Birth

Normally I have a lot to say. But I feel that these images say it better than I ever could.

Not finding out the gender of your baby before it’s born when you already have a child is INTENSE. Not really for the parents, because they just want a healthy baby plain and simple. But for ME, I was like please, please, PLEASE let it be a boy. Because that’s just exciting. And seeing dad’s face when he saw that baby boy for the first time. Waterworks. Also, Joseph Francis just happened to be born on his great-great grandpa Frank’s 96th birthday. SO MANY FEELS.

It was so nice seeing this brand new family of four all together 9 days later. I do feel part of the family after being in the foxhole aka delivery room with parents, and I like to see how everyone settles in at home. As you can see, big sis is handling her new role very well.

Congratulations to this beautiful family! Can’t wait for the next one 😉 Just kidding. Probably.

Back in August, Ashley wrote to me asking if I offered birthing pictures. My first reaction was, uhhhhhh. Because let’s be honest, no. But then I thought to myself, when a stranger asks you to take pictures of the birth of her first child, you do it. So we made a plan, kept in touch throughout the months, and on March 7th, I got the call at 10AM that her water broke. I was at the grocery store, in my gym clothes, looking wild. I super market sweeped the place, went home to grab my camera equipment, and hit the road. This is exactly what I walked into when I got to their hospital room at noon. An adorable mommy-to-be and the sweetest husband in all the land.

I have never met anyone quite like Ashley. We hit it off immediately. Even though the situation could have been a little awkward, what with the contractions and the getting ready to push a baby out, it wasn’t. It was totally natural, like we had known each other forever. And her husband, oh my gosh, what a doll. He was so tender and loving throughout the whole experience. And what an experience it was let me tell you. Plus they didn’t know the sex of the baby beforehand, which made things extra exciting.

I took pictures of EVERYTHING. I had a story to tell. But I’ll leave the actual baby coming into the world via Ashley photos for her and her hubby to share, or lock away, whatever they choose. Watching that baby be born though, I cannot put into words all of the emotions. And seeing their faces when they saw that they had a healthy baby GIRL. Well, we were all crying.

Looking back, I still can’t believe I was asked to be a part of something so beautiful. I cheered Ashley on. I passed the ice chips. I heard that little girl’s first cry. I counted her toes. I fell in love.

At the end of things, we made it clear to each other that we were now forever friends. Because you can’t just walk away from something like that and not feel it for a long, long time. Miss Evelyn June, I cannot wait to see what the world has in store for you, or better yet, what you have in store for the world.

and then there were four.

the birth of evelyn june: a love story.