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 youngest son Noah was born
May 9th, 2014 at 33weeks 5days. He weighed 5lb 1oz. He was diagnosed in utero
with Spina Bifida. While we do live in Florida, we temporarily relocated our
then family of 4 to the north east so Noah could have a fetal repair done at
Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. His back repair was done at 25weeks 1 day,
and he was tucked back inside to keep growing for another few months. Babies
that undergo fetal surgery are scheduled for CSection at 37 weeks, but Noah had
other ideas and came earlier than that.
In the fetal surgery for spina
bifida community, we are often told our child was born twice. Once being taken
out to repair their back (often referred to as their "butt day"
because that is the only part of the baby taken out during surgery, and then
their actual birthday. It is pretty common to celebrate both days, and we would
love to get pictures taken of Noah on his fetal surgery birthday, March 10th
Noah spent 52 days in NICU.
While we always knew that Noah would spend some time in the NICU after he was
born, we never could have imagined it would be almost two months.
During those weeks we learned to
take each day, one at a time. To never listen to discharge date promises,
because babies do things on their own times. But most importantly we learned to
cherish every moment with him. Noah is now 8 months old, and there are times
that I miss the quiet, peacefulness of just him and I curled up in a rocking
chair.’
A Note From Cassandra:
"Noah's mom drove over an hour to come see me with him. He met me with the cutest smirk and brightest blue eyes! He was so excited to come meet me he decided to stay awake the whole car ride so was very guarded with his smiles, but when he did (of course mostly off-camera) his whole face lit up! Noah's family endured quite a bit while anticipating his arrival such as traveling to another state for a life changing surgery as well as being without mommy for several months (I am sure that Noah's older brothers can forgive him though, well at least until he comes after their toys). Without that surgery he would surely have been paralyzed whereas now he has mobility and a great future ahead for he and his family!"
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 graduate photography session that took place near Orlando, FL.
We're thankful to the family for sharing their story & memories in support of other NICU families.
