How was Tiny Feet born?
My name is Brittany Zeller, and I am the owner of Tiny Feet Early Intervention and I would love to share our story, as it is one of the most important stories of my life. The footprints in our logo are those of our first child, Wilton Nicholas Zeller. Wil was a total surprise. I remember just like it was yesterday- the excitement of four positive pregnancy tests (I can be a little obsessive when I get excited) and excitedly brainstorming how I would surprise my husband, Peter with the news.
It turned out that I got cupcakes that said, "Baby makes 3!" delivered to our favorite restaurant, Soby's, in downtown Greenville. Even our waiter was busting at the seams for me to tell our secret! Of course, my husband was just as overjoyed as I was to find out our precious child was on the way. We were both in love. Only a week later, I started having complications from a subchorionic hemorrhage. I have never been so scared in my life. The doctor placed me on bed rest, but we continued to have several more scares. I prayed daily for the safety of our little one. At the end of the first trimester, we were cleared by my OB. The doctor assured us that everything was fine. We began decorating a nursery, setting up a registry, and planning a gender reveal party! I was the happiest I'd been my entire life.
On October 4, 2012, I began feeling some cramping pain. I was sure it was just normal pregnancy pains, but as the hours went by, the pains got longer and the intensity increased. Eventually, I made the decision to call my husband, asking him to come home and take me to the hospital. I knew something wasn't right.
When we got to the hospital, I received the hardest news of my life- our sweet baby no longer had a heart beat at only 21 weeks. The first question I asked after delivery was if our baby was a boy or girl. We had been blessed with a baby boy. We named him Wilton after my Papa who's name is Claude Wilton Pruitt, and Nicholas after my husband, Peter Nicholas Zeller. There was so much joy and pain all at once. Wil's name means "Tricky victory," which is so appropriate. We trust that Wil is in heaven, but that certainly doesn't take away our broken hearts.
The first idea of starting a company where we could serve other families who were facing hardships with their children came in the weeks following our loss of Wil. I have loved children my whole life and found so much joy and fulfillment in working with families and children with developmental delays and special needs. But now it was different. I was a parent who was scared. I was a parent who was hurting. All I wanted to do was shower love on my families and their sweet children. Wil forever changed who I was and how I care for those around me. His tiny feet serve as a reminder of how we want to love and serve the families and children in our community.