A premature baby , born weighing a tiny 558 grams , astounded doctors by being able to go home almost five months after a medically complicated birth . The parents of Etienne Gould Nunan , who was born at Melbourne 's Monash Hospital in July last year , have praised medical staff for taking care of their son who came into the world not breathing , with a hole in his heart and a brain bleed . 'He just looked so fragile . Literally a few hours after I met him for the first time , the doctors said he was n't going to make it , ' his mother Carman Gould , who had an emergency caesarean at just 26 weeks , told Nine News . Scroll down for video . Etienne Gould Nunan was finally allowed to go home after spending almost five months in hospital . He was born premature , after just 26 weeks in the womb , and weighed only 558 grams . She and her partner Jonathan Nunan would spend the next four and a half months practically living at the hospital and watching as their son developed pneumonia , suffered a collapsed lung and endured 58 blood transfusions to fight infections . 'Given the way he started , a lot of times both the family and us were very worried about him , whether he would be able to make it at all , ' Monash 's associate professor Arvind Sehgal said . But slowly , 'tough little fighter ' Etienne began to experience his first milestones in life . A touching home video shows the moment the tiny baby , not much larger than a can of soft drink , was allowed to touch his mother for the first time , 10 days after his birth . His parents , Carman Gould ( left ) and Jonathan Nunan ( right ) have praised medical staff for taking care of their son who came into the world not breathing . Too tiny to touch : Etienne was born with a hole in his heart and a brain bleed and went on to develop pneumonia , suffer a collapsed lung and endure 58 blood transfusions to fight infections . 'You 've watched this baby through this plastic window for ten days and so to finally hold him skin to skin ; it 's the moment that you 've been waiting for , ' Ms Gould said . 'It 's the moment you start to think `` yeh , I am a mum '' . ' The proud parents said they celebrated each day as it came , alongside the little joys it brought , from Etienne 's first bath to his first hug with dad and his first feed with mum . 'Etienne came home after 138 days in the NICU needing only vitamins and a little breathing support ... and we expect him to grow out of that in the next few months . All his other issues were resolved , some spontaneously , ' the couple wrote in a compilation video of their son 's five month long hospital battle . A touching home video shows the moment the tiny baby , not much larger than a can of soft drink , was allowed to touch his mother for the first time , 10 days after his birth . 'You 've watched this baby through this plastic window for ten days and so to finally hold him skin to skin ; it 's the moment that you 've been waiting for , ' Ms Gould said . The proud parents said they celebrated each day as it came , alongside the little joys it brought , from Etienne 's first bath ( pictured ) , his first hug with dad , and his first feed with mum . 'Fabulous , if you see his original pictures when he was born you would n't recognise him and he 's done very well , ' professor Sehgal told Nine News . Mr Nunan and Ms Gould have shared their story in the hope that others will be inspired to donate blood to the Australian Red Cross . 'If you 've ever given blood , a heartfelt thank you . It was generosity from people like you that saved my baby Etienne 's life . If you 've been putting it off , ask yourself , how many opportunities do we get in our lifetime to make such a meaningful difference to others ? , ' Ms Gould wrote in a comment on The Red Cross 's Facebook page . Mr Nunan added that the family was looking forward to a happy future with their 'inspiring little kid ' . Mr Nunan and Ms Gould have shared their story in the hope that others will be inspired to donate blood to the Australian Red Cross . 'If you 've ever given blood , a heartfelt thank you . It was generosity from people like you that saved my baby Etienne 's life , ' Ms Gould wrote in a comment on The Red Cross 's Facebook page . A proud Ms Gould ( pictured with hospital staff ) and Mr Nunan were allowed to take their son home after 138 days in hospital . Mr Nunan said the family was looking forward to a happy future with their 'inspiring little kid '
Carman Gould was not breathing when he was born at just 26 weeks . He had a hole in his heart , a brain bleed and went on to suffer pneumonia , a collapsed lung and endure 58 blood transfusions to fight infections . Parents were delighted to finally take him home after 5 months in hospital . They would like to use his story to encourage people to give blood .