Emmie

  "There are so many impossible questions you're asked in such a short period of time when you lost an infant - especially when the loss follows a pregnancy complication that triggers and urgent delivery. Do you want to deliver naturally? Would you like your baby to be baptized? Which funeral home will you use? Do you want to hold your baby? Would you like professional photographs taken? It's overwhelming to face those questions while in shock from trauma and grief. When the nurse asked if we wanted professional photography, my ex-husband and I said no. We had just learned that our baby had died, and the idea of taking pictures felt wrong - especially when a joyful newborn shoot was what we had been preparing for. But truly, nothing about that moment was right. Later, after the nurses kindly shared a few candid photos they had taken for us, we realized we had made a mistake. We were fortunate to have a photographer travel to the funeral home the day after our son passed to take pictures, and I am so grateful we did. Those few images mean more to me than I could have ever imagined. Those photographs have become some of my most treasured possessions. The gift they continue to give me - a tangible reminder of one of my greatest loves and greatest losses - is immeasurable. It is a blessing to have these images of my son Malcolm, both for myself and to share with others, and I am endlessly thankful that I have them. If you're reading this and questioning the same things I once did, my answer is this: take the photos. There will already be so many regrets tied to the loss of your baby - please don't let missing your chance to capture images of them be one of them."
-Amanda