Tiny Baby Discharged From Hospital

Los Angeles - One of the smallest babies ever born was discharged from Los Angeles County+USC Medical Center today, almost five months after entering the world weighing a frighteningly light 9.5 ounces.

"I am so excited to finally have my baby come home," Haydee Ibarra of Granada Hills said on the eve of today's milestone. "We have waited almost five months for this moment. It is so wonderful and we are ready to bring Melinda home."

Melinda Star Guido was born Aug. 30 -- 16 weeks early. County health officials said that according to Global Birth Registry figures, Melinda was the third-smallest baby ever born, weighing less than a can of soda, and about the same as two iPhones.

She spent the ensuing months in the hospital's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, where she celebrated what was originally supposed to be her birthday, Dec. 15.

Dr. Rangasamy Ramanathan, chief of the neonatology section of the hospital, said last month he wasn't sure initially if Melinda was going to survive beyond a few days. In the weeks since, however, she has quadrupled in size.

"We have reached a milestone by being able to see Melinda go home," Ramanathan said. "We are hopeful to see many more milestones accomplished in Melinda's development as we follow her care over the next six years."