Newborn Charlie Jones believed to be Queensland’s smallest, at a ‘remarkable’ 360g
Tipping the scale at an incredible 360 grams, Charlie Jones is believed to be the tiniest baby ever born in Queensland.
Little baby Charlie was born at Brisbane’s Mater Mothers’ Hospital on October 8, at just 26 weeks and two days’ gestation.
He beat Queensland’s previous record set by ‘Coke Can Kid’ Jonathon Heeley, who weighed just 374 grams when he was born at Mater Mothers’ in 1992.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“He is a very, very special boy,” mum Samantha Jones said.
“At times we thought he might not make it, but he is so strong and determined. He’s a fighter for sure.”
Charlie’s parents, Nick and Samantha, found out at the 20-week scan that baby Jones would be “extremely small”.
“The doctors said my pregnancy was likely to end in a miscarriage and we should prepare for that – but he could still pull through,” she said.
Baby Jones sure did pull through, as he was eventually delivered via C-section.
At 360g, Charlie weighed barely a tenth of the average newborn baby boy.
But the successful birth came after Ms Jones spent two weeks in Mater’s specialist Maternal Fetal Medicine department where she was told her placenta was “about to fail”.
“I was extremely nervous. The doctors had said they were concerned about whether Charlie would be too small for the equipment needed to keep him alive,” she said.
“I was awake throughout the C-section, with Nick sat next to me. Thirty seconds after Charlie was delivered my placenta completely stopped working – he was so close to not making it.”
Dr Pita Birch, Mater’s Director of Neonatology, said Charlie was a “remarkable baby”.
“Charlie is a bit of a star here – everyone knows he is our smallest baby, and he has done really well. His family are here all the time and really supported Charlie through this whole journey. He also has a lot of supporters in the Neonatal Critical Care Unit,” he said.
Ahead of Christmas, Charlie’s parents have been enjoying bonding with their son, sharing precious cuddles and skin-to-skin time.
Their little baby boy has spent more than two months in NCCU, and now weighs 1.44kg.
Originally published as Newborn Charlie Jones believed to be Queensland’s smallest, at a ‘remarkable’ 360g
