Parents of Micro-Preemie Discover Build-A-Bear Clothes Fit Their Baby Perfectly: 'One Day We'll Show Her' (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Harlow Miesner at birth (left), Harlow Miesner celebrating Halloween.Photo:kaitlyn miesner/Tiktok

kaitlyn miesner/Tiktok

Kaitlynnand Bailey Miesner were excited to become firsttime parents. Everything was smooth sailing until 19 weeks into Kaitlynn’s pregnancy, when doctors noticed the fetus was measuring at 17 weeks.

“My doctor had wanted us to come in a month later and do another growth check to see how she was growing,” Kaitlynn tells PEOPLE exclusively. “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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“It was hard, when they told us that. 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,” Bailey says. “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.”

Harlow “surprised” her mom and dad, born at 14.5 oz., and has been fighting her way to coming home every day since.

“She finally is not intubated anymore, so she doesn’t have a breathing tube. She has a chronic lung disease with being so premature,” Kaitlynn says. “They said that her lungs were the size of almonds whenever she came out. Right now, they’re working on her breathing and hopefully be able to get her down to one liter of a nasal cannula to get to come home.”

“My husband and I have definitely struggled,” Kaitlynn says. “Some people, it’s easy for them to get pregnant and give birth. We have a lot of family around us and friends that are getting pregnant and having babies. The days are hard when we don’t get to go see her because we both work full-time jobs. It’s hard that we don’t get to spend every single day with her and we’ve missed out on some of the first things she’s done. But at the end of the day, we are just so thankful that we have her.”

“Everybody who loves Harlow is going through it, but no one like me and Kaitlynn. I think we definitely hold each other up, at different times when one is more sad that the other,” Bailey adds.

Kaitlynn and Bailey have also found support from their online community via TikTok.

“I wanted to put something out because it was hard for me, hearing everyone say she wasn’t going to make it. 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,” Kaitlynn says.

“We share as much as we can to share her story for people who are going through something similar,” Bailey says. “And also for Harlow. She’s fought hard and I think it’s right to share that, for all the other babies fighting. We know we’re a rare case, but it happens.”

Recently, the family of three celebrated Halloween in the NICU. Kaitlynn and Bailey documented a trip toBuild-A-Bearafter getting a tip that the toy costumes there are well-sized for the tiniest trick or treaters.

The pair picked a Belle costume fromBeauty and the Beast.“It was Kaitlynn’s idea. She always has great ideas like that, being positive. We always do fun things with her and the staff there makes it easy for us,” Bailey says.

“We went out and bought a bear this past weekend fromBuild-A-Bearso that one day we’ll show her, ‘You were small enough to wear this!’ because at 7 months, she’s still that small,” he adds.

The parents look forward to seeing Harlow continues to progress until she’s ready to come home.

“We’re looking forward to having her here for Christmas or maybe even Thanksgiving. We realize this is just how it is right now. We’ll get to do everything bigger and better when she gets home,” Kailtynn says.

source: people.com