FREE NICU SESSIONS
After spending 2 weeks in the NICU with my own premature son, I really found a heart and passion for families with babies in the NICU. Because I know what they are going through, I know the emotional roller coaster they are riding. In the end, no matter the diagnosis, no matter how early, all these little babies in the NICU are WARRIORS. Most are blessed to have parents who go to war with them, to conquer the world. There are some babies in the NICU who fight this fight alone .I am here for the parents and the families, because until you have fought this fight, there’s no understanding what they go through. I’ve met and heard from so many parents, their stories, and I CAN relate to them. I was so grateful for the support we had from the nurses and other parents while we were in the NICU, I wanted so much to find a way to give back to the community, and so I have found a way to give back and that’s by GIVING THEM 100% complimentary (FREE) portrait sessions that include digital images via flashdrive or photo disk. Parents of preemies, and babies in the NICU don’t get the chance to have a “normal” experience of bringing a baby home as a newborn, or doing newborn portraits, or any of that. It’s a very, very different journey, and one that deserves to be remembered. One thing we did not get to do was take photos because it was the last thing on our minds, but if we could have had the opportunity I am giving to you, to help capture this journey without you lifting a finger or worrying about bulky cameras, then I would have accepted hands down.
Some very important things you need to know about these sessions, please read all the way through.
1. I gift these from my own heart and use personal time away from my family to do them. I come to hospital as a guest of the family. The only way I am able to enter the NICU is with a family member or as a guest of the family.
2. Please do not wait until the day before your baby is discharged to schedule your session as I may not be able to make it due to my schedule.
3. I do not bring anything into the NICU with me other than my camera. The sessions are meant to be ‘lifestyle’ which means life as it is. Cuddling, feeding, tubes, monitors, all of it. Parents are welcome to provide a blanket, hat, or outfit but it’s not required. Most NICUs provide cute outfits and hats.
4. I do not handle babies. Moving them is left up to a parent or a nurse only. For example, I may have you move a hand or foot. This is purely a liability issue since they are attached to so many cords and monitors, and are so fragile yet.
5. I do not use flash photography in the NICU. This is to protect their little eyes. So having as much available light as possible is kind of wonderful for me.
6. Sessions last about 20-45 minutes, twins may take longer. It will take about 2-3 days or weeks (depending) to get your images to you. I select the best images to edit and share and they will be available via A CD or a flashdrive (you must provide the flashdrive or I will put them on a photo CD)
7. As with all portrait sessions, parents must sign a full release form allowing me to photograph their child and themselves. Your session may be blogged to share the work I do for NICU families HOWEVER the only info I share is the baby’s FIRST name, or initial, only and some little details like how early they were, etc. Last names are never shared, parents names are never shared (they may be tagged on Facebook if we are connected there and you say it’s ok), and the hospital location is NEVER shared without permission.
8. Due to the time and distance from my home, the only NICUs I am able to provide these sessions for at this time are the following: St. Alexius Medical Center NICU, and Sanford Health Medical Center NICU both located in Bismarck ND
Please know I make every effort to fill requests for NICU sessions however I can not guarantee I will always be available. Please contact me as soon as possible. Especially if your baby is VERY early, please don’t hesitate to contact me because when they are big and strong, you are going to want those tiny itty bitty I-can’t-believe-they-were-ever-that-small images.
From one fellow preemie parent to another, Thank you!! I do appreciate the opportunities I get, to meet your little warriors and little fighters, and even more-so for you allowing me to come and photograph them!
With Love and Hope, and many thanks,
Aly
DONATE BUTTON/DONATIONS INFO:
Donation amount is $1.00
If you would like to donate more or less please contact me directly. You will be gifted for any donation over $20.
The donations button you see at the top of the page is not profit that goes to me or my business, any donations recieved through the donations account goes directly to help my charitable photo sessions. Since all of these sessions are 100% free, there are still costs that I myself pay out of pocket to keep them going. Any Donation funds I get goes directly to paying for flash drives, photo discs, and high quality photo prints for the families. I will always pay for my travel and time out of pocket those are no big deal to me at all, but with 40 families a month requesting discs and flash drives and photo prints it does tend to get a bit spendy. ANY amount of donation is used strictly for these purposes. I still pay quite a bit out of pocket to make these sessions happen but I enjoy seeing these families light up with excitement when they see their photos. It truly is amazing what a simple photo of a family, or a child is capable of doing. So the donations button is there for those that wish to help in some way, but I will always keep doing my charitable sessions no matter what. Thank you.
