As we’ve gotten closer and closer to December, i’ve been getting more and more anxious/nervous/excited. My sister was due with my niece/nephew on december 12th, and it being her first baby, we all knew it could happen at any time. every time my phone rang or beeped that a text came in, i had to check immediately. I had an hour and a half drive from my house to the hospital and i’ll be damned if i wasnt gonna make it! i was trepidatious to make any plans for fear of getting the call when i wasnt anywhere near home. Mandy’s last dr appt was on thursday the 12th and it was decided if nothing happened soon, she would be induced the following thursday. That eased my worries a bit, nice to know an actual date. I planned on coming down to their house on tuesday so spend a little time with my sissy before she became a mom. Saturday morning i get a text, ‘Ok. Dont freak out. But last night my contractions got pretty intense. They died down..this morning…so just be on standby”. i grilled her about how consistent they were and what she thought i should do. i for sure didnt wanna miss anything and really wanted to try to get to their house instead of meeting them at the hospital. She assured me they werent consistent at all. I had asked my friend Mel over at Beautiful Beginnings what her standard operating procedure was and passed that on to mandy and told her to let me know as soon as things got more consistent. JJ and i took our dogs to go see santa, got some lunch and went home. i finished packing up everything that needed to be packed and loaded up the car. My girlfriend Faye told me i should probably head down to mandy soon too. Eventually at around 330, i just decided to go. I hugged and kissed my little family good bye and headed down to be with my sister. Her contractions were all over the place and getting stronger. we tried to hang out and watch a movie and relax but that wasnt really happening. Not to mention Nick decided to paint one of the walls of their new house. you could tell he was totally nervous.
mandy wanted one more bump picture in case she went into labor overnight. And little Jackson always loved to be in her bump photos.
last photo of me and my sissy before she became a mommy.jpg)
Eventually around 1230a we all decided to go up and try to get some sleep. I decided to try to read a few chapters of my book which in hindsight wasnt the best idea. I could hear mandy having contractions and walking around. I finally put my book down around 115 or so and 15 minutes later i heard Nick running down stairs, coming back up and on the phone w the doctor. She told him to bring mandy in. I threw off my blanket and threw on some clothes. Mandy was in a good amount of pain now so we rushed to grab all the bags and get in the car. We called my mom and told her to be on standby.
we get to the hospital and stayed in Triage for about an hour, then they put her into a room. from there the morning dragged on a lot.. a lot of contractions and waiting. .jpg)
at around 1245pm it was time to start pushing. And at 1:26pm, after 40 long weeks, we finally found out ITS A BOY! (much to my frustration, they decided not to find out what they were having). But he’s beautiful and perfect. what an emotional day!! we all knew nick would be emotional, since we all know how he cried at their wedding! but he wasnt the only one, i was a bucket of tears behind my camera and i know my mom had tears too! how could you not? what mandy did was AMAZING!my sister did SO great! better than i think i could ever do! that was crazy and intense. she was a rockstar! i’ve never been more proud of her. baby boy weighed in at 7lbs 9oz and 22 inches long. when they first measured his length they said he was shorter and my mom was like, no way, he’s gotta be longer than that. they measured him two more times, yep, 22in. he’s gonna be tall and skinny like his mommy and daddy.how perfect is he?? i love him!SO proud of my sissy.. so crazy she’s a mom. little rae rae couldnt take her eyes off of baby Nolan, she was so curious.Nolan is my mama’s 6th grandbaby!i finally got my chance to hold the little nugget!i LOVE being an auntie!first official family photo!
now everyone is home and doing well, adjusting to life with a newborn. i’m loving every minute of being here with them, soaking up as much as i can before i head home. we’ll be doing his newborn photos while i’m here so stay tuned for those!
Kelly Keen - This made me cry. You did a fabulous job capturing the birth! Mandy is lucky to have such a great family. So sweet 🙂
Hilary Hawkins - This blog totally made me cry!!! What a beautiful family, and so awesome to have captured his birth !!
Tzu - What a beautiful memory and Jenny you captured it so well!
