Seattle Maternity Photography Lauren - Mother of the Month - March 2016
Pregnant women sometimes have a hard time seeing their beauty, and sometimes I don't even realize it. The maternity photography session, and the followup newborn photography session, with Lauren were so amazing. It wasn't until I read her answers that I realized she felt anything but beautiful. Read about Lauren's journey with her body and this transformative journey to having her baby Frances.
Tell me a little bit about yourself, Jose, how you met. How you decided to have kids, what are your hobbies, what you do in your free time, etc.
Jose and I met as union organizers. Our former boss likes to say that when we met in his office, he knew right away that we liked each other. We took a little longer to decide that than he did, but since then we've never looked back. I decided to go to law school and am now an ERISA attorney, while Jose switched unions and remains a labor organizer. Although at the moment, Jose and I are adjusting to life with a new baby, we intend to return to our pre-baby hobbies of running, gardening, and traveling at some point.
2. Tell me about why you decided to have professional family or maternity photographs, and why you trusted me to take these special photos.
I had a tough pregnancy. I had expected to love pregnancy and looked forward to it for some time. Instead, I found myself dealing with perinatal depression, a thing I didn't even know was a thing until the sixth month. Once I figured out the problem, I began to enjoy pregnancy and really look forward to my baby again. But then, at the end of pregnancy, I was plagued with uncomfortable medical issues, leaving me again feeling betrayed by my body.I decided to have photographs taken because I wanted to document this time in my life so that I would have some positive memories when it was all over. I chose Jennifer because she uses a storytelling, not a portraiture, method. This felt more honest to me, as it could capture both my pregnancy issues and the love I have for my baby. It turns out this was the best decision I made: Jennifer actually made me feel beautiful and loving at a time I struggled most. The photos capture perfectly how I wanted to feel, as well as how I did feel, about the pregnancy. As far as the newborn photos - they show not just a cute baby, but how much our whole family, dogs included, is in love with our little Frances.
3. Please feel free to include anything else you like that is interesting about you or your parenting philosophy.
We named Frances after two strong women, Frances Oldham-Kelsey and Frances Perkins. We think our Frances is just as wonderful already, and we can't wait to see what she does in this world.
