Raleigh Birth Photography | Madeline's Story

May 5

Written By

Raleigh Birth Photography | Celebrating Madeline's Birth and Her Life

It’s not often an experience changes you – a true life altering and eye opening change. But that is exactly what happened for me April 2^nd 2015.In early March, I was contacted by Jennifer, a fellow photographer, in search of someone able to document the upcoming birth of her client. She put me in contact with Becca and we talked a little about Madeline. She had quite a few complications show up on the 20 week scan, which kicked off a series of more ultrasounds and doctors visits. They transferred care to UNC; a larger hospital with a wider range of capabilities. Over the next few weeks Madeline was diagnosed with Arthrogryposis, Hydrocephalus, and Hydrops fetalis. The family knew the road ahead was going to be challenging, they wouldn’t know the extent of her issues until birth so there was no way to predict an outcome. So their plan was to make it as far along as possible to give her the best chance. March 30^th Becca’s water broke; she was only 31 weeks along. She was lifted to UNC while her husband drove the 2.5 hours to meet her there. A plan was made; on April 1^st they would start the induction process. That morning started out like any other day, I showed up at the hospital at 7:30am just as mom and dad were waking. Mom brushed her teeth and hair; freshened up as much she could being that she had been in the same room for two nights. Mom even tidied up a little; putting away all the clutter that had accumulated over the last 36 hours. Dad’s sister was the first to arrive bringing him some breakfast and a nice large Monster drink. Their family flew and drove in from all over the country. They had a friend watching their 2 year old daughter and she brought her to the hospital to be with everyone. UNC still had its flu policy in place; no child under 12 years old was allowed on the labor & delivery or postpartum floor. But under the circumstance, an exception was made. The nurses set up the adjacent room for the family to congregate and sit rather than the waiting room. They even placed a drink and food cart in there. The chaplain came through and talked with the family about baptizing. This was important to the family and they knew they wanted her baptized right away. Throughout the day, family gathered and talked, laughed, told stories, watched a movie and listened to Raelynn singing ‘Let if Go’ while spinning around the room. Mom’s pitocin was increased slowly and Madeline was doing well. At one point, when the room was quite, mom asked the nurse to turn the volume up on the monitor so she could hear her heart beat. A gentle reminder of that tiny heart… working very hard to meet her family. Night fell and exhaustion was wearing on everyone. Around 9pm everyone had gone back to the hotel for a little rest. I went to the adjacent room to lay down. I figured I wouldn’t be asleep for long but as it turns out – April 2^nd – dad came in to get me around 6:30am. Becca had woken up with pressure and it was time. I walked into a room full of people. There were 3 or 4 doctors there for mom and 4-5 from NICU. Mom was ready to push but we were just waiting for the Chaplain to arrive. It was quiet, it was emotional, everyone respected the space and waited patiently for Madeline’s arrival. Once the Chaplain made it into the room, Becca began to push. Jay was right there with her; supportive husband and father. He held her hand and gently placed his other hand on her forehead. Pushing past her fear and pain, Madeline was born at 7:02am. She was immediately taken to the warmer where the team immediately got to work on her. They wanted to remove the fluid around her lungs to allow for her lungs to expand. The Chaplain performed the baptism as they worked on Madeline. She was baptized within minutes of being born. After about 10 minutes, the NICU doctor had done all she could and made the call that her remaining time was best spent on mom. The room was clear of all the people within 5 minutes of handing Madeline over to mom. The room was dark. The room was still. The only sounds heard were Mom and Dad’s tears as they held on to their baby girl tightly. I took a few photos and then I gently slipped out of the room so they could just be the three of them. Dad went to grab Raelynn; wearing her bright pink shirt that says ‘BIG SIS’ she was a ray of light walking into room 11. She enjoyed seeing her sister – sissy is what she called her. Her first question was why sissy’s eyes were closed; dad choked back tears and simply replied ‘she’s tired’. Family was invited in shortly after. Mom held her tight as family came in to meet Madeline. They all took a turn laying a hand on mom’s shoulder while getting their first glimpse of the newest family member. At 8:26am the NICU doctor came in to listen to her heart and she could no longer find a heartbeat. Madeline had passed in her mother’s arms, a safe and warm place. The family did a little Pink Champagne toast to celebrate her life. Everyone took a turn holding Madeline; wrapped up in a beautiful quilt. She was peaceful. I was even given the opportunity to hold and love on her; I was honored and held her tightly and gave her my love. April 2^nd changed my life, Madeline’s face stays with me and I smile each time I think of her. I have since been working on a way to help others who are going through something similar. I want to offer bereavement birth photography, capturing not only a child’s birth, but their life. These moments are so precious and something that not only mom and dad will be able to enjoy – but Raelynn – she is too young to fully remember her sister – but the moment they met will forever be with her through photo and video.