Barrie Family Photographer

I have been waiting for a very long time to do this blog post!  Back in 2014, one of my awesome clients contacted me to reserve a date for a newborn session and gender reveal for this year.  She had just learned that she was pregnant, and because she was due in the summer time, she knew how quickly I booked up and wanted to make sure she was on my calendar.  I was SO excited!  I KNEW that this was going to be an epic gender reveal/newborn session, and not for the reasons I thought at the time… I have been watching this particular family grow ever since the birth of their 5th child, so to have the opportunity to photograph a NEW baby with 5 siblings was pretty exciting for me!

A few months after booking the session, we began planning the gender reveal.  While we were talking about how we wanted everything to go, she told me how different this pregnancy felt from all of her others.  She was sicker, more tired, bigger… I jokingly suggested that she must be having twins and I’m pretty sure at that point she spewed out some profanity at me and told me that I wasn’t being funny.  lol

The week of her gender reveal came around and influenza was tearing through my house like wildfire.  I had been so sick I couldn’t get out of bed for about 4 straight days, so I suggested to her that we postpone the reveal to the next week, which she graciously agreed to.  The morning of her ultrasound, I was sound asleep in bed (still not feeling 100%, but getting much better!) when my phone rang.  I answered, and Christina was on the other end telling me that it didn’t matter how sick I was, the gender reveal HAD to happen the next day, and when she told me why, I JUMPED out of bed and started planning!  No amount of sickness could keep me from helping her tell her husband that they were expecting babies number six AND SEVEN, AND capture it all on camera!

The next day went something like this:

I was on a high for at least a week after that, it was SO amazing to witness that crazy moment!  A few months later, mom came in for some belly photos, it’s still hard to believe that there were TWO in there!

Then, a few months later, when she was just 33 weeks 5 days pregnant, the most unbelievable birth story I’ve ever heard unfolded.  In the very early morning hours, she woke up with sharp pains and knew that something was wrong.  She went straight to the hospital, where they discovered that one of the baby’s placenta’s had ruptured.  For a twin birth, the hospital had planned to have her deliver in the Operating Room, with a team of nurses (two for each twin) and a nurse and doctor for mom.  Well, birth plans never REALLY go according to plan, right?  Because as mom was trying to have an epidural, before even making it to the OR, in the presence of one single nurse, her husband, and the anaesthetist, little baby Oliver made a spectacular appearance into the world!  He was born very quickly, before anyone was even prepared to catch him, landing on the hospital bed at 1:54 a.m.  A mere three minutes later, his sister Olivia followed him into the world, at 1:57 a.m. safely into the hands of a doctor, who had just run into the room in the nick of time!  I’m told that there was a lot of screaming, a lot of panic, and a great deal of blood involved…

The part of the story that gets me the most, though, is that dad’s father (the twin’s grandfather) passed away mere hours beforehand.  While mourning the loss of his own father, this dad watched this whole crazy story unfold before his eyes, and welcomed his new son and daughter safely into the world under the watchful eye of his own father.  Both twins were born healthy, spending only 10 days and 14 days in the NICU before getting to go home.

These little miracles were 3 weeks old when I got to meet them, they were so amazing to work with and slept the entire time.  I have thoroughly enjoyed helping this family document these huge moments in their life, to have been allowed to witness much of it has truly been an honour!

Congratulations to this entire family on the safe arrival of Oliver and Olivia, and thank you again for including me!  I look forward to continuing to watch your little ones grow over the years!