Mom Brings Home 1 Lb. Baby After 146 Days in NICU. Now 11 Months, the ‘Tough Little Cookie’ Has More to Overcome 

For one Georgia mom, the moment she finally brought her daughter home after a long NICU stay felt like the greatest gift she could have received.

Mary Barthell, 28, says she was overwhelmed when she learned she was pregnant with her fourth child. With her son Asher just a year old at the time and the usual challenges of pregnancy—trouble eating and sleeping—she describes feeling scared, emotional, and depressed as she tried to prepare for what was ahead.

For much of the pregnancy, everything seemed routine. Barthell was due to deliver her baby girl on April 28, 2025. But at 23 weeks, her pregnancy took an unexpected and frightening turn.

Barthell says she went to Phoebe Sumter Medical Center after her water broke at home. She was then transferred to Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital, where she began bleeding heavily and was rushed into an emergency C-section.

Her daughter, Loyal Milani, was born on Dec. 30, 2024, at 1:22 a.m., weighing 1 lb. 4 oz.—just slightly more than a 16-ounce bottle of water. Doctors told Barthell the early delivery happened because there was no fluid in her amniotic sac.

After Loyal Milani’s birth, Barthell began what she describes as a devastating stretch of months. Her newborn remained in the NICU for 146 days and underwent several procedures, including laser eye surgery and a g-button surgery, to help her grow stronger.

Barthell, who is also mom to Sa’Niyah, 10, Kamiliah, 4, and Asher, says the experience was emotionally crushing—especially while trying to care for her other children at the same time.

“The NICU stay was devastating, especially [since I have] other kids,” Barthell says. “A lot of stays, travels and long nights. I actually felt like a bad mother at times because I couldn’t be in two places at once.”

Even so, she pushed through the exhaustion and fear, saying her mind was constantly racing with questions about whether her baby would be okay—and whether her other kids were okay too.

Despite serious complications during her NICU stay, including chronic lung disease, pneumonia, and rhinovirus, Loyal Milani continued improving. She was discharged on June 15—three days before Barthell’s birthday.

“It was the best gift ever,” Barthell says.

Now home, Barthell says it’s been deeply moving to watch her daughter grow and prove people wrong. “She’s a tough little cookie,” she says, adding that simply having her baby at home means everything.

At 11 months old, Loyal Milani is still on oxygen and uses a feeding tube. Barthell had hoped her daughter would be off oxygen by her first birthday, but says the priority is that she gets whatever support she needs to keep getting better. Loyal Milani currently weighs 12 pounds, and Barthell says the family expects to begin speech therapy and any additional therapies recommended by her care team.

Barthell has also started a GoFundMe to help cover some of Loyal Milani’s medical expenses, writing that she will “appreciate any and everything.”