Kayla Ortiz welcomes daughter at 29 weeks

To my fellow Elysee owners - our good friend Kayla Ortiz, who is always the first smile we see when we walk in, and who takes such good care of us, recently welcomed her baby girl into this world. Lily was so excited to meet her parents that she couldn't wait the full 40 weeks so made a surprise, grand debut at just 29 weeks. Lily Ana Kcomt-Ortiz was born on 11/27/21, at 2 lbs, 5.4 oz, 14.5 inches along.

As you can imagine, Kayla and Michael were not ready for such an early arrival or scary experience. Kayla is currently recovering from her emergency c section, and Lily, who is a total fighter, will continue to reside in the NICU, being cared for by the amazing Mt Sinai team, until she grows to 5 lbs. Kayla and Michael continue to visit her and finally got to hold her hand this week!

Given all that Kayla has done for us to make our home so special, I would be so grateful to ask for your support in contributing to this fund to help Kayla and Michael get the basics in place to welcome Lily home. My husband Adrian and I had our first child less than a year ago and at 29 weeks in pregnancy, there is no way we would have been prepared for her to arrive. Nor would we have been prepared to leave the hospital without her. Nobody ever is.

Every one of us has been the recipient of Kayla's kindness, and every resident I've spoken to has asked how they can help. Rather than inundating them with a lot of amazon boxes, I thought this might be more helpful so that they can be intentional about what they are ordering and when, particularly for the nuanced needs of Lily's early arrival.

Thank you in advance and wishing you all a very happy holidays!!