
Hello there, Stella!
Kristin and Lucas just welcomed their first baby on Monday and they are joyful. Not just excited to be parents to a beautiful baby girl – but so joyful that they are totally content to simply stare at her sweet face and smile. After 42 weeks of pregnancy and 24 hours of labor, Stella Isabella has stolen their hearts!
You might remember them from Kristin’s gorgeous maternity session earlier this summer. When we reached her due date with no text or email that baby had arrived, I checked in on her – Stella was cozy, snuggled in mama’s tummy and Kristin didn’t seem particularly rushed to boot her out. I kept an eye on my phone, waiting for that excited “she’s here!” notification. Another two weeks went by with no baby. On the day Kristin was scheduled for induction, Stella came when she was ready, bright and early on the Monday morning of the solar eclipse!
Amazing newborn hair, styled by dad
Just look at that gorgeous head of brown hair! I’m pretty sure this beautiful little girl has more hair than my third child, who is almost a year old. You’ll notice it’s perfectly styled in all of her photos, compliments of her super proud daddy, Lucas.
I swaddled her up in a bright purple wrap and spent a few seconds just snuggling that adorable girl. Isn’t it amazing how you forget so quickly how tiny newborns are? And yet your arms adjust to a new baby’s barely-there weight automatically and the “mom sway” back and forth starts before you even notice it.
What an honor to begin telling a baby’s story before he or she even arrives, and then meet that precious little one face-to-face! I love observing the subtle changes in new moms and dads right after birth – how they transition from being a couple who is planning for a baby to parents who are enchanted by this tiny blessing.
The newborn stage is so fleeting
What Kristin and Lucas will learn over the next few weeks is that the newborn stage is so fleeting. One moment the nurse is laying that little bundle on your chest, and then you blink to find a teething six-month-old in your lap. That’s why these Fresh 48 sessions are the perfect way to celebrate birth – they capture what life is like when motherhood and fatherhood are so brand new. And, oh, does time fly even faster once you have kids.
Kristin will always remember the tender way Lucas smiled down at Stella at one day old. Years down the road, when Kristin fastens a veil into Stella’s hair on her wedding day, she and Lucas can take a tear-filled trip down memory lane and remember how Stella was just as beautiful on the day they met her. This is just the beginning of an amazing journey for this new family of three!