Congratulations to Mandy and Nick! Nolan is just perfect!!
Kristen Kelly - Tears over here too!!! Beautiful pictures….those will be treasured forever. Congratulations Nick, Mandy and Auntie!!!
Meggie D - I’m getting all teary again as I write my comment!!!! I’m so so happy for you Mandy!! Congrats! These images are a precious gift. That photo of you and Nick seeing your boy for the first time. I gasped. And cried! Jenny, you did an outstanding job! I can imagine you were crying too! Love the name! Love everything!! CONGRATS!!! A BOY!!! YAY!!!!!!
Helen - What a beautiful baby! Congrats to your family as they enjoy another perfect addition!
Faye - CONGRATS Mandy and Nick! He is SO BEAUTIFUL! I’m SO happy for you guys! I cannot wait to meet this little precious nugget! Jenny you did such an amazing job capturing the entire journey and Mandy and Nick will have these images to help remember each and every moment! (not that they will forget….but you know what I mean) 🙂 Love and hugs to you all! YAY for newborn babies!
shannon - breathtaking!!!! i LOVE birth photos and these brought tears to my eyes! that sweet little face…perfection! mom looking amazingly stunning through it all. amazing!!
these are so darn incredible. way to go!
Denise Dehan - Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry! What a gift,Jenny! Congratulations to all of you.
Signa - Glad to see I am not the only one with tears. So precious. Congrats to all.
Maggie - teary! What a beautiful story you captured. Such a precious little guy. Congrats to mom, dad & auntie!! 🙂
Amanda Herbe - Beautifully captured! Congratulations Mandy and everyone! Lucky little boy!
Lisa Pratt - So beautiful! Congratulations to all!
Diana - I love this! Nolan is precious. Congratulations guys!
Tsone - Whoa. That was breathtaking. I have no words Jenny… This is beautiful. Congrats, friend.
Laura - Yay!! Congrats to all – he’s perfecto!!!
Bobbi - AHHHH!!!! I’M IN A BALL OF TEARS OVER HEEEEERE!!!! Nick… you are going to make the most amazing father. Mandy, you might be the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in the midst of LABOR! And Mom… I just love that you were the rock holding everything together. Jenny, you’re an incredible sister. Love every image. Such a great thing for Nolan to see someday. What a gift. 🙂 Love you all!!!!!
Destinee - Aawww! Congratulations! So beautifully documented! Births have easily become one of my favorite sessions to photograph! These images are amazing!
Joanne - Awww omg how precious soo cute god bless
Him !!! Congratulations nick and Mandy
Nicole - How awesome are these photos??! You are so lucky to have these captured and you will cherish them forever! Beautiful pictures, beautiful family. Welcome to motherhood Mandy, it’s hands down the best journey you will take!
Sally - What a gift these photographs are! Especially for little Nolan to share with his family some day. Beautifully done!
Molly - I can never read a birth post without winding up in tears. And this one was even more emotional because I can tell how close you are to your sister. Congratulations to your entire family on your newest addition and best wishes to Mandy and Nick on their new adventure as a family. Beautiful photos, Jenny—what a gift you’ve given them!
Betsy King - Oh my goodness, so much happiness here! Your sissy is such a beautiful momma! What a beautiful capture of her birth journey. (Its it AMAZING to witness birth? ) These photos are such a precious treasure!!!
Michele - That! Was a tear jerker. Soooooooo many beautiful moments, from mom and dad tearing up together the first time to seeing those cute little girls watching the nurse. Looooove it all!
Geri Blust - Great job! These are beautiful images they will treasure forever!!
Mel - I hate that I’m just getting to see this!! Love it! Looks great! So exciting isn’t it?? Especially when it’s your family! Congrats Mandy! I knew it was a boy, she just looked too good to be carrying a girl! :0
Nicki - I’m tearing up over here! I got to be in the delivery room for both my niece and nephew’s birth, it’s such an amazing experience. You did an awesome job capturing so many precious moments for your sister. All of these photos are beautiful and I know they will look back on them fondly for years to come. Congrats Auntie!