She was so small her entire arm could be slipped through her father's wedding ring - with room to spare.

But despite doctors' dire predictions, she has battled on to survive - and, to her parents' delight - is about to celebrate her first Christmas.

Mollie was born 13 weeks premature weighing 1lb 1oz (0.45 kg), and doctors told her devastated parents Stephanie, 34, and James, 38, that she may not live past three weeks old. 

 But after 20 weeks in hospital she slowly gained weight and her relieved parents were finally allowed to take her home - a milestone they never thought she would reach. 

Mrs Perrin, of Hull, said: 'Mollie is now seven months old and we can't wait to enjoy our first Christmas Day as parents.

'She's still so tiny - she now weighs 8lb 3oz - but looking back at the first photos of her with James's wedding ring around her arm brings tears to my eyes.

'It's amazing that she survived and has finally gained weight.

'It was such a worrying time but now her hand is too big to even fit through the ring, showing how far she's come.

'We've already dressed her up in some really cute Christmas outfits, which is amazing as at one point thought we would never get the chance to share this special time with our first baby.'

When Mr and Mrs Perrin went to their first scan, doctors told them the devastating news that Mollie was expected to live for just three weeks after birth.

Mollie had intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), meaning she was not growing at a normal rate inside the womb, due to a placental disorder.

'She just wasn't getting fed properly. Every week she fell behind in size,' Mr Perrin said.

'The placenta didn't work properly and in tandem with that, there was umbilical cord restriction, restricting her growth, because she wasn't getting the nutrients she needed.' 

Mollie was delivered by an emergency Caesarean section on April 27, after her mother had been in hospital for two weeks under observation, having regular ultrasound scans to make sure Mollie was still alive. 

'It was incredibly hard at home, having to get up, go about our lives not even knowing if our baby was still alive,' he recalled.

'At least when Stephanie was admitted, we could just ask for an ultrasound.'

Mollie was born prematurely at just 27 weeks old, weighing little more than 1lb. 

But at the end of August this year they were finally able to bring their daughter home and since then she has gained weight.

She now weighs 8lbs (3.6kg), which though is an improvement since when she was born, still makes her underweight for her age.

The average weight for a newborn girl at seven months is 17lbs (18kg). 

Mrs Perrin said: 'She's been doing so well since we first got her home, and we still appreciate every single minute.

'She has such a great personality - she's nosy, loud, and smiling a lot.

'What we would really love for Christmas is to hear her laugh for the first time.

'We're going to have the whole family together on Christmas day - both mine and James' sides of the family - to enjoy our first Christmas with Mollie.

'We've all loved buying her Christmas presents.

She added: 'Her nan has got her a bouncer but she's still so small that she can't see over it.

'We really did get to a point earlier on this year where we never dreamed that we would have the opportunity to spend this time with our little girl.

'So we are really going to make the most of it - we are so excited.'