A touching first photograph capturing the moment a father cradles his 25-day-old daughter for the first time, reveals she was so tiny her forearm slipped easily through his wedding ring.
Mollie Perrin was born 13 weeks premature, on April 27.
She was diagnosed with a placental disorder before birth and doctors told her devastated parents Stephanie, 34, and James, 38, that she may not live past three weeks old.
She was born weighing just 1lbs 1oz, little more than a bag of sugar, and was rushed to a neonatal intensive care.
But Mollie defied doctors' expectations to pull through - and at three weeks old, her parents were able to hold her for the first time.
And now, at 17 weeks old, her parents, from Hull, East Yorkshire, are finally preparing to take her home for the very first time.
'I can't believe the moment has finally come for us to take Mollie home,' Mr Perrin said.
'After weeks of watching parents come and go with their own babies, it's finally going to be time to take our little one home.
'The joy and relief we feel is just amazing, we can't wait to be able to finally be a family, it's so incredibly special to be able to say we can take Mollie home.
'At our first scan, the doctors told us we can only expect to have her for three weeks.
'When they told us, we both just broke down. There were so many questions we had to ask. It has been horrific, but the people have really looked after us we are like a family now.'
They were told Mollie had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), meaning she was not growing at a normal rate inside the womb, due to a placental disorder.
'Mollie just wasn't getting fed properly. Every week she fell behind in size,' Mr Perrin said.
'The placenta didn't work properly and in tandem with that, there was umbilical cord restriction, restricting the growth of the baby, because she wasn't getting the nutrients she needed.
Mollie was delivered by an emergency Caesarean section on April 27, after her mother had been in hospital for two weeks under observation.
She had been having regular ultrasound scans to make sure Mollie was still alive.
Mr Perrin said it was a 'relief' to have his wife being checked by nurses in hospital, as at home they were being consumed with worry.
'It was incredibly hard at home, having to get up, go about our lives not even knowing if our baby was still alive,' he recalled.
'At least when Stephanie was admitted, we could just ask for an ultrasound.'
Mollie was born prematurely at just 27 weeks old, weighing little more than a pound.
Now weighing 5lb 10oz, Mr and Mrs Perrin are hoping to take their daughter home in the next few weeks.
'It will be such a relief to take her home,' Mr Perrin said. 'That's been the hardest bit; going home and not taking our baby daughter with us.
'Seeing all these other parents come in, having their baby and being able to take them home has been heart-breaking.
'But knowing we will soon be able to do that is a massive relief. It just shows that it is possible to overcome all the odds, and miracles do happen.'
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