Please meet Annaliese and Aiden. I had the pleasure of photographing these two last month.
Annaliese and Aiden were due to arrive February 5, 2014, but made their entrance 14 weeks early on November 1, 2013. Annaliese weighed 1lb 15oz, and was 13 inches long and Aiden 2lbs 4.5oz, and 14.5 inches long.
(photos by Gabriella)
"When I got to the NICU there were these little tiny bodies that were laying there with their skin almost transparent and their legs as long as my husband's pinky finger. I was so happy, sad, worried, and so many more emotions. All I could think of was 'Are my babies going to live?' They looked so helpless and sad and so, so, itty bitty. We weren't allowed to hold them, but we were able to touch them. However, with our touch we couldn't stroke their skin. It had to be just a solid touch without moving because that would put them in distress. This was probably one of the most emotional times I will have ever had in my entire lifetime.", says Gabriella.
Look how much they've grown....
Parents Gabriella and Tanner live in Cedar Rapids. They tried to plan it so the babies were fed right before they left to their session with me. They ended up needing to eat a bit more after they got here. Gabriella said that was nice though, because then they got pictures of them feeding the twins and "it's always nice to have those pictures of what you do on a daily basis."
After their tummies were nice and full and they had burped, they chilled out.
Babies seem to love this bean bag.
"It was a very good experience to have the babies photographed. I wasn't nervous at all I was super excited and thought they would turn out great. And they did!" says Gabriella. Which, of course, makes me so happy! I am truly blessed to get to meet and photograph some wonderful people, and amazing babies, especially these adorable bundles.
I asked Gabriella if she had any concerns before her session, "I didn't really worry too much. The only thing that kind of worried me is that my twins are both on oxygen and I wanted most of the pictures to be without their oxygen in their nose so that we could have some without cords on their face since they have had cords on their face since birth. My daughter would have probably done just fine without the oxygen but my son is a little more iffy with it. So I was worried that we would come to some problems with trying to give them oxygen and take it off for pictures. But once we actually got there and started doing it, it wasn't bad at all and the babies did great."
Annaliese fell into a pretty nice sleep towards the end and let me have a little bit of extra fun.
I think they are beautiful with or without the tubes. Annaliese will hopefully be oxygen free in the very near future!! That is so exciting.
At their last check up Annaliese weighed 10lbs 15oz and Aiden was 11lbs 6oz. Way to grow, sweethearts!
I truly cannot say enough how I was personally touched by Gabriella (and Tanner). I know those babies are blessings to them, but they are also blessings to those babies. What an amazing couple, and amazing parents.
I hope you both are blessed with much sleep and rest soon. I could see how exhausted Tanner was during our session. Between work and school and then caring for the twins, I'm telling you that you are amazing. Both of you. That is so much to balance, you are doing wonderful.
Thank you so much for allowing me to freeze this moment in time for you. Much love.
Amber
