Bailey and Kaitlynn Miesner were expecting their first child—a little girl. Due to complications, their daughter was not growing in the womb and needed to be delivered at just 27 weeks. The new parents were devastated… and hopeful. As little Harlow grew, she still couldn’t fit into preemie clothes. So, the couple headed to Build-A-Bear for Harlow’s first Halloween costume to wear to a party in the NICU.
“One day we’ll show her, ‘You were small enough to wear this!’ because at 7 months, she’s still that small,” Kaitlynn told PEOPLE.
Born at Just 27 Weeks, This Micro-Preemie Wore a Beautiful Halloween Costume—from Build-A-Bear
Expecting their first child, Kaitlynn and Bailey were beyond excited—until they received awful news at just 19 weeks. Their daughter wasn’t growing as expected.
“My doctor had wanted us to come in a month later and do another growth check to see how she was growing,” Kaitlynn told PEOPLE. “At the next appointment, I was 24 weeks and she was only measuring about 20 weeks, so she had stopped growing even more. That appointment was at the beginning of March and they ended up air flighting me to a hospital two-and-a-half hours away because they thought that she would be delivered pretty soon with how small she was and how she wasn’t seeming to get any nutrients.”
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The family learned that their daughter was only about 330 grams, which wasn’t a survivable size if she delivered. So, they waited. And, prayed. Medical experts didn’t think their baby would make it.
In a sweet TikTok video, the couple shared photos of their journey. The inspiring and raw accompanying music held these words, “My God did not fail. That’s my story. That’s my testimony.”
Bailey recalled how hard it was when the doctors said they didn’t think their little girl would survive. “They didn’t know what was wrong. They asked us if we wanted to try to resuscitate or do comfort care. It’s hard to choose something like that because you don’t ever know,” said Bailey. “You don’t want to not give her a chance, but Kaitlynn and I felt like that was no way to live, not the quality of life we’d wanted for her.”
The couple continued to wait until they returned to the hospital at 26 weeks. Their little girl was measuring at 22 weeks, but her heart rate kept dropping. So, doctors delivered the baby via C-section.
Little Harlow weighed less than a pound—just 14.5 ounces and has fought every day since. Kaitlynn posted, “my tiny little baby, born at 27 weeks. though the road be hard & long, God has already proven so many miracles & we know he is continuing them.”
As Kaitlynn continued to update the world via TikTok, she realized Harlow’s first Halloween was quickly approaching. Their little girl would be seven months old—and not yet fitting into preemie clothes.
“You just have to find fun where you can. We just choose to be thankful and realize we’re lucky for every day she’s here with us,” recalled Kaitlynn. “We would have loved for her to be home for her first Halloween, but we celebrate the small moments like when you see your baby’s face light up because people at the hospital tell her what a pretty princess she is. It makes it all a little less hard.”
@kaitlynnkarmstrongg this was the BEST idea i have heard! build a bear costume for your NICU baby!! 🎀🤍🧸 #nicubaby #nicustrong #preemie #buildabear #firsthalloween🎃 ♬ original sound – kaitlynnmiesner
Sarah, a NICU nurse, shared her own idea. “NICU RN here and we use build a bear cap and gowns for our graduation pictures.”
“I used to work at Build A Bear and a woman came in every year to get costumes for the NICU babies,” said Kayy. “They looked sooo cute. Still do.”
Lucy offered an idea from before Build-A-Bear was an option. “My mom had my brother in the 80’s. She was 16 years old and he was born 2 months early. She said they would buy cabbage patch baby clothes to fit him.”
“I wanted to put something out because it was hard for me, hearing everyone say she wasn’t going to make it,” said Kaitlynn. “We wanted to show people that like just because science says babies aren’t viable doesn’t mean that they aren’t and we got to witness that firsthand.”
