Bringing home a new baby is scary and exhilarating. It is truly one of the most precious moment in life. Laurel Donahoo of The Lovely Bee recently welcomed her first baby boy, Wilson, and she asked Lauren Liddell of Lauren F. Liddell Photography to capture their first sweet moments together as a family of three. We are thrilled to share these magical photos with you today. We also chatted with Laurel about her experience bringing home sweet baby Wilson:
How did you feel on your way to have your first baby? Anxious? Excited? Ready for his arrival?
“I was SO ready to meet him! Pregnancy and babies are such wonderful gifts so, even though I would get scared from time to time that things might go wrong (since we had a miscarriage with our previous pregnancy), pregnancy was a wonderful experience! I learned throughout it that every morning I'd just have to pray that God would give me JOY about everything and take away all the fear! Preparing for motherhood was a tad overwhelming, but it was mostly fun! And meeting our little dude on December 5th was just the best thing ever!”
Tell us about your birth story!
“I thankfully had a fairly easy, uncomplicated delivery! We had our 40-week checkup at 1:00pm on December 4, and by 3:00pm we were at the hospital getting ready for little guy to make his arrival! The staff at Baptist made us feel super comfortable and at home, and at 5:55 a.m. on the 5th, Wilson entered the world! (His birth certificate actually says 5:54, but the iPhone said 5:55 so we’re going with that. According to my brother-in-law, ‘The iPhone doesn’t lie to you about time!’).”
Any unforgettable moments in the hospital?
“YES! Lots! Price and I watched Home Alone (both one and two) while I was slowly progressing, which are two of our favorite Christmas movies, so that’s a pretty fun memory and kept my mind off the un-fun contractions! And Wilson was almost ten pounds, so after he arrived but before he got weighed, I remember my doctor saying, ‘Congratulations, Laurel, you just birthed a toddler!’ And I remember getting to hold him for the first time. He ended up having to go to the NICU for about 6 hours because he had that ‘wimpy white boy’ lung condition so he had to get a little help with his breathing. Getting to really hold him after he came back was magical. I know that’s a cheesy word, but it really felt like magic! And I can’t forget the hearts that popped up in my vision when I woke up from a nap one time to see Price and Wilson chillin’ on the hospital sofa together! It was the SWEETEST thing in the world!”
How did you feel driving home with your newborn? Did you ride in the front or in the back with the baby? ha!
“It was so weird driving home with him in the back seat! Price drove - very carefully! - and I sat up front in the passenger seat holding flowers that sweet friends and family sent us! I think I had a vase between my knees and one in my right arm. That way my left arm was free to reach back and hold the baby’s hand. I remember us being really hungry when we left, so I think we swung through the McDonald’s drive through across the street from the hospital on the way home! Little did we know, our sisters-in-law and my mama had run lots of errands for us, had plenty of groceries at home, and had our house sparkling clean. Major shout out to them for all they did to make our arrival back home just perfect!”
Tell me about your first few days at home. How were you feeling, and how did sweet Wilson adjust to life at home
“Our first hour or so at home with Wilson was really fun because our families were there to help us get the car unloaded and get settled in. I really enjoyed watching all of our family members get to visit with Wilson for a little while! After everyone left, we were like, ‘Ummm what do we do now?’ Haha we were clueless! And then Wilson let us know he was hungry and that determined my next move! ;) The first few days were great because we were all at home together just being family. Getting breast feeding figured out, catching sleep when we could, and just staring at our little fella were all big parts of our first few days at home together.”
Thank you, Laurel, for sharing your incredible first moments with baby Wilson. And thank you to Lauren F. Liddell Photography for these sweet and beautifully intimate photographs.
How did you feel on your way to have your first baby? Anxious? Excited? Ready for his arrival?
“I was SO ready to meet him! Pregnancy and babies are such wonderful gifts so, even though I would get scared from time to time that things might go wrong (since we had a miscarriage with our previous pregnancy), pregnancy was a wonderful experience! I learned throughout it that every morning I'd just have to pray that God would give me JOY about everything and take away all the fear! Preparing for motherhood was a tad overwhelming, but it was mostly fun! And meeting our little dude on December 5th was just the best thing ever!”
Tell us about your birth story!
“I thankfully had a fairly easy, uncomplicated delivery! We had our 40-week checkup at 1:00pm on December 4, and by 3:00pm we were at the hospital getting ready for little guy to make his arrival! The staff at Baptist made us feel super comfortable and at home, and at 5:55 a.m. on the 5th, Wilson entered the world! (His birth certificate actually says 5:54, but the iPhone said 5:55 so we’re going with that. According to my brother-in-law, ‘The iPhone doesn’t lie to you about time!’).”
Any unforgettable moments in the hospital?
“YES! Lots! Price and I watched Home Alone (both one and two) while I was slowly progressing, which are two of our favorite Christmas movies, so that’s a pretty fun memory and kept my mind off the un-fun contractions! And Wilson was almost ten pounds, so after he arrived but before he got weighed, I remember my doctor saying, ‘Congratulations, Laurel, you just birthed a toddler!’ And I remember getting to hold him for the first time. He ended up having to go to the NICU for about 6 hours because he had that ‘wimpy white boy’ lung condition so he had to get a little help with his breathing. Getting to really hold him after he came back was magical. I know that’s a cheesy word, but it really felt like magic! And I can’t forget the hearts that popped up in my vision when I woke up from a nap one time to see Price and Wilson chillin’ on the hospital sofa together! It was the SWEETEST thing in the world!”
How did you feel driving home with your newborn? Did you ride in the front or in the back with the baby? ha!
“It was so weird driving home with him in the back seat! Price drove - very carefully! - and I sat up front in the passenger seat holding flowers that sweet friends and family sent us! I think I had a vase between my knees and one in my right arm. That way my left arm was free to reach back and hold the baby’s hand. I remember us being really hungry when we left, so I think we swung through the McDonald’s drive through across the street from the hospital on the way home! Little did we know, our sisters-in-law and my mama had run lots of errands for us, had plenty of groceries at home, and had our house sparkling clean. Major shout out to them for all they did to make our arrival back home just perfect!”
Tell me about your first few days at home. How were you feeling, and how did sweet Wilson adjust to life at home
“Our first hour or so at home with Wilson was really fun because our families were there to help us get the car unloaded and get settled in. I really enjoyed watching all of our family members get to visit with Wilson for a little while! After everyone left, we were like, ‘Ummm what do we do now?’ Haha we were clueless! And then Wilson let us know he was hungry and that determined my next move! ;) The first few days were great because we were all at home together just being family. Getting breast feeding figured out, catching sleep when we could, and just staring at our little fella were all big parts of our first few days at home together.”
Thank you, Laurel, for sharing your incredible first moments with baby Wilson. And thank you to Lauren F. Liddell Photography for these sweet and beautifully intimate photographs.
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