'Micro preemie' weighing 1 pound delivered by emergency C-section after mom's staph infection

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- A baby girl, considered a "micro preemie," weighing just one pound and one ounce at birth, was finally able to go home after spending six months in the hospital.

Sarah Sartorius delivered her baby girl Remi four months early.

“The nurses came rushing in and told me to flip side to side. They were like, 'we need to find a heartbeat.' They couldn’t find her heartbeat,” Sartorius told KTVI.

Sartorius said she'd been feeling sick and thought she had the flu, but it turned out she had developed a staph infection in her uterus. When she was at the hospital being treated for her own illness, the doctors noticed Remi’s heart rate went down and she had to be delivered by emergency C-section.

"I didn’t know what to expect when I was heading to the OR. I was very scared. I didn’t think she was going to make it,” said Sartorius.

Remi was born at Mercy Children’s Hospital. Dr. Heather Hall said at just one pound, one ounce, Remi was a high-risk preemie. She ended up spending 153 days in the hospital.

Dr. Hall said one of the biggest struggles with micro-preemies is keeping the baby warm, so Remi was placed in a bag for several hours after she was born until she was stable and could be moved to an incubator.

Remi also had a catheter in her umbilical cord to provide nutrition and medicines, and she was hooked up to machines for monitoring. It was touch and go for a while, but Remi’s family kept the faith -- saying they knew she would make it -- and they were right. Remi was finally able to go home after nearly six months in the hospital.

Remi is now comfortable at home with her parents and big sister and her prognosis looks good. Dr. Hall said she credits advancements in medicine and Remi’s family for her survival.

Remi still has some challenges and will have to be monitored. She could experience a delay in milestones, but overall, she’s very healthy!