I first met Emily at her parents’ beautiful and historic pond-side home in Sandwich back in 2008. She was a teenager then, a bridesmaid at her sister’s wedding….just starting to figure out where she wanted her own life to go.

Over the years, I have had some pretty wonderful adventures with Emily…and her now husband Eric. My husband and Bello partner, Andy, and I flew out to Ohio in 2014 for some engagement photos with the two Es at the residential school where they both lived and worked. Click HERE for a look at that super fun adventure.

The following year, we photographed their beautiful backyard wedding, also at Emily’s parents’ home in Sandwich. And, since then, I have done some family photos for Emily & Eric and for the whole family.

I can’t begin to explain how happy it makes me that these incredible people, who reached out to us years ago to document their wedding, decided to keep us in their lives and share with us each happy…and sometimes tragic family milestone.

The last time I photographed Emily & Eric, was in June 2021, during the throws of the pandemic. We all tested negative for Covid and it was so good to be around people again as I photographed their growing family. Click HERE to check that out. Emily & Eric’s daughter Celia was not quite one and Em was pregnant with their second child.

During the session, they shared with me the sad news that they were awaiting test results after some pregnancy screening revealed concerns. We all held hope that things would be okay and the growing baby they had named Lev would be a happy, healthy baby like his sister. Tragically, that was not to be and what Emily, Eric and their whole family endured was a painful nightmare I wouldn’t wish on anyone.

I’d like to share with you their story, through Emily’s own words, as an intro to this post, because I think it’s important we women share our stories so that others who might be going through something similar feel not so alone and more importantly, because I believe there is healing to be found in sharing. Personal healing and healing as a nation as we navigate life post the Roe v. Wade repeal. My hope is that Emily’s story might offer a perspective not previously considered or thought to be too rare to be worth considering. Rare or not, it is absolutely too important not to consider. The floor is yours, Emily…..

“We were very excited about baby Lev, who was due in November 2021. Unfortunately, when we received our 10-week NIPT (genetic testing) results, we were told that there was a 50/50 chance he had a rare genetic defect. But, since the defect is very rare, we couldn’t be sure how accurate the initial test was. It was totally possible that this was a false positive.

We had to wait until 20 weeks for an amniocentesis or CVS to know for sure. For the next two and a half painful months, we waited…and when we finally were able to go in for further testing at 20 weeks, we learned that Lev was missing a large part of Chromosome 11. They could already detect some of the effects: severe cleft palate, several heart defects, malformation of the kidneys and genitals, and he was missing a part of his brain.

The likelihood of him surviving until birth was low and even less likely that he’d survive past a year old. Regardless, his quality of life would be very low and there was risk to my health if I carried him to term. His heart was already showing significant signs of shutting down.

For his sake and that of his older sister, we decided we would not continue the pregnancy. This was a surprisingly difficult decision for us. Although I’ve always assumed I’d prioritize the baby’s quality of life if I ended up in this situation, we had grown attached to Lev and didn’t want to say goodbye. I had been feeling him move for several weeks at this point and he had a name. But, we knew it was the right thing to do.

Unfortunately, there was only one place in the state where we were living at the time that would accommodate a 20-week termination and they required that I deliver the baby. I didn’t think I could go through with that, so we looked at clinics in a nearby state. Luckily, we finally found one that would accommodate us for a DNC. The clinic staff and doctors were amazing and incredibly supportive, but it was still a hard process.

They gave me his footprints as I left.

It took a while for my body to recover; I was still lactating 6 months later and didn’t get a period for another few months after that. My hormone levels were all out of whack and required treatment. But, it took even longer for me to emotionally be ready to try for another baby. I spent the next year pretty much a mess, to be honest! It was really hard on Eric too.

The repeal of Roe v Wade in 2022 reopened those wounds just as we were starting to really process the loss. Knowing that it would have been significantly more difficult for us to do what was right for our family had this all happened just a year later was terrifying! My heart aches for all of the women who are now struggling to access safe abortion care. It is an essential medical service that should be universally accessible.

We feel very lucky that when we finally decided to try again, we conceived easily. We were emotionally very cautious; we basically pretended Micah didn’t exist until we had received a clean genetic screen at the end of the first trimester. We didn’t tell anyone and wouldn’t even talk about the pregnancy much between the two of us. We only really celebrated Micah once he arrived, healthy and screaming his head off. 🙂

Micah has been a total delight. He’s a sweet, low-key baby. He sleeps well (for a 6-week old!) and eats well (just like his dad). Big sister Celia is gentle and kind to him and tells him how much she loves him everyday!” ~ Emily.

I had heard about what happened and we exchanged a few texts, but I hadn’t seen Emily since that session in June two years ago. Then a couple of weeks ago, I saw Emily’s facebook announcement of Micah’s arrival! She had posted the news and a few photos of the little peanut and my heart swelled with joy for her and Eric and for the whole family.

I could only imagine the grief that would accompany a pregnancy ending the way hers did and the long road to healing that surely followed. So, when I learned about Micah, I was just so thrilled for them! And my happiness grew even more when I knew I would get to meet little Micah. Emily’s mom, Wendy, had reached out about doing a family session in anticipation of Emily & Eric visiting the Cape, along with Eric’s lovely parents, Denise & Jim. I, of course, said, YES, PLEASE!!

So…without further ado…here is a sneak peek at my time with this sweet bunch, as they soak in the quieter moments of family togetherness, starting with some cozy snuggle time with the whole family….please say hi to Emily, Eric, Celia, and baby Micah.

Gentle touches for baby brother….be still my heart!

Stuffy Sloth Snuggles and a scrunched nose smile as Celia takes in her baby brother.

Emily & Eric with sleeping beauty…baby Micah. And the couple’s first baby, their fur baby Ozzy, who doesn’t seem to get what all the fuss is about.

Celia snuggles with her momma and baby brother…

Proud as punch to be welcoming her baby brother into the family. So stinking cute!

Sweet strokes and smooches for baby Micah.

Momma snuggle time….love!

Smiling cause he knows how much he is loved….

Sleeping beauty.

Sweet Celia and her Stuffy Sloth, plus another moment of dancing for her grandparents, while her new friend takes photos with mommy, daddy and baby Micah downstairs.

Baby bits….Yummy!

Beautiful Micah….oh how happy we are that you are here, sweet one!

Baby’s feet, held by mom and dad….this one gets me.

And finally, we end, where we have with so many special moments with this family….on the back deck steps. So so happy for you four! Love you to bits!

Emily & Eric, thank you sooooo much for not only sharing this time with me, but thank you so much for your honesty and vulnerability, for sharing both your love and your grief with me…and for allowing me to share it here! You two are such incredible people and parents and I am so so glad Micah found his way into your lives and so grateful he found his way in front of my camera. Loved spending this time with you all and I hope these photos help ease some of the heartache perhaps still left over from the last time we got together. Sending so much love to you both, to your parents and the whole family! Cannot wait to  see where this next happy chapter leads you all!

With lots of love,

C xoxo