Photographer Catches a Real-Life Rainbow in This Beautiful Rainbow Baby Shoot
Three years ago, when Leilani Heiar was halfway through her pregnancy with her first child, she and her husband Victor learned that their son, Maddox Lewis, would not survive.
"We didn't know how long we were going to carry him," Leilani told Wichita, Kansas news outlet KWCH. "They just knew he wouldn't be viable outside the womb, so every day was a blessing."
The little boy was born at just 33 weeks, and Tiffany Schmidt with T.Marie Photography, who was volunteering with the organization Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, took photos of with the couple and their son to honor his life.
Tiffany Schmidt/T.Marie Photography
Now, Heiars are expecting a baby girl, due on September 14. Her name is Madison Grace, in honor of her big brother. "To find out we were pregnant was a huge blessing," Leilani told KWCH.
The couple knew right away that they wanted Schmidt to take their maternity photos. When the day came for the shoot, the couple had finished with the photographer when a woman walking a dog pointed out a rainbow.
"[She] said, 'Hey, you should get a photo of that beautiful mom by the rainbow! It's got to mean something!'" Schmidt recalled.
And it absolutely was the perfect "meant to be" moment, given that babies born after a miscarriage, stillborn, or neonatal death are referred to as "rainbow babies."
The image that Schmidt captured of the Heiars under the rainbow turned out to be truly breathtaking.
Tiffany Schmidt/T.Marie Photography
No doubt it'll serve as inspiration for couples with similar journeys. As Schmidt put it, "It's just a really special time to see their story come full circle."
