'Bun In The Oven' Preemie Is Beating The Odds And Thriving

Dana Griffin-Graves and her husband, Arkelle, made headlines a few months ago when their sweet pregnancy announcement went viral, and now they’re back with the first photos of their little boy.

The couple are from the famed “Bun In The Oven” video that made the rounds in late September. In it, Dana announced to Arkell that after 17 years of trying, four miscarriages, and one still birth, she was unexpectedly five months pregnant.

Since the video was posted, it’s been viewed more than ten million times, but just weeks after it went up, the couple shared the devastating news that their son, Kaleb, was born prematurely. He arrived during Dana’s 24th week of pregnancy and weighed just 13 ounces. Doctors weren’t sure if he was going to make it — they gave him just a five percent chance of survival — and the couple began posting prayer requests to a Facebook page called “Arkell and Dana’s Baby Bun.”

Now, one month later, it looks as though the prayers are working and they’ve released the very first photos of their tiny baby boy.

At one month old, Little Kaleb now weighs one pound, five ounces, and he’s still got a very long way to go. Griffin-Graves tells 8News Kaleb will likely be in the hospital for months to come, but she’s overwhelmed with joy and gratitude for each and every day. “If you had told me six weeks ago when I was laying in the hospital bed and I was in the ICU department, that I would be here today, I wouldn’t believe it,” she said.

Dana and Arkell have set up a GoFundMe to help with some of the medical expenses for their baby bun. So far, they’ve raised a little over $6,000 of their $10,000 goal. More than anything, though, they say they’re just grateful for the many well-wishes they’ve received from strangers who’ve heard their story and are following along with Kaleb’s journey.

This past Wednesday was World Prematurity Day, so it seems there’s no better time to acknowledge how much families of premature infants go through, how hard these babies have to fight, and how incredible the medical teams are who work to keep these babies thriving. One in ten infants is born premature and, for their parents, stories like this one are an incredible source of hope.

We hope Kaleb continues to grow stronger and healthier, and that we get many more happy updates about this “baby bun” in the future.