In honor of World Prematurity Day on Thursday, actor and comedian Rob Huebel shared an emotional Instagram post.
Huebel, who appears on shows like “Transparent” and “Childrens Hospital,” posted a photo of the first time he held his newborn daughter in the NICU.
”With grateful hearts, my wife and I are celebrating our daughter today on #WorldPrematurityDay,” he wrote.
The actor cited the statistic that an estimated 15 million babies are born too soon each year. His daughter was born seven weeks ago, at just 26 weeks and five days. She weighed one pound, 15 ounces and “had a lot of growing left to do,” Huebel explained.
“We are so thankful for science,” he added. “We are so thankful for medicine. And all the badass heroes that work in the NICU watching over these tiny warriors. Our daughter has doubled her weight already and continues to grow and grow. Our hearts are filled with hope.”
Huebel noted that he normally wouldn’t post something “so personal” but felt inspired by the encouragement he gets from other preemie parents’ posts. “Seeing pictures of their healthy kids makes my wife and I a little less terrified,” he explained. “And so if you are on your NICU journey now, I send you strength and courage. Let’s all walk through this together.”
He continued, “I am so proud of our brave daughter who fights so hard. And thrilled to be partners with my beautiful and fearless wife. Thanks for all the love!”
Other celebrities whose babies were preemies posted tributes to World Prematurity Day as well.
Jeannie Gaffigan tweeted a tribute to her preemie daughter, Maria Lourdes, who died shortly after her birth in April 2008.
Chris Pratt posted a video of his son, Jack, who “was just over 3 pounds when he was born.”
“Thanks to scientific advances made possible by #marchofdimes funding, today he’s a perfectly healthy, curious 4 year old,” Pratt wrote, urging fans to donate to March of Dimes.
Thinking of all the preemie rock stars and the amazing doctors and nurses helping them in their fight!
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