16 Weeks

I just got back from a call at Northwest hospital tonight. It is nearly midnight and I am trying to wind it all down and process the session out in my brain so that I can go to sleep. The call was for a 23 weeker with "multiple anomalies". Now, I had no idea what "multiple anomalies" meant...but I packed up my camera (after trying everyone else on my list....again!) and headed on down there. Mom had not delivered when I got there, so I got to sit for a nice long while and watch the recap of The Bachelor. Can I just say...that's a really dumb show. While I was waiting, someone buzzed in at the door and said they were with NILMDTS. I jumped up and was just ecstatic. I mean...FINALLY! SOMEONE answers a call. It turned out to be a lovely, lovely lady named Merri. She had expressed an interest earlier in joining our organization and wanted to shadow a session first. Well...that was way back in the summer. So I specifically have been making an attempt to call her when I can and hope she can join me...but it has never worked out so far. But tonight...even though she didn't answer my call, she just came straight to the hospital when she got my message. I was so thrilled. We had a nice chance to chat a bit before mom delivered...and then it was time to go meet baby. When we walked into the room though...it was like TOTAL WORST CASE SCENARIO. Baby was NOT 23 weeks like the staff had been told. More like...MAYBE 16 weeks. They could not even tell if baby was a boy or a girl...that's how early baby was. Really, we should not have been called for this one...but everyone was expecting a 23 weeker. Baby had been gone a good week or more...so there was a good bit of breakdown and it was dark purple. Baby also was not holding it's shape very well...and kind of spread out like a blob when you laid him down. So here I am...walking into this blind, with a first time "maybe I do want to join NILMDTS, or maybe I don't" situation shadowing me. Baby is not at ALL what anyone was expecting. And I am thinking to myself "What the HECK am I going to do with this situation?" Well. I got all the appropriate paperwork filled out, not missing the obvious fact that baby has no name or sex. And I set to work. I noticed right off that this baby has totally tiny, but perfect little feet and teeny tiny toes. And I just went crazy on those feet. And he had tiny little arms with teeny little hands and eensy weensy little fingers...so I set to work on those. And then I found that if I got at just the right angle, I could get beautiful profile shots of baby that kind of got rid of the obvious problems and just showed his sweet face. I didn't take too too many. There just wasn't much to take pictures of. The nurse took baby then and headed down the hall to weigh him (they thought he might be a boy) and to attempt hand and footprints. He weighed like 108 grams I think? Way less than a pound and was only 8 inches long. I got several more pictures of baby there and they swaddled him in a tiny little blanket and put the tiniest little hat on him that I have ever seen. It was amazing how sweet and tiny and beautiful he looked in the end. Once again, I promised Chris that I would not be up all night working with the images...that I would come home and go to bed...so I will do that. Tomorrow I will begin to work on this one. There won't be a slideshow I don't think. Just a few images of this little one that never drew a breath or opened his eyes. So tiny and so beautiful. The best part of the evening? My photographer that met me there did not run away screaming and hiding. She was very interested and asked a lot of good questions...including..."How do I sign up?" Here she had walked into absolutely THE worst situation possible, and she hung in there with me and muddled through it and then said "Sign me on" Thank you God for this lovely lady, who has a heart for this ministry and is not faint of spirit. Thank you for her lovely company tonight and for her go-to attitude. Thank you Lord for your provision in this young woman for whom I have been asking for! Thank you for help!