0:01

Joy, what is all this stuff? It looks like a circus

0:04

in here. Betty! I'm so

0:06

glad you're here. Welcome to

0:08

my carnival! We've got a

0:10

ring toss. My elephant

0:13

Hermie is working on juggling. Watch

0:17

your head! Ooh, and

0:19

we've even got maple flavored cotton

0:21

candy. Here, try some. Whoa,

0:23

why is it so salty? Salty?

0:26

Let me try. That's

0:29

saltier than an angry

0:31

ocean. Does this

0:33

empty soy sauce container have anything to do

0:35

with it? Ooh, I must have put soy

0:37

sauce in the machine instead of maple

0:39

syrup. Whoopsie daisy. Step

0:41

right up, step right up,

0:44

get your savory soy fluff

0:46

and revel in umami ecstasy!

0:49

Joy, why are

0:52

you yelling? It's literally just

0:54

us here. Because yelling is

0:56

fun! Plus today, and today

0:58

only, is the show of a lifetime

1:00

you won't want to miss. Step

1:03

right up, step right up, and

1:06

feast your eyes upon the most

1:08

curious creature you ever did see.

1:11

Behold a bendy being,

1:13

toothless, with eyes as big

1:15

as its head. Whoa. It

1:19

speaks only in grunts and burps.

1:21

It's full of fluids and ready

1:23

to release the stink of a

1:25

thousand butts at any moment. Oof,

1:28

P.U. It

1:30

hypnotizes adults with its cuteness, but

1:32

don't be fooled. In a flash,

1:35

it can produce blood-curdling screams that'll

1:37

haunt your worst

1:39

nightmares. Oh

1:42

my goodness. What is

1:44

this incredible critter, you ask? It's...

1:50

A baby! A

1:53

baby? I was not

1:56

expecting that, but it does make sense. Marvel

1:58

at its squish. It's

2:00

rolls! Uh, Joy,

2:03

one question. Uh, yes? Where

2:06

did you get this baby? Oh,

2:08

this is my neighbor's. I'm on babysitting duty,

2:10

I forgot to tell you. Oh, it looks

2:13

like she's going to... Oof!

2:16

Spit up. You're

2:22

listening to Forever Ago from APM

2:24

Studios. I'm your host, Joy Dolo,

2:27

and today I'm joined by Betty

2:29

from Minneapolis, Minnesota. Hi, Joy! Hello!

2:32

And how can I forget, we're also

2:34

joined by my neighbor's baby, Gertrude. Mmm,

2:36

my neighbor's. She's the cutest.

2:39

Me and my neighbor's. Don't

2:41

worry, I speak baby. Gertrude

2:43

says you're totally right. She

2:46

is the cutest, and it's perfect

2:48

that I'm babysitting because today's show

2:50

is about babies! More

2:52

specifically, about premature babies, which are babies

2:54

that are born early. Or

2:57

premies, for short. Such a good nickname.

3:00

And there are lots of premies out there. About

3:02

one in every ten babies worldwide are born

3:04

prematurely. Like me! Right,

3:06

yes! Betty, you were a

3:08

preemie. Do you know how early you were

3:10

born? Three months early, I

3:12

think. Three months early, goodness. Do

3:15

you know how big you were when you were born? I weighed two

3:17

pounds, but I don't know exactly how big I

3:19

was. Is this something that you think

3:21

about? Do you ever think about being a premature baby? Mmm,

3:23

yes. Yeah? What do you think about it? I

3:25

don't know. When I was little, I used to think, like,

3:28

oh my god, I was born early, it's so cool, I'm

3:31

gonna go and tell everyone I know about it.

3:33

Yeah. Did you find other people that were also,

3:35

like, premature? That you know? I... no one

3:37

that was born as early as I was. I

3:39

knew some people that were in it for, like, a couple

3:42

weeks or whatever. Okay, alright.

3:45

And a lot of premature babies go to

3:47

this special part of the hospital called the

3:49

NICU. That stands for neonatal intensive

3:51

care unit. It's a special

3:53

part of a hospital where babies go when they're

3:55

born really early, or if they have any

3:57

issues after birth. In the U.S., about one million people are born

3:59

early. one in eight babies need to go to

4:01

the NICU. And Betty, you were in the NICU, right?

4:04

Yeah, I had to stay in the NICU for a hundred days.

4:07

Wow, that's like over three months.

4:09

What was that like? Well, I don't remember

4:11

anything because I was just a baby, but

4:13

I brought someone who does remember, my mom,

4:16

Jenny. Hi.