Baby born at 22 weeks, 3 days goes home from hospital ahead of 1st birthday
A New York infant born at 22 weeks and 3 days has gone home for the first time after spending the first 362 days of her life in the hospital.
Baby Calliope was discharged Thursday from Blythedale Children's Hospital in Valhalla, New York, with her moms Ashley DeTar Birt and Emily DeTar Birt, but not before the hospital staff lined the hallway and celebrated the soon-to-be 1-year-old and her family with a "clap out" ceremony.
"Having our baby home feels like the most magical and most natural thing in the world. It feels like she's finally where she belongs," Ashley DeTar Birt, 40, told ABC News this week.
The family's journey to bringing Calliope home has been full of ups and downs, they said.
Ashley DeTar Birt, a minister, said she initially underwent in vitro fertilization, and her wife Emily DeTar Birt, also a minister, ultimately carried her fertilized embryo.
"We did five egg retrievals in about 11 months, and the last try is the one that got us Callie," Ashley DeTar Birt explained.
It was 36-year-old Emily DeTar Birt's first pregnancy, and she said she experienced complications including bleeding and amniotic fluid loss.
"On the day of Calliope's birth, I thought that I had constipation and gas, and that nothing was really wrong," Emily DeTar Birt recalled.
When her pain grew worse, Emily DeTar Birt said she went to a New York City hospital emergency room, where doctors confirmed she was in early labor.
"The doctors all around me [were] like, 'This is 22 weeks and three days. I'm so sorry. This is just something that happens sometimes. We don't know why. It's a natural cause,'" she said.
The moms said doctors warned them about the potential outcomes for having a premature baby so early -- that the baby could be born stillborn, could die shortly after birth or could be unable to thrive after birth.
Calliope was born May 17, 2025, and the rush was on to save and support her.
"I remember feeling her kick me on the way out and being born in the hallway, on the way to the [operating] room, because she was a little impatient," Emily DeTar Birt recounted.
Calliope weighed about less than a pound at birth, according to her parents. Ashley DeTar Birt said doctors at the time compared the infant to "a can of soda."
"She really did fit in the palm of our hands when we held her to our chest," Emily DeTar Birt said.
Calliope had multiple complications of prematurity and was treated over the last year for breathing problems, eye issues and more, according to the DeTar Birts.
"At some point, her breathing issues became much, much worse. We almost lost her, and we didn't. But because she was deprived of oxygen, she had some issues with her brain," Ashley DeTar Birt said.
Despite all the challenges, Calliope defied the odds, and in January, she was discharged from a neonatal intensive care unit at the New York City hospital where she was born more than 250 days earlier and subsequently transferred to Blythedale.
At Blythedale, a specialized hospital, Calliope continued treatments including feeding therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy, her parents said.
"We got to play with her in the [Blythedale Children's Hospital] village during [physical therapy], and we got to enjoy sensory time," Emily DeTar Birt said. "So it's been kind of lovely to have this middle path of life between NICU or complete hospital and home."
Today, Calliope is about 16 pounds, and her moms, both New York Liberty fans, are excited to introduce her to life outside of the hospital and start new traditions together, like taking her to a Liberty game.
They said they're also looking forward to celebrating Calliope when she turns 1 on May 17.
"I want her to know how proud we are of her," Ashley DeTar Birt said. "We did everything we possibly could to get her here but at the end of the day, this little tiny baby made every choice that she could possibly make to be here and stick with us, and she is so tough and so strong."
Emily DeTar Birt added, "I also really want her to know just how loved she was [at the hospitals] … There is not a day where this baby was not loved -- loved by her nurses, loved by her doctors, loved by child life [staff], loved by her friends and aunties and all the people that have prayed for her."
The DeTar Birts also hope that by sharing Calliope's story that they can offer hope to other families facing uncertain NICU journeys with their children.
"Our medicine, thank goodness, has advanced far enough that babies at 22 weeks can survive," Emily DeTar Birt said. "I hope that we continue to advocate for policies that will support the research of the NICUs, of maternity care, of pregnant women, because miracles happen every day if we put the money to the doctors who can make it happen."
