For Zach and Alyson Blythe of Oneonta, Alabama, today feels like the end of a marathon. After nearly five months of sleepless nights, endless alarms, and hospital walls that became their second home, their long journey has reached a milestone. Their daughter Zoey, after 146 days in the hospital, is finally coming home.

The Blythe twins, Baylor and Zoey, were born at just 26 weeks’ gestation. Tiny and fragile, Baylor weighed only 1 pound, 15 ounces, while Zoey weighed even less at 1 pound, 8 ounces. Every breath was a struggle, every ounce gained a victory.

For Baylor, digestive issues kept him in the hospital for weeks, but eventually he grew stronger and was able to go home ahead of his sister. Zoey’s fight was more complicated. A shunt was placed in her brain to manage fluid, and feeding schedules had to be perfected before she could safely leave the NICU. Her journey has been slower, harder, and filled with obstacles.

Yet through it all, Zoey has shown the resilience of a fighter.

Today, she joins her brother Baylor at home for the very first time.

It is hard to overstate the significance of this day. For Zach and Alyson, it means that the tiny lives they prayed over in the sterile glow of NICU monitors will now rest in cribs waiting in their home. It means trading hospital chairs and thin blue sleeping pads for their own bed, after months of dozing by the window of a hospital room. It means family dinners, late-night feedings, and the simple joy of tucking both children in under the same roof.

“This morning, she’ll join Baylor at home,” the family shared with relief and gratitude. “It’s been a long, tough haul for our babies, but today is monumental.”

Those who have followed their story know just how hard-fought this milestone has been. From the frightening early days when survival itself was uncertain, to the slow progress of ounces gained and feeding tubes adjusted, Zach and Alyson have stood by their children every step of the way. They have endured worry that few parents can imagine, but they’ve also witnessed miracles in motion.

The twins’ story is one of fragility and strength existing side by side. What began at barely a pound each has now blossomed into healthy growth, laughter, and new beginnings. Zoey now weighs nearly nine pounds — proof of the extraordinary care she has received and the determination of a family that never gave up hope.

The Blythes are quick to credit those who walked this journey with them. Nurses who celebrated every ounce gained, doctors who made painstaking decisions, and the community that poured out prayers, gifts, and support during the hardest days. “We could not have done it without you,” Alyson said.

Today, their gratitude extends beyond medicine and into faith. They see their children’s survival as nothing short of a miracle. And as they prepare for their first night at home as a complete family of four, their hearts are full of hope.

Tonight, Zach and Alyson will no longer measure time by NICU monitors or chart notes. They will measure it in bottles warmed in their own kitchen, in the soft rise and fall of two tiny chests breathing under one roof, and in the comfort of finally being whole.

After 146 days, Zoey and Baylor are together again — not in a hospital, but at home.

And for Zach and Alyson, that is the sweetest miracle of all.