Hello and welcome to Living in the Lehigh Valley, where our focus is your health and wellness.

I'm your host, Brittany Sweeney.

On average, one in ten babies are born prematurely in Pennsylvania, according to the March of Dimes.

Many of those children end up in the neonatal intensive care unit for days, weeks or in some cases, months.

And it can be very stressful for families.

That's why Lehigh Valley Health Network celebrates with those families each year.

However, that celebration was put on hold because of the pandemic.

But this year the party is back on point with a cuteness meter off the charts at Lonely Park in Upper Macungie Township.

After a two year hiatus by Lehigh Valley Riley Children's Hospitals Nikki Reunion is back.

Hi, baby.

This marks the 10th year doctors, nurses and other staff working in the neonatal intensive care unit came together to celebrate their most recent graduates.

To being in the nick.

You.

It's really hard to understand until you've been in it.

So I think for for families, it's important for them to be able to connect with people that kind of understand the journey they went through as a as a family, as parents, as a couple, and then also for their child.

The parties, guests of honor ranged in age from ten months to two and a half years old.

A larger group was invited this year after the pandemic canceled.

The 2020 and 2021 reunions.

Angie Ortiz of Allentown brought her one and a half year old Gianna to celebrate all of the milestones her daughter has reached since leaving the nick.

You?

Gianna was born at 28 weeks and we are only £2 at birth.

She lost a weight during that.

I wasn't able to see her for a whole week because of my situation.

And then finally when I got to see her, she had a collapsed lung.

They had to do that.

It was very difficult and very intense.

However, that tiny baby is making big strides in her short life.

When she was in the nick, they made it clear that she might have hearing issues, seeing speech.

You know, any type of delays is to be expected because she came so early, but we took advantage of everything they told us, like therapy, all that stuff.

Now she's talking.

She's saying words, she's walking.

She hears fine and her eyes develop perfectly.

The Allentown mom said she enjoyed seeing the people she spent so much time with in the Nick U during COVID.

It feels full circle.

It's nice to see the nurses that helped us again and you know them to see her like, Oh my God, you're so beautiful.

With 70 to 80 graduates and their families in attendance, the party is not only fun for the babies, but a place where parents can reconnect with each other following one of the hardest times in their lives.

Slating teen mom Caitlin Lynch came with her daughter Frances as the little girl was born in November of 2021 and spent time in the Nick U, which says it's not a place she ever thought her newborn would spend her first days of life.

The thought of her going in the nick, you never dawned on me.

I really was hoping to have my baby in the room with me, that was.

And then going home without her was I. I cried myself to sleep the first night.

It was rough.

With music, food, games, and even a little bounce house.

The event helped families like those of Gianna's and Frances's to celebrate the obstacles they've overcome together.

Dr. Kowalski says it's not just a joyous reunion for the patients, but the health care workers as well.

This is a happy day for us.

I mean, we look forward to it every year.

We have, you know, it's a volunteer event.

So we have all the docs and our employees and we have rescue therapists and nurses and our nutritionist, everyone sort of jumping in.

All of the families in attendance were discharged from the unit in 2021.

This was the 11th year for the event.

That will do it for this edition of Living in the Lehigh Valley.

I'm Brittany Sweeney.

Helping you stay happy and healthy.