Arriving at 28 weeks, Lacey weighed just 1243 grams (2lbs 7ozs) and would spend the first 67 days of her life in hospital.

"She really is our little miracle," her mother, Simone, said.

The Smiths were talking about their experience to promote tomorrow's National Premmie Day, which raises awareness of premature births and the support required by both babies and their families.

Ben and Simone, who already have Noah, four, weren't anticipating any problems with their second child's birth, due on April 12.

A couple of days before Lacey's arrival, the family had been holidaying in their hometown of Albury.

"I had never felt so good," Simone said. "There was nothing to signal this could be happening."

Arriving back in Ballarat on Thursday, January 17, Simone started to experience cramping and was ordered into bed by her obstetrician, Dr Russell Dalton.

On the Saturday, Simone's cramps worsened and Ben rushed her to St John of God Hospital about 5am.

She was given injections to stop her contractions, as well as steroids to develop the baby's lungs in case she came early.

But when Dr Dalton came to examine her later that morning, he didn't say much to Simone. "He just turned to the nurse and said `ambulance'."

Simone was rushed to Heidelberg's Mercy Hospital for Women by neo-natal intensive care ambulance.

Ben, left racing for a babysitter and clothes, was driving through Taylors Lake when the call came that the baby was arriving.

"I wanted to wait for Ben, but the baby was getting really stressed," Simone said.

When Lacey arrived, Ben was stuck in traffic on Bell St. When he first saw his daughter, she could fit in his palm and was very bruised due to arriving face up. She went to a neo-natal intensive care unit, spending 53 days in Melbourne and a further two weeks in St John of God's special care nursery back in Ballarat.

The Smiths temporarily moved in with Ben's mother in North Balwyn, with Noah attending kindergarten with his pre-school teacher grandmother.