4 years, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 shots: The miracle of the RAINBOW BABY will make your heart melt
Having a baby may sound easy, but carrying and giving birth to another human being especially through in-vitro fertilization was a motherhood journey unlike any other for Patricia and Kimberly O’Neill. After four years, three miscarriages and 1,616 needles, the couple finally had a baby and decided to inspire other families who are on the same journey. By arranging a photoshoot about their journey, the picture of the moms’ newborn baby, London, has taken Facebook by storm.
A photo of the picture, taken by Samantha Packer of Packer Family Photography in Glendale, Arizona, shows London swaddled in a rainbow blanket surrounded by 1,616 syringes arranged in a heart. “This is the first time I have been asked to do a photo like this! I was honored and wanted to create something special!” Packer captioned the photo. “Mom said, '4 years, 7 attempts, 3 miscarriages and 1,616 shots.’”
In an interview with Mom.me, Kimberly said, “she (Samantha Packer) jumped at the challenge when we showed up for the shoot.”
"I almost cried. I knew it was going to be perfect.”
Their journey had begun four years ago when the moms decided to become parents. In an interview with AZFamily, the couple had initially thought a baby through in-vitro fertilization would be easy. However, it was far from what they imagined, because after trying several methods and undergoing three miscarriages, Patricia was diagnosed with a blood disorder that required injections of blood thinners to keep her pregnancy viable.
She kept every needle, and eventually, baby girl London was born. “I was done poking myself, I was done with the emotional roller coaster,” she told AZFamily. “It was scary, it was scary up until delivery.”
Now thousands of people are finding beauty and inspiration in the photo the women have shared of their baby. The picture had been shared on Facebook more than 50,000 times by Friday. Many Facebook users shared their thought and experience on the picture.
Patricia brought attention to the struggles infertility can cause, captioning alongside a photo, “Each one of those shots were worth it to get our little girl. We cannot wait to get this printed and hung up. We know many couples face infertility yet it’s not talked about very often. Infertility is evil however my wife and I believe in the power of prayer which got us thru the last four years,” she wrote.
The couple told Fox 8 they wanted the photo to “give others hope and perseverance to push forward.” Patricia wants London to be able to look at the photo, too, and use it as a reminder to always keep trying, according to AZFamily. “Hopefully she’ll learn that you never give up on a goal that you have and that even when you have no hope, hold onto it because there’s a light at the end of the tunnel, and you can get there,” she told the site.