The above image and the image at the end of the post was taken by my dear friend, Kay English — thank you for capturing our little family so beautifully! You are a talent, sweet friend!

(Click on the below image to play the slideshow. All photos were taken by me and Andrew, and a few by our sweet nurse, Monica.)

I was awoken that Sunday (April 1, 2012) out of as comfortable a sleep that an incredibly pregnant person can have (which as you can imagine is not comfortable in the slightest), to the most severe headache I can remember having in ages. I hadn’t had but one headache my entire pregnancy, so immediately I was concerned that maybe I would end up preeclamptic, like my sister, Callen, who had to be induced during her first pregnancy because of the disorder. My mild case of hypochondria meant that I gladly borrowed her blood pressure machine and fairly religiously would monitor my own blood pressure for the previous 2 weeks. My BP had been textbook the entire pregnancy, but this particular Sunday the numbers were dangerously high. One look in the mirror and it was obvious my face had swelled (another tell tale sign of preeclampsia). This was not a normal 39-weeks-pregnant-fat-girl-face, it was round and swollen and nothing like I looked my entire pregnancy. I asked Andrew for a second opinion and he confirmed that my face was unusually round. When my blood pressure was consistently reading borderline dangerous numbers I decided it was best to call my doctor. When I connected with the emergency line the answering service explained to me that my beloved Doctor was on vacation and that I should immediately call another OBGYN who was filling in for him. My heart sank. Having Dr. Hoffman deliver Lyric was paramount on my very laid-back birth plan. I decided after hearing this news to wait it out and continue to monitor my BP periodically.

At 10 PM I wasn’t feeling any better, so I decided to go ahead and call the emergency line again. Once again they directed me to call the doctor filling in, and once again I took this as a sign that I was over reacting and to wait it out. About 15 minutes later Dr. Hoffman was calling me from his cell phone – PRAISE GOD! He said he was receiving the messages that I called and wanted to make sure that I was ok, I explained to him my situation and he immediately said that I needed to head to Labor and Delivery to have my BP monitored. I told Andrew that we’d probably get sent back home, but that we had to make believe it was the real thing. We packed up the car with our overnight bag and my significantly larger camera bags and off we went. We spent the drive through the Watchung Reservation second-guessing the severity of my symptoms and even considered detouring to Friendly’s for a coffee Fribble instead of checking in to the hospital. If I had known that it wasn’t a dress rehearsal I would have been a ball of anxiety – who would have thought it would be our last drive with an empty carseat behind us.

When we finally made it to Labor and Delivery they put us in a tiny room (another indication that we weren’t really going to be admitted) and had me change into a robe and hooked up to monitors. The blood pressure sleeve went on and immediately I learned that when your BP is dangerously high an alarm goes off, this proceeded to happen countless times in the next 30 minutes while the nurse entered my information into the system. A kind resident doctor came in to assess me and after relaying the info to Dr. Hoffman they decided it was safest to induce me – the only other item besides having a C-Section, on the “Avoid At All Cost” list on my very flexible birth plan. Andrew, who had remained calm the entire time, holding my hand and making me laugh, finally looked nervous, “I guess I should get our bags now!”

And so midnight began my 15 hours of labor. I waited nervously for the notoriously horrendous contractions that Pitocin brings – and boy did they come fast and furious. I begged Andrew to get some sleep, I needed one of us to be of sound mind when the hard work of pushing would begin. After 2 hours of trying to get some sleep the doctor came in to break my water, I knew once this happened there was really no turning back. Labor was intense from that moment on. An hour after my water was broken I had to wake Andrew up, it felt a little too lonely being alone with my pain and my breathing while he slept. He was without a doubt, my angel – knowing exactly when I needed him to be silent, praying softly in my ear, reminding me of the mantra us O’Connor girls always say: “everyone needs to be born!”…we even played a few rounds of Gin Rummy (and I won, of course.)

