New parents know a joy that is incomparable to anything else in life. To welcome a new life into the world is a beautiful and precious thing. For the parents of twins, this special feeling multiplies as they prepare for the excitement of welcoming two sweet souls who are connected in a way that is like no other connection in life. However, life can be cruel at times and the universe rarely gives us a perfect life. This is especially true for parents who have to say goodbye to their sweet little ones when they’ve barely had time to even say hello. Ohio parents Matthew and Lyndsay Brentlinger had this precise experience.
The Brentlingers had beautiful dreams of welcoming their twins into the world, and when Lyndsay delivered her babies, the happy couple first believed that they had witnessed the birth of two healthy twins. However, when Lyndsay was pregnant, doctors told the couple that the little boy, William, suffered from heart abnormalities and he would possibly be stillborn. However, on December 17, 2016, the couple gave birth to sweet little William and his twin sister Reagan. While the Brentlingers were delighted to be parents, they knew that William’s life would be very short. Regardless of the length of his life, William’s time in this world would not be meaningless.
Lindsey Brown Photography
Although his heart condition guaranteed that he would live only a short period of time, the couple felt blessed that he was born alive and they were able to capture the precious moments of his short life. When William was born stable, Lyndsay was “so happy they were finally here,” she told HuffPost. But she knew that she would probably lose him, so at the suggestion of a friend, they brought in a local photographer for a last-minute photoshoot.
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It was close to Christmas, so the photographer was booked. However, when she heard of the unique circumstances surrounding William’s life, she dropped everything and rushed to the family’s home to take photographs.
Lindsey Brown Photography
The photographer, Lindsey Brown, said that she “knew immediately” that she had to do this for this special little family. On December 20th, Brown worked absolute magic when she gave the Brentlingers the most perfect photoshoot.
Lindsey Brown Photography
Blessedly, William was wide awake for many of the shots. To capture this sweet baby boy awake and alert resulted in photos that this family will cherish for a lifetime.
Brown told CNN that she couldn’t believe how perfect both of the babies looked, with William extremely alert as if he didn’t want to waste even one minute of his short little life. Reagan slept and barely opened her eyes, so it was a very bittersweet time for everyone involved. She was also able to take some photos with the parents with their babies.
Lindsey Brown Photography
For the Brentlingers to have these special moments with their little ones captured on film is a treasure that they could never have dreamed of, but have somehow blessedly received. William lived for another eight precious days, which was more than the couple ever expected. He was only 11 days old, but this family loved enough for a lifetime in those 11 beautiful days.
Lindsey Brown Photography
Matthew Brentinger told 13 ABC that those were the “happiest 11 days of my life.” Lyndsay said that she “cried the first time I looked at them [the photos].” She was so grateful that William was fully awake in many of the photos, with his big, beautiful eyes gleaming brightly as he looked at the camera.
Lindsey Brown Photography
Lyndsay said that during those 11 days, they made the most of the short time they had together as a family. They focused on enjoying their time together and creating as many memories as possible. She feels they were blessed by God to be granted this time. Watch this heartwarming news video below.
