Wake Forest Baptist Health, provided River Wilson spent the first 169 days of his life in the neonatal intensive care unit at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem because he was born premature. The hospital has the regionâs only Level IV NICU, which has experts who provide specialized care for babies born as young as 22 weeks gestational age, the hospital said. GREENSBORO â He came into this world a few centimeters shorter than an average-sized Barbie doll. His mother couldnât hold him for the first month of his life. Thirty-two days to be exact. The medical term is micro-preemie for babies born before 26 weeks gestation or weighing less than 1 pound, 12 ounces, although to parents Jessica and Hayden Wilson, their River â at 1 pound, 11 ounces â was just a tinier bundle of preciousness.