I’ll never forget the moment Dr. Hoffman came in to tell me it was time for a practice push (I knew from Callen’s birth story that this was no practice, this was the real thing) – my nerves had me shaking and wondering if I could really do it. Was I really going to be a mom in the next hour? There was really not much more time to think, every ounce of myself was put into the act of getting this baby out – I’ve never worked so hard at anything in my life. All that I knew was that I wanted Lyric in my arms, to think back on those moments seem like such a blur, it was nothing like I had imagined and so much calmer than any movie ever portrays.

After an hour and a half of pushing, of questioning if our little girl would ever make her way out – I heard my angel-nurse, in a whisper: “Samantha, open your eyes…keep pushing and open your eyes.” The extra energy it took to peel open my eyes bestowed the most beautiful image I could have ever dreamed up. There she was – my sweet baby girl, letting out a piglet squeal and breathing her first real breathes in this world. And there was my Andrew, cutting the cord and handing me this little miracle that God gave us. In that moment, my world broke into millions of pieces – everything from this moment on would be different. Love flooded in. All consuming love. I floated outside of myself and saw us, our little family, how incredibly blessed I am…praise God for this new life, for this new family of three. And at last, I cried. Here she was, the baby I felt kicking and growing in my belly for the last 9 months, finally in my arms, blinking hard to open her eyes and see her momma for the first time. There are just no words to describe how wonderful the next hour was. I could never have imagined how fiercely I could love someone. We are a family, blessed beyond measure, grateful that God chose us to love and raise Lyric Hope.

I spent the morning sitting in your nursery; I do that a lot lately. Sit, and meditate on this miracle of you kicking inside me – I can’t wait to meet you, but I know I’m going to miss those kicks and stretches in the safety of my belly. In less than a month you will be wrapped in my arms, and the smell of your brand new skin and the shape of your face will break me open and fill me with an unearthly love. I already love you so much; I can’t imagine how my heart will burst when you are finally here.

Before Daddy and I knew we were going to have you, we dreamed you up and fell madly in love with the idea of being your parents. We knew then, that if you were a girl, your name would be Lyric Hope. You, my sweet angel, are the words to our life song. Your Daddy and I thank God each day that he chose us to love you and raise you and teach you about loving Jesus. We pray for you a life filled with music, unbridled joy, the freedom to be creative and uniquely you, and knowing that you are more loved than you could possibly imagine.

I love you, Lyric,
Your Mama

Isn’t it funny, we can make all the plans in the world – but still, God has something different, and far better than we could have imagined in store. On Wednesday, February 8th at 7:07 AM I received a text from my sister asking if we could switch our doctor appointments (as we have the same wonderful OBGYN) and mine was that afternoon. She’d been laboring since 2:30 AM from home and our Doctor wanted her to wait until the contractions got a bit closer together before she left for the hospital. At 8:49 AM she sent me another text that they were leaving for the hospital shortly. I quickly cleaned and prepared my camera gear, as I was going to be photographing their birth story (something I had been so excited to do for the past 8 months!)

From here it is only appropriate to leave the image of me, sitting at my dining room table with my sneakers tied and my camera bag packed, and pick up the story from Callen’s point of view, as all the action was happening while I was waiting for the ok to head to the hospital.

It was about 8:55 AM and Callen yelled down to John, “Get the car ready, we have to go!” She kissed Aslan goodbye and braced herself on the sidewalk as a crippling contraction took her breath away. Once it had passed she ran to the car as now the contractions were coming over her in quick succession – there was no down time! It took only 3 minutes into the drive for Callen to look over at John and declare that she was certain, they were having this baby in the car. I imagine John wasn’t ready to take on that task and proceeded to drive at 90 mph, horn blazing, passing any and every car that got in their way. He would make sure they would get to the hospital if it was the last thing he would do.

9:06 AM and they arrive at Overlook Hospital, abandoning their car (and all bags, cameras, etc) at the emergency doors. Callen is plopped into a wheelchair and John is running through the halls of the hospital to get her to labor and delivery. The baby is coming…and fast…

At 9:18 AM they arrive on the 6th floor where they are greeted by Dr.Hoffman, in his running clothes, and two nurses who rush Callen into a room, undress her in seconds and prepare her for delivery. Dr. Hoffman throws on scrubs as Callen pleads for her epidural. The anesthesiologist, with empathetic tears in her eyes breaks the bad news that there just isn’t any time. Dr. Hoffman assures her that she is strong, that she can do it, and lets get ready to push!

