Sweet Miracle Amelia Rose's NICU Photo Shoot with Merissa!

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

"My beautiful daughter's name is Amelia Rose, she was born April 6th at 25 weeks via emergency c section and she weighted 1lb 6 ounces. I had preeclampsia that's why she came so early. She has already went through a lot getting her PDA closed in her heart, shes a trooper, and the best feeling in the world is being able to see her whether it's in person or a forever keepsake. I appreciate all yall's help thank you.."

Preemie Prints Volunteer Photographer:

Merissa Martin, Forever Moments Photography - Houston, TX

A note from Merissa:

"Amelia is tiny but very alert! She was so easy to work with and her mother is the sweetest thing. The nurses were completely cooperative and helped me with whatever I needed! It was a privilege to be able to take pictures of sweet Amelia."

Photos belong to our volunteer photographers, families, 

and organization please do not use for any purpose. 

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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 photography baby photo shoot that took place 

at Texas Children's in Houston TX.

We're thankful to the family for sharing their story & memories in support of other NICU families. We pray they are home with sweet baby Amelia very soon.

A renewed perspective

My girls are almost 4 years old. It has been 4 years since I sat in the NICU, holding them, crying, worrying, praying, and doing everything in my power to help them. To bring them home with me. We did come home, it was hard at first, but day by day they got stronger. They are now extremely healthy and very active almost 4 year olds.

Time has passed, but I am still living in the NICU world through Preemie Prints. We offer support to NICU families through many different programs. Photography, handmade items, group support, online support, and prayer. Although I know what these parents are facing and our organization offers so much support to them, not actually being IN the NICU can make a volunteer like myself feel distant from the difficult realities. Running any organization - there are so many aspects to think about - not only the outreach, but the administration, the marketing, the websites, the planning of events and meetings, making sure we have the supplies we need, special projects, the list goes on. So when a day like last Wednesday comes along that renews my spirit and energy for what I have chosen to do through Preemie Prints, it is very inspiring & refreshing.

In the beginning I had the time to actually volunteer for some of our charitable photography shoots. Photography was what inspired Preemie Prints all together. It was what inspired this organization. We quickly branched out to offer more support, but a few precious NICU pictures is what sparked the idea for PP. After my girls started growing up and the organization started to flourish, I stopped helping with the photography. It became an even more distant thought after I was pregnant with my son. So what I'm trying to say is, it's been a while since I've been a part of one of our NICU or NICU graduate photo shoots.

My cousin's baby girl, Laycee, was born full term by C-Section. When the doctors delivered her and she came into our world she wasn't breathing. They bagged her and got her to the small NICU where she was born. She was born with (CDH) or Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Very shortly after her birth she was life flighted to Memorial Herman Children's NICU in Houston, Tx. She underwent 3 surgeries. She was there many days. I will save her full story for her sneak peek blog post because her amazing mom has shared it. With prayer from her family and friends, an amazing team of doctors and nurses, and reliance on our Lord's plan - Laycee fought and pulled through. She is a true miracle, she and her family have inspired me.

Laycee's mother, and countless others, had to watch their baby undergo surgery multiple times, had to see their baby cut open and watch the incision heal little by little day by day. Her strength and the strength of so many NICU & angel moms - is unexplainable in human words. It is God at work. God holding these parents together, giving them the strength they need to make it through. It is amazing.

Laycee's PP NICU graduate photo shoot took place in my home with one of our amazing volunteers, Ashley Diamond Siegert of FigMint Photography. I had the opportunity to be a part of it by just watching. I got to witness what a NICU grad shoot is without being behind the camera, and wow did it make an impact. I came away renewed in our mission. Renewed in what these shoots mean & why we offer them.

I sometimes wonder if people understand the reasons behind why we gift NICU graduate photo shoots. Although I could always give an answer, by witnessing it instead of being the mom or taking the pictures, I've again felt the meaning in my heart and it's beautiful. I'm tearing up as I'm writing this. As I sat there looking at Laycee so perfect and angelic, here with us by God's will, and her mother so strong and brave; I saw abundant love. A connection, not just between mom and baby, but one between mom and miracle. That deep down feeling, that you can see in a mom whose baby fought so hard to be here, is captured in these pictures that we give. These parents aren't just proud of their baby; they are in complete and utter awe of their baby's strength. To have their baby with them, like so many do not get, is the gift of a lifetime. From birth to 1 year of age we photograph their miracles in a beautiful way and that is a gift they will also treasure forever.

Every baby is a miracle. NICU babies & preemies just have a harder fight, some pull through and some have short miraculous lives. We honor their life, fight, and strength through this gift of NICU graduate photography.

~Amber

Behind the scenes

Mom & baby