Laurel’s First Day – My New Niece

I may be a little biased, but Laurel Caroline Rogers is absolutely perfect. It was so hard to leave her in Ohio, but thankfully I will see her again before too long when we go to Ohio for Thanksgiving (so expect more photos of her).  

My girls just adore their “Uncle Boy”, which is what they have always called him, because I always called him “Boy” when we were growing up, and still do.  “Aunt Deborah” has been in my girls lives since they were born, and she has always been so good to them and spoiled them rotten.  Both girls were in their wedding when Megan was about three years old and Kayla was one and a half.   Kayla did a very poor job at her flower girl duties, but she was adorable anyway.  I’ll never forget that right before the wedding, Megan was asking about our hometown and when me and “Uncle Boy” were kids.  I was telling her stories, and at one point she said “But where was Aunt Deborah?”  It was foreign to her that Aunt Deborah had not always been part of our family.

So Megan & Kayla are now just over the moon about their new baby cousin, and I can’t wait to spoil her rotten, just like my girls have been spoiled rotten by their aunt and uncle (also there will be loud obnoxious toys…paybacks). 

The girls weren’t able to come with me to Ohio for Laurel’s birth, so their first meeting with their baby cousin comes compliments of a video call.  This was one time I was very thankful for modern technology because at least they were able to be part of the story in some way.

Speaking of being part of the story…I am so use to trying to be a fly on the wall while photographing birth stories, capturing another family’s special moments.  But it occurred to me as I was sitting in the waiting room at the hospital in the middle of the night waiting on Laurel’s birth, that this time, I was also part of the story.  So I have tried to include a few photos that showed that…several of my gear and of my feel waiting in the waiting room.  And at the bottom of this post you’ll see me and my sweet niece compliments of a good ole modern day phone selfie.  My brother did offer to take the camera from me and take some photos of me and Laurel at the hospital, but I ended up liking the phone picture better. 

So about three more weeks until I can see her again! I can’t wait!

Birth of Laurel Caroline Rogers

This definitely ranked as one of the most awesome nights of my life. My baby brother and his amazing wife asked me to photograph the birth of their daughter.  Every single birth I have witnessed is a gift, but this one was especially meaningful to me. To be able to capture my niece entering this world was truly beautiful. 

I am so proud of my brother, and so happy that he has found such an amazing wife.  She was a rockstar during delivery. 

Deborah planned to be induced on Saturday, but on Tuesday afternoon, I received a call from her.  She said that her blood pressure was up a little, and that the doctors had decided to admit her to the hospital and go ahead and induce labor.  So I threw some things in a bag and jumped in the car to make the six hour drive to Columbus, nervous the entire time that I might miss it. 

As I got closer to Columbus, I heard from Tim that they did not plan to put Deborah on Pitocin until about midnight, which thankfully meant I likely had plenty of time to make it to the hospital. When I arrived around 9 p.m., Deborah had begun to have really strong contractions that were progressing nicely.  She ended up not having to have Pitocin at all.  Around 2 a.m., the nurse said that she was ready and called for the doctor.  Deborah did an amazing job, and brought Laurel into the world at 2:37 a.m.  

They had chosen not to find out the baby’s sex before delivery, so up until that moment, I didn’t know if I would have a niece or nephew.  It was really awesome when the doctor held out the baby for Tim to see and then announce that it was a girl.   She weighed 6lbs 14oz and was 20” long, and is absolutely perfect.

I am so thrilled to be an aunt and cannot wait to spoil that little girl rotten.  I know that Tim & Deb are going to be amazing parents to that sweet girl and she is very blessed to have them as parents. 

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