When little Winter Josephine was born, everyone who saw her said, “She looks so mad,” because she was a newborn baby with a frown. Her mother Hollie Wallis thought that her baby girl could’ve been thinking, “‘I was comfortable in there. Put me back!” But her grumpy face made people smile, especially her mother, who went through a scary time while carrying and delivering Winter.
We at Bright Side are happy to tell you the story of this bundle of joy with an angry face and hope that her story will carve a smile into yours.
Being pregnant with Winter was a pleasant surprise.
It was hard for Hollie Wallis to believe her eyes when her pregnancy test kit appeared positive. This was because she’d had a couple of surgeries in the previous year to remove a large mass from her uterus so she didn’t expect to get pregnant again. She was blessed with 2 boys from a previous relationship but her husband didn’t have any children, which was why she was ecstatic at the news. However, she had spent $50 on pregnancy tests just to confirm, all of which showed the same hopeful results.
The doctor had some bad news.
At first, everything went pretty smoothly and the pregnancy was no different than her earlier ones. That was until she went to the doctor to get an ultrasound, when the doctor couldn’t detect any amniotic fluid. This was very worrisome because it’s this protective liquid that serves as a cushion for the growing fetus. Hollie’s heart sank.
She was diagnosed with oligohydramnios, which is a condition where there’s a low level of amniotic fluid during pregnancy. On the second ultrasound, to her relief, they were able to find fluid pockets and the baby appeared healthy on the monitor. She was booked to go to the hospital the following Monday. But when she woke up on Sunday morning, she felt like something was off and rushed to the hospital.
Hollie went into an unexpected emergency situation.
Hollie was right to trust her motherly instinct because it was an emergency situation. She had to undergo a C-section immediately. Without even having the chance to talk to her husband, Hollie was wheeled off to the operating room once the paperwork was signed and she was told of the risks of having a C-section. Just imagine how scared she must have been, especially since this would be her first experience with this type of birth.
Winter’s birth was a miracle.
With her husband waiting outside, not knowing that she was even in surgery at the time, Hollie silently wished for her little one to be okay. Against all odds, Winter Josephine was safely delivered. She was very tiny for a baby born after her due date, but she was healthy. The tough baby greeted her family with intense eyebrows as if she was incredibly inconvenienced by them all.
Babies born with so little amniotic fluid are at risk of having a disability after birth, even with physiotherapy. Some babies don’t even survive while others may suffer from incomplete lung maturation. But Winter was a survivor! She was tough, just like her facial expression.
Winter survived and continues to make people’s days better.
Hollie put Winter’s photos up on Facebook to get help on how to photograph her since she always looks so grumpy. A lot of people were thankful to see Winter’s photos because they made their days a little brighter.