Handsome HUGO Turns 1!

As I write this blog post, I think about what I was doing around this time last year. I remember going to bed and waking up every now and then, wondering if I may have missed a call to say that Stacey had gone into labour. As Hugo's due date was fast approaching, I was ready to drop everything and travel 30-40 minutes to capture his birth. My biggest fears were missing the call in the middle of the night or not getting there in time. Since this was my first birth session, I wasn't really sure what to expect. After a few false alarms, and some starting and stopping (poor Stacey!) I got the message that everything was finally happening! I left home ASAP and on that freezing cold night, after defrosting my windscreen a few times I drove to their house, hoping I hadn't missed anything. Good news - I got there in time! I was welcomed by an excited yet calm Phill, their other children were fast asleep in bed and the only noise was coming from the TV which was turned down low. The fire was roaring and their house was a toasty, warm sauna ready for Hugo to make his entrance into this big wide world. VERY quickly at 08:32pm, the newest member of the Wee Welsh family was born...ONE WHOLE YEAR AGO!

Stacey requested I get a photo of Hugo attached to his placenta - something we had discussed previously and often joked about - when Andre was born, there was NO WAY I was going to look at the placenta in case I passed out and here she was asking me to get up close and take photos of one?! At the time of photographing newborn Hugo attached to the placenta - it made me appreciate the human body and how incredible it is. That strange looking red thing in front of me - the almost breathing, bubbling, gooey blob - was the same thing that was keeping that precious baby boy alive for the previous 9 months. SO AMAZING!

I feel extremely honored that Stacey allowed me to photograph such an intimate and important moment in her life. I'll be forever grateful that she gave me the opportunity to experience that. I learned many great things on that unforgettable night and I look forward to photographing more births in the not too distant future.

Stacey decided that this year she wanted to do a cake smash session, so with Hugo dressed as a cute little bunny, we went to the forest to capture his cake eating / smashing skills. I must say - Stacey did a fantastic job of the cake...

...and Hugo did a pretty good job of eating and destroying it!

It is a privilege that Stacey and Phill continue to choose me as their family photographer. I enjoy watching their gorgeous family grow and getting to capture their special moments on a regular basis. I LOVE MY JOB!

If you want to see more of handsome Hugo and his adorable siblings, Stacey has social media accounts and a website where she shares some great tips and helpful information for other parents. You can follow her on Instagram here and Facebook here.