A premature 1-pound, 13-ounce baby born 12 weeks early was so small he fit entirely in his dad’s hands—now he snuggles in his arms.
Sam Dudgeon, 42, gave birth at St. Thomas’ Hospital, London, at just 28 weeks on January 3, 2023, after going into premature labor.
Baby William was born weighing just 1 pound, 13 ounces and was immediately transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
The tiny tot was incubated while a valve in his heart closed up and he recovered from an early infection - before being moved to the high-dependency unit.
After continuing to go from strength to strength, little William was transferred to Lister Hospital on March 23—where he spent two weeks before being discharged on April 3.
Sam and her husband, Chris, 35, a brand ambassador, were delighted to welcome William home—and say their “chunky monkey” now weighs 7 pounds.
“We were always told he was small, but they didn’t explain to us what that meant,” said Sam, a finance manager from Ware, Hertfordshire. “My husband, Chris, could hold his entire body in his hands.
“He looked so fragile, when he breathed you could see his ribs.
“Now he seems so big and heavy to us.
“Most people who see him say he’s small and very light to them, to us he’s our chunky monkey.
“It was an emotional rollercoaster and still is to some extent.
“We both cried when he was in the car ready to come home.”
Sam and Chris had been trying for a baby on and off for four years and were ready to potentially undergo IVF when they conceived naturally in July 2022.
But at 28 weeks, a complication meant baby William was not getting enough blood flow from the placenta meaning he had to be born early, or Sam and Chris risked losing their baby.
Sam went to the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex, at the end of December 2022 for a usual checkup but was later kept in for monitoring.
On New Year’s Day, she was transferred to St. Thomas’ Hospital for William to be born there as his pre-birth weight prediction of 26.45 ounces (750 grams) was lower than the Princess Alexandra Hospital minimum of 28.21 ounces (800 grams).
Sam and Chris welcomed baby William to the world on January 3, 2023, and were initially worried about how they were going to get back and forth to London from their Hertfordshire home.
“Luckily for us, we were offered a place at the Ronald McDonald House where we could live close by to the hospital and that was amazing,” Sam said. “Without that I would have hardly seen him, and we would have spent loads of money on hotels and travel.
“Staying there meant I was a 10-minute walk away and I could see him every day.”
Despite his small size, William didn’t require a ventilator and was able to breathe on his own—only requiring basic oxygen support.
“When he was born, he was breathing on his own and continues to,” she said. "He needed and still needs the support because his lungs are small and can’t provide the requirements he needs but when they grow, he will need it less.
“The first two weeks were the hardest as we knew if he got through those first two weeks then we would be out of the danger zone.
“He had an infection in the beginning and was incubated which was scary to look at and we were told about his open valve in his heart which is very normal for premature babies.
“He recovered from his infection quickly and the valve closed and soon we were moved out of NICU into high dependency where he really started to grow.
“The doctors were very happy and said he was doing really well, had no issues, and just needed time to grow.”
William’s progress meant Sam and Chris were soon transferred to Lister Hospital in Hertfordshire.
“Once we were there, he was only in there for just over two weeks,” Sam said. "Everything moved so quickly.
“He upped his feeding by bottle so well that his feeding tube came out and his oxygen support decreased so much that they could put him on standard oxygen.
“He had to come home on oxygen which is a shame as we were hoping he might be wire-free, but we were told this probably would be the case and hopefully he won’t be on it long.”
Sam and Chris say they feel “blessed” with all the help they had for the first three months of William’s life.
“We feel blessed as for the first three months we were taught how to look after him, from changing his nappy to feeding him, right up to giving him a bath,” Sam said.
“Other parents have to learn that when they come home from having their babies.
“Now he’s home it’s wonderful.
“We’re trying to get used to the lack of sleep, but I don’t mind it one bit.
“He has settled in, and we couldn’t be happier.”
