World’s most premature baby marks second birthday
World’s most premature baby marks second birthday
Nash Keen, recognised by Guinness World Records as the world’s most premature baby, has turned two years old.
Nash was born in 2024 at just 21 weeks’ gestation — 133 days ahead of schedule — at University of Iowa Health Care in Iowa City, to parents Mollie and Randall Keen.
He weighed under 300g at birth, lighter than a grapefruit, and measured under 25cm long.
Nash Keen as a newborn. Photo: GWR
His mother, Mollie, said the family did not know if Nash would survive his first hours, describing the early days as “a blur of fear, uncertainty and hope.”
He went on to spend six months in a neonatal intensive care unit before being discharged in early 2025, and was officially certified as the world’s most premature baby on his first birthday last July.
Two years on, Mollie said Nash, who she and her husband nicknamed “Nash Potato,” has defied expectations.
Speaking to Guinness World Records on Sunday, she said his weight and growth now track in line with children born full-term, and that he has recently learned to sit up unaided and crawl, describing the milestone as opening up “a whole new world for him.”
Nash relies on a feeding tube for his nutrition, but Mollie said he has begun sampling solid food in recent months, joking that ranch dressing appears to be his favourite.
She said his vocabulary is expanding too, and that he enjoys mimicking animal sounds
She disclosed that Nash was hospitalised for about a week shortly before his birthday after a severe respiratory illness linked to his chronic lung condition, an experience she said remains “deeply triggering” for the family, but that he recovered in time to celebrate at home.
Reflecting on the two years since his birth, Mollie said she has learned not to compare Nash’s development to that of other children, noting that every micro-premature baby’s timeline is unique to them.
”I’ve learned to just enjoy Nash for exactly who he is, meet him wherever he is at on any given day, and fully believe that he will get there eventually — and honestly, if he doesn’t, that is completely okay too,” she said.
