Jacquie, a nutritionist, has spent hours scouring the world for reputable information on how to help Toby live a normal life.
Her research led her to take the boys to a MAGIC (Major Aspects of Growth in Children) Foundation conference in Chicago earlier this year where they met with Dr Madeleine Harbison, a world-renowned specialist in the field of paediatric endocrinology based at New York's Mt Sinai School of Medicine.
Dr Harbison was emphatic that Toby would benefit from being on growth hormone. However, Toby falls just outside of the Ministry of Health's height stipulations to qualify for the drug for free.
Instead, Jacquie has fought for a private prescription for the drug which will cost the family $10,000-$15,000 a year.
And that's money they just don't have. With the demands of sick, premature babies, financial pressure led the Dales to quit what had been a successful business and sell their Auckland home to pay creditors.
They now live on Tim's uncle's farm where Tim also works.
"The qualifying criteria is based solely on height and ironically the ministry considers Toby just a fraction too tall to qualify," said Jacquie. "It's just ludicrous."
Without the hormone, doctors expect Toby to grow to less than five foot, while Finn is expected to be at least six foot.
"Ideally he would start on it by the time he is four.... after four is okay but it's not as effective," said Jacquie.
"But it's not just the height issue, but all the other health problems. He's admitted to hospital for at least a week with just a little cold or other simple, childhood illnesses."
The day Hamilton News met with the family Toby had curled up on the sofa under his duvet and slept the entire day. Jacquie was worried about him. While Toby is often tired, long daytime naps can sometimes signal the onset of pneumonia - a common occurrence for Toby which sees him admitted to hospital for days at a time.
Jacquie's lost count of how many days Toby has spent in hospital. It's well over 300.
The daily injection of growth hormone - needed until Toby is about 14 - wouldn't just help him grow to a 'normal' height.
It would help with his lung and heart issues. Because he was ventilated for 76 days after he was born, Toby has chronic lung disease.
It would help with his muscle mass and bone density. Because those are so low now, Toby is often wobbly on his feet and falls over regularly.
And it would help with Toby's global development delays.
"Some areas he is at the right stage for his ages but falling behind in other areas," says Jacquie. "Concentration is an issue because without the nutrition he needs he doesn't have the stamina he needs to learn."
Toby is on a drug to increase his appetite but "he physically can't eat enough during the day" so Toby is fed through a gastrostomy feeding tube every night.
And he's picky about what he eats because he has a strong gag reflex, caused by the feeding tube that used to run down the back of his nose into his throat before he was fitted with the a gastrostomy tube that enters his stomach through a feeding and medication port in his abdominal wall.
He does have favourite foods though: cheese, Nutrigrain and Marmite on toast.
Jacquie has met a Wellington family whose son Finlay, now 14, has been on growth hormone for a decade. He's a normal height, and healthy.
"Within three months of starting it, Finlay was eating and playing and growing. That's what we want for Toby.
"At the moment, he can't tear around with Finn, he can't do the things four-year-old boys love doing... screaming around outside, leaping off things.
"It breaks my heart to think Toby couldn't have the hormone because of the cost... to think of all the things he could miss out on. This hormone is a good shot at a normal life for him. It would be amazing for Toby."
CAN YOU HELP?
A fundraiser for Toby will be held on February 13 - we'll bring you more details on that when they're finalised. But in the meantime, the family is about to start Toby on growth hormone. Their Give a Little fund has almost enough in it to fund the first month's prescription.
Little Toby needs about $15,000 a year for the next 10 years. If every Hamilton News reader donated just $1 to Toby, the Dales would have enough money to fund Toby's growth hormone injections for at least the next three years.
We'll provide readers with regular updates on Toby's progress as he begins the growth hormone. Let's get behind this gorgeous little boy and help him grow into a gorgeous, big boy!
To donate to Toby, go to www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/fundtoby or donations can be made by electronic transfer to ASB account 12 3629 0030710 50 in the name of T J Dale.