Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Mason's NICU Grad Photo Shoot

Please enjoy Preemie Prints' families’ inspirational story & photos. 
Consider supporting our mission to share hope with families who have a baby born prematurely or critically ill. We thank our supporters, Preemie Prints volunteers, and donors for allowing us to continue touching the lives of NICU, preemie, and angel families.


We pray these special memories from Preemie Prints 
will help families heal and remember how strong 
they were in overcoming their NICU journey together.

A NICU STORY | THOUGHTS FROM MOM

“We thought that we had the perfect pregnancy from the beginning, everything was going great. We planned our gender reveal party to announce what we were having. We had our doctor’s appointment set where we were going to have the information sealed so we would find out at the same time as our family. We had the cake ordered with the baby color to use as the announcement and lots of decorations bought. We were told at the appointment that our baby was showing to be small so we would need to see a specialist, but it was just precaution no need to worry. Two days later we went to the specialist, where we were informed that something was very wrong and that is was probably chromosomal. The doctor did an anmio and we were told to wait 2 weeks for results, the worst two weeks of a mother’s life. All results came back that he was perfect, just small! We now had appointments to monitor him every couple weeks. At 27 weeks, the week of spring break we had our appointment with the specialist where she told us we would not be going home that day that we would be going straight to the hospital and would not be coming home pregnant. The sonogram showed that Mason had slowed in growth again and that there was backflow in his umbilical cord calling for emergency delivery. As we walked down the hall of the maternity floor we approached the nurses station where they were all waiting for us; they rushed me into a room and started IV's and meds as fast as possible thinking that I was in need to deliver immediately. Once on a monitor they found that Mason was doing great, the doctor chose to wait to give him a little more time before making the decision to deliver in hopes of giving me medication to stop brain bleeds and help his lungs. I was able to stay pregnant for 6 more days before they decided he had to be delivered. We were told to be ready that he probably wouldn't cry when he was delivered and to expect the worst. Mason was born at 3:31pm on Sunday March 16 2014 CRYING!! The NICU doctor was so happy with how he looked he gave him an 8 out of 10 on his APGAR score and said "I don’t ever give 9s or 10s and I’m not going to start now" :) Our little fighter spent 106 days in the AMH NICU, spent 34 days on the vent, and then was moved to SIPAP then within a day moved to Cannula. Fought several infections almost ending up back on a vent, endured many eye test, blood transfusions, had medication to close his PDA, along with numerous other tests. Our miracle baby not only fought for his life, but during that same fight won over the hearts and love of all the nurses and staff. Mason had the most AMAZING AMAZING doctors, nurses, and RT staff ON EARTH! We were truly blessed to be at Arlington Memorial NICU, living in the DFW area we had the choice of many hospitals including 2 Children's hospitals and wouldn’t change our decision for the world. We truly believe we had the best Doctors in the area and the best staff!! The knowledge in years in the nurses alone was amazing. It takes a special kind of person to be a NICU Doctor or Nurse and every single one of the men and women in that unit resembled that trait. I knew leaving my baby that he was loved, cuddled and cared for better then I could ever do and that coming from a mother is hard to say but they did it hands down. Wonderful, staff and a wonderful support system is the only way to get through a journey like ours and we were blessed to have all of it. Prayers from people who we had never met; from prayer groups, from friends of friends of friends, wonderful family, and friends. If you don’t believe in the power of prayer prior to going though a journey like ours you will by the time you’re done.”





A Note From Kristen:
"Sessions like this one are one of the main reasons I love photography heart emoticon
I am a volunteer photographer for a group called Preemie Prints. We provide families that have been through the NICU with photographs of their precious little babies within the first year of their lives. If I can put a smile on a mom & dad's face and give them something that they will cherish forever, my heart is full. heart emoticon
That is what this is about. This little boy was a doll- he just turned ONE! He's a fighter and has a smile that can melt a heart in a split second. I had such a great time!"





Photos belong to our volunteer photographers, families, 
and organization please do not use for any purpose. 
____________________________________________

Preemie Prints is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization sharing hope with NICU families through a variety of support programs. One of those programs is the gift of NICU photography and preemie photography. NICU families from across the US can request a no-charge photography session by a Preemie Prints volunteer. The family request from can be found on the right side of our website. These sessions are free of charge and for any NICU family, regardless of time spent in the NICU. The NICU photo shoot can take place inside the NICU or after baby is discharged and at home until their 1st birthday. Facing time in a NICU with a premature or critically ill baby is an extremely difficult time for families. Preemie Prints has a mission to share hope by letting families know they are not alone. Preemie Prints currently has over 100 volunteers nationwide. We are always looking for more volunteers to share in our mission! If you are interested, please email sherri@preemieprints.org and visit our website at www.preemieprints.org. To date Preemie Prints and our volunteers have gifted over 400 NICU family sessions. 

This was a Preemie Prints NICU graduate photography session that took place near Arlington, TX.


We're thankful to the family for sharing their story & memories in support of other NICU families.

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