Mum’s singing helps save premature baby
Alana was just 24 weeks pregnant when she was rushed to Mater Mothers' Hospital in Brisbane when her water broke.
It was far too early for her to give birth and doctors and nurses did everything they could to keep little Rafferty in, but he had another plan.
Rafferty was born on October 25 and weighed a terrifying 704g. He was given a 60 per cent chance of survival.
He was placed in an incubator in the NICU where parents Alana and Angus watched on, hoping for their baby to pull through.
The couple then decided to move their wedding forward when baby Rafferty was just three weeks and married next to his incubator.
"I knew I needed to get as much love into him as possible," Alana told 9Honey.
"To just cram the love into him. And so we decided to have a beautiful ceremony to bless his arrival and show him how loved and needed he is. We filled the room with as much love as we could. And it was absolutely incredible."
The 31-year-old mother then spent every day singing and playing the ukulele to her son as well as cuddling him.
“'Got to get that bone marrow working making those red blood cells, got to get that haemoglobin rising up my baby..." were some of the lyrics Alana would sing.
Alana then realised that as she was singing, Rafferty’s heart rate would stabilise.
After months of singing, Alana and Angus were finally able to take their bundle of joy home in February – but he still requires oxygen.
The now seven-month-old is the “happiest little poppet” and continues to giggle, making his parents happy.
Images: Instagram