Our unfortunate, unexpected connection.

I met up with this expecting mama and papa from Boston for maternity portraits on a gorgeous end-of-summer day last year. Three days prior I had gotten some awful news about my otherwise super healthy mom’s health. She had terminal cancer. Why, you might ask, am I bringing this up while writing about this adorable couple’s outdoor pregnancy photos?

Welp. They came with a set of engraved bracelets that were in honor of his mom who he had lost. They read “Always stay humble and kind”. Mom and dad each had one and they had one made for the little guy on the way. I held them in my hands, arranging where to put them for the best shot. I glanced at the date, also engraved, and my heart sank. She had passed just a few months earlier. I wanted to ask questions. But I just couldn’t. And I knew in order for me to continue with the session, I had to pretend these bracelets weren’t for what they were for and I had to pretend my mom wasn’t in the hospital, recently diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer. So on we went.

My mom passed away just a couple of weeks later. I emailed this lovely couple and explained why I was a bit behind on editing. When I read the response I audibly gasped. Dad-to-be had lost his mom just a few months earlier to pancreatic cancer also. Not necessarily something I was hoping to have in common, but there it was. Since I lost my mom, I’ve learned of a lot of current and new clients who have a connection to pancreatic cancer. And often it’s one of their parents. For such a rare disease, it is seemingly everywhere I turn.

I’ve been lucky enough to see this couple and baby twice since this first maternity session. Dad’s mom, before she passed away, signed a copy of Goodnight Moon for the baby she wouldn’t get to meet. It was extremely touching and overwhelmingly heartbreaking. We have been able to photograph baby boy with the book for both his newborn and 3 month photos. I see him again soon for his 6 month photos.

Scroll down to see the portraits taken with the bracelets. And for some breathtaking maternity portraits of a wonderful couple, about to embark on a brand new endeavor: their very first baby.

Are you looking for a maternity photographer in Boston? Contact Kate today!