*Trigger Warning- Infant Loss*

I’m not sure that I’ve ever been more honored to do a newborn session, than I was for this one.   4 years ago, this family was one of my very first sessions.  The braved the ice and snow to come into my home studio and let this little green photographer take their photos.   Little did I know that not only would those photos be so tender and important, but that day also started a dear friendship that I’m grateful to have.

It was during the scheduling of that session that I learned they had experienced infant loss when one of their twins was born sleeping.   As a mother, that was the most awful thing I could imagine.   I read the story of their heartbreak, their grief over losing their daughter while experiencing the joy of the birth of their son.   I read about the sweet boy who joined the family just a little over a year later.  I read about the few precious momentos they had to keep their sweet baby girl close to them.

One of those items was their Molly Bear.  Molly Bears are special weighted bears meant for bereaved families who have lost a child.    During that first session, we got many photos with their bear.  She represents their daughter as a tangible reminder that she existed and she is loved and missed SO much.

I was thrilled to learn she was expecting and experiencing a healthy pregnancy this past year.  She was also expecting a baby girl.  My sweet friend was very unsure if she wanted to have newborn photos done.   Most moms would feel guilt over having something special done for one child that they did not do for others.  And she was no different.    I always feel that you’re far more likely to regret NOT doing them than you would regret doing them.   However, it was her choice and after much deliberation, she let me know she wanted to move forward.   For this, I am so incredibly humbled that she trusted me to honor, not only her newest and longed for baby, but all of her babies.   And we both knew that we would incorporate her sweet Karina with her Molly Bear.

The big brothers were SO incredibly excited about their new baby sister that they could hardly sit still.   Yet, they held her and comforted her with the gentlest of hands and the softest of voices.   They had an instinctual desire to protect her and with every tiny newborn wail, one of them would appear at my side to check in and make sure she was ok.    She was such a great sleeper.  She loved being wrapped up snug and would occasionally let out the tiniest of baby smiles.

I feel I could write ten novels about this family and these sweet babies, but I will just let the photos do the talking.  After all, a picture is worth a thousand words.