THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — A Thomasville family finally welcomed their 1-year-old baby girl home after she spent 419 days in the hospital since her birth.

“I’m so happy … to see her in there … Hopefully, we’re out of the hospital for a long time. I’m just happy that she’s home where she can be with her brothers and her cousins and be able to be around other people and not just confined to one little room,” said Tina Southern, Meredith’s grandmother.

Family members were excited to bring baby Meredith home from Brenner Children’s Hospital in Winston-Salem on Thursday.

Meredith’s twin brother Bodie went home two months after they were born in June 2022.

“We are excited and nervous that he has only met his twin one time since they were in my belly. So I’m excited to see them interact a lot,” said Bethany Nance, Meredith’s mother.

“I’m excited and ready,” said Kellan, Meredith’s brother.

Meredith was born with underdeveloped lungs. During her time in the hospital, she also fell sick with several illnesses.

Her family says she’s a fighter, and much like her twin Bodie, she is said to be full of smiles.

“She has grown so much. She’s hit so many milestones in the hospital that we’ve gotten to watch, but now we get to see big things outside of the hospital,” Southern said.

She’s on a ventilator to help her breathe, and she also has a gastrotomy tube to eat.

This will be her first night sleeping in her own crib in her room.

“Meredith … has from day one … let us know what she needed, what her body needs, and she will let us know when she no longer needs it,” Southern said. “So we’re just going to wait for her to tell us.”

Meredith quickly dozed off in her crib after being reunited with her twin older brother and meeting her cousin Kaili for the first time. Nurses helped the family get her settled at home.

“Her doctors are very hopeful that she will … have it all gone before she goes to school. So we’re staying hopeful,” Southern said.

The family will have two nurses with them every day on different shifts, helping to care for Meredith now that she is home.