Rhode Island and Massachusetts newborn, baby, child and family on location photographer
Every time I see little Miles I melt at his adorable blue eyes. He loved the water… and from what I heard, this was his first time going into a lake! I could tell he loved the water so much because every time we took him away from it he would start crying! So sweet…. I love how babies show so much emotion.
Great seeing everyone again!
In her words:
“I had just stopped working and was on day 3 of being at home waiting for you to arrive. We had one last sonogram where they estimated you to be about 9lbs 3 ounces. Mom was getting worried that you were getting soo big and getting impatient to meet you. That same night I was up late because I could not sleep. At around 3am I woke up just in time for my water to break. I woke up your dad and the contractions started soon after. We rushed to pack our bags and began timing contractions. By 7am I knew it was time to get to the hospital. When we arrived you were well on your way and the nurses promised us you would arrive soon. I was checked into the labor and delivery room and was in great need of the epidural by that time. Once it kicked in mom was feeling much better. Fast forward quite a few hours later and things began to stall, guess being inside mom was more warm and cozy. Then the epidural wore off and mom thought for a minute she wasn’t going to make it lol! Take 2 on the epidural and we continued on our journey towards helping you greet the world. After several more hours, things got a bit scary when your little hart rate dropped and moms kept increasing ever so high. Finally at 2 am the doctor made the call for a cesarian delivery. A swat team of people came in and rushed us down the hall. We were prepped for delivery and a few minutes later your dad and I heard your first cry. You were born May 11th at 2:28am weighing in at 8lbs 10 ounces. It was the best sound I ever heard. They cleaned you up and then brought you over so I could finally meet you face to face. I never saw anything so precious in my whole life. I instantly fell in love. Me and your dad love you so much and couldn’t be happier that you are finally here! “
Sarah has become one of my closest friends… she has helped me through so many things, and I feel honored to have been able to help her when she needed me. I met Sarah in the Rhode Island New Moms Connection years ago, and I have remained good friends with a few of the women in the group to this day. This past year has been full of ups and downs… it leaves me in tears to think about some of the hardships encountered. There has been happy endings and sad endings within our circle of friends, and through it all, I believe it has made each of us stronger women, mothers, and wives. I love this family.
In her words:
“It is April17th and it is a pretty typical day except it is my middle sister’s birthday. As I did every Tuesday and Friday for the last four months of this pregnancy, I am getting an ultrasound of my baby. This one marks ultrasound #63 and 64. I have spent more time in doctor’s office waiting rooms and being poked, prodded, and examined than I ever anticipated during this “high risk pregnancy” due to Intrauterine Growth Restriction. As it turns out, this day is different. The doctor says that baby has not grown enough since the last ultrasound; it is time to deliver the baby. I am in shock; feeling like a second place winner since I wanted to make it all the way to 40 weeks but instead, I am one week shy at 39 weeks. My head is swimming with thoughts of what this induction would be like or would I have another cesarean section. I met my husband at Women & Infants Triage at 3 p.m. We sat there waiting to meet with the doctor or midwife on call but after being there for over an hour, we were told that no one was available to discuss my options. Instead, we got a phone call saying that I should go home to get my things and come back to the hospital later in the evening. This was my chance to buy time. I wanted to savor my last hours with my daughter who was up until that point, an only child. We ate dinner, goofed around in the front yard, and told her stories about princesses before bed. It was now 9 p.m. and Women & Infants called to see when I will be arriving to the hospital. I left my house at 9:30 p.m. knowing this would be last time I would close the door of house as a mother of one.
