Sometimes life throws you a curveball and becomes an upside-down jumbled mess of uncertainty. This beautiful family has a miracle story of one such journey through stress and heartache to an unbelievably perfect new little girl in their family. Hannah and I lived in the same dorm during our first years at Seattle Pacific University, and when I returned from my years of living in Los Angeles, we reconnected. That was over two years ago, when her son was less than a year old.

Fast forward a bit, she and her husband Phil were delighted to find out they were expecting a second baby in July, but nearing the halfway point in her pregnancy, she had a series of ultrasounds after doctors began voicing major concerns about the baby’s development. I’m not sure of all the medical specifics, but I think it began when they discovered fluid around the baby’s developing lungs. Doctors diagnosed it as bilateral pleural effusions, which is apparently a very rare condition that can exist on its own without any other abnormalities, or it can be associated with a number of other serious issues.

This led to many doctor visits, tests, ultrasounds, and a frightful few weeks leading up to the birth. Because there were so many unanswered questions, Hannah didn’t know if she would be able to have a natural delivery or if a cesarean would be required. Of course, her primary concern was receiving a healthy baby into the world.

Well, I’m pleased to tell you that miraculously, baby Vivian Faith was born perfectly healthy and totally sweet in a beautiful unmedicated birth. Doctors kept her in the NICU for a few days to make sure everything checked out, and she came home a few days later. In these photos, Vivian is six days old. And will you look at that beaming mama! She looks completely fabulous! Congratulations to the family!