Monroe Faith Staley was born two Saturdays ago in California. She weighed just 6 pounds 2.5 ounces, but tragically, her heart had stopped beating during the final weeks of her mum’s pregnancy.
Her parents, Emily and Richard, asked photographer Lindsey Villatoro from Love Song Photobook to capture their first, and final moments with their daughter. Not only did they want the photos to keep Monroe’s memory alive, but they also wanted to share the photos, in a bid to help parents going through the same thing.
Villatoro was present at the birth, and posted on her Facebook page about her experience:
“It was a dream, this family was living a total nightmare. I can’t even begin to describe the pain I knew Mom and Dad were feeling at that moment. As mom pleaded for her baby to wake up, her sweet husband brushed her hair with his hands crying with her. Cheek to cheek, clinging to their baby girl in disbelief; the two of them were pillars for each other.
“The Staley’s rest assured knowing they will be reunited with their sweet baby girl one day soon, but until that day comes they struggle thinking life will ever have some normalcy. They would like their story to be shared; they hope to bring comfort to other families out there that have also experienced such tragedy. They want their daughter’s life to be remembered.”
You can see the heartbreaking photos below. Our thoughts go out to the Staley’s, and anyone else who has ever gone through a similar situation.
