A MIRACLE baby who was born weighing only 1lb 8oz is home at last today after 16 weeks in hospital.

Little Mya Jarman spent her first morning with parents Kelly and Telfer at their home in Standfast Walk in Dorchester.

The little fighter, who now weighs 5lb 11oz, was not expected to be born until this week but instead arrived when her mum was only 24 weeks into the pregnancy in June.

Four months of struggles for the young family followed as Mya was treated in hospital, first at Southampton General Hospital then at the special care baby unit at Dorset County Hospital.

At first Kelly and Telfer were told that there was a high chance that their tiny baby would not survive, but Mya defied the odds.

They were delighted when their baby was transferred to Dorchester in July because they had been unable to afford the long journey to Southampton every day.

Mum Kelly, 20, an assistant manager at Wessex Photographers in Dorchester, has been visiting Mya in Dorset County Hospital four times a day to bottle-feed the baby.

She said: "It's great to have her here at last. We have been waiting for this for 16 weeks. I don't have to make sure that I am up and out by 9am every morning. I can stay in my pyjamas and feed her in bed if I want now. Mya is still quite tiny but she is doing really well and has been off the oxygen since Wednesday."

Mya spent her first night at home in her parents' bedroom, but mum Kelly has had her own room ready since June.

"The last two weeks have been the hardest yet," admitted Kelly. "We knew she was going to be OK, but every day she was the same and we thought we would have to wait even longer to get her home.

"She is certainly stronger than most babies I know. She has already got her own personality and is very stubborn."

After a trouble-free early pregnancy, doctors discovered the baby was almost ready to be delivered four months early because Kelly had a weak cervix.

Kelly said: "There is a possibility of having more premature babies and I don't know if I can go through all that again. I am just grateful that we have got Mya."

Telfer, 22, who works for Folio Wines, said: "I'm just over the moon. The last four months just seemed to drag on for ages - it seemed more like a year - but we are now looking forward to having a normal life.

"Kelly has coped really well and Mya has been a fighter from day one. I can't wait for her first words, her first smile and her first steps."