“The best thing to hold onto in life is each other.” — Audrey Hepburn
Eek!!! I am so excited to share this one!!! I met Allie about a year ago through our mutual friend Nichole. Since then we've had some fun kids play dates and gotten to know each other. When she told me she was expecting and wanted to try and fit maternity pictures into Connor's busy schedule, I excitedly said yes!!!
When the time came for our session, we bonded over what it's like growing from a family of 3 to 4. We talked a lot about how expecting a second child is full of pure joy and excitement!!! It’s also incredibly emotional. You aren’t naive to the changes the second time around. You realize that your relationships with your partner, your child, and your body will never quite be the same. I wanted to give Allie and Connor a chance to reflect on this. Normally during maternity sessions I have mom and dad take a few moments together to talk about what they’re most excited about along with what they may be worried about. Most of the time this is the first time they’re expressing both out loud to each other. I then have mom take a few minutes with their first born to get extra one on one hugs and play time to celebrate their relationship. These tend to bring out so many emotions and become some of their favorites from the session. I explained to Allie that this was important to me as a mom AND a photographer because I've lived it. I told her about how the night before I had Betty I cried a LOT. I was full of excitement but I was also mourning the fact that my relationship with Jamey would never be the same. My time would be split and it wouldn't be just the two of us day in and day out together. The maternity pictures I have of the two of us are some of my favorites. So, I had Allie scoop up Aurora and have some fun play time together filled with lots of hugs (and happy tears). The session of course ended with both of us crying for the love we have for our partners, our kids, and knowing we had each other that had been through it as well.
