Mom Shocked After Seeing What ‘3 Months of Breast Milk’ Did to Her Preterm Baby Born at 23 Weeks

Karsyn Elaine was amazed by the change she saw in her baby boy, Elliot, after just a few months.

In a now-viral TikTok video, the 26-year-old shared footage from the day she gave birth to Elliot at 23 weeks. In the clip, she holds the tiny newborn against her chest in the hospital as text on the screen reads, “What 3 months of breast milk did to my 23 weeker.”

The video then cuts to three months later. Karsyn is back at the hospital, cradling a noticeably bigger Elliot in her arms. “Merry Christmas 🎄 We are so blessed to spend it with our beautiful baby boy who wanted to come extra early,” she wrote in the caption.

Karsyn says Elliot arrived after what started as a celebratory day turned unexpectedly urgent.

“September 6th was our gender reveal, all day long I was having these crazy cramps that I now know were contractions,” she says. “We had the party and shot confetti cannons to tell everyone we were having a baby boy!”

Later that night, she nearly skipped meeting up with friends because the pain had gotten so intense.

“I’m so glad I went, because this would have been a completely different story if I hadn’t,” she says. “The cramps got worse and worse until it was hard for me to walk, but I distracted myself by playing with kids on the floor.”

By the time she got home, the contractions were coming every few minutes. She tried to ease the pain in the bathtub—until things escalated fast.

When her mucus plug came out and her water broke, she began bleeding heavily. Her husband, Tyler, called the doctor and rushed her to the hospital.

“I had to fill out intake paperwork as I was bleeding all over the hospital, but once I finally got to the room, the nurses were incredible,” Karsyn says. “They held my hand and cleaned me up, but at that point, my baby’s membrane had ruptured, and he had nothing protecting him.”

“Every contraction I had was squeezing and hurting him,” she adds. The hospital then gave them two choices: deliver immediately to protect Karsyn’s health, or transfer her by ambulance to the Children’s Hospital in Iowa City, since the local hospital wasn’t equipped to care for a baby born that early.

Karsyn and Tyler chose to transfer to Iowa City for an emergency cesarean section. Elliot was born weighing just 1 lb., 5 oz.

“When Elliot was born, he actually was doing well—just very small,” she says. “He hadn’t formed all of his skin yet, or eyelids. Once he was here, we’ve faced back-to-back trauma, but also miracles.”

Elliot has already overcome major complications, including a hematoma in his stomach and a bowel rupture, both of which have healed. His lungs and eyes also faced early challenges, but Karsyn says they’re steadily improving. He now weighs 6 lbs. 7 oz.

“He smiles and giggles, and now is on breathing support that we can get him in and out of without nurse assistance,” she says. “We still have a long way to go, but right now it is such a blessing that he is thriving.”