VBAC Homebirth {Las Vegas Birth Photographer}

I was awakened at 3:00am by my phone ringing. I knew exactly who it was, and I was excited! At nearly 42 weeks, I'm sure Jamie & friends were beginning to think she has the gestation of an elephant. :) I was pretty sure the baby would come sometime this weekend, but I'm glad for Jamie's sake that he came today and not Sunday night!

4:17am Waiting for the birth pool to get filled.
4:41am The warm water feels sooooo good to Jamie.

Big brother and Grandma watch the action in the pool. Brother woke up around 4:00am and didn't go back to sleep! He was in & out of the room, but he was able to be right there to great his new little brother.

5:22am Being in the warm water helped Jamie relax & progress rather quickly.

6:09am After pushing in the birth pool for a while, Jamie needed a change of position & surroundings, so we moved to her bedroom. She looks so peaceful right here, you wouldn't expect her to push the baby out in the next few minutes! But that's exactly what happened!!
6:14 am - Holding her new little boy. After having a cesarean with her first son, birthing this baby was a new experience for Jamie. When the baby was out, Jamie was so elated and kept saying "I did it! I DID IT!! I can't believe I did it!" Jamie was incredible.

Baby with Grandma, and Baby with Dad.

This little boy is not so little! He weighs 10 pounds, is 22 inches long, and has a 15 inch head circumference.

Welcome to the family!

While she labored, Jamie was supported & loved by her husband, her mother, doula Naomi O'Callaghan, midwife Margie Dacko, and photographer Jessica Benson.

Read more...

And... More Family....

This family got together in honor of their big sister's 40th birthday!! They too had to travel from far & wide - Idaho, Utah, Massachusetts and I'm not sure where Heather came travelled from. (Sorry!) I think what makes this get-together extra extra special is that the siblings came by themselves! Without their children!!! Spouses would probably be ok, but sometimes it's really nice to leave those kids at home! :) Besides four of these six right here have at least four kids each, so do the math and you can imagine how loud their family parties must be!!!
Happy Birthday Rachelle!!!

I think he did a great job planning her birthday surprises this year.

Read more...

More Family!

This family came from all different directions - Florida, California, & Utah - to spend the weekend together. And while they were together, they had their portraits taken by me!! I think the Florida family is officially my farthest-away clients. I am relieved to say that the weather was perfect (not a pinch windy), the golf course was not too crowded (surprising for a Saturday morning), and the kids were 90% cooperative (4 of them were ages 3 & under!) Many thanks to Mrs. Jody and her arsenal of funny faces and dance moves.

And many thanks to these two for obliging for a "family photo".

After one boy spent most of the time crying whenever I came near, I was sooooo relieved to get this shot. It's just lovely.

And the girls were so tuckered out...

Read more...

Coming Soon...

Read more...

One Simple Thing...

It's like flossing our teeth... We all know we should do it, but only a handful of us diligently do it.

I'm talking about backing up your computer - specifically your photos & videos. Schedule it in to your busy life, write it on the calendar and do it! Once a year, every six or three months, burn all those images to a disc and put it somewhere safe! I have seven years worth of snapshots on my computer. Have I backed up? Mostly - except for the last year or two, so this is a wake-up call to myself as well. Make a copy (or two or three) of all your memories and then put it somewhere safe, such as IN a safe, a safe deposit box at the bank, or in a safe place at a family member or friend's house.

Just recently, a client's house caught fire. The family members are unharmed, but they lost a lot of their belongings, including their computer. You never know when something like a housefire or a virus or your computer just plain crashing could happen. Be prepared! Back up your memories!!!

Read more...

Family

This is a special family portrait, and a special family. Even though Mom & Dad are divorced, they are on great terms with each other! Whenever an out-of-town family member is in town, they have a big get-together and all the step-siblings and everyone is invited. I love that there is no animosity whatsoever. It is beautiful to see that this family was not torn apart, but rather they grew bigger and closer together! (This picture does not include all the grandkids or any step-siblings - there is more of them!)Between group shots, Dad starts discussing with some of his kids how "people" used to take family portraits every few years, and now they only do it at big events like a wedding or something. I have run into that a few times myself. Parents will say "We haven't had our portrait done since {Teenage Daughter} was six!" It is important to take those family photos, even if it is just a snapshot of all of you piled on the couch!! This particular family did not have a complete family photo of themselves for years!!! Because Dad & Sister moved out-of-state and by circumstance were hardly ever in-state at the same time, getting this complete family portrait has taken quite a few years of waiting.

A few suggestions, if I may, for surviving your family portrait session:

These thoughts are not stemming from this session or any other recent session, so don't think I am putting you on the spot! :)

1. Do not get angry. I understand that you may want your family members to dress perfectly, sit perfectly and smile perfectly, but if that doesn't happen... Let's be honest, it's not going to help the situation any if you get angry or frustrated.

2. If children are not behaving properly, it is the parents' pleasure to discuss this with the child. NOT the grandparents, NOT aunt or uncle. If there needs to be bribing or persuading of any sort, please leave that to the parents or the photographer. If there needs to be reprimanding, again leave that to the parents. Can you imagine a portrait session where Mom, Dad, Grandma, Grandpa, AND Aunt June are all getting on Junior's case about not smiling or sitting jus right??? It's not fun and I really feel bad for the kid when it happens.

So please, no getting angry and no getting angry at a kid that is not your own.

Read more...

It's Over, It's Over!

While dance lessons are fun & cute, and the recital was really really well done, I am quite glad that it's over. :) Last weekend was too many late nights for our family!!

Read more...

Ava

Ava was five or six weeks old at the time of her portrait session. She teased us that she was ready for me, then she put up a fight! We had to wear her out and in the end it all worked out. I'm sure Ava's parents thought the afternoon was a bust, but I hope they are pleasantly surprised with the shots I got even while Ava was awake!! :)

We'll start with the nursery. Who wouldn't want that beautiful bed? And the rack full of shoes?? But it's the special touches of the name sign painted by Dad, the crystal chandelier designed by a family friend, and Grandma's shirt from when she was a baby that really complete the room...

Aren't baby's toes and tiny fingers just amazing? They are tiny little pieces of perfection.
Especially these ones.

This is probably my #1 Favorite from this session.

See? We wore her out!

Read more...

New Baby Boy!

Anjalique's labor started yesterday afternoon. I got a "heads up" phone call and then a second phone call just a short time later, and I was out the door! Based on how fast her last labor was, we all kind of thought this one would be fast as well. Upon arriving at Anjalique's house, contractions were regular & consistant, and she was laboring nicely, but was "only" at 4 cm.

After laboring in the tub and walking quite few laps around the backyard, Anjalique was still at 4 cm. At this point everyone took a break to get some sleep. Anjalique doubled her dilation over the next four hours.

Once Anjalique decided to it was time to push, that baby was out of there! Seriously, she pushed for 4 minutes. Well done, Anjalique! And Baby Boy!

I love how involved Josh was. He was right by Anjalique's side the whole night, was "Ooooo"-ing through contractions with her, he caught the baby, cut the cord, weighed the baby and listend to the heartbeat. In just a few months, Josh will begin his medical residency. It was very fun to see the difference his understanding & knowledge brought to the birth.

Baby Boy was born Friday, April 9th at 5:22 am at home. He is 6 lbs 12 oz and I forgot how long. Sorry. :) I wasn't the one who filled out the birth certificate. This birth was attended by midwives April Kermani and Sherry Hopkins.

Read more...