Doctors weren’t sure he’d survive—now one of the world’s smallest babies is finally going home to Minnesota

For one Minnesota family, this year’s birthday celebration is more than cake and candles—it’s a miracle.

Baby Bilal, one of the smallest surviving babies ever born, is finally going home after spending his entire first year in the NICU at Children’s Minnesota. Born at just 23 weeks gestation and weighing only 8 ounces—barely more than a smartphone—Bilal was the tiniest of a rare set of quintuplets. Now, after 365 days of fighting and growing, he’s breathing fresh air outside the hospital walls for the first time.

The Muhammad family’s journey began with an already rare event: the birth of five babies at once. But their story quickly became even more extraordinary. With all five babies born extremely premature, doctors estimated only a 10% chance that they would all survive. Bilal, the smallest, faced the steepest climb.

“We were living by the hour,” his mother, Hawa Muhammad, told CBS News. “And by the grace of God, he is here.”

Related: When my youngest daughter was in the NICU, I felt like I was failing both of my kids

This marks the first time in over a decade that the neonatal team at Children’s Minnesota has cared for a set of quintuplets—and never before had they seen a case quite like Bilal’s. Dr. Thomas George, medical director of neonatology, called it historic. “To see all five survive, and for Bilal to make it to this point, is nothing short of a medical miracle,” he told CBS.

Photos of Bilal’s earliest days show a baby impossibly small, surrounded by machines, wires, and the careful hands of a medical team that refused to give up. Despite countless challenges, setbacks, and sleepless nights, Bilal held on. And now, on the anniversary of the day he was born, his family is finally complete under one roof.

“I’m very happy today because my children and I are healthy and going home,” said Hawa.

The NICU staff who cared for Bilal are celebrating right alongside the family, moved not only by his survival but by the strength of his mother, who spent the last year dividing her heart—and her time—among five tiny lives.

Related: $738,000 NICU bill—this mom’s story of financial shock shows why U.S. healthcare is failing families

This is more than just a survival story—it’s a powerful reminder of hope, faith, and what’s possible when science and love come together. Welcome home, Bilal. You’ve already overcome more than most of us ever will.