‎PHOTOS: World’s most premature baby marks second birthday

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‎‎Nash Keen, recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most premature baby, has turned two years old.

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‎Nash was born in 2024 at just 21 weeks’ gestation — 133 days ahead of schedule — at University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, to parents Mollie and Randall Keen.

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‎He weighed under 300g at birth, lighter than a grapefruit, and measured under 25cm long.

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‎His mother, Mollie, said the family did not know if Nash would survive his first hours, describing the early days as “a blur of fear, uncertainty and hope.”

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‎He went on to spend six months in a neonatal intensive care unit before being discharged in early 2025, and was officially certified as the world’s most premature baby on his first birthday last July.

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‎Two years on, Mollie said Nash, who she and her husband nicknamed “Nash Potato,” has defied expectations.

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‎Speaking to Guinness World Records on Sunday, she said his weight and growth now track in line with children born full-term, and that he has recently learned to sit up unaided and crawl, describing the milestone as opening up “a whole new world for him.”

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‎Nash relies on a feeding tube for his nutrition, but Mollie said he has begun sampling solid food in recent months, joking that ranch dressing appears to be his favourite.

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‎She said his vocabulary is expanding too, and that he enjoys mimicking animal sounds

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‎She disclosed that Nash was hospitalised for about a week shortly before his birthday after a severe respiratory illness linked to his chronic lung condition, an experience she said remains “deeply triggering” for the family, but that he recovered in time to celebrate at home.

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‎Reflecting on the two years since his birth, Mollie said she has learned not to compare Nash’s development to that of other children, noting that every micro-premature baby’s timeline is unique to them.

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‎”I’ve learned to just enjoy Nash for exactly who he is, meet him wherever he is at on any given day, and fully believe that he will get there eventually — and honestly, if he doesn’t, that is completely okay too,” she said.

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