I woke up to a text from my friend Stephanie.."the baby is coming". I immediately called her but she was in so much pain that she had her husband answer. He told me they were driving to the hospital, and that I should head that way....now. So I hopped out of bed (thankfully I washed my hair the day before) and I was out the door as quickly as possible. As I was walking into the hospital from my car, I got a text from her husband..."She's ready to go any minute." I rushed into the room and thought surely I was going to miss it by a millisecond. I could hear tension in peoples voices, everyone was "in position" with very serious looks on their faces, and I thought for sure she was going to pop that baby out before I could get my camera out of the bag. Thankfully I got my stuff ready (noticeably shaking, praying I didn't miss it) and still no baby. The epidural kicked in literally seconds later so I was able to talk to my friend, tell her how beautiful she looked, and I made everyone in the room laugh when she sighed and said "this epidural is my best friend..." to which I sarcastically replied "I thought I was your best friend!!" I was just so glad she was feeling good.
After Stephanie was only in the hospital for 1 hour and 15 minutes (after being in labor for over 12 hours with each of her other two kids), the doctor raised up this tiny human and exclaimed "It's a girl." The gender was a surprise and it chokes me up even as I'm writing this, as I remember the emotion in their eyes as they looked at their daughter for the first time. Although they would have been thrilled with either gender, it's that moment of finding out that is just so special. That special moment brought a tear to my eye and I'm sure it's a moment neither of them will forget. They had their Amelia.
I took some photos that morning, then I went home and came back to the hospital later in the afternoon to photograph big brother & big sister meeting Amelia for the first time. I photographed each of their births years ago, so this was something I was very much looking forward to. Big brother Avery (6), being chatty & inquisitive, looked more grown up than ever. He kept his distance, but eventually warmed up and even gave baby Amelia a kiss. Big sister Adelynn (3), was giddy, full of smiles, and wanted to hold and kiss that baby over and over again. Watching Adelynn's genuine excitement over her new little sister, and watching the new family of 5 cuddle up together, was one of the sweetest moments I've ever witnessed. I am so happy for my friends and their newest little addition.
Amelia Beth Kriegel
Born at 10:15am
April 11th, 2019
6 lbs 15 oz
18 1/2 inches
Van Wert Health