Oh my goodness, I am so behind on these blog posts! Life has been crazy busy lately with clients, my family, basic chores, school starting, and much more. A few updates on our life if you care to listen; if not, feel free to skip this part ;) My son had his 4th birthday at the end of August-- Batman themed, so I'm sure you can guess he got a ton of Batman toys, which he could not have been happier about! Also on his birthday, we adopted a little kitten (only 8 weeks old!!)! Her name is Athena, and she is just the cutest thing ever. I have never really been a cat person, but she has changed my whole perspective on cats. My babies may be growing up, but at least I still have something little that wants to cuddle with me ðŸ˜.
Anyway, back to the point of this post-- One of my best friends had a baby (back in July-- yes, that's how behind I am!)! I am so blessed and grateful that she asked me to photograph her birth. Labor and delivery is such an intimate, personal experience, I just feel so honored to have been asked to be there. You will not believe it when I tell you that this labor and delivery only lasted three hours! I could not believe it myself! Autumn was 41 weeks along at it seriously felt like I would never get THE call. But finally, in the middle of the night of course, 3am to be exact, she finally called to tell me she was headed to the hospital. I got there just before the wheeled her back to her room.
Her labor was so intense, but she had her mom and husband there to help her through it, and they did a wonderful job. When she first got into the room, nurses were running everywhere-- trying to hook her up to monitors, IVs, asking for blood draws, signatures, you name it. Autumn did an awesome job staying in the zone and not letting all of that get to her. In the photo below, you can see a nurse asking for her signature as she's laboring in bed.
I have so much respect for Autumn for having a 100% natural birth. Labor is no joke, the biggest pain, and the biggest reward. She rocked it and that is an understatement. Witnessing a birth was amazing, and photographing it was even better. There is nothing more raw, and more emotional than the birth of a child.
Finally, a little after 5am, Brissa Giselle was born!! Autumn knew exactly what to do, and almost didn't wait for the doctor to catch the baby! She was completely in control, which is how it always should be! I am so, so proud of her. Baby Brissa came out screaming and let me tell you, that cry was music to everyone's ears. A baby's first cry is one of the best sounds <3
Autumn and Brissa had a lot of skin-to-skin bonding time. During that time the sun came out and I was finally able to get some better lighting in the hospital room :) Look at Brissa sucking her thumb, is this not just the cutest thing ever?! Once Mom and baby had gotten to know each other better, the nurses took Brissa over to get weighed and measured!
Baby Brissa weighed 7lbs, 15oz, and was 20" long! The nurse did her footprints, and then back to Mom she went!
Dad got some skin-to-skin bonding time too :)
At that point, it was time for me to relieve my babysitter and go home to my family. I was able to come back a few hours later and take some photos of big sister meeting her little sister for the first time!
I love this image of Summer peeking around to see her mom and new baby sister!
Adorable family of four!!
I am so happy for this beautiful family! Autumn, if you are reading this, I hope you know how truly strong and inspiring you are! You have birthed two beautiful girls and you should be incredibly proud of yourself. You are an amazing momma to those girls and you inspire me every day to be my best and try my hardest. Thank you for inviting me to photograph your birth. It was such an amazing experience, and I hope you cherish these photos for years and years to come!
If you enjoyed reading this post and looking at my images and are interested in booking a session for you or someone you love, head over to my contact portion of my website and shoot me an email. I'd love to connect with you!