Archive for 'Austin Newborn'
…”It’s a GIRL!” and everyone–and I mean everyone–in the room felt their joy! Major congrats to you guys…little girl, your mama is pretty amazing!
Sarah’s patience in the days leading up to the much anticipated birth of her second daughter floored me. I can’t say I’ve ever been the most patient person in the world…especially when it comes to expecting a baby, but each time I would speak with Sarah as the days ticked by past her due date, she sounded so calm, so “let it be,” exactly how a mommy should be–the baby will get here when she gets here…no need to rush it.
Sarah called me at about 5 p.m. and I have to giggle remember what she said, “Yeah, I think my water broke!” I could definitely hear the excitement in her voice this time and it was contagious! I have to admit I was a little hesitant to accept this birth session because it was in Ft. Hood and I was extremely nervous about missing the birth due to the drive. Sarah was very convincing early on ;-), but I was still ready to bounce out the door after that phone call. But I waited. And I waited. And I waited. When should I leave????
Finally, I got another call letting me know that progress was being made and so I ventured out into the dark headed toward Ft. Hood.
Sarah was handling the contractions so well when I got there (I guess it was around 10 or 11 p.m. at this point). We all hung out in her room together, chatting and giggling and watching the Olympics. I was so incredibly relieved that I made it there in time and the guards actually gave me clearance to get on base, LOL. At around 2 a.m., things were still moving along, but everyone decided to try to catch a couple hours of sleep before the real “go time.” I have never done this before, but all of us–Sarah, her hubby, her mom, and myself–all curled up in the hospital room right then and there and dozed off to the soothing sound of baby girl’s heartbeat. I did have to snap a few pictures before we drifted off because it was SOOOOOOOOO beautiful and peaceful…that time before your whole world changes and it’s those last few hours of knowing that baby is still inside you. I don’t know how any of us slept, but somehow we did and when the lights came on in the room at 4 a.m., we were all pretty rested and ready to meet this little girl.
She was SO alert! Look at her looking at her daddy!!!
And then it was time for the sisters to meet…
I will admit I was pretty tired driving home that morning from Killeen, but I was also completely elated over witnessing the first few moments together of this little family. The sunrise that morning was glorious. I was going to keep driving by, but I forced myself to pull over and take a few pics…this was the sunrise on the morning she was born. No one will ever be just like her and the sunrise will never look just like this again.
Sarah…thank you much for letting me be there to document V’s birth for you. You are one incredible mommy and I’m so happy that you and your girls are finally together!
I feel like this family is my family. We’ve been working together since before big sis was even born. I remember each session vividly. Baby sister’s newborn session, however, has been my fav so far. It was so relaxed. Mom and dad have settled into parenthood so gracefully…with so much love. It just radiates in this family. It’s obvious that mom and dad have been wonderful role models because big sis completely adores her little sister. (My personal fav from this newborn session is HERE).
Very soon after our photo session, big sis got very, very sick. It broke my heart to read about her hospital stay…thinking about how her mommy must have felt caring for a newborn and worrying so much for her eldest daughter…thinking about how her daddy had to stay by her side in the hospital and keep everything together for his family. She is fully recovered now and they are finally all back together under one roof. I hope I know they are all very much cherishing their time together right now.
I never got a chance to blog their maternity session…a time before they even knew they were having another little girl (I envy families that can keep it a surprise until birth). Oh, this morning was soooooooo hot and muggy, but I’ll take that beautiful light any day…
(My personal fav from their maternity session is HERE.)
Things you should know about this session:
- Baby boy was a little older (7-8 weeks?) than the typical newborn (less than 2 weeks), but as I’ve said before, I’m really starting to enjoy these kinds of sessions because babies are more filled out and interactive.
- The moment I walked into the house, I looked down the long hallway to see that bright point of light where mom was rocking her sweet baby and I had to immediately run to my car to grab my camera to catch that.
- He was sooooooooo squishable. And yes, that is a word. Now.
- LOVED the lighting in this house altogether! So dramatic and painterly.
- His big sister is absolutely amazing with him. Mom is so lucky to have her and she knows it.
- Did you see one of my other favs from this session?
I mean, seriously? How did he get to be so lucky as to be born with those amazing locks? He was an absolute perfect little newborn baby for what I believe was his 2nd or 3rd newborn photo session, LOL. Loved his expressive eyes and little chunky thighs! For the last shots, mom had pulled out part of her wedding dress. I was trying to figure out how to use it (it was a bit scratchy to wrap him it it) when we decided to shoot through it. I loved how those turned out!!
This session was actually part of a one-on-one photography mentoring session I had put together for Nina all the way from Singapore! Did you see the shot she took from this session HERE? WOW!!! I was a little nervous about doing this kind of thing because I had never done any one-on-one mentoring before, but Nina convinced me to give it a go. Our time together was too short and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Nina and her work and finding ways to help her grow her own business. Here’s Nina in action at this shoot:
More images from our other adventures together will be coming soon and Nina, I mean it…it was a pleasure hanging out with you and I very much look forward to visiting you again someday! Photogs: if you would like to be notified of possible future photography workshops and coaching, drop a line.
