The parents of the millennium's first baby hope to take their son home next week, after spending 11 anxious days by his bedside.
Baby Tuatahi Manaakitunga still has tubes emerging from his nose and mouth after undergoing surgery at Green Lane Hospital in Auckland last week to correct faultyheart vessels.
But he should soon be fit enough to go home to Henderson.
His mother, Vanessa Edwards, and father, Jason, have taken turns to keep a constant vigil over the baby, who was born at 12.01 am on New Year's Day.
The world is unlikely to see any pictures until he has the tubes removed and leaves hospital.
Both parents have been shielded from the worldwide media interest in the birth.
Celebrity agent Andy Haden, who is representing the couple, said the right publicity could help towards the boy's future.
"If there is something for the baby's education and he is able to benefit from a turn of fortune, that will be great. But that is secondary to the wellbeing of the baby.
"The boy does not deserve to be hounded through his life just because he was born on the first of January 2000."
Mr Haden said the baby's condition would have been life-threatening in the past.
He had fielded between 50 and 100 inquiries from media in New Zealand and around the world, including one request from a television station in Israel.
But Mr Haden said no interviews or pictures would be allowed until the baby had recovered, and even then there were likely to be just a few.
