Preemie whose ‘Bun in Oven’ announcement went viral is 3 months old

A baby born prematurely to a couple who tried to
conceive for 17 years and captured the collective
heart of the world has reached his 3-month
birthday.
In September, Dana Griffin-Graves of Dinwiddie,
Va., secretly videotaped her husband Arkell’s
reaction to the news that she was expecting, by
having him look in the oven to discover a
package of dinner buns.
Arkell’s dawning realization that his wife was five
months pregnant was priceless — squeaky sobs
leaked through the T-shirt he pulled over his face
to hide his tears and it went viral. Footage of the
video on YouTube garnered more than 10 million
views.


At that point, the couple had experienced four
miscarriages and one stillborn baby.
The couple’s joy, however, was short-lived. A few
weeks after the video was posted, Dana was
hospitalized with sky-high blood pressure that put
the life of her and her baby at risk.
“When I arrived in the intensive care unit
over a week ago, they told me in order to
save my life, I had to terminate his,” Dana
wrote on the Facebook page devoted to her
pregnancy. “… Daily I was told how my
chances of survival were declining because
of my heart functions and chronic blood
pressure.”
On Oct. 20, Kaleb Arkell Graves was born at 24
weeks (16 weeks early), weighing in at 13 ounces.
The age of viability outside the womb for a baby
born prematurely is considered by most medical
authorities to be 24 weeks, although one study
has shown that with intensive care, some babies
born at 22 to 23 weeks early have survived,
though most with serious health issues.
Today, “Baby Bun”- the couple’s nickname for
Kaleb - is 3 pounds 9 ounces and is breathing on
his own. He has also become a bit of a celebrity
with a devoted social media following of fans
who daily offer him their prayers and
encouragement. And many share stories of babies
born prematurely who have grown into thriving
teens and adults.
No doubt Kaleb will keep making progress. In
October, Dana’s sister, Melanie Griffin-Hamlin,
said “At 16 weeks early, it is a miracle, and the
medical staff call [Kaleb] a fighter, while our
family call him our blessing.”