Pink, tiny and birdlike, doctors did not expect newborn Pixie Griffiths-Grant to survive longer than an hour. Delivered three months premature by Caesarean section, she was lighter than half a bag of sugar and smaller than her mother's hand. As she was rushed to intensive care, her parents faced the devastating prospect she may not make it. But doctors saved her life by immediately bundling her into put her into a Tesco sandwich bag, which kept her warm and mimicked the conditions of her mother's womb.
After overcoming infections, operations, and blood transfusions, Pixie, now five months old, is at home with her family, and is thriving. Pixie's mother Sharon Grant, 37, said: 'As soon as she was born, they gave her a little hat and put her straight into the bag to keep her body temperature up. 'After that they wrapped her in bubble wrap and got her straight to intensive care. 'It was so random that they had her in the Tesco bag - it must have just been what the operating theatre had at the time.'
Mrs Grant, of Goonhavern, Cornwall, was forced to give birth three months early after scans revealed her unborn baby had stopped growing in the womb at just 20 weeks. The first-time mother, who works as a florist, in Cornwall, said: 'My placenta and umbilical cord weren't feeding her properly. 'I was in and out of hospital for eight weeks being scanned constantly to see if she had grown, but she put on about 20g in those eight weeks. 'It was so scary having to get her checked all the time and I had all the doctors telling me all this bad news. It was awful. 'They wanted to get her to a certain weight before they delivered her, but she wasn't growing to that size.'
At about 6pm on May 11 - 28 weeks into her pregnancy - doctors told Mrs Grant that she needed to have her baby that day. She was transferred from the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro for a specialist Caesarean delivery at Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, around an hour and a half away. But when she arrived, her blood pressure was so high that she was told it would be too dangerous to operate - so she listened to songs by her favourite singer Ben Howard, which helped bring it down.
At 3pm on May 12, - 10 weeks before her August 2 due date - she gave birth to a tiny Pixie, with the little girl's father, Edward Griffiths, 41, by her side. She said: 'There was no way she would have survived normal birth so they had to do a C-section. 'They thought they wouldn't be able to find her in my body and would have to do two cuts to try and get her, but luckily they only had to do one. 'The moment she was born they put her in a Tesco sandwich bag to keep her warm because she was so tiny and carried her off to intensive care.'
Premature babies are susceptible to hypothermia, and the bag acts as a warming blanket, heating their tiny bodies. Mrs Grant continued: 'I couldn't see her from the angle the incubator was at but I was told she had her eyes open. In photos she looks so small. 'I didn't get to see her for about six hours because I had to go into recovery, but when I was well enough they wheeled me down to the intensive care unit.'
Pixie was kept in an incubator for three months after she was born. Mrs Grant was not allowed to cuddle her for 18 days, because every time she was handled she lost weight. Once a little stronger, Edward, Pixie's father, could only cuddle her for an hour every other day. 'It was amazing that she survived, but it was truly traumatic,' Mrs Grant said. 'She really did live hour by hour for about three weeks.
'She got a stomach infection, a urine infection and had about 10 blood transfusions over those months, and even had to have a lumber puncture. 'She kept being sick when they gave her milk and every time she was handled she would lose weight.' It was not until Pixie was around two months old that Pixie began gaining strength. But earlier this month, aged five months and weighing 7.5lbs (3.4kg) - the same weight as a newborn - Mrs Grant was allowed to take her baby girl home for the first time. Tiny Pixie - so-called because of her size - is now breathing without oxygen. Mrs Grant said: 'When we went in the front door Pixie came alive. She was looking all over the place and could see what was happening. 'We have been in and out of hospital a lot since she got home, and she can't be around other children or ill people because if she gets a cold she will end up on oxygen again.
'But at the moment she is doing really well. She looks really nice and healthy. 'It's so lovely to have her home; there's been endless cuddles and lots of people eager to see her.
'It's amazing.'