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This Family Had a Heartwarming Photoshoot to Capture Their Newborn’s Final Moments
On December 17, 2016, a couple from Toledo, Ohio witnessed a small miracle.
Lyndsay and Matthew Brentlinger have been trying to have a baby for several years and they finally got their wish when Lyndsay gave birth to twins, William and Reagan, during the holidays.
Sadly, William was born with several heart abnormalities and passed away 11 days after he was born.
“He just had a bunch of abnormalities,” Lyndsay Brentlinger said to Houston television station KTRK. “The left side of his heart was not functioning.”
During the 23rd week of Lyndsay Brentlinger’s pregnancy, she learned her son would be a still-born.
“With twins you have frequent ultrasounds,” Lyndsay Brentlinger told Houston television station KTRK, “They said we just see something abnormal with the heart and sent me to maternal fetal medicine.”
However, William was born alive and was able to return home with his family for just a few days before he passed away.
“They were the happiest 11 days of my life,” Matthew Brentlinger said to Houston television station KTRK.
To honor the short amount of time, a family friend reached out to a local photographer to help capture the precious moments they shared together.
“Being only a few days before Christmas and not being previously booked well in advance, she was hoping due to the circumstances, I’d make an exception,” Photographer Lindsey Brown told CNN.
She continued, “I could not believe how perfect they both looked. They were both in the five pound range when I photographed them. William was extremely alert, as if he was trying to take it all in, while little Reagan slept and barely opened her eyes.”
Photographing the Brentlinger twins was a bittersweet moment for Brown.
“Photographing these beautiful babies, while the little boy stared at me, looked around the room peacefully, while his sister slept, was heart wrenching. It was like little Will was trying to take it all in,” Brown told Your Daily Dish in an email.
Both the Brentlinger family and Brown will treasure these photographs forever.
“Pictures are just memories,” Brown told CNN. “I know how much people cherish them, so I was really glad I was able to do that for them.”
“It feels really wonderful to see how much the family loves the photos. And knowing they’ll have these for the rest of their lives to share, especially with Reagan, means so much,” Brown told Your Daily Dish. “I love that Reagan will always have a few photos of her with her beautiful big brother. It’s very heartwarming. Really makes what I do, that much more special.”
