THE first time Theresa Miloseski held her baby Stella, 38 days after birth, her motherly instinct told her she'd be OK.
Born after just 22 weeks and five days in utero, Stella is reputedly Australia's youngest premature baby.
Ms Miloseski and her husband Robert were twice told Stella wouldn't survive. "The whole idea of me losing her was beyond comprehension because we'd tried so hard to get her, going through IVF for eight years," she said.
Stella weighed just 440g and was 27cm long at birth.
She was on oxygen support for more than four months.
Ms Miloseski said Stella's "only" long-term effects had been chronic lung disease and delayed speech.
When Mrs Miloseski fell pregnant naturally just eight months after Stella arrived, she was closely monitored for risk of preterm birth."It was through careful management that I went to nearly 37 weeks with my son (Sam)," she said.