I love weddings with my whole heart. However, having some serious QT with a sweet newborn boy and his incredible parents is a much loved change of pace in my job. I had the honor of capturing Cooper Jay’s first photo shoot a few weeks ago. Humming, swinging, and singing are just a few of my favorite things to do at these quite and intimate shoots. I’m so thankful Craig and Stephanie welcomed me into their home and shared their absolutely inspiring story with me (be sure to read it at the end of the blog!) Congratulations you two, on becoming parents and welcoming this beautiful boy in the world!
Love,
Tay
What was your initial reaction when you found out you were going to be parents?
“It felt like winning the lottery, have you ever won the lottery?…let me explain. Stephanie & I have a loving relationship with one major hole, we wanted to be parents. We had struggled to conceive since we were married in 2009. We had been to countless doctors & were told we had ‘unexplained infertility’..this was super defeating. When we found out Stephanie was pregnant with Cooper, it literally felt like winning the lottery, the baby lottery.”
What has been the biggest struggle?
“Reading his cries…Its nearly impossible. When he cries its usually 1 of 3 things: Food, Diaper or Comfort. Deciding which of the 3 things he is looking for was something we were not prepared for. We often choose the wrong one the first time, but are now getting closer to understanding his needs.”
What has been your favorite moment with Cooper?
“His love of selfies…immediately after feeding, he has a consistent ear to ear smile & makes some the funniest faces. We’ve tried pretty hard to take a picture/selfie with him everyday & hope to build a photo book for his 1 year birthday.”
What was the first thing you got / made when you found out you were having a boy?
“Nothing! As untraditional as it may seem, Stephanie & I didn’t find out the gender of our impending baby until he/she was welcomed into this world. This was the greatest experience. To us there are very few genuine surprises in life: The moment you ‘fall’ for your partner, seeing Stephanie in her wedding dress for the first time & not knowing the gender of our child until birth. All ‘3’ of these things are amazing in their own way, but each of them provide you that ‘butterfly’ feeling that is unmatched.”
Is there a specific moment you’re looking forward to sharing with him?
“There is not specific, but we look forward to creating traditions with him. Moving to Denver, moved us 900+ miles from our immediate family, we spent the last 3 years spending Holidays alone and creating new traditions for ourselves (we bowl every X-Mas day). With Cooper here now, we can look to form new traditions…things that we do for a first time with Cooper.”
