New parents Paula and Derek Corsar have been through every emotion imaginable in the first chapters of their baby son’s life.
Little Ryan was born five weeks premature and suffered from breathing difficulties, meaning their anticipated joy at his arrival was overtaken by anxiety.
And because he was underweight, he spent almost three weeks in hospital, making for a harrowing time for his mum and dad.
The youngster has now been given a clean bill of health and is settling into the family home at Meikle Wartle, near Inverurie.
Accounts assistant Mrs Corsar, 33, said it had been a stressful time, made easier by the care of staff in the neonatal unit at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.
Ryan Graham Ronald Corsar, named after his grandfather and great-grandfather, is now thriving at 8lb 8oz, but was only 5lb 12oz at birth.
Because of his breathing problems, he was whisked away as soon as he was born and that was the last Mrs Corsar saw of her son for six hours, apart from his likeness in a photo taken by her husband, a 38-year-old subsea control technician.
It was the start of a long wait for the anxious couple as neonatal medics cared for Ryan. Mrs Corsar had to come home from hospital alone.
“When I was discharged, it was horrendous, but we both knew Ryan was in the right place and all the staff had been brilliant,” she said.