Session of the Month - July 2024
August 5, 2024
Oh man, this may be my most bittersweet blog post to date, but this story is one to tell. I’m even going to include photos I took in the past to help illustrate. Please note that I have specifically been given permission to share. It’s important to remember that everyone’s journey is their own and explicit permission should be sought before sharing the experiences of others.
I met Dayne and Abby almost eight (!?) years ago when I did their engagement photos. Sweet Sophie did a great job helping her humans document this milestone. Let’s also admire how young and well-rested these two look ;)
The following summer (2017), we shot their wedding on a very toasty June day that ended with an epic thunderstorm. Despite the crazy weather, we had so much fun, and I even got to climb on my husband’s shoulders to get a fun photo. Notice Sophie making another appearance, this time with Nellie who joined the family a few months after the engagement photos.
This delightful couple didn’t wait long before trying to build their family. However, it didn’t come as easily as one would hope. After many appointments, needles, and months of waiting, those two pink lines FINALLY showed up in late February 2019. The joy was palpable. Even through the severe morning sickness and even more pokes (thank God for IV fluids), they were beyond thankful.
It was part of the plan for me to photograph the birth for them. However, as many of you know, childbirth hates going according to plan. Miss Mayzie decided she was a little too cozy inside mama so Abby’s labor dragged on. This resulted in me having to miss the birth because I had mini sessions on the calendar for the next day. Thankfully she arrived safely that next afternoon and both she and mama were happy and healthy.
After Mayzie turned one, they decided to start trying for baby number two. Sadly, the year 2021 brought double heartbreak for them… a miscarriage early in the year and an ectopic pregnancy towards the end of the year. As if that weren’t enough, they suffered another miscarriage in early 2022.
Despite the ongoing losses and struggles, they still kept trying. In early 2023, on their last attempt with IUI (intrauterine insemination) before going the IVF (in-vitro fertilization) route, they discovered they were expecting again. This pregnancy FINALLY stuck. A boy this time - Oakley! It was finally time to be hopeful again. To feel joy again.
But tragedy struck once more. That sweet boy that everyone was hoping and praying for was stillborn in September of 2023. It just didn’t seem possible. Not that you wish this kind of thing on anyone, but why… why does it always seem to happen to the nicest people? To the people who have already been through enough?
Between hospital bills and everything else, I knew money would be tight. With Mayzie’s fourth birthday approaching, I offered them a free session to celebrate her. Unfortunately, our schedules never lined up to make it happen. But then spring of 2024 brought the cutest little addition to their wonderful family… dog #4 wasn’t even part of the family plan, yet there she was. Winnie the Pooch came home with them in early May after a family vacation. I reached out to Abby at that point and told her that the offer of a session was still good if we wanted to do a “welcome to the family” session with Winnie. She happily agreed!
A few days later, on Mother’s Day, I sent her a message letting her know I was thinking of her and praying for her. I can’t even fathom how difficult Mother’s Day can be after everything they had been through.
She sent me a reply of thanks… and followed up asking if we could push the session off a few weeks until after she had an ultrasound so that the session could be about welcoming Winnie AND baby to the family. I literally squealed with excitement… she had a positive test the day before! Over the next few days, she went in for blood draws… her numbers were fantastic. I was so optimistic for her. I even had a super odd hunch that it was twins (which apparently I wasn’t alone on) and even told her as much.
Her ultrasound was scheduled for the last Friday in May. Two days before that appointment, as I’m literally sitting in my classroom supervising my students working on a reading with partners, I get a message. I have an apple watch, so I felt the buzz and quick glanced at it. It was from Abby… all it said was “Chelsea…”
My heart sank. I immediately was scared for the worst. I started praying that she was about to tell me there were twins in there. The wait for her reply was agonizing.
Then it came: “There’s 3. 3 babies. Inside me”
Not gonna lie, I literally replied by telling her to shut the eff up (tongue in cheek obviously).
I couldn’t even TRY to hide my reaction. My face was so obvious that even my students looked up from their readings all confused. I explained that a friend of mine, who has had a lot of fertility struggles, was pregnant with triplets. They cheered with me <3
Once the shock wore off, we decided to hold off on the announcement shoot until she could have her 8 week ultrasound to be sure everything was looking good. This meant we had to wait until after I got back from France, but that was alright.
The prayers and waiting continued. Thankfully she had a fantastic 8 week ultrasound… three perfect babies with three perfect heartbeats. Seeing and hearing those heartbeats is one of the biggest hurdles of early pregnancy. The likelihood of miscarriage goes down drastically with heartbeat detection.
So this is where the session of the month comes in. We finally got to do our session with the concept that has continued to morph! We celebrated those three babies. We celebrated Winnie (along with the other three pooches). We celebrated big sister Mayzie and big brother Oakley. We celebrated LIFE. It was perfect.
After the session, we even got to have a puppy play date… Winnie and my new puppy Graham got to run around our yard for a little bit. They had so much fun!
While a triplet pregnancy is anything but ordinary, thankfully things seem to be going extremely smoothly (well as smoothly as they can be… she is growing three humans after all). I am SO excited to meet this crew when they arrive… hopefully in early December!
