Baby Born Weighing Less Than 1 Lb. Heads Home After 9 Months in NICU

A baby who weighed less than 1 lb. when he was born is now home from the hospital nearly a year after his birth.

Nathan Zarate spent nearly 300 days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge after he was born at 25 weeks in November 2023, according to a news release from the hospital obtained by PEOPLE.

Although the journey wasn’t always easy, he was finally released on Wednesday. Aug. 28. 

“We’re just very grateful that everything worked out the way it did,” Nathan’s mother, Alicia Zarate, tells PEOPLE.

Alicia, 34, and her husband Jonathan Zarate, 36, learned they were expecting their first child together in late June 2023. The couple was eager to start a family and “elated” by the news, Alicia tells PEOPLE.

The mom says her pregnancy was fairly normal, but one day last November, Alicia was driving to work when she realized she didn’t feel Nathan moving in her belly as he normally would.

She says she even had her husband play the song “Higher” by Creed, which usually got him to kick.
“Play the song,” she recalls telling Jonathan. “If he doesn’t flutter, I’m going to the doctor.”

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But Nathan did not move. Concerned, Alicia visited her doctor the very next day and was sent straight to the emergency room.

Doctors determined Alicia was experiencing symptoms of pre-eclampsia, as well as a fetal growth restriction that threatened Nathan’s life inside her womb, according to the hospital.

The next day, Nathan was born via emergency c-section, weighing just 14.3 oz — and was immediately intubated and brought to the NICU.

Nathan “was the sickest baby in the NICU” during his first week of life, says Dr. Michael Cappello, a neonatologist and vice-chair of pediatrics at Advocate Children’s Hospital.

In addition to experiencing eye damage and battling pneumonia, the newborn underwent surgery to repair a heart defect and had a tracheostomy tube put in to help his breathing.

Alicia and Jonathan were separated from Nathan for the first two days of the newborn’s life, according to the hospital’s press release. During that time, and in the difficult weeks to come, the couple tells PEOPLE they leaned on their faith.

“We were able to just kind of get through it with prayer, and trusting God’s plan,” Alicia tells PEOPLE. Her husband Jonathan says they had faith that the medical team caring for their newborn son were “capable of performing a miracle” and “saving his life.”

And in the end, Nathan, who now weighs 14 lbs., pushed through — and this week, it was finally time to come home.

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Alicia says the experience of saying goodbye was a tad bittersweet, though certainly “more sweet than bitter” — and that she cannot thank all of doctors, nurses and other hospital staffers for their efforts to keep Nathan alive.

“They’ve gone above and beyond for not only Nathan, but for us with all the support that they’ve done,” she tells PEOPLE. “It’s just really hard to put into words how grateful we truly are.”

Now, the Zarates are getting settled into their new day-to-day life with Nathan, who still has “ventilated support,” according to his parents.

“Now it’s just finding a way to create a new norm,” Jonathan tells PEOPLE.

Alicia hopes their story “can bring hope to many other NICU families,” no matter how long their child stays there.

“I just want them to know they’re not alone,” the mom tells PEOPLE. “There are others who are wanting to help and support, and it gets better.”