WASHINGTON — Four months after her birth at the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Anne Arundel Medical Center in Maryland, Ariana Sophia Cruz-Gutierrez, the smallest baby to be born there, finally went home Thursday.

Ariana was born prematurely on March 9, weighing only 12 ounces. Her mother, Claudia Cruz, 31, of Annapolis, was only 24 weeks into her pregnancy when Ariana was born. Cruz’s pregnancy-induced hypertension hastened Ariana’s birth.

But Ariana wasn’t breathing when she was born.

“The baby could die, but with God’s help and blessing, and the incredible work of the people here, everything has turned out well,” Ariana’s father, Oscar Gutierrez told the Capital Gazette.

Ariana’s weight dropped to 8 ounces shortly after her birth. Now she’s a few days away from turning 5 months old, and she weighs 4 pounds.

Dr. Suzanne Rindfleisch, who directs the NICU and has been at the hospital for 24 years, says Ariana is the smallest premature baby to survive at the Medical Center.

Ariana will return to AAMC for regular checkups and physical therapy.