Meet April's Legendairy Littles, Kalani and Penelope

Each month we donate a portion of our proceeds to a child with medical needs through the Legendairy Littles program. During April, we will be featuring sisters Kalani and Penelope. 

Kalani was born at only 22 weeks and weighed one pound and two ounces at birth. Before being delivered via an emergency c-section, Kalani’s parents were told she would pass away during birth. In the event she did make it, they worried the smallest breathing tube they carried wouldn’t be small enough.  After being born, she went into cardiac arrest, had to be resuscitated, and was admitted to the NICU. At only 14 days old, Kalani’s weight had dropped to 13 ounces, she went into septic shock, and her organs began shutting down. Even though the doctor switched her ventilator over seven times, this was the first time she opened one of her eyes. As a last effort, doctors let Kalani’s parents hold her for the first time. She made it through that night. Every day after led to uncertainty, but after 165 days in the NICU, she could finally go home. At a 16-month checkup, Kalani measured smaller than most 3-month-olds, weighing only 16 pounds.

After having Kalani, her parents were told that having another child would not be safe for the mom or baby. At three months post-partum, her parents discovered they were two months pregnant. After Kalani was discharged from the NICU, she had to go to 30 appointments a month, on top of the four per month her mom had for her high-risk pregnancy. Kalani was home for four months when her sister Penelope was born. When Penelope was able to come home from the hospital, Kalani was then admitted for two additional weeks. This was followed by Penelope being admitted for another six weeks until she could have a g-tube placed at eight weeks old. The family now attends up to 60 appointments every month as they search for answers about the sisters’ medical problems. 

The girls enjoy spending time with their Mom, Dad, and each other. They spend most of the day smiling at each other, reading books, and listening to music. They love the book MaMa and DaDa by Jimmy Fallon. As Kalani currently can only say four words, they love that two of her words are the focus of this book. They love the song Godspeed by Frank Ocean and Best Part by Daniel Ceasar & H.E.R. Even with challenges and uncertainty, the family tries to remain positive and enjoy any time they can spend together. With all that is happening, Mom has been exclusively pumping for both girls since Kalani’s birth in August 2021.