At 9:36 AM, after 2 warrior-woman and drug-free pushes, baby Luna Isola slipped into the world…6 lbs., 15 oz., 20 inches long and absolutely perfect.

There was no time for a real birth story shoot, and thank goodness John had his iPod Touch to take some photos of Luna’s first moments! From here, I will let the photos tell the rest of the story…(click to enjoy the slideshow!)

Sweet angel girl, Luna – how blessed you are to have a wonderful family who loves you, but loves Jesus most. You are already wrapped up in more love than you could possibly imagine! We thank God for you and the day you were born!

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. {James 1:17}

Also, make sure to check out the sneak peek of their wedding video, done by the amazing 15 Minutes of Frame, here.

Kate and Jordan – Thank you for choosing me to capture a piece of your beautiful love story, being there the day you said “I Do” was such a wonderful blessing, enjoy your photos! XO’s

Christine and Brandon – I love you both! Enjoy the photos!! XO’s

I’m going to start off with my favorite from the day…
I can’t even take how beautiful Christine is…

Like every other wedding I shoot, I stalk the weather and pray for mild, overcast skies (perfect shooting conditions). When the forecast predicted an 18 inch snowfall for the last weekend in OCTOBER (!!!) in Mountain Lakes, NJ, I surely thought it was some kind of joke. Now, I’ve photographed during a hurricane (thank you Irene), but a Fall snowstorm?! Oh, and this snowstorm was serious, and North Jersey got hit the worst… but weddings do not stop for anything. So we thank God for SUV’s and for bride’s like Kim who roll with the punches. Despite the unseasonable blizzard, and lack of any power whatsoever at their ceremony and reception venue, this day was filled with so much love that it made up for any hindrance the snow caused. Kim and Matt’s ceremony was so beautiful, filled with the promises that make marriage the most wonderful and important union in the world. I’ve said it before, but I really feel so blessed to witness the vows, and to feel the swelling of otherworldly love that surrounds a wedding day. I loved one of the readings that Kim and Matt chose on their wedding day, I just had to share it:

“A History of Love” By Diane Ackerman
Love. What a small word we use for an idea so immense and powerful.

It has altered the flow of history, calmed monsters, kindled works of art, cheered the forlorn, turned tough guys to mush, consoled the enslaved, driven strong women mad, glorified the humble, fueled national scandals, bankrupted robber barons, and made mincemeat of kings.

How can love’s spaciousness be conveyed in the narrow confines of one syllable? Love is an ancient delirium, a desire older than civilization, with taproots spreading into deep and mysterious days.

The heart is a living museum. In each of its galleries, no matter how narrow or dimly lit, preserved forever like wondrous diatoms, are our moments of loving, and being loved.

Enjoy the pictures!
I LOVE when couples decide to do a First Look, it’s always my favorite part of the wedding day… The drive from the hotel to the reception was an adventurous one, it required driving under downed trees, around live, fallen wires, and kept us all praying that the creaking sounds of the heavy branches would wait long enough to fall until you were out from under them. Once we arrived at the gorgeous Mountain Lakes Club, we were greeted by candle light, the venue had lost power, and it was obvious our adventure had really just begun. Thanks to the wonderful DJ’s, who came prepared with a generator for the use of their marvelous uplights! Kim and Matt’s first dance was utterly romantic!

Bobbie’s stunning old Hollywood glamour dress was designed by Stephen Yearick, who Bobbie collaborated with to create her ultimate dream dress. Her bridesmaids, donning classic black gowns from Bill Levkoff, named her the ultimate Royal Wedding Barbie – love that! An elegant touch of fall flowers were in each floral design, created by Jamie Tullo from Solstice in Glen Gardner. Enjoy the photos of this gorgeous couple!
I’ll blame it on the pregnancy hormones, but I cried during their First Look, these two are just wonderful. Bobbie, you are absolutely stunning…

Make sure to head over to Style Me Pretty to check out the full feature and leave some love!