Piper | 29 Week Preemie | NICU Portraits | Charlotte, North Carolina | Krista Gantt Photography

Piper

29 Weeks • 2 Pounds 11 Ounces

“I have always wanted to be a mom... I started babysitting when I was 12 years old and was a live-in nanny during the summers while I was in college.

I always thought it would be easy to get pregnant and that I would have a picture perfect pregnancy, delivery, etc. Well, I was certainly in for a surprise! It took us almost a year to get pregnant, then I had a pretty tough pregnancy and ended up going into pre-term labor at 25 weeks. I was in the hospital for 4 days (during Christmas) then was sent home on bed rest.

I was home for 3 weeks and went back into labor at 28 weeks and found out I was 2cm dilated when I got to the hospital. I was given another round of steroid shots and magnesium. We found out I had a partial abruption and the baby could come within hours. I was only 28 weeks and completely terrified! I accepted I was going to be in the hospital for the long haul and prayed my baby girl would hold on a little bit longer...

I ended up making it 6 more days in the hospital and then my daughter decided to make her debut. I had a c-section (the spinal did not work, so I unfortunately felt the entire thing- ouch!). Piper came out a fighter and has been powering through her NICU stay.

This has been an emotional rollercoaster, but each day gets better knowing we are closer to bringing her home!”

Avayah | 29 Week Preemie | NICU Portraits | Charlotte, North Carolina NICU Photographer | Krista Gantt Photography

“She is a rainbow baby, as we had our first pregnancy end in miscarriage in May of 2016. ”

It was a pleasure meeting Avayah and her sweet family in the NICU.  She is currently in the neonatal intensive care unit and is working towards going home soon.  When I met Avayah, she was having a great day.  She handled her outfit changes very well, and was even able to come out of her bed to enjoy skin-to-skin time with her mom and dad.  I can tell she is going to do big things one day! 

Here is Avayah's birth story, as told by her mom:

"We found out we were expecting the end of July 2016! At 29 weeks gestation, I suddenly developed HELLP syndrome. My platelets became dangerously low at 16,000 and they had to perform an emergency c-section. She was therefore born on Saturday, 1/21/17 at 9:40 am. She was 2 pounds and 11 ounces of strength!  She is has increased her weight daily, and she is up to full feedings via her OG tube. She's such a great baby and is very chill. She loves skin to skin time and reading her stories. We are so blessed she continues to do so well and cannot wait to take her home."

Landry Hope | 29 Week Preemie | NICU Portraits | Charlotte, North Carolina NICU Photographer | Krista Gantt Photography

“Tragically, my wife Marie, passed away one week after giving birth. The name Hope suddenly took on an entire new meaning for me and my entire family. ”

I met this sweet little lady for NICU portraits when she was a little over one month old.  I happened to run into one of her family members a few weeks prior, a girl who I just happened to know from my childhood.  When I saw her in the NICU, I was very confused as to why she was there.  Did she have a baby in the NICU?  I knew she had some health issues, but did I completely miss the fact that she was pregnant?  Well, I was relieved to find out that I had not been living under a rock after all.  This was not her baby.  She was just visiting.  Then she told me Landry's story.  I just knew I had to photograph this precious baby as soon as possible.

Here is Landry's story, as told by her dad.

"Landry Hope was born on November 15, 2016. Her gestational age was exactly 29 weeks. She weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces, and measured 15 inches in length. When the nurse asked us if we had settled on a name, we told her we had not. We knew we liked Landry for a girl because it is my mother-in-law's maiden name, but we had not settled on a middle name. We didn't even know if we were having a boy or a girl. So, we agreed on Landry and my wife, Marie, turned to me and said "what about Hope" for a middle name. She nailed it. We were full of hope that Landry would grow and things would be ok.

Tragically, my wife Marie, passed away one week after giving birth. The name Hope suddenly took on an entire new meaning for me and my entire family. We are incredibly grateful for the care that Landry received during her NICU stay. We were told that Landry would probably be in the NICU until somewhere around her due date of January 31st. Because of the incredible care she received in the NICU, she was able to come home on the 4th of January. She now weighs more than 7 pounds and is doing well."

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Lilly | 29 Week Preemie | NICU Portraits | Charlotte, North Carolina NICU Photographer | Krista Gantt Photography

“My husband and I wanted to be parents more than anything. It was a long journey and it did not happen right away for us. When I got to tell him we were pregnant right before his birthday, we were ecstatic. We couldn’t wait to be parents to our little girl.

Everything was going normal in the pregnancy until April 20th. I was scheduled to fly out that day to go back to Indiana for Lilly’s baby shower. I knew something wasn’t right that morning, went to my OBGYN’s office and got the ok to fly. Later that evening, I started going into labor at the airport and didn’t even realize it. I just had a lot of back pain. So I changed my flight to the next morning and went home to relax and ease the pain. A few minutes after arriving home, my water broke. My husband and I raced to the hospital and within an hour of getting there, Lilly was born via c-section. She was 17 inches long, weighed 3 pounds 7.7 ounces, and was the most beautiful baby we had ever seen.

She is so precious and such a fighter. My husband and I are blessed to have her in our lives. ”

Logan | 29 Weeks | NICU Portraits | Krista Gantt Photography

Logan was born in March weighing only 3 pounds and 3 ounces. He spent some time on CPAP, was jaundiced, and had some trouble regulating his blood sugar.  He is now three weeks old and made it to four pounds the day I went to visit him.  He also took his first bottle instead of using his feeding tube!  What a trooper!  

Logan's mom is very familiar with the NICU environment, which is why she contacted me.  She has spent a lot of time in NICUs in the Charlotte area - She is also a mom of twins!  I took care of her 25 week twins in the NICU and they are now enjoying life at home with their older brother, who was born at 36 weeks.  Logan hopes to join these three at home someday soon!  

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