Milestone Cards For Preemies Are For Moments Definitely Worth Celebrating

Amy Purling created milestone cards for preemies after her son was born early.

A mom created a card company that specializes in beautiful milestone cards for preemies after her son was born 10 weeks early. While every moment with your newborn is exciting and special — the first weeks, months, and sometimes years for preemies can also be incredibly stressful for parents. These special cards help moms and dads document and celebrate each moment of growth and development of their baby.

The mom turned card queen was inspired after her own baby was born prematurely. “I was warned that he was going to come early, I have a misshaped uterus which was restricting his growth,” Amy Purling explained to the Daily Mail. “I was high risk, but he wasn’t expected to come that early, I was told we could make it to between 36 and 37 weeks.”

Baby James came in February 2016 – 10 weeks early – and with a life-threatening platelet disorder that prevented his blood from clotting. The little guy spent five weeks fighting for his life in the neonatal intensive care unit.

“He was born bruised and swollen, he looked like he’d been through a war,” Purling shared. “You feel empty, you feel guilty, like you’ve failed your baby somehow.”

Thankfully James was born at the exact right moment. Doctors told the Purling family that had he been born a week later he would have passed away from the platelet disorder. Instead, he went through three platelet transfusions and started to grow into the happy and healthy baby Purling knows today.

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One of the most cherished moments the family has is when the newborn was strong enough to be rested on his mom’s chest. A nurse took a photo of James’ milestone and Purling became inspired to document her son’s journey.

“I started writing a journal anytime he did anything new, the first time he opened his eyes,” she said.

Eventually, she decided to turn her experiences into a small business, called Miracle Mumma, where she creates and sells milestone cards for other families of preemies.

In the United States, more than 1 in 10 babies or 15 million are born too early every year, according to the World Health Organization. There are a lot of moms and dads who cherish the special cards that celebrate their little ones breathing without tubes or gaining weight or leaving the NICU.

“I have made it my mission to help others who will go through the same,” Purling said. “I believe these milestone cards are helping to make this frightening time just a little bit brighter for these families.”