…a precious gift
In 2009, Kami and Kyle were married and wanted to have a baby, right away. After three trials of artificial insemination, the fourth round was successful. Finally, Kami became pregnant.
Kyle suffered from severe diabetes and congestive heart failure and they spent many days in and out of hospitals. Then the unimaginable, Kyle unexpectedly slipped into a diabetic coma and passed away in his sleep on March 4th. Tragic enough to lose a spouse, Kami experienced this at 20 weeks pregnant. It happened the night before their 20 week ultrasound. Kami and Kyle had decided a name for a baby girl, but found out this miracle inside her was a little boy.
Kami was due July 24th and contacted me in May to photograph her birth story. Only 5% of babies are born on their due date. This little guy wasn’t about to join that group.
Kami and her family celebrate the 4th of July with a vacation to Bear Lake. She would have left Wednesday, with the rest of her family, if she didn’t have a scheduled doctor’s appointment on Thursday. Her younger sister, Marijka, had to work Thursday morning, so the two of them decided to wait and ride over together.
At home, preparing for a relaxing Bear Lake vacation, Kami’s water broke(8:30 pm)! Being her first, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She made a call to the hospital and was told to come in. She left the house in a haste, with Marijka and her phone and charger, period. No bag. No purse. She also forgot to ring me.
She checked in at the Women and Newborn Center at 9:20 pm and at 9:45 pm, Carter Ric Willis was born on July 2nd, weighing 7 pounds 1 ounce and measured 19.5 inches long. Marijka was there for her, the whole time, and her Mother arrived shortly after the birth, and has stayed by her side since.
The doctor moved Carter into the NICU, the next morning, due to his low blood sugar. They assured Kami that it shouldn’t take long to regulate it and return them back to their regular rest and recovery room.
Congratulations Kami! I’m sure your memory of Kyle will live on strong with the help of this miracle baby boy.
Thank you for letting me help you capture, just the start of your Best Days Ever as a parent.
I hope you can, now, enjoy your Fourth of July celebrations with this little +1 at Bear Lake!
I like to talk about food. I suppose I take after my dad on this one… I know I do. We can have detailed conversation about a good recipe or the latest in-season market find, if either one of us is the slightest bit hungry. Today, I picked a head of cauliflower from the garden and prepared it for a snack. What do you think about while you’re eating? A few years back, I came across this phrase, “Mindful eating.” I’d like to get better at it, use it more often as I sit down to eat.
