Newborn 13-year-old? A birth announcement of an adopted "newborn" baby boy has gone viral on Facebook. While the former foster child finally got a new home, he never had baby photos until his step sister hatched the idea. What began as a funny moment turned out to be an endearing moment for a boy who thought those precious memories were lost. He and his new family shared their touching story this week.
According to a Feb. 13 story from Today, an adoptive mom's "newborn" photo shoot with her 13-year-old son for a birth announcement went viral not long after she posted them to Facebook.
The baby pictures resemble those you'd normally see in a photography studio in a shopping mall or along a Boulevard surrounded by boutique shops and what not.
And then there's the birth announcement which says: "Here's my sweet not so little newborn! His name is Latrell and weighs 112 lbs" aka the newborn 13-year-old.
Instantly, you think the images are photoshopped or someone was trying to pull a fast one. However, as you read on, you suddenly realize that the novel idea was actually part of one boy's dream to have baby photos he never had during his infancy.
This strange, yet touching story all began two years ago when Kelli Higgins, a professional photographer, and her husband received a telephone call from social services with the news they'd been waiting for: they were cleared to adopt two foster children in need of a good home.
While the couple already had five children and was expecting a sixth, they opened up their home and hearts to find room for two more, Latrell, 10 and Chyana, 5, at the time.
Reportedly, the only application submitted to adopt the children was by the Higgins family.
Last month, while the family shared dinner at home, Kelli mentioned getting prepared for an upcoming baby photo shoot.
Sadly, the conversation brought up a painful past that Latrell shared with the family: like many others, he's never had a set of baby photos taken.
That's when his 12-year-old sister suggested their mom do a photo shoot for the 13-year-old as a newborn birth announcement.
"I thought it was funny and that it would be a good idea," Latrell said during an interview.
Kelli who was clearly emotional behind the matter said, "I was very sad too because I didn't have any photos of him either. I think it’s really hard to have children and not know what they looked like when they were younger."
Nonetheless, the idea turned out to be a whimsical, yet incredible way to add a milestone in a person's life.
As one reader wrote about the adopted boy's photo shoot:
"This is such a beautiful thing to do! I know so many people who adopted older children and don't have ANY pictures of their infancy. What a spectacular way to remedy that... after all, he'll always be your baby."
Truth be told, in 2011 alone, there were 104,000 kids under foster care waiting to be adopted. In fact, according to statistics, the average age of a child waiting for adoption is seven. Sadly, many face the reality of "aging out."
At this point, they are literally on their own. And without any family or place to call home, many suffer long term emotional scars and have trouble adapting to a life on their own.
Latrell and his family taught the world a valuable lesson: it's never too late to feel young, be loved and capture precious moments.
What do you think about the newborn 13-year-old boy's birth announcement?
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