A MIRACLE baby boy who was born 17 weeks early celebrates his first birthday this week, beating all the odds given to him by doctors.

Trowbridge couple Lisa and Robert Baker from Paxcroft Mead, will celebrate the milestone of their son Jacob with a party after spending 137 days in hospital over the last year.

The 40-year-old mum spent four days in labour before her first son Jacob Keith Baker was delivered on November 5 last year at just 1lb 3oz, followed by Joshua Jack Baker the day after. Both boys were taken to Neonatal Intensive Care.

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.

Since then, Jacob has undergone surgery on his bowel, as well as dealing with multiple blood transfusions, jaundice, infections, laser eye surgery, brain scans and X-rays.

Mrs Baker said: “Everything Jacob has come up against, he has fought it like a soldier and he’s been our little fighter over the last year.

“He had an operation last month and he was quite poorly but since then he has been coming on a treat and we never thought we would get to his first birthday and when you look back at all the time we spent in hospital, we never could have imagined that we would be celebrating it.

“It has been a bit up and down and we have had a lot of positive stuff happen and at the moment he’s having physio to help him with his development.”

Now weighing at 13lb, Jacob has come off his oxygen support and most of his medicine and is having regular check-ups with doctors who are keeping an eye on his sufficient progress.

“In the beginning, we spent five months in hospital and when we first came out it was scary because we had all the nurses and monitors there and they became a safety net for us,” Mrs Baker said.

“I know we had the nurses come out and visit us but it was hard to adjust because when you think about all the medicine Jacob was on, it was quite daunting but now he’s off most of it.

“The occasion is still a bit sad for us because as well as it being a happy day, it would have also been Joshua’s birthday and so it is a bit of a mixed feelings for us,” Mrs Baker added.

“For us, it isn’t just a birthday party but a celebration of Jacob’s life and everything we have been through in the last year with him.”

The party will be attended by the family’s friends and family.