So far, the as-yet-unnamed male chick has had to put up with an internal membrane collapse and some pretty blase parenting from his 5-year-old father Tamanui and 2-year-old mother Tawahi.
Kiwi Birdlife Park senior keeper Nicole Kunzmann said the inexperienced couple were the kiwi equivalent of teenagers and failed to incubate the egg, using it instead as a footrest and a pillow.
Ms Kunzmann said the chick would be the first little brown kiwi hatched at the centre since 1997 and from conception right up to today's much anticipated hatching all park staff considered him a "miracle baby".
The day after the young parents were introduced in May they started mating, which was unusual because kiwi are nomally 3 or 4 years old before they start breeding.
"We were shocked that they bred so soon and were so fertile. The egg was laid and they ignored it. They were just teen parents who didn't know what to do with an egg."
Incubating duties were then handed over to foster dad, 8-year-old Nyoni, who bonded with the egg straight away. On day 57 of the average 75-day hatching cycle it was decided the egg should go to the artificial incubator.
"This was a miracle baby. He's had a lot of troubles at every turn," Ms Kunzmann said.
Most recently, the egg's inner membrane had collapsed, jeopardising the hatching.
"The little guy got it all wrong when the membrane fell down so he started to hatch before he'd started breathing air. We had to open a beak hole to make sure he could breathe."
Yesterday Ms Kunzmann said she had a "gut feeling" he would kick his way out overnight.
The couple's other egg is being incubated by Nyoni - in 23-hour shifts - and is expected to hatch in February.
