THERE will be more than a few surprise Christmas gifts received in Oxfordshire this morning, but two families are celebrating very special (little) ones.

Baby Lily Bond was born at 7.01am today in Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital, weighing seven pounds and 15 ounces.

She came almost a week earlier than the December 31 due-date her parents Alice and Dan were expecting, but the Brize Norton couple said it was the perfect Christmas present.

Mr Bond, a contract manager at an electrics firm, said: “We couldn’t believe the baby came six days early. Our son Freddie came a week early as well and they weighed exactly the same amount, which is a bit freaky.”

This morning Mr Bond said they were now planning to go home and have their turkey dinner with their son and Mrs Bond’s parents.

“It’s all worked out quite well really. Lily is the perfect Christmas present.”

In another delivery room just an hour after Lily’s birth, Michelle and Saimir Metollari from Grove, near Wantage, were celebrating the birth of their first child, Mia.

The nine pounds and eight ounces baby was born through an emergency caesarean section at 8.04am.

She had been due on December 17 but Michelle’s contractions started on December 23.

Saimir, originally from Albania, said: “She had to be induced because the baby was too big.

“Mia is our first baby and so we’re very excited. It’s been a really emotional morning, I cried. It’s really the best thing you could ask for on Christmas.”

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