I thought about it the whole way there…..trying to imagine what it might feel like. Thinking in my mind how my Mom had me when she was barely 16 and that (lets face it) I was an accident—or in other terms, an unplanned pregnancy, a surprise of sorts. THEN on the other end of the pregnancy spectrum, there are parents who are struggling to have their own surprises and that people like Missy step up to make surprises happen-with a BIG HUGE BLUE BOW. I was trying to imagine how that must feel to find someone willing to make your life long dream of becoming a mom come true….and how selfless you must be to give someone else a miracle…..to be a surrogate mom.
As you can probably already tell, today, I stepped out of the typical “wedding/portrait” photographers mind frame and tried to think way back to my days at the newspaper. I got to photograph the middle of an amazing journey. I say middle because the beginning was long…and tough…and heartbreaking at times, but now…this is all about joy. I was invited to tag along to this afternoon’s appointments…my first time being on “this side of things” but certainly not Missy’s first time. Little man in the picture below, Missy was also the surrogate for him…..this time around, she’s carrying his little brother! There I stood in the room photographing while they heard the sound of the heartbeat, during the sonogram, seeing the parents faces beam with joy as they found out their baby was a boy…and watching the dynamics between two families that prior to this “surrogacy thing” had never even met. It’s amazing if you think about it.
The images you see are taken from three different milestones throughout the day- hearing the heart beat for the first time, finding out they are having a baby boy and signing the appropriate paperwork for arrangements after birth. I’ve been invited along to photograph the rest of their journey and I’m really looking forward to photographing and capturing all of the emotions that comes with the birth. My heart sings…….little man is getting a baby brother!! 🙂
If you are interested in keeping up with Missy’s journey in between photos….she keeps a blog called “My Family Circus” where she writes about her journey. 🙂
These are awesome! I’m totally in tears! What an amazing story…and equally amazing people. I cannot wait to watch this journey through your viewfinder in the coming months. Prayers for them all!
I have always, always wanted to be a surrogate. This is the coolest set of photos. Thank you and thanks to this family for sharing!
That is the coolest – and most beautiful – thing I’ve ever seen. I can’t wait for the rest of the story. 🙂
Jen,
I can’t tell you what emotions this story and images brought out in me. It took me twelve very long years of a journey through my own infertility nightmare before I was able to get pregnant and stay pregnant. We did not use a surrogate but we did use a donor to have our three miracle babies. I am thankful for those who selflessly give up time in their lives so that families such as the one in this story are able to have the one thing that they desire more than anything else…children. I will be watching for the ending/beginning to this amazing story.
Jen, I think this is my favorite post of yours (although, they’re all wonderful). What an incredibly beautiful,extraordinary thing for everyone involved. Thank you and them for sharing, I look forward to seeing more.
i’m in tears! i love every time you post something about this family. we struggled for years to get pregnant (we were only able to with the help of an anonymous donor), and through a turn of events i now “specialize” in birth photography. i’ve recently been toying with the idea of volunteering to be a surrogate/gestational carrier myself. I feel like I can relate to each part of the “triangle” — the parents who couldn’t conceive, (to an extent) the selfless woman carrying their baby, and the lucky observer of such a miracle.
Anyway, I LOVE this! Thanks to everyone involved for sharing. So inspiring! Best wishes to them all 🙂