A PREMATURE baby from Sale and her family have donated money from her first birthday to Bliss, to thank the charity for the fantastic support they received from it after she was born 11 weeks early.

Born closer to the abortion limit than full term, Isla Dayanik, who weighed just 3lb when she was born at 29 weeks, spent more than seven weeks in special care at Wythenshawe Hospital's neonatal unit.

During that time, the family received invaluable support from the charity, which helps the families of premature and sick babies.

Her parents Lindsay and Selim, both aged 29, from Conway Road, asked for donations rather than first birthday presents on August 31, raising more than £300 to help other premature babies and their families.

Her mum, Lindsay Dayanik, said: "It was such a difficult time for us, not knowing if our baby would be OK. Leaving her in hospital in an incubator every day was heartbreaking and if wasn't for the support from Bliss we would have crumbled.

"Bliss helped by providing lots of support and information at a time when we weren't sure whether she'd be ok. There was a 24-hour counselling helpline and countless information packs and DVDs, covering lots of topics, like how to care for your baby when they live in an incubator, dealing with winter illnesses and resuscitating your child if they stop breathing.

"It was all invaluable as we'd never had a baby before and a tiny premature one needs special care."

She added: "She's fine now, has caught up in size to babies born the same time but is a little developmentally behind. She still has regular check ups with the consultants and physios at Wythenshawe Hospital but on the whole is doing perfectly well.

"Reaching her first birthday is a big milestone and we decided that helping other families beats any presents hands down."

For details on Bliss go to bliss.org.uk