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
“After struggling with infertility for 3 years, we got pregnant after our second attempt at IVF with boy/girl twins. At 21 weeks gestation, our son's water broke and I was admitted to the hospital and put on bed rest for PPROM. Unfortunately, we delivered our twins at 24 weeks and 5 days gestation. Our son lived for roughly 40 hours before going home to the Lord. Our daughter, Hailey Lou, fought for her little life for 133 days in the NICU before finally coming home on her Daddy's birthday.”
“After struggling with infertility for 3 years, we got pregnant after our second attempt at IVF with boy/girl twins. At 21 weeks gestation, our son's water broke and I was admitted to the hospital and put on bed rest for PPROM. Unfortunately, we delivered our twins at 24 weeks and 5 days gestation. Our son lived for roughly 40 hours before going home to the Lord. Our daughter, Hailey Lou, fought for her little life for 133 days in the NICU before finally coming home on her Daddy's birthday.”
Hailey Lou’s photo session was taken and donated by Preemie Prints volunteer photographer, Catherine Vint.
"When I read Allison and John’s story, I was so incredibly moved and honored to be given the opportunity to capture their story in all of its bittersweet beauty, sorrow and joy. Their photo session took place the morning of Tuesday, May 30th, in their beautiful light-filled home. We began the session taking a posed image of Hailey in a little prop bed but she was having none of it - it turns out she had plans for a far better image at the very end of her session! John prepared a bottle for Hailey and together he and Allison wrote down the amount and time of the bottle. Throughout their entire session, it was clear to me how united they were - through the struggles of conceiving, the elation of discovering they were pregnant with twins, the utter devastation of Hailey’s sweet brother Lucas Mark gaining his angel wings, and the sheer joy of Hailey’s birth and triumph against the odds - they were truly an unbreakable team.
We went upstairs and I began photographing Allison feeding Hailey in her nursery that was clearly put together with so much thought and love. John joined the room and I captured images of him feeding Hailey as well and of the “master swaddler,” as he is known in their household, swaddling her. Aside from posing Allison and John for optimal lighting, I gave very little direction during their session as I wanted these images and the emotions they invoked to unfold organically. The connection Allison and John had, and the way they looked at each other and at their sweet Hailey was so very powerful, real and incredibly moving. Throughout the session, they couldn’t help but smile as they looked at each other and at their beautiful little girl. John read the book Guess How Much I Love You to Hailey (which they read to her every day for all 133 days she was in the NICU) as well as well wishes and prayers from so many. Later in the session, the family dog Zoey, joined in on the family images and even posed with her paw up in the air. It made for a good laugh!
As the session was winding down, I asked if I could take a few images of Hailey alone again since she wasn’t a fan of the bed prop I used earlier. I placed her in her crib and again, she wasn’t having much of it. I asked if I could put her brother’s angel bear in the crib with her and when I did, she immediately stopped crying and began beaming with the most radiant smile from head to toe! It was one of the most incredible, touching things I’ve ever seen in my life. They say the bond between twins is unbreakable and I truly believe it as I have now seen it with my own eyes.
Allison and John thanked me many times, but I feel I should thank them for inspiring me, and I have no doubt so many others, by their strength, perseverance and beautiful love they have for each other and their sweet Hailey Lou and Lucas Mark."
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 500 NICU family sessions.
This was a Preemie Prints NICU graduate photography session that took place near Ashburn, VA.
We're thankful to the family for sharing their story & memories in support of other NICU families.
No comments:
Post a Comment