Happy first birthday to Emmie - born at 25 weeks weighing 1lb 10oz

Emmie, whose parents are Vanessa Lewis, 30, and Matthew Lewis, 37, spent 82 days in hospital and will be celebrating her special day at home in Cwmbran with her parents and big sister Holly, 13. She now weighs 18lb 10z.

Mum Vanessa said: "The pregnancy was a bit of a rollercoaster.

"After suffering a miscarriage the year before it was a blessing for us to be pregnant again, but also very scary as we were constantly worried something might go wrong.

"Luckily apart from the few weeks of morning sickness and tiredness the pregnancy was fine.

Vanessa and Matthew Lewis with baby Emmie just after she was born (Image: Supplied)

"We had no indication Emmie was going to come early. She was actually due on November 27.

"I went into triage at 24 weeks as I was spotting which is normal during pregnancy, but something told me I needed to get it checked out.

"While there we were told Emmie's heart beat was perfect and there were no concerns.

"However on further examination I was told I was actually 4cm dilated and my waters were bulging so I needed to be given steroids immediately and taken down to HDU (the High Dependency Unit) as she could be born at any time."

Vanessa continued: "After being born Emmie let out a cry and was intubated and wrapped in plastic.

Emmie Lewis was born at 25 weeks weighing just 1lb 10oz (Image: Supplied)

"We were unable to have skin-to-skin contact but we were able to hold her briefly before she was put into an incubator and taken down to NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) where we were able to visit her a few hours later."

She said it has been a "whirlwind" since Emmie was born.

"Spending hours and hours at the hospital while Emmie was on NICU was tough," she said.

Emmie Lewis was born at 25 weeks weighing just 1lb 10oz (Image: Supplied)

"Although we knew she was there because she needed that little bit of extra help, it wasn’t a normal situation to be in with a newborn.

"Leaving her every day to go home never got any easier."

But she said the experience was not all bad.

Matthew and Vanessa Lewis get ready to take Emmie home from hospital (Image: Supplied)

"We’ve made so many friends from our time on NICU. From other parents who were experiencing similar feelings to us, to the nurses and doctors.

"When you see the same faces every day, the staff become friends too.

"We saw them more than we saw our own families.

"Family were great too. They were always there for us when either ourselves or Emmie were having a bad day.

"But they were also there to celebrate little milestones and achievements with us too."

Mum and dad with baby Emmie (Image: Supplied)

Vanessa's advice to parents trying to cope with such a premature baby is to "be strong and look after each other".

She said: "Bringing a little human into this world is a big thing in itself.

"But when you find yourself with a prem baby who you can’t take home at the end of each day and you see other families taking their babies home it is hard.

"You have to be each other's rock.

"Make sure that you involve yourself with your baby's care.

Emmie Lewis with her big sister Holly (Image: Supplied)

"There’s so many things we were still able to help with such as nappy changes, feeding through the feeding tube, taking her temperature, giving her a wash and changing her clothes when she was eventually big enough to wear clothes that is!

"Although all the tubes and wires are daunting, don’t let it put you off getting involved. Babies are precious but they’re also very resilient.

"Ask questions and try and be on the ward when the consultants do their rounds every morning.

"This is when they decide on changes etc and you can be involved in what changes are made and raise any concerns you may have."

Vanessa said: "It’s a cliche but we got through it by literally just taking each day at a time.

Emmie Lewis (Image: Supplied)

"When Emmie was born the first 24 hours were critical. Then the next 72 hours. Then the first week.

"Looking back, we even question how we coped too.

"But we had each other and we knew that by remaining positive and relying on each other, we would be fine.

Emmie Lewis going home after 82 days in hospital (Image: Supplied)

"The staff were amazing. They grew to learn our moods. We all became a big family.

Emmie was a good baby. Even given the circumstances in which she was born, she wasn’t needy.

"As parents we had access to the hospital 24 hours a day and when we weren't there we were able to call the ward to see whether there had been any change with Emmie.

"Emmie has been very fortunate with her premature journey. A lot of the complications and hurdles that we were prepared for, never really happened.

"She was only intubated for a very short period of time, which for her gestation was almost unheard of.

Emmie Lewis with her mum, dad and big sister Holly (Image: Supplied)

"She struggled to gain weight initially, which was the main thing holding her back, but once she started gaining, a lot just fell into place.

"When they initially removed her breathing support, that was a huge moment for us.

"We could finally see her beauty of little face and features properly without the tubes up her nose and taped to her cheeks.

"It was a scary time, knowing that she was in complete control of her breathing with no help anymore. And she smashed it.

"She didn’t receive any breathing support again after that day!

Emmie when she was born and as she is now (Image: Supplied)

"She has a small belly button hernia that should subside as she gets older.

"This is just because her stomach muscles were so under developed when she was born.

"It’s cute though - makes her even more unique."

Vanessa continued: "The hospital have an amazing support group available for all parents currently on the ward or who have previously been there.

"It allows you to ask questions, talk to other and support each other.

Emmie Lewis celebrates her first birthday on August 15

"There is also a monthly baby group organised by the hospital where all discharged babies gather together for activities and parents are able to talk to each other about how their babies are progressing.

"We would just like to thank all the midwives, neonatal nurses, consultants and other members of staff at the Grange Hospital.

"They really do not get enough recognition for all the hard work and dedication they put into their jobs and we really appreciate everything they have done."