New Mexico infant Jari Lopez was only 9 inches and weighed just 11.5 ounces when he was born at 24 weeks on February 22, 2021.
Jari’s mother Amber Higgins started seeing a specialist during her pregnancy after her 20-week ultrasound showed Jari was smaller than he should be. Then she was admitted to the hospital at the 23 week mark so they could monitor him daily. They gave Jari a 30% chance of surviving when they went forward with an emergency C-section at 24 weeks.
He was put into the NICU immediately where he was on a breathing machine for about 1.5 months and stayed for 127 days. While in the NICU, he had several transfusions and had surgery to repair inguinal hernias. After four months, Jari was cleared for discharge in June.
Now Jari is 2 feet tall and about 16 pounds. He just celebrated his first birthday with the help of three different birthday celebrations.
