*** Trigger Warning: This post contains a story on infant loss***
Mama: Brynn Dillon
Babies: Angel Twins & Rainbow Twins (Aislyn and Grayson)
This is a story of angel twins and rainbow twins. Beauty for Ashes as Mama puts it. Enjoy the beautiful slideshow that was put together below.
Nothing about our journey to parenthood has been easy. After years of fertility treatments and losing our angel twins, getting to 37 weeks with our rainbow twins felt like such a blessing. Little did we know we were in for another roller coaster ride.
As we neared the birth of our twins, it began to come up that I had hired a birth photographer. I got a lot of weird looks and awkward questions. To ensure a safe pregnancy, I had surgery to place magic bands around my cervix, necessitating a C-section. I know people were thinking, “Who wants pictures of a C-section?!” I am very thankful that Neely was able to participate in our journey. I trusted her to take pictures of everything and the pictures are tasteful and beautiful.
Our birth experience did not go as planned, but that makes me even more grateful for these amazing pictures. (PSA to other mamas-if you go into labor hours before your scheduled c-section and go to the hospital early hoping they will give you drugs, they won’t. No matter how many times you ask!)
For any parent the words “We have to take your baby to the NICU” is devastating. For us, those words created a nauseating sense of deja vu. Less than two years before, we lost twins at 23 weeks and the NICU was the scariest place on Earth. My whole pregnancy, I told people my goal was healthy babies and to never set foot in the NICU again.
Our NICU journey was cathartic in so many ways. We had amazing doctors and nurses who have such a heart for the tiniest babies. They kept us sane, answered a million questions, didn’t laugh at our attempts to dress the munchkins and were just as excited as we were at each milestone towards getting released.
Because a c-section is major surgery, I had to remain in the OR while the babies were whisked away to the NICU. Seeing the slideshow Neely compiled, showed me so many beautiful moments that I missed due to the c-section. Words cannot express how grateful I am to have these moments captured.
Our journey to have a family has been a walk of faith. Aislyn and Grayson are an answer to many prayers. We are so blessed to have these rainbow babies; Isaiah 61:3, they are truly beauty for ashes.
Birth Photography | Columbus, GA | Ker-Fox Photography | Aislyn & Grayson from KerFoxBirth on Vimeo.