29 wk

A MIRACLE baby who weighed less than a bag of sugar when he was born is getting ready to celebrate a birthday doctors thought he would never see.

James White weighed only 1lb 8oz when born 11 weeks prematurely with 3lb 4oz twin sister Harriet on May 25 last year.

The tiny tot suffered from intra-uterine growth restriction during the pregnancy, meaning he was not growing at the usual rate inside the womb.

At 24 weeks, parents Shelley, 29, and John, 30, of Burton Road, Woodville, were told that James was not getting enough oxygen and could die.

They were told that termination could be an option, but the couple vowed to let nature take its course.

With oxygen levels decreasing further, the twins were born prematurely at the University of North Staffordshire Hospital, in Newcastle-under-Lyme, after 29 weeks.

Harriet emerged healthy but James, who was so small he could fit into his father's hand, had a 10-week fight for life in a neonatal intensive and special care unit.