Born at 23 weeks Laurelai is star guest at mum and dad’s wedding

Miracle tot Laurelai has appeared as the guest of honour at her parents’ wedding at the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Cassidy and James Barlow in the neonatal unit with Laurelai

Miracle tot Laurelai has appeared as the guest of honour at her parents’ wedding celebration, held in the neonatal unit of the Queensland Children’s Hospital.

Given little chance of survival after being born at 23 weeks, the little battler held on to life to become the ultimate wedding present for Cassidy and James Barlow.

The Barlows had hoped that Laurelai would be home in time to attend their wedding ceremony but doctors advised she was not well enough to leave hospital.

Instead, the couple who have a toddler son Kaidyn, tied the knot at Brisbane’s New Farm Park before rushing off to the neonatal unit so that their daughter would be part of their special day.

“It was very special. We were all dressed up in our wedding attire and to be there in the neonatal unit with Laurelai was memorable,” Mrs Barlow said.

Laurelai was born unexpectedly at just 23 weeks and four days gestation on June 20 at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital and was transferred to Mater Mothers’ Hospital for lifesaving around-the-clock care.

She weighed 637g at birth – less than a loaf of bread – but Mrs Barlow, from Petrie in the Moreton Bay region, said: “I never gave up on my little girl.”

Cassidy Barlow with baby Laurelai at Mater Mothers' Hospital: Picture: J&A Photography

“Doctors had given Laurelai little chance of surviving when she was born. I look at her now and she is kicking goals,” Mrs Barlow, 22, said.

“We wanted to make sure our miracle baby was part of our big day, so we made a special trip to Queensland Children’s Hospital where she was being cared for.

“I was so hopeful she would be there with us on the day – it was upsetting being at the ceremony without her, but she was where she needed to be.”

Laurelai has undergone three major operations, including bowel surgery.

“She spent 160 days at Mater, and we are so lucky to have her with us today,” Mrs Barlow said.

“I remember the first time I held her; it was 16 days after she was born. She had all these tubes and wires coming out of her, I thought I might break her.”

Now tipping the scales at 4.2kg, Laurelai is on oxygen to help her breathe and has Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP), an eye disease that can occur in babies who are born premature.

But Mrs Barlow is grateful her daughter is progressing well, having lost a baby girl named Delilah to stillbirth at 25 weeks into her pregnancy in 2020.

Mater neonatologist Dr Luke Jardine said the care for Laurelai was a big team effort.

Baby Laurelai at Mater Mothers' Hospital

Originally published as Born at 23 weeks Laurelai is star guest at mum and dad’s wedding