:: OH BABY ::

It's been a while since I posted...as usual. I have a lot of shoots to post, but I'm going to just talk about one couple for right now (prepare for a ton of pics though!). Meet Bethany and Chad. I met them about a month ago after a dear friend of mine/their realtor gifted them with a few sessions with me. Bethany was about 8 months pregnant when we met and one of the most beautiful pregnant woman I've seen!! They are just the sweetest, kindest people and I am SO lucky to have met them. We clicked instantly and I knew this was going to be a special shoot.

During their shoot, they mentioned that they'd been toying with the idea of having someone photograph the birth of their first child, baby Eli. She was kind of on the fence, and I've never done anything like that, but I told her that they are HER pictures. If she doesn't ever want anyone else to see them, they don't have to (spoiler alert: she's going to let you see them!). Deciding to go ahead with it, I was suddenly very aware of where my phone was at all times and whether or not the volume was high enough to wake me up. With a due date of September 15th, I've been on call for the last few weeks. It turned out that Friday, September 9th, was the day. My phone rang at 4:15am...they were headed to the hospital!! I ended up waiting until about 1pm to head to the hospital where I'd stay for the rest of the day. To say that this woman is a trooper is an understatement. She got her epidural which unfortunately only blocked the right side of her body, so she felt everything on the left. It was a long afternoon and she was getting pretty tired and you could see the shift in her when things got really tough later in the day. But even with that shift, she was still her sweet, polite self. I've never seen anything like it. By about 6:15pm she was starting to push. Again...super tough, but during the down times she was chatting and smiling and making sure everyone else was okay. Her son wasn't there yet, but she was a mom for sure. The hospital staff was wonderful and Chad was SO involved! After about an hour of pushing, Eli's heart rate was starting to fall so it was time for her to reach deep and bear down. And that she did. She was a ROCK STAR and got that boy out, Chad basically catching him and placing him on her. The relief on her face was so telling. It was absolutely one of the most beautiful things I've ever witnessed. I can't thank them enough for allowing me the opportunity to be a small part of their most special day. Something I will never, ever forget.  

 Welcome to the world, baby Eli. Born 9/9/16 at 19:19, weighing 8lbs and 19.5 inches long (apparently 9 and 19 are his lucky numbers!!)