BECOME ONE Brave twins said to be ‘most premature’ in UK celebrate first birthday
MIRACLE twins believed to be the most premature ever to survive in the UK are thriving a year on.
Felix and Rhonin Maslanka weighed just over 1lb each when they were born on March 10 last year at just 23 weeks and four days.
The identical twins, whose birth date was meant to be July 5, were so small they could each fit in the palm of a hand and spent their first 150 days in hospital.
Now, on their first birthday, Felix weighs
14lb 11oz and Rhonin 15lb 2oz. Proud parents Amy Maslanka, a receptionist, and police officer Liam Sneath,
28, feared they were going to lose Felix after he stopped breathing at two weeks old, but he pulled through.
Amy, of Southend, Essex, said: “We feel very lucky. We have two little miracles.
“When they were first born we didn’t know what would happen. We didn’t want to look too far ahead.
“Now we feel so happy that we’re celebrating their first birthdays. We can’t say for sure, but at the moment it doesn’t look like they have any issues.”
She went on: “Their corrected age is seven months because of how early they were born, so they won’t be doing everything that babies at a year-old do. They still have a tube to help them breathe.
“They love being in the baby bouncer, they love watching CBeebies and they’re more reactive. When you call their names they will look at you. We’re weaning them at the moment – giving them three meals a day – and they’re doing really well.
“They have their own little personalities. Rhonin is the placid one. He does everything Felix does but keeps more to himself. Felix is the cheeky one and he
‘We were told to make memories just in case the worst happened’