Premature baby set for first taste of Christmas dinner at home

A 14-month baby boy who was born prematurely, weighing just 1lb 10oz at birth, is set to taste his first Christmas dinner at home.

Iarla Ace, who was born at 25 weeks, has had his feeding tube removed just ahead of the festive season.

He has overcome multiple serious medical issues including a brain haemorrhage shortly after his birth.

After spending a total of 127 days in hospital he will be discharged to the family home in Castlecaulfield near Dungannon, County Tyrone.

His mother Lindsay, father Matthew and four-year-old big sister Aine are now looking forward to spending their first Christmas in the house with the resilient 14-month-old.

Ms Ace, who works as a nurse at Craigavon Area Hospital, said her son's birth in October 2023 was very traumatic.

"At the very, very start it was very precarious - we really didn't think he was going to survive the first couple of days," Ms Ace said.

"But he's a really strong wee man and everything and every idea that they (the doctors) came up with, it just seemed to work for him, and he seemed to just get past each hurdle and then move on to the next one," she added.

Ms Ace said last Christmas was a "horrible" experience for the family as she and her husband tried to balance visits to see Iarla in the hospital with making the holiday special for Iarla's big sister.

Then Iarla became very unwell with a bowel obstruction and was rushed back to the Royal Maternity Hospital on New Year's Day for emergency surgery.

"I think last year we just got through it because we had to," she said.

"If I could have cancelled Christmas, I would, but obviously I had a little girl and I couldn't - and we had to do Christmas."

"It's going to be amazing just for us all to be together at home this year for Christmas, and just eat dinner and visit family and enjoy just the four of us being together without having to go anywhere near a hospital," Ms Ace added.

Iarla's father Matthew said the day his son finally came home from hospital was unreal.

"The last four weeks leading up to when you thought he was coming home, time really slowed down rather than got faster.

"But it was incredible," he added.

Ms Ace said the removal of Iarla's feeding tube was a landmark moment on his journey.

"I just cried and cried, I was just so happy, just so proud of him," she said.

"It was a very long process to get to that stage and now he really is thriving, he's meeting all his developmental milestones for his corrected age. He is really enjoying eating and drinking and he's a very content and happy little man."

Iarla's parents say they are so thankful to all those involved in his care at the Royal in Belfast and in Craigavon hospital, and all the family and friends who have helped them throughout the last 14 months.

They also hailed the "amazing support" of TinyLife, a charity that helps families with premature babies.