Beautiful Beginnings

There are moments in my life which I have made sure to capture, for memories’ sake. I have always planned ahead to have a camera ready to capture my engagement, wedding and any other special occasions. But in the most life changing moments of my children being born, I needed someone to not only take pictures, but to also grasp what was stirring in our hearts. I sought out Melanie’s help.

When pregnant with my twins, we received the devastating news that their lives would be short lived. I was carrying my conjoined daughters, sharing a single heart and had a 1% chance of living after being born. We prepared ourselves to the best of our ability, to be sure to mentally capture the time we held our girls in our arms; but in such a whirlwind of emotion, it was easy to get caught up in the moment and forget the simplest things. Melanie gave us the chance to discover what we hadn’t noticed such as the wrinkles on their feet, the shape of their eyes, the curl in their hair, the crease on Grace’s ear, the little nose on Hope. She also gave us the chance to always recall the embrace of them holding each other and the love that we shared in that room.

You can read her take here on our blog, or here at their blog.

I could not have trusted something so important to anyone else. I entrusted her with the task of snapping all of the memories we will ever have of our daughters. And we are forever grateful that she so humbly accepted this huge undertaking. The day our girls were born I was soaking up every ounce of time I had with my children, I barely remember her there. I can recall two instances when I remember her in my room. I remember the hug and tear we shed together before I was pulled back for my cesarean and the relief I felt that she was going to be there. And I remember what she said and continued repeating when she first met my girls, “How beautiful”.
We now pull out those pictures of Hope and Grace and wrap ourselves in those heavenly moments that we have placed around our house of which, we have added the pictures of the birth of our third daughter, Maria. Melanie was also present (FOR 8 HOURS) to capture Maria birth, of which we are forever indebted to her for.

Melanie has recently started Beautiful Beginnings - Cincinnati Birth Photography. She and her partner are willing to capture the lives of many many many babies being born into embrace of their mothers and fathers. You can find more information on their website.
I am thankful to call her my friend and humbled by her incredible talents. She has been given the amazing ability to see through her lens what our eyes cannot and what our hearts are feeling.
Thank you, Mel! WE LOVE YOU!