Change of Heart

Change. It can be hard. It is rarely easy. Even the smallest change to routine can throw the rest of your day off course. More often than not, however, we must embrace change. Especially when that change is within ourselves.

Pregnancy causes so many changes. Changes to our emotions, our hormones, our bodies. It leaves an everlasting change to our bodies and our hearts. After pregnancy, our hearts are forever changed by a love we never knew existed and never want to be without. Our bodies, on the other hand, often change in ways that are much harder to embrace. It is difficult to feel comfortable in a skin you are not familiar with and no longer comfortable in. As a result, we avoid having our photographs taken, even with the precious miracles our amazing, but different body, has created.

Embrace the change. Be in pictures. Your little one will cherish the pictures his whole life. He will not see the changes to your body that you cannot see past. He will see his mama. He will see your smile. He will look at the pictures throughout his life and instantly feel his mother's love for him. We all must embrace the changes and be in pictures with our little ones. We owe it to them to have memories that they can hold onto forever with their mother, who sacrificed everything, embraced change and loved them and herself unconditionally.

Carlin came to Reflections of Life Photography with Hans and their sons Cohen and Wolfgang for Wolfgang's newborn session. Like so many of us, Carlin has struggled with her body changes since Cohen was born. As a result, most of their family pictures are of Cohen, or of Cohen and Hans. Carlin's one request was to have images of all of them together, as a family. I was happy to oblige, and we were able to capture wonderful images of this new family of a four together. There is so much love between them. My hope is that when Carlin looks at them, she sees the connection, the love and the togetherness of her family. Becoming a family is the most wonderful change in this life, and it should be celebrated and captured. 

Newborn swaddle wraps by The Happy Baby Shop