“For this child I prayed, and the Lord granted me my petition that I made of Him…”

I haven’t even started typing and the tears are already coming… Oh my. Natalie and Cody. I love them. They’ve been my friends for a few years now. I actually don’t remember meeting them for the first time, but I remember the 2nd time because Cody gave me the biggest hug like we were old friends. Honestly, at first I thought, “Who the heck is this guy??” but within minutes of really getting to chat with him and Natalie I realized they are one of the sweetest, kindest couples I’ve ever known. And I knew that Natalie wanted to be a mama. We talked about it from the get-go. She saw my work shortly after that and frequently we would talk about when she had a baby how I was going to photograph her maternity pictures.
What I didn’t know through the last few years, is that they had gotten pregnant a few times, and lost those babies. I don’t know that pain so I can’t fully understand what they went through. But I do understand that having Baby Nate makes him all the more special to his mama and daddy. I just feel like the verse I put above is appropriate for this story.
(Stop crying Murphy… stop crying…)
So maternity pictures were a must! And I LOVED their session!! One of my favorites!

During the maternity session the subject of birth photography came up and I was sooo glad it did. I’ve been just itching to photograph a birth since Nola was born, and to get to photograph theirs would just be an honor.
Fast forward to mid January and I woke up on a Saturday morning and thought, “I need to check in with Natalie today and find out how her last appointment went”. Itwasn’t a half hour later when I got a text from her saying it was the day!

By the time I got to the hospital the epidural had already been administered so things were pretty quiet and calm.

I actually had a bridal session booked that day that couldn’t move. So April graciously came to the hospital and was there ready to shoot in case the baby decided to come during my session. I’m glad he didn’t. 🙂 After the shoot, I went to the hospital to check in. Natalie was progressing but not moving too quickly so I decided to go home and kiss my baby goodnight and get some dinner. . As soon as I walked in the door I got a text from Cody saying I better get back to the hospital quickly. (This is actually my handy-dandy trick to get any woman I’m photographing to a 10 and ready to push. Every birth I’ve photographed where I’ve decided to go home for a bit I’ve been immediately called back as soon as I walk in the door)

As soon as I walked into the delivery room, they started prepping her to push….

…and it didn’t take much. I believe she pushed through 3 or 4 contractions.

Look at that face… seeing his little boy for the first time. Absolutely priceless.

And mama’s face seeing him. Just perfect.

When photographing births before Nola, I would tear up but could hide behind my camera. Not this time. I just cried right along with them.

….there are no words.

I don’t think there’s anything I could photograph that is more amazing than a birth. I’m just blown away every time by what a miracle it is and how blessed I am to be invited to such an intimate and important moment. It truly is an honor. Natalie and Cody I love you guys and am so happy for you. Your little man is perfect.

And here’s just one from the newborn session…