Preemie baby with adorable smile goes viral; 'she was happy to be alive'

A photo of a preemie Minnesota baby with a big adorable smile on her face is going viral and inspiring people around the world.

The mother wrote that her smiling daughter "was happy to be alive," and that "life is so precious."

Lauren Vinje posted the photo of her preemie baby on the "Love What Matters" Facebook page on Sunday. In just a few days, the post was shared nearly 50,000 times and has acquired over 300,000 "likes."

Vinje said it was taken when Freya was just five days old, and weighed only 3 pounds and 14 ounces. The picture "was one I looked at often to get me through the ups and downs of our NICU days," she wrote.

It inspired others to share their own premature birth stories as well. One comment, from Jackie Penny, reads, "My son was 4.8 lbs. born 9 weeks early. This May he graduates from med school & will be a Doctor of Osteopathic medicine."

Vinje told the Star Tribune that her daughter, who is now almost two, "is doing great and is one of the happiest little girls!" She said they've received a lot of attention for the photo and it's "awesome" to see how it touched people.