Giving birth is really and truly a miraculous experience and nothing compares to meeting your baby for the first time.
Lyndsay and Matthew Brentlinger welcomed fraternal twins on December 17 2017.
Lyndsay gave birth to two seemingly healthy babies, a boy named William and girl named Reagan.
During Lyndsay’s pregnancy, doctors told the couple that William would likely be stillborn due to heart abnormalities.
A heart specialist also said there was a chance Will would be born alive, but that his time with them would be limited.
The doctor told them that he couldn’t predict if they’d have hours, days or weeks with their son. “I was so happy they were finally here and that Will was stable,” Lyndsay told HuffPost. “But I was also scared of when I would lose him.”
Lindsay Brown Photography
The family had decided they’d celebrate William’s life while they could.“We snuggled him, loved him, read to him and in general just enjoyed him,” Lyndsay said.
Mandy Edwards, a family friend, wanted to help the family preserve this very special short time.
A day after the twins were born, Edwards reached out to Lindsey Brown, who’s a local photographer she had been following on social media, and asked if she was available last minute to take on a family photo shoot that she wanted to gift to the Brentlingers.
Lindsay Brown Photography
“I knew immediately I had to do this for them,” Brown said, despite being booked solid due to the holidays. “How could anyone with a heart say no to that?”
Knowing that time was of the essence, Brown drove to the family’s home on Dec. 20 for the urgent photo shoot.“These two parents are two of the strongest people I’ve ever met,” Brown told HuffPost. “They treated both babies like nothing was wrong whatsoever. That was touching to see.”
Brown says the babies were perfect models.
Lindsay Brown Photography
Lindsay Brown Photography
“You never would have known anything was wrong with William, which makes the story that much harder,” Brown said. “I will say we noticed he was quite alert, and calm. Just staring around the room, gazing, like he was trying to take it all in. Little Reagan just snoozed the entire time!”
Lindsay Brown Photography
At the end of the session, the photographer and the parents all shed some tears and went their separate ways.
William survived through Christmas and got to celebrate the holiday with his family but unfortunately, on Dec. 28, he died.
Lindsay Brown Photography
The family has Brown’s gorgeous photos, which Lyndsay describes as one of her “most treasured possessions,” to remember him by. She has already placed the pictures in a locket Matthew gave to her for Christmas.
“Most importantly, I plan to share them with Will’s sister, Reagan, when she is older,” Lyndsay told HuffPost. “I will use them to tell her about her brother who is now her angel in heaven.”