Photo Shoot

Unfortunately it's wasn't my photo shoot, so I won't be sharing the pictures.

I got to join my friend who's a budding maternity/baby photographer on a photo shoot. She's starting a business called, "With Child". Perfect, aye?

A few months ago I met a pregnant teenage mum named Kirsty. Kirsty was in her third trimester with twins and had been coming along the to teen mum's group I help out with every week at church. Kirsty stopped coming - something about work and then a fall out with a friend. 8 weeks later I got a text from my friend (the photographer) who told me she'd just discovered Kirsty'd had her boys, but one had died.

It took a while to hear the full story, but we (the teen mum's group) sent her a gift for Jayden (alive) and Riley (passed away). Two weeks ago (while I was in Samoa) Jo and Belinda (the other people at Stretch and Grow) went and met baby Jayden. Belinda had offered to come back and take pictures of the tiny 4lb bundle.

I asked to go along, because - like I told Kirsty - I get it. So I went along and met Jayden - who's now (apparently) the same size at Joshua was at birth, but goodness that was small. I didn't think Joshua was quite that tiny!!! Mom S - was he really tiny??? I have a feeling Jayden was shorter than Joshua, maybe that was it.

Anyways, I had a cuddle - and it was okay. He's only the second baby I've held so far, but liek Alistar, he's special. I have a connection with his mum and that makes it easier.

But the thing that blessed me the most was this. I was terrified to ask about Riley. I didn't want to bring it up if she wasn't ready to talk. So after a half hour I tentatively asked if she was okay to talk about him. She chirped a quick "Yeah!" and I tumbled right into the question that was frying me up! Did she get to take pictures. She jumped up, went in the kitchen, and returned with 2 scrapbooks. I was so blessed, she's 17 - and she'd had a funeral for her boy (who was stillborn), taken pictures of family holding him, of her holding both boys together, had his hand and foot prints - it was beautiful. She's only 17! But she wanted to know her boy.

I was afraid that at her age she might be afraid to have baby around after he'd died. But she told me he was with her for a full day after his birth, she held him, took tons of pictures.


Pray with me for Kirsty's journey. She's not only recovering from a c-section. She's lost a baby. She had her other son in the NICU for a month (delivered 8 weeks premature because of a ruptured umbilical cord). She's having issues with the baby's father. She needs the stability and grace that only God can provide.