“These pictures are of my sweet friends Bekah and Nathan. They struggled for over two years to conceive. They went to the doctor numerous times but nothing could be found wrong with either of them. They dealt with a lot of frustration, heartache, and disappointment. In their effort to have a baby they did conceive on two different occasions, but the longest Bekah was able to carry was 9 weeks before she would miscarry. This past year, however, she finally conceived for the third time and has stayed pregnant. At approximately 12 weeks she asked if I would do a pregnancy announcement for them. She showed up to their session with a vintage buggy she had found at an antique shop and painted blue (at this point she did not know the gender, which did end up being a boy, so it was fitting). She also brought a bouquet of flowers to adorn it with. The flowers had a very special meaning. Each white rose symbolized every month that she and her husband had tried for a baby. The two pink roses symbolized the babies they had conceived but lost. This session was one of the most meaningful ones I have ever done. So much emotion! Overwhelming joy that brought along smiles and happy tears!

Bekah’s pregnancy took a turn at week 24, however. She had a complication where a small tear was made in her amniotic sac, causing her to leak amniotic fluid. She went to the hospital and the doctors told her she would need to stay in the hospital until she delivered (which they hoped would be at 34 weeks) so that they could monitor her and the baby continually. This was devastating for Bekah. Not only would she have to be stuck in the hospital for 10 weeks, she also thought she would have to sacrifice her long awaited maternity pictures we had scheduled for this April. She contacted me asking me if we could do them sooner… and near the hospital grounds because she wasn’t allowed to leave. I told her we could make that happen.

So at 27 weeks, I came up to the children’s hospital in Oklahoma City. Bekah got herself all dolled up and luckily we were able to find a beautiful location for her pictures. The OU college of Medicine sits directly behind the children’s hospital and it had some beautiful spots on its campus. Nathan wheeled her out in a wheelchair and we made her dream a reality.

Bekah wore a dress from Anthropologie. She said it had been hanging in her closet for over two years (she had bought it when they first started trying for a baby) and had never worn it until this photo shoot. This was the day it was intended for and she wore it beautifully!

Bekah is currently at 31 weeks. She will be delivering Baby Judah within the next 3 and we are so excited to finally meet this precious gift they have waited so long for.

Bekah said they have decided to name this sweet boy Judah Michael. In her words: “Judah means ‘praise’. we can’t do much else except praise the Lord for giving us this gift. The tribe of Judah always went forth into battle with praise, which we feel is a perfect parallel of where we are at. We are going into battle yet again, but with praise and thankfulness in our hearts. His middle name is Michael after his daddy’s middle name. Michael means ‘gift from God,’ and he is just that. The lion of Judah is a symbol of strength, and we have full confidence our son is going to be one strong little overcomer and Kingdom changer.” Lauren, Photographer
LAUREN GRIGG PHOTOGRAPHY
Floral Crown: XO Events and Design
Film Processing: Goodman Film Lab