The simple act of peeking into the nursery and seeing her sleeping children is something Jade Crane has dreamed of for more than a decade.
Jade and her husband, Steve Crane, have been trying to conceive for over 11 years. They went through round after round of IVF treatments and they have spent more than $66,000 in pursuit of parenthood. Now, finally, their dream has come true – but it still didn’t happen without a fight!
Steve and Jade live in Derbyshire, England. When Jade went into labor prematurely at just 22 weeks and 5 days pregnant, doctors at Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham feared the worst. Baby number one, a girl named Harley, weighed just 1.10 lb. Her brother, Baby number two, weighed 1.14 lb. They were so tiny that doctors said they were “the size of Mars bars,” and their parents were given bereavement counseling, just in case.
What they couldn’t know then was that Harley and Henry are “little fighters” who refused to give up on life!
While in the hospital, the twins underwent 6 operations and 25 blood transfusions between them. They battled sepsis, eye problems, and bleeds on their brains and lungs. Nevertheless, after 131 days in the hospital, Harry was deemed healthy enough to go home!
His sister, Harley, followed just a few days later after 140 long days in the hospital. For the first time ever, Jade and Steve had their babies living under their own roof.
“We’ve waited 140 days for this,” said Jade. “It’s really emotional. Sad to leave the team but happy to be going home.”
“It’s been such a long time and although it’s been a really, really treacherous journey, 140 days ago we didn’t think we’d be here,” her husband agreed.
Jade has been documenting her children’s health journey on Instagram. The media has called Harry and Harley the “youngest preemies in the United Kingdom!”
While doctors warned that the babies could have developmental delays in the future, so far both of the infants are progressing as normal. They’re hitting milestones like other babies, and their family believes they’ll keep fighting for their whole lives. For now, however, it’s enough just to have those sweet infants sleeping at home in their very own beds.
We can’t get enough of those chubby cheeks! It’s so nice to see these tough cookies defy the odds. We are pulling for them both!
Share this story to welcome little Harry and Harley home, at last!
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