A MIRACLE baby who was born 17 weeks early and spent 137 days in hospital undergoing several operations, blood transfusions and laser eye surgery has defied all the odds and made it home.

Trowbridge couple Lisa and Robert Baker had already suffered three miscarriages before discovering Mrs Baker had fallen pregnant again last year with twins.

“When we found out I was pregnant again it was the happiest and scariest moment of our lives,” said Mrs Baker, of Paxcroft Mead.

“We couldn't believe it when we were told at a seven week scan that we were having twins. We were shocked, scared and I remember thinking ‘I can’t carry one baby how can I carry two’.

She struggled with sickness during the pregnancy and in November last year she was rushed to the Royal United Hospital in Bath having gone into labour at just 23 weeks.

The 39-year-old spent four days in labour before her first son Jacob Keith Baker was delivered on November 5 at just 1lb 3oz, followed by Joshua Jack Baker the day after. Both boys were taken to Neonatal Intensive Care.

Mrs Baker said: “We got taken up to see them and we had never seen anything so tiny and frail wired up to machines and ventilators. Their skin was like paper. It all felt like a whirlwind, a bad dream.

“Most mums get to hold their babies straight away and enjoy it, I couldn't hold them for over nine weeks and all we could do was look at them in the incubator, too scared to touch them.”

The boys remained in the Neonatal Intensive Care unit at Southmead for another fortnight, but Joshua became poorly and, despite undergoing bowel surgery at St Michael’s Hospital in Bristol, he died on New Year’s Eve.

Mrs Baker said: “Joshua fought so hard for his life, he was a fighter and never gave up, but it got taken out of his hands. He got a disease called necrotizing enterocolitis, which made him very poorly and we had to say goodbye to him.

“He passed away in his mummy’s arms and it broke our hearts. I don’t know how we went on, but we had to for Jacob. He fought on for his brother and for us.”

Jacob also had to go to St Michael’s Hospital for surgery on his bowel, as well as dealing with multiple blood transfusions, jaundice, infections, laser eye surgery, brain scans and X-rays.

However, he began making progress and finally Jacob was strong enough to be discharged back to the RUH, before being given the go ahead to come home in March after spending 137 days in hospital.

“It was like a dream come true and we had waited so long for that moment, but also scary as we didn’t have the safety net of the nurses and monitors around us that we had had for five months,” Mrs Baker said.

“Jacob is thriving and he is now over 9lb. He is still on oxygen and will be for a while yet until his lungs become stronger. We have endless appointments and he is being closely monitored due to extreme prematurity.

“But we don’t care. We have him and he’s a miracle and we will get through whatever is thrown at us – words cannot describe the strength of our little boy, we are so proud of him. 

“We are saddened we did not get to bring his twin brother Joshua home with us but he will live on in our hearts and in his brother, he will never be forgotten. Jacob will always grow up knowing about his twin and how brave he was in the short time he was alive.”

The couple have raised more than £250 for the charity Cots for Tots in Bristol, which provides accommodation for families to be able to stay close to their babies for free when in intensive care at St Michael’s – funded by the Gromit appeal.

Mrs Baker thanked catering firm apetito for supporting her husband, who works there as a chef. She added: “We want to thank our family and friends for all their support we couldn't have got through it without them,  and most of all we want to thank Bath RUH Hospital, Southmead Hospital and St Michael’s Hospital Bristol.”