Jonah: 8 days new

In case you don't remember Megan, Ryan and Addison from their maternity photos, here is a refresher: Maternity Session.

During their maternity session, they threw out the idea of having me there to photograph their natural birth at a birthing center. Having a love for medicine, I of course said yes right away! Then came the waiting..and waiting...and waiting. I was so excited to get a call from them last Sunday with the news that she was in labor. I hurried to the birthing center where I was greeted with the biggest smile by Addison. I spent quite a few hours with them while we waited for baby Lewman's arrival (sex was still unknown). Their plan was to have a water birth, so everything was set and ready to go for it. Megan was doing great, and everyone was in an overall good mood. We took a stroll around the block in hopes of speeding up the labor...but unfortunately nothing seemed to help. The decision was then for me to go home and expect a call from them when they really thought something would happen.

4am on Monday morning rolls around and I get a phone call from Ryan. They thought the baby would arrive in an hour or so, so I gathered my things and headed over to the birthing center again. 4 hours later, still nothing. :( The decision was made to head over to the hospital (poor Megan was running on 36 hours of labor!), so I went with them to keep an eye on Addison. I really loved the experience, and I loved being able to spend time with this precious little girl. She was so much fun to be around, and she has the biggest heart. Overhearing that a c-section may be in the near future, I decided to take Addison on a walk so she didn't have to witness anything like that. She was extremely brave to this point (very impressive for a 4 year old!), but it was obvious that she was struggling watching her mommy in so much pain. So off for a walk we went...and boom, 5 minutes later I get a text message from Ryan saying "it's a boy!" Of course. I spend 11 hours with them, and the 5 minutes I'm gone is when Jonah decides to make his grand entrance! Luckily it was natural (I guess Jonah heard "c-section" and said "no no, I'm coming out!"), and everything ended up great. He is as cute as a button, and I really had such a great time getting to know the family. Anyway, enough of my ranting and on to some photos! Enjoy! :)

Some photos from the birthing center and hospital followed by newborn photos

Newborn portraits! <3