This sweet baby girl has quite the birth story! I photographed her at three weeks old (my oldest baby yet!) and she did phenomenally! Keep reading to hear her story, written by her mama:
“The week before Claire was born, I had a routine visit with my doctor who wanted to run a few labs to ensure everything looked good. I looked and felt fine, so there was no real concern at the time. A few days later, I received a call from another doctor in the practice informing me that the lab results had come in and were reaching pretty critical levels and that I needed to head to the hospital right away for delivery–six weeks before our due date!
After the initial shock and panic wore off, we quickly threw together our hospital bags, called over Grandma and Grandpa to take our son, Nolan, and headed to the hospital. After we arrived, they began a set of steroid shots (two shots, 24 hours apart) to help Claire’s lungs mature.
We thought we’d have at least until Sunday night to keep Claire safe inside my belly, but by Saturday morning the doctors told us we really couldn’t wait long enough to even receive the second steroid shot, and that Claire would need to be delivered that afternoon. Peter and I were hesitant to agree–it’s a very difficult decision to make when you’re trying to do what is best for your baby but also trying to preserve your own health–but ultimately we knew it was the right thing to do and said, ‘let’s have this baby!’ at about 3:35pm.
Everything started happening very quickly. I was prepped for surgery and we called our parents to let them know the change in plans. Claire Marie was born on April 28 at 4:38pm, via Cesarean section, weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz. She was automatically admitted to the NICU due to her prematurity, but overall she was healthy and happy. She received some breathing assistance for the first few days, and spent the rest of her first 15 days in the NICU growing, learning how to eat, and exceeding the expectations of her nurses and neonatologists.
Finally, she was ready to come home with us and was discharged from the hospital on May 13–Mother’s Day–a perfect way to celebrate! Unprepared hardly begins to describe how we felt going into the birth, but now, being on the other side of it all, our experience has taught us patience and flexibility, and we feel so grateful and blessed that she is home and healthy!”
Ann and Peter, Claire is truly a rock star in more ways than one! I love how sweet Nolan is with his baby sister. He’s going to be such an awesome big brother! I can only imagine how scary and nerve-wracking your experience must have been, and I’m so relieved that you had such an amazing team of caregivers to help you and Claire through her first few weeks of life. Thank you so much for welcoming me into your home and sharing your kiddos with me for a few hours! It’s the greatest honor to be able to preserve these memories for you!
xoxo,
Brenna
