text: 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 wasn'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 wouldn'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'
target: Etienne Gould Nunan 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 .