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The first time Cassidie Roberts held her daughter Aurora Jille’ia Marie, she was 44 weeks old.

Sitting with her husband Dean in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), Cassidie glanced down at Aurora, who had a faint scent of vanilla, reminiscent of Bath and Body Works’ Warm Vanilla Sugar perfume, and was covered in a fine layer of fur, the mom recalls.

“She was incredibly tiny,” Cassidie tells PEOPLE exclusively. “We nicknamed her jellybean because she was so small, and her middle name was Jille’ia Marie.”

“She could almost fit in the palm of our hand,” the Pennsylvania local, 30, adds.

Aurora was born on Aug. 1, 2023, weighing 15.9 ounces and measuring 10.35 inches long, at just 23 weeks old.