I’ve never been so thankful to get a call for a birth than when I did for Cece’s.  It was the morning of Friday, March 13 and while Stephanie was scheduled to be induced the following Tuesday, she was actually going to have the baby that day!  My main question to her was whether visitors were still allowed (and if I’d be allowed in with my camera) and I’m so thankful that we were still just outside the quarantine we’re all in now.  Obviously I would have stayed home if the hospital thought it best, but we were all glad I could be there!

Stephanie and I have walked a good bit of life together and today (March 31) is actually hers and Joe’s wedding anniversary!  My photography has changed a bit in the last 8 years, but I still love walking into their house and seeing their wedding photos on their walls.  You’ll actually get to see some next week when I post Cece’s newborn session :-)

After being able to photograph their other two babies being born, I was extra thankful to be there for Cece’s birth too.  The only thing I still haven’t been able to do it snuggle her and get a photo with her like I did with her older sisters.  So, she may be getting more squeezes from me than she realizes are coming when all of this is over!

This time around, we knew that I needed to be there as soon as I could after Stephanie’s water broke.  The last two times all of us waited a touch too late and I found myself running down hospital hallways!  So when her water broke and she was around 4cm and her doctor told her she would probably progress fast, my response was “We didn’t need a doctor to tell us that!”  And well, all of us were right.  Stephanie was in more pain than I’d ever seen her and I had a feeling it was because baby was on her way quickly.  So when the nurse checked her again after I’d been there for less than 30 minutes and said she was ready, I wasn’t surprised!

Cece arrived healthy as she could be, delivered by a friend (who was also a part of their wedding!) and even though she wasn’t in the room, Grammie Pam had called just as Cece was born and was able to hear her first cry as she and Stephanie’s dad were on their way from the midwest!  Cece’s two big sisters came in to meet their newest counterpart and I don’t know that I’ve ever had a bigger smile on my face as I left that hospital.

Enjoy some of my favorites and be on the lookout for her newborn photos soon!

One of the things I love to keep up with in birth photography is the passage of time. It’s usually just through taking photos with a clock or watch in them, but what makes it fun is going back after the baby has been born and thinking, “Oh, we were just ___ hours/minutes away from meeting baby!”

Joe saw on his watch that Steph’s mom was calling and I promise he asked before answering the call!

I love those smiles on my people.

Sweet Nurse Maggie!!  She’s been at the birth of all three of these baby girls and she has been such a gift to Stephanie!

For more birth stories, click HERE.
If you’re due later this year and would like more
information about birth photography, click HERE