At 11:00 p.m., one of the midwives came into my hospital room to explain the induction since we decided that I should attempt a VBAC. My birth experience with my first daughter was traumatic and the thought of a traditional cesarean section terrified me. The midwife was aware of my desire to have a natural non-medicated birth so she opted for a more holistic approach to the induction. And she said she wouldn’t be able to any drugs to start the induction any way due to my prior cesarean, so instead she was going to manually dilate my cervix using a catheter. I slept through the night with the catheter hoping that it would work. It did! The next morning, April 18th, I woke up to be pleasantly surprised that I was 3 cm dilated. The nurses brought me down to the Labor & Delivery floor at 6 a.m. to start a Pitocin IV. It was around 7:30 a.m. when my husband arrived at the hospital after taking our daughter to daycare. It wasn’t much longer when the contractions started. As the morning wore on, they became more and more intense. The midwife checked my progress at 10:00 a.m. to find that I was 4 cm dilated. It was not much longer when I thought my body was going to explode. I did not anticipate that type of uncontrollable, unrelenting pain. My mantra “I am in pain but I am not hurt.” was no longer working. As much as I did not want an epidural, it was my saving grace. The epidural put my mind at ease and allowed my body to do what it is supposed to do. It was a short time later when my water broke and the midwife announced that I was 10 cm dilated. She told me to rest for a little bit and then I would start pushing. This was a thrilling moment to know that my “baby dream” might actually come to true–that I may be able to deliver my baby and get her place directly into my arms. The whole time, I had a picture from National Geographic in my mind. It is a woman in a tub of water holding her baby for the first time. The expression on the woman’s was pure joy and relief. I wanted to have that feeling that was lost due to groggy drugs during my prior c-section. My husband called this picture my “Rocky photo”. One of the greatest compliments that my husband has ever given me was when he told me that I had that same expression on my face when I touched our baby girl for the first time. The pride that I feel for having a VBAC after all of the struggles, fears and disappointments of a high risk pregnancy is unexplainable. My original doctor told me once that “happiness is healing”. Those words will forever ring in my head because for all of hurt and trauma that came my first born’s delivery and the frustrations and disappointments of this high risk pregnancy– all of the negative feelings have melted away in the first touch of my second born. Rebecca Hope Rocchio was born at 4 pounds, 4 ounces on April 18th at 1:47 p.m. She truly is my second first born.”
“Lana is our sweet, inquisitive, and funny little girl. She has taught us to slow down and appreciate life. Lana enjoys reading, being outdoors, animals, and 5 to 6 step walks in front of the house where she smiles her “silly smile” at all of the neighbors. Watching Lana learn each day is the most rewarding part of our time with her so far. We are lucky to be her parents.”
Happy first birthday Lana! It was a pleasure to have your crazy hair and quick legs in the studio!
Miqueias… your eyelashes are just incredible…. I am severely jealous of this 12 day old baby, haha
In his words:
“When we discovered that we were going to have a baby, we had a rollercoaster of emotions going through our bodies. Although we were mostly excited, we also had fear because maintaining a pregnancy was not easy. We had already lost one of our little angels at just over seven weeks along prior to finding out about this pregnancy, and the pain that comes with losing someone you are looking so forward to meeting is something we did not want to encounter again. Yet we knew we had to keep trying because this was both our dreams.. to have a family one day and share in the joys that only a child can bring to this world.
Our GYN had told us after our loss that we needed to wait six weeks before we could begin to try again (due to surgery to remove the fetus) and also, we could not dwell on the past, and “try to be relaxed”. So we went out and bought a little puppy to help us along. Well, this little guy must have been God’s assistant, because with not even six weeks (as the doctor had asked) we went back for an appointment. To our surprise, we were expecting again!
The first eight weeks were the longest of our lives. The eight week point came along and our angels heartbeat was still beating strong, then the first trimester passed and still beating strong. We hit 17 weeks and found out we were going to have a baby boy, there was no way we were waiting to find out the sex… we had plenty of surprises already.
The second trimester came and went, then the third, and before we knew it we were at 39 weeks! We had a c-section scheduled as little Miqueias was breech. The night before he was scheduled, we had to run to the hospital as my wife’s blood pressur was high; once we got there, they set up a heart monitor on Miqueias, and took a bunch of tests on mom. Mom had calmed down, but the little one had not.. and the doctor said we could not wait until morning, as mom’s body was no longer tolerating the pregnancy. At 4:03 am on April 24th, 2012.. little Miqueias came into this world at 8lbs. 3 oz with a length of 20 in.
People often ask “do you believe in love at first sight”.. I can’t speak for every parent out there, but for us, there is no question that it exists.”
