9 months. Well actually 10. That’s a long time to plan and dream and spend hours pinning away colorful nursery ideas, creative maternity pictures and then later, peeking at fun birth announcements as your due date gets closer. It is 40 weeks of trying to decide between cloth diapers and disposables. 280 days of anticipating the unknown, wondering what color eyes your baby will have and packing just the right items to go into your hospital bag.
Unless you are like me or so many of my new NICU mom friends. Our plans were flipped upside down along with every spec of comfort and normalcy. Many of us still find ourselves not only hopelessly searching for joy in the situation or unexpected diagnosis, but we are also mourning the loss of what was supposed to be normal. What we pinned onto our pinterest boards, they aren’t options. That vision we had of being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheel chair, holding our freshly baked baby in our laps while our significant other held an “it’s a girl” balloon, that concept popped right after they said “emergency c-section.”
My pregnancy was cut 7 weeks short. 8 if you count the week prior that I was on mandatory bedrest and in the hospital. The week Lorelei arrived we were supposed to have my maternity pictures taken. While I wasn’t thrilled with how I looked at the time, in the end I am still crushed that we didn’t have the opportunity to capture and record the end of my pregnancy. When I found myself in the NICU for an indefinite amount of time, I lost another “normal” and anticipated event: newborn pictures.
Most NICU families do not have quality pictures of their babies. We have pictures that are taken on our iphones through plastic baggies. 77 days in the NICU means that you take “newborn” pictures later. Later when you are excited to be home. Later when you are celebrating survival instead of birth. Later when they are no longer newborn pictures, but “Welcome Home” pictures.
Since Lorelei has a prognosis of a life much shorter than most littles, her Welcome Home pictures were very important to me. That being said, all pictures of her are very important to me. My father in law continuously comments that Lorelei has had more pictures taken of her in a few weeks than most babies have had taken of them in a few years.
When you aren’t promised tomorrow, you document every moment of today.
As a wedding planner I am blessed to be surrounded by tons of amazing photographers, one of my favorites being my college roommate Katie Wilson of Katie Wilson Photography in Richmond, VA. We go way back. It’s so crazy when you can say you have a friendship older than a fifth grader! I have loved watching Katie’s business grow and her photography skills shine. I knew when Lorelei came home, one of the first guests we wanted to have was Katie and her camera!
A couple months ago I was so excited when Katie was able to visit us in the hospital and snap one of our first family photos. When I heard that the NICU was looking for a photographer to take pictures of the babies for Mother’s Day - I immediately thought of Katie. It meant the world to us when she snapped a couple quick pics of Lorelei at her bedside. I was so happy to hear that she volunteered her time and skill to bring some light to other families who are in the midst of the dark NICU storm. Pictures are something that I have always felt are important but I never realized just how important they are until we were not given the chance to have them. Aside from that, now that we are home, let me just tell you - it is SO NICE to be able to hold your baby and snuggle up without annoying wires, lots of beeping and those not-so-fashionable gowns.
Lorelei was an absolute champ and a little bit of a diva for Katie. We quickly realized that we should be taking a fancy camera to PT with us because boy did she track it! I may be a bit bias but I am pretty positive she is the prettiest baby ever.
Without further ado, Welcome Home Lorelei! (These pictures were taken at 14 weeks old - with an adjusted age of 7 weeks.)
We have come a long way from that 2 pound 15 ounce baby that was born 7 weeks early. This kid is a beautiful fighter who’s spirit and spunk shines through her big blue-green eyes. These are pictures we will cherish forever. Thank you so much Katie for trekking down to Hampton Roads to capture Lorelei’s Welcome Home pictures! If you’re in Virginia and you are looking for an excellent baby photographer - give Katie Wilson a shout. Pretty sure her business tagline should be “I am a baby whisperer with a camera!”
