God has a way of surprising us with his goodness by blessing us with miracles even when we least expect them! Babies are God’s gift to parents, but not all families are fortunate enough to welcome a healthy child into the world. Pregnancy is an up and down journey, and giving birth is one of the scariest events a woman can go through! But, parents still look forward to this journey because it means they get to welcome a new bundle of joy into their lives. One family in Rajasthan, India is full of joy today after their little girl, who was born weighing just .88lbs, is growing into a happy, healthy child!

Little Manushi was born at just 28 weeks and weighed .88lbs. In fact, the little girl’s feet were so tiny that they were barely the size of her dad’s thumbnail. Many doctors believed that Manushi would not survive long at all, but God had other plans for this precious little girl. Now, months later, Manushi has defied these expectations and is well enough to be discharged from the Jivanta Children’s Hospital NICU! Today she weighs 5.2lbs and is growing much better than anyone could have expected! Her mother, Seeta, who is 48, and her dad Giriraj, who is 50, called Manushi their real-life miracle. “She’s just fought and fought and fought against all the odds, but she’s made it,” The happy parents said.

Seeta suffered from dangerously high blood pressure during her pregnancy. An ultrasound early on revealed an absence of blood flow to the fetus and Seeta was rushed in for an emergency C-section after her blood pressure shot up to extremely high numbers. When Manushi was born she was struggling to breathe and had underdeveloped lungs, heart, brain, and kidneys. Doctors also noticed that she had “paper-thin skin” and the little girl was given a 0.5% chance of survival. Not only that, but Manushi measured just 8.6in long at birth and is believed to be the smallest surviving baby in Asia. Chief neonatologist Dr. Sunil Janged said: “She was struggling to breathe, so was immediately put on advanced respiratory support ventilator to expand her tiny, immature lungs. We had to start the baby on total parenteral nutrition, which basically means giving all the essential nutrients such as amino acids, carbohydrates, minerals and multivitamins directly into blood circulation.”

The majority of her medical costs amounted to just over $14,000. These costs were waived by the hospital because of the family’s low income. The hospital director, Dr. Sunil Janged, said: “We decided to save the life of the baby and offer her necessary medical care and attention because we wanted to send out a message that a girl child must be protected. In a state like Rajasthan where female infanticide is rampant, people have to come forward and take a step to end this evil practice.” Manushi has now been discharged from the hospital and is believed to be developing normally, praise God from which all blessings flow!

Please share this story and pray for Manushi as she continues to grow and develop!

Now that we’ve seen the smallest baby ever born, let’s take a look at some of the biggest babies ever born:

Jasleen – 13.4 lbs: In 2013, a baby weighing 6.1 kg (13.4 lbs) and measuring 57 cm (22 in) long was born naturally. Jasleen, a baby girl, was born at University Hospital in Leipzig, Germany on July 26, making her the country’s largest ever.

Maxime Marin’s Baby – 13.6 lbs: This little girl is the biggest baby ever born via natural birth in Spain. She weighed 13 pounds, 6 ounces, significantly beating the previous record of 8 pounds, 13 ounces.

Joel Brandon Jr. – 14 lbs: When Joel Brandon Jr. was born, he weighed exactly 14 pounds. He was delivered in Orem, Utah via a C-section. “My last ultrasound showed that he was going to be around 11 pounds,” said his mother, Sara Brandon. “So when he came out and he was 14, I think everyone in the whole room—even the doctors—was so surprised.” After Brandon Jr.’s birth, he spent a week in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit due to respiratory issues following his birth. However, he is now a happy and healthy baby.

Avery Ford – 14.1 lbs: Big baby Avery may have been one BIG newborn, but his mom didn’t even know she was pregnant until she was at 35 weeks along. Avery weighed just over 14 pounds when he was born, becoming the biggest baby to be born at St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital in Tampa, Florida.

Firdous Khatun’s Baby – 14.77 lbs: When mom Firdous Khatun went to the hospital to deliver her ninth child, she was only in labor for 15 minutes before she gave birth to her son, who became India’s heaviest baby weighing nearly 15 pounds.

Stephon Hendrix Louis-Jean – 14.8 lbs: In 2011, Marie Michel’s fifth child broke records. She gave birth to a 14-pound 13-ounce boy in Connecticut. Hospital officials said he broke the 18-year record for the biggest baby ever born at the hospital by 1 pound, 13 ounces.

JaMichael – 16 lbs: In 2011, Janet Johnson gave birth to JaMichael, who weighed 16 pounds. JaMichael was the heaviest baby to be born at Good Shepherd Hospital in Longview, Texas and the biggest baby in Texas.

Sammisano Otuhiva – 16 lbs. 1.7 oz: Sammisano Otuhiva was born in San Francisco in August 2014. He broke the record for the largest baby ever born in the state of California!

Stephen Lyttle – 16.5 lbs: He doesn’t look much like a big baby today, does he? Born on January 26, 1963, Stephen Lyttle is Australia’s heaviest baby. He weighed 7.399 kg (16.5 lbs.) when he was born at Kempsey Hospital. The average weight of an Australian baby is 3.37 kg. Today, Lyttle is 50 years old, and his weight and height are not unusual.

Ademilton dos Santos – 17 lbs: In 2005, a woman in Brazil gave birth to a record-breaking baby. Ademilton weighed 17 pounds. He is the heaviest boy born in Brazil.

Nadia Khalina – 17.1 lbs: Baby girl Nadia weighed 7.75 kg (17.1 lbs) at birth. She was born in the Siberian city of Barnaul on September 26, 2007.

Baby born in Indonesia – 19.2 lbs: In Indonesian woman gave birth to an 8.7 kg (19.2 lb.) baby via C-section on September 21, 2009, in Indonesia. His weight at birth was equal to that of an average one-year-old child.

Big or small, babies are such blessings to us all! Children are God’s gift to us and we should do our best to care for them the way God cares for us! Let us take time today and pray that babies all around the world would be healthy, warm, and nourished with proper nutrition and clean water. Do your part to help any children around you who are struggling and pray that God would protect little ones all around the world!