- Grace and Olivia Oman weighed just 1lb 14oz when they were born
- Olivia was released from hospital in October, but Grace had to stay
- Mother placed teddy bear with Olivia’s clothes in Grace’s incubator
- Now they are both back home and playing together
14:21 EST, 3 April 2014
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18:15 EST, 3 April 2014
These adorable baby twins born 14 weeks early have finally been reunited after being separated for five months while one struggled for life in the hospital.
Grace and Olivia Oman were both born weighing just 1lb 14oz and for a while it was touch and go as to whether they would survive.
Olivia was released from hospital in October but Grace suffered from breathing problems and remained apart from her twin until she too was allowed home this week.
Together again: Grace and Olivia have been reunited after spending five months apart following their premature birth. while Olivia went home, Grace had to stay for treatment
Little fighters: Mother Vicki Oman, from Morpeth, Northumberland, cradling her twin girls
While they were separated mother Vicki, 28, tenderly placed a teddy bear wearing Olivia’s clothes in Grace’s incubator so that she would feel as though her sister was close.
Now, after months of waiting, the family, including dad Mark, 26, a technician, and three-year-old brother Jake, are all settled back at their home in Morpeth, Northumberland.
Mrs Oman, a paediatric staff nurse, said: ‘Grace loves smiling and playing and both the girls are doing really well and reaching the same milestones together.
‘It has been a very stressful and emotional time but I’m just looking ahead to having my whole family in one place and getting back to normal.’
All together now: Vicki, Grace and Olivia share a cuddle with father Mark and big brother Jake, three
She added: ‘Being able to tuck them all up at night under the same roof is the best feeling ever because I was so worried it wouldn’t happen.
‘The changes are just incredible to see in them all and it really is a blessing to have my family all together.
‘Having the two girls separated for so long was heart-breaking.
‘We put a teddy bear with Olivia’s clothes on in Grace’s incubator at the hospital so she always felt like her sister was there, it always settled her.
‘When we got them both home they have bonded so much and even hold each other’s hands when they’re lying next to each other.’
Although Olivia is now breathing by herself Grace has floppy airways, which means she will have a tracheostomy for the next two to three years of her life.
Mrs Oman had originally been carrying triplets and it was after losing Eleanor at 14 weeks that difficulties started in her pregnancy.
Grace, pictured shortly after birth, still has a tracheotomy but is finally at home with her sister
Survivor: Olivia after she was born. Vicki, 28, tenderly placed a teddy bear wearing Olivia’s clothes in Grace¿s incubator so that she would feel as though her sister was close
The waters around Grace broke and it was feared the family would lose her as well as her lungs wouldn’t develop properly without the fluid.
But the waters built back up and everything seemed stable.
Then at 25 weeks she was taken to Wansbeck General Hospital in Ashington, Northumberland, with contractions and in the early hours of July 26 she gave birth to the identical twin girls.
But while Olivia was stable and could leave hospital a few months later, Grace had to be transferred to Newcastle’s RVI hospital where she was fitted with a tracheostomy to help her breathe.
She will now have this tracheostomy until she is around three-years-old when her airways have been strengthened.
The mother-of-three said: ‘They were delivered at Wansbeck hospital but then taken to Middlesborough’s James Cook and I followed the next day.
Loving: Grace (left) and Olivia grip their mother’s finger shortly after birth
‘The neonatal intensive care unit was fantastic and I really can’t thank them enough for everything they have done for my baby girls.
‘With Grace having the tracheostomy I was terrified as I had some experience of them with being a nurse but I never expected to have to have this for my own child.
‘The staff at the hospitals and all the nurses that still come to our house have been amazing in giving me and Mark the training to deal with Grace’s extra care and needs.
‘Even Jake is involved in helping us care for Grace as he knows where different things are and can get them for us and also helps to amuse Olivia while we are busy with Grace.
‘It is not the regular routine that most families have but it is what we have been given and so now it is just normal to us.
‘It doesn’t bother me that Grace needs all the extra care as she has been through so much in her short life and we are just glad to have her and Olivia at home with us.’
Although Olivia (right) is now breathing by herself, Grace has floppy airways, which means she will have a tracheostomy for the next two to three years of her life
The family now can’t wait to familiarise themselves with a routine that is bound to be hectic with regular hospital appointments and a lot of new experiences.
Mrs Oman said: ‘The other day we decided to go to Asda and couldn’t believe how much work there was in getting ourselves and the three children to do a simple shop.
‘Grace has a lot of extra things to have with her, such as her oxygen and support for her tracheostomy, so just a trip out for us would take ten times more effort than most other families.
‘Getting to go out and do those things was so precious to us though as so far we have only been able to take Grace around the hospital.
‘For the past eight months our lives have revolved around going to and from the hospital and getting to do such simple things, such as shopping, with all of our children was just so special for us.
‘We live within a very close community so just walking around Asda we were stopped by almost everyone who wanted to be updated on Grace’s progress.
‘Without this strong community, fantastic family and friends and the amazing work of the doctors and nurses I don’t think we would have got through it all.
‘Seeing the girls achieve different milestones, such as rolling over for the first time which they both did together this week, makes it all worthwhile and makes the struggle we’ve had seem like it was nothing.’
Mr and Mrs Oman, along with friends and family, have raised £1,800 to split between the two hospitals as a thank you for all their help.
They already donated the money for a freezer to store breast milk for the hospital and hope that the further money they raise will go a long way in improving the help the hospital already gives.
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