When baby Raelynn entered the world weighing just 12.5 ounces — about the same as a can of soda — her future was uncertain. More than a year later, after spending 375 days in the hospital, the tiny Wisconsin fighter finally went home with her family.

Key Takeaways:

• Baby Raelynn Kubiske was born on July 28, 2025, by C-section at 23 weeks and six days. She weighed just 12.5 ounces at birth.

• She spent over a year in the hospital before she was allowed to go home with her family.

• Her mother has lupus and suffered complications as a result of this disease, some of which are ongoing.

• Both baby Raelynn and her mother continue to have ongoing medical needs, though Raelynn is home with her family and is reportedly doing well.

The Details:

On July 28, 2025, Raelynn Kubiske was born by C-section at the American Family Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, at 23 weeks and six days gestation.

Just 45 minutes later after Aubree Winnekens gave birth, she and Raelynn's father, Aaron Kubiske, received a devastating prognosis and were told to “prepare for the worst."

“They had come down and said that they were going to bring her down to see us for us to say goodbye to her,” Kubiske said. 

Dr. Claudette Onyelobi, known around the hospital as "Dr. O," is a neonatoligist at UW Health Kids and an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.

Dr. O is also the Director of Small Baby Care at American Family Children’s Hospital and UnityPoint Health-Meriter. The family went to her for help, asking her to "do everything in your power to help save her," Onyelobi told WMTV 15.

Baby born 16 weeks early weighing less than a soda can

She stated that she has cared for many small babies, but none like Raelynn. "This became a life and death situation,” said Onyelobi.

Onyelobi recalled her conversation with Winnekens, Raelynn's mother:

“She said, ‘I heard everything you said, Dr. O. I need you to do everything in your power to give my baby a chance at life and please provide her a trial at life and give her every medical intervention that you have at your avail.’ And that’s what we did.”

To further complicate the situation, Winnekens has had serious health issues of her own, including a lupus diagnosis at age 11. She has battled health issues throughout her life due to this chronic autoimmune disease, including two bouts with sepsis at age 22.

Not long after, she found out she was pregnant, which can be a high-risk situation for a mother with lupus.

Winnekens was admitted to the hospital three weeks before her delivery. While there, she experienced complications due to the lupus, and needed dialysis for both her kidney and heart.

“The day before I had her was my last dose of dialysis,” Winnekens told WMTV.

After Raelynn was born so early and so small, she was sent to the NICU for immediate care.

Raelynn’s eyes were still closed and her skin was practically transparent when she was born, according to her parents. Her first year of life in the NICU was filled with a myriad of medical interventions, ranging from the insertion of a breathing tube the size of a drinking straw to open heart surgery.

“It was very unreal,” Kubiske told Live News Five. “Even though you know what’s going on and you know the situation, it still doesn’t feel like something you’re supposed to see.”

Looking Ahead:

After over a year of a hospital stay, Raelynn was able to go home with her family. She is growing and doing wonderfully, and also requires around the clock care.

She has a breathing tube, which the family is hopeful will be removed in a year. They then hope to move back to live near family in Northern Wisconsin.

Dr. Onyelobi said:

“Raelynn has her work cut out for her. She has beat several odds to come to this point. To not only survive past the first 24 hours of life, the first month of life, but now we’re talking the first year of age.

And so that’s an amazing feat when you are born so small for gestational age. And so she is a walking miracle. I mean, she isn’t walking yet but she is a real life miracle."

Raelynn's mother is also still in need of medical care. Her kidney function is reportedly at 8% and she is facing another round of dialysis... and more.

“Now I’m facing those consequences of now needing a transplant,” she said.

The family has a GoFundMe set up to help cover medical expenses for both Raelynn and her mother.