My baby was so premature he only weighed 670 grams, but he won't stop fighting

“In life, we all have our own battles and journey. And I look at Sunny and think if he can cope, and he is somehow coping, then we have to cope too,” Mum Jess tells Kidspot.

Jess was 15 when she met her now-husband, Tristan. When the high school sweethearts married in 2014, they instantly started mapping out their lives together.  

It was their dream to have a baby, but as years passed, there was no luck, and doctors couldn’t figure out why. 

So the NSW couple opted for IVF, but still, there was no development. After nine excruciating years of treatments, tears and heartache, the couple were about to throw in the towel. 

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Jess and Tristan tried for a baby for nine years. Source: Supplied

“[My pregnancy] was the most beautiful thing, but it was also the hardest”

“We were kind of at the end of our road,” Jess told Kidspot. “I was mentally, emotionally, and financially drained.” 

It was their final chance, so they tried their luck with one last round of IVF. This time it worked - they were going to welcome a little boy, Sunny, to the world and they were ecstatic. 

But at the same time, their happiness was clouded by sadness. “My dad was really sick with cancer,” she said. “It was the most beautiful thing, but also the hardest because [the diagnosis] was terminal.”

“We were so excited,” she said. “But we were also saying goodbye to Dad at the same time, knowing that he wouldn’t be there to see Sunny.”

While her pregnancy progressed, Jess developed a gut feeling that something was wrong. Her obstetrician concurred with this assessment and diagnosed her unborn baby with Intrauterine Growth Restriction, meaning he was growing slower than expected. 

“He wasn’t getting the nutrients he needed in order to grow,” she explained. “We were going to the hospital basically every second day to check his heart rate and do scans.” 

The first milestone they set in lace was to get their baby to reach 500 grams, which gives them a better chance of survival once out of the womb. 

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Sunny was born at 28 weeks and three days. Source: Supplied

“He's been battling for such a tiny little boy”

The next milestone they aimed for was to reach the 28-week mark. 

Devastatingly, her father passed away on 16 July; the next day, Jess was taken to the hospital. 

“I was literally admitted to the hospital the very next day after Dad passed and haven't left since,” she said. “I stayed in hospital as a patient for three weeks.” 

Over the next few weeks, the doctors continued to monitor the baby’s vitals and heartbeat. As she was having lunch, her gut was telling her something was wrong. The baby’s heartbeat was deteriorating, and she was rushed for an emergency C-section. 

Sunny was born on 5 August, well before his due date of 26 October, and weighed a mere 670 grams. “He was tiny,” Jess said. 

Taken straight to the NICU, he suffered a collapsed lung, meningitis, blood infections, low blood sugar and cortisol, a gastrointestinal bleed, and chronic lung disease. 

But that wasn't stopping the little champion from fighting harder every day. “He's been battling for such a tiny little boy,” she said.

Of course, it hasn't been without its difficult moments. 

“They all say it's like two steps forward, one step back," she said. "Every medication or treatment has potential risk and associated side effects; such a fine balance to try.”

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Every day presents a new battle for little Sunny. Source: Supplied

“I look at Sunny and if he can cope, then we can cope too”

The health challenges that Sunny has faced in his five weeks on earth have been a rollercoaster ride for Jess and Tristan. But the little boy’s enduring fight has helped Jess maintain strength throughout the journey. 

“In life, we all have our own battles and journey,” she told Kidspot. “And I look at him and think if he can cope, and he is somehow coping, then we have to cope too.” 

But that’s not to say the journey isn’t isolating. “We're living in this little bubble,” she said. “I feel because life is happening around us. But we're just on pause for a minute and all that matters.”

Aside from Sunny’s brave battle, Jess can’t help but feel “blown away” by the support she’s received from her closest friends and family. “You know, there are definitely good people in the world,” she said. “And we are lucky enough to be surrounded by some of the best.”

Her friends set up a GoFundMe page to support the couple’s challenging time. 

Sunny is improving slowly as each day passes. Now weighing a whopping 1.1 kilos, his mum “tells him every day that he’s huge.” Ongoing medical issues make each day challenging, but the “little miracle” continues to soldier on. 

Jess credits the NICU team at the hospital for their endless dedication to Sunny. “What they do every day is just phenomenal,” she said. 

“Like, they're understaffed and underpaid, and they're literally 24 hours a day keeping these babies alive. They're amazing.”

Originally published as My baby was so premature he only weighed 670 grams, but he won't stop fighting