, however. Beth’s mother (Abbey Walker) wrapped
him in a blanket and put him in Beth’s arms, and they were rushed to the
hospital.
Both mom
and baby arrived at Clearwater Valley
Hospital and then were LifeFlighted to Deaconess Hospital
in Spokane where Hayden stayed in the
Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit (NNICU) for 133 days.
Beth said,
out of the five months the baby was in NNICU, they were on the waiting list to
stay at the Ronald McDonald house four of those months. Hayden’s father Ken and Beth had to leave
their tiny firstborn child and commute much of the time to visit him on
weekends.
The Pratts
own their own business in Orofino (Khaybes Optics), and had to run the business
as well as trying to spend as much time with their newborn as they could. They
were told their son had only a 15 percent chance of growing up without
suffering from long term effects of his early birth.
Happily,
Hayden came home from the hospital February 10, and was five months old when they
welcomed him home.
The Pratt
home is a happy home with an active toddler who weighs a whole 20 pounds now
and gets his share of tumbles and bruises that two year olds seem to manage.
Beth says they’ve discovered a good distraction for when he bumps himself into
a wall or some toy. They go over to the wall and pat it to determine if it’s
survived the bump, and reassure Hayden that the wall is okay. “Hayden is so
mesmerized by the process, he forgets his owie,” she said.
Hayden’s
favorite toy is a plastic cow, but he’s also into electronics and loves to push
anything with a button on it. Beth says he’s infatuated with lights and loves
anything that lights up. She wonders if
this is a holdover from all the bright lights in his early days in the
hospital.
Hayden
happily goes around his house humming a little tune. He loves the theme song
from Barney and hums that often. His Jack Russell Terrier, Jake is his best
buddy. The Pratts were a little hesitant about having a family dog at first,
but Jake snuggles up next to Hayden whenever he is on the floor. Friendship
only goes so far, however, as Hayden will not share his mommy with Jake. Beth
said Hayden will try to shove Jake off the couch or use him as a footstool to
climb up on, if the dog occupies space next to mommy.
Soon, Hayden
will have someone else to share his parents with, as the Pratts are expecting a
little brother or sister for Hayden. Although he doesn’t understand about
having a new sibling, Hayden points to his mommy’s tummy and says, “Baby,
baby.” Beth’s parents, Abbey and Jim Walker live in Orofino as well and are
very supportive.
If the
weather is good, the family will go camping to celebrate Hayden’s birthday.
They hope to make this a family tradition, as they were scheduled to go camping
when Hayden chose to make his entry into the world.
Although
the Pratts certainly do not wish for an early delivery of their new little one,
they wouldn’t trade the experience they had of watching their baby develop for
four months, as he would have developed inside the womb. “Although it was
extremely hard on us, we got to see him developing in a way we would never would
have gotten to see” said Beth. “He’s smart; he’s really smart, and I just know
he’s going to be something” said his mom. “But for right now, he’s gone from
one pound to twenty, and that’s good enough for me!”
Hayden Pratt is pictured in the Deaconess Hospital's Neo Natal Intensive Care Unit.
Wonderful story and great looking family! From Chris H.
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