Since I'm a bit behind on posting due to a VERY busy, yet fun month of May, this post will be a combo update on a maternity AND newborn session for my awesome clients Leah and Mike. (If their names sound familiar, BTW, it's because I just wrote a post about Mike's Ride for Heart fundraising campaign. Make sure you check it out, if you haven't already!)

Leah first contacted me after hearing about me from a friend who'd recently done a mini-session with me. Leah was looking to get some maternity photos done, when she stumbled upon my Fresh 48 special. So she and hubby Mike ended up booking me for two sessions - one maternity session, and one Fresh 48 session. I have to say that it is such a treat to be able to photograph clients before and after baby is born. I love the anticipation of becoming new parents, followed by having their little one in their arms!

Leah and Mike were really easygoing, and it made for two very fun sessions. When I first met them at their home, they had just finished doing some renos. I don't know what it is, but everyone always has the urge to renovate their home when they're expecting, and I was no exception. We gutted our kitchen when I was pregnant with my daughter, and ate barbecue and salad all summer long, and washed our plates in the bathtub. Anyway, the house was newly-renovated (very beautifully done, I might add), and they were just putting up their coat hangers when I came.

Leah_Mike_Maternity-016 In the subsequent times that I've been to their house, I always joke that it's still holding up. Maternity lifestyle sessions can always be a bit tricky, since I want couples to feel at ease and go about their daily lives, without feeling too conscious about the camera being on them. Of course, that's easier said than done! Still, Leah and Mike were pretty awesome, and we got some fun lifestyle shots.

Leah_Mike_Maternity-205-Edit This shot is one of my favorites. It's a total glam shot. I was taking silhouette photos of Leah in front of the bathroom door, but then I noticed Leah laughing at Mike with one of the baby's books. I think that it made for a fun scene, so *snap* I went.

Leah_Mike_Maternity-308 I also really love this one. It's so casual. I was taking a few slightly more directed shots of Mike and Leah, and he actually lay down on the bed and put his hand on her belly. I just had to take advantage of that.

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Towards the end of the session, Mike thought that it would be fun to draw little hearts on Leah's belly with some paints. We took these photos in their porch. It was lots of fun, and made for a very lighthearted end to a great session.

Leah was due on the Friday before Mother's Day. Her due date came and went. Then, on the Wednesday after Mother's Day, I got the good news in an e-mail from Mike, while I was en route to a newborn session. Their baby, a girl whom they named Ellie, had been born that morning. I was told later that Leah had been in labor for 36 hours, delivered naturally, and with no epidural. What a champ!

I got to meet little Ellie on a Sunday morning, over the Victoria Day long weekend. It was a great way to start off my Sunday!

Mike_Leah_Ellie-263 See what I mean? Just look at that angelic face! Mwah! Ellie was a great little model, and hardly fussed at all during our session. We did have a little bit of excitement, however, when, just as Mike and Leah were sitting down in the nursery to read some stories to Ellie, they noticed that Ellie had had a bit of a pooplosion, which had seeped through her sleeper and onto Mike's shirt. The result was an emergency bath in the bathroom sink, which, I might add, was perfectly-shaped for a newborn.

Mike_Leah_Ellie-136 Leah and Mike handled the emergency bath like champs. They kept their cool, kept things moving, and raced to clean Ellie as fast as possible so that she could be all warm and cuddly again.
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This is Ellie post-bath. Looking very cozy, I might add.

Before we wrapped up our session, Leah and Mike suggested that we take a couple of photos of Ellie with a big stuffed butterfly that Mike's mom had bought. The resulting photo is one of my favorite of the session. It's a great family moment, and Ellie looks super-comfy, fast asleep on the butterfly, with mommy and daddy taking in every moment.

Mike_Leah_Ellie-312 I visited Leah and Mike yesterday to show them their, and they were absolutely thrilled with the end result. As if that wasn't enough to make my day, Leah let me hold little Ellie for a bit. And Ellie was a total champ; she didn't even fuss in my arms.

Thanks to Leah, Mike, and Ellie for two wonderful sessions! It has been a blast!