I recently had the pleasure of meeting a new family and photographing their sweet boy, Brayden! He was such a snuggly and chill little fella. If his session is any indication of his personality as he grows, his parents are in for an easy treat! Grandma came to his session, too, and was absolutely radiating love as she watched them have their photos taken. Come to think about it as I write this, I should have had her jump in for a few. Next time!!
I get to see him for his 6 month and 12 month milestone photos and I’m just so thankful to watch him grow, too. Brayden’s mom, Jessica took some time to tell their precious story. My favorite part was how she told her husband, David that he would be a dad. Give it a read and leave them a nice comment below!

How did Mom & Dad meet? [We] Mom and Dad worked together at The Learning Center, Rankin County School District’s Alternative School, serving students in grades K thru 6th with emotional and behavioral issues. Both Mom and Dad have always had a love for kids and enjoy watching them grow to their full potential.

How did you tell family and friends you were expecting? Telling David he was going to be a dad was a lot of fun. Mom sent dad on a scavenger hunt around the house. The scavenger hunt ended in the kitchen, with Dad finding a “bun in the oven”. We told Mom’s parents by taking them a bottle of wine for an evening dinner. The bottle of wine had a very similar label as the wine that Mom’s parents usually drink. Grandmother opened the wine and even started to pour it before Grandfather chimed in and asked what kind of wine it was. At this point both grandparents looked at the label and were surprised! The label said Babyfoot instead of Barefoot and had a baby footprint in the center. Below that it said Baby Ledbetter, September 2021. For Dad’s mother, we went out to dinner and brought a Valentines gift for her. The gift was a picture of the baby’s first sonogram! She was beyond excited. We told Dad’s brother and wife by having their 8 year old daughter wear a t-shirt that said, “Only Grandchild Expiring September 26, 2021!” What’s neat about when we became pregnant is Mom’s brother and sister law just announced they were expecting as well, so we were able to give them a newborn onesie that said, “I maybe little, but I’m going to be a big cousin.” We called and texted to tell friends and co-workers!

What was the best, most surprising or most difficult thing being pregnant? Mom’s pregnancy was relatively easy, with not many surprises or difficulties, but during the pregnancy mom and dad experienced several other changes such as mom starting a new job and mom and dad selling their home and searching for a new one. Dad didn’t gain a pound or miss an ounce of sleep…He thought everything was wonderful!

Did you find out the gender beforehand? We did find out the gender beforehand, but for whatever reason we both kind of suspected it was a boy! We did a gender reveal at Mom’s parents house where we threw darts at balloons and when the balloons popped either pink or blue confetti fell out. Whichever color we got four of was the gender. Mom baked her very first cake from scratch with a blue center to reveal the gender to Dad’s family.

List the possible baby names, and how you narrowed it down? I couldn’t start to list all the names we went through! We would call out names to each other we liked and the other person would either agree or disagree. Once we both agreed on Brayden we still went through names, but never came across anything we liked better so we knew Brayden was it! Dad’s father passed away in October of 2017. His name was Robert, so we chose Robert for Brayden’s middle name as a way to honor him.

How did baby prep go? Given that Mom and Dad sold their home and were unable to find one, Mom and Dad moved in with Mom’s parents just before Brayden arrived. Mom’s mom helped to turn one of her bedrooms into a temporary nursery for Brayden.

Was labor and delivery what you expected? Labor and delivery were not at all what we expected! Up until the time of Brayden’s birth, Mom had a very healthy pregnancy. She was active and always expected to have a normal delivery. When Mom went in for her 37 week checkup, her regular doctor was out of the office. So Mom saw a different doctor. When Mom arrived at the doctor’s office, she had her blood pressure checked and was told it was extremely high and that they needed to do an immediate ultrasound to check on the baby. After the ultrasound was complete, Mom was sent to the hospital for what she thought was to monitor her blood pressure for a few hours before returning to her normal daily routine. However, her blood pressure did not come down and before she knew it, she was having a c-section without her regular doctor.

Did baby look a lot like Mom, Dad or other siblings? Did you have fun with comparing baby photos? At birth Mom and Dad thought Brayden looked like Dad. However, Mom is starting to see some of her family genes, especially whenever Brayden is next to his 3 month old cousin, Gus!

What were Mom’s first thoughts when she saw her baby? And Dad? So many words come to mind – overjoyed, blessed, relieved, excited, in love….and of course a little bit of fear!

What have the first few weeks at home with baby been like? The first few days were not typical as Mom had complications that caused her to have to return to the hospital for two additional nights. Since Dad went to be with Mom, this left Brayden with his grandparents. This was very difficult for Mom and Dad as the times they could see Brayden were limited. Once Mom was able to get home, Mom and Dad spent the next few weeks learning all about what it “really” takes to care for a newborn.

You can even write a little bit about your baby’s newborn session if you’d like. AMAZING!! Not only are Destiny’s photography skills incredible, but it is absolutely unbelievable how well she works with the family and the newborn. Destiny has an awesome ability to calm and pose the baby for magnificent shots.