This spring I had the pleasure of photographing a special type of homecoming, the day this little one got to go home after spending 5 weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit.

At 30 weeks into your pregnancy, you are just beginning to think about things like a car seat and putting the crib together. You have started to read birth books, but haven’t gotten to the end yet. Delivering your little one is still at the back of your mind knowing you have over 2 months of pregnancy left. That is how little Abbie’s mom felt. Then she went to her routine appointment. They informed her she had high blood pressure and shipped her over to the hospital to be monitored. Things quickly progressed to an emergency C-Section and just like that Abbie was born, and her parents, well they became parents all in a rush.

Being a preemie means going straight to the NICU where she stayed for the next 5 weeks overcoming each new obstacle that came up. As she continued to put on weight and grow stronger, the day she was able to come home started quickly approaching. Mom and Dad had spent hours upon hours at that hospital with their little girl. Scrubbing in, dressing in a gown, spending the first days of their little girls life with others all around. Now it will just be mom, dad, baby, in a quiet house, with lots of love.

Being able to document this homecoming brought tears to my eyes. Knowing how this family struggled not only to conceive but to keep their little one made this a very special homecoming.

To see more of little Abbie from her portrait session, check it out here.

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