Owen

A Miracle In Every Way!

The world is small…. round, but small. I met Karie and Dave last year at the wedding of Dave’s sister, Emily.  Fast forward about a year and I ran into her again while we were both getting our hair done at Christie’s Salon 🙂 . This is a little sidetracked, but I always have the best experience, conversations and service at Christie’s in Glen Burnie, MD.  They also both volunteer at the Deale Volunteer Fire Department. It’s a station in the same department that I have worked for since 2004!  Crazy.Small.World!

As we were waiting for our hair to process, Kari told us that she was 8 months pregnant and just learned of it!  The doctors told Karie that she would never be able to have children unassisted. She accepted this early on and decided with the direction and suggestion of her physician to put an IUD in to control some of her symptoms and pain. She went through several months with minor symptoms that could be passed off as other things…heart burn, upset stomach etc. Nothing seemed alarming to her. She didn’t feel any “kicks” or awkward feelings. Then, when she went to the doctors to figure out why she felt so run down, she got the BEST surprise of her life! She learned that she was carrying a healthy baby boy! She didn’t have much time to process this information before his arrival a few weeks later! 

This sweet little boy was born via c-section in the evening. They never found the IUD (likely fell out at some point?) When I went to the hospital to capture the family’s first day together, Kari was doing great! For a first time mom, she was calm, rational and understanding of the challenges of breast feeding, being awake and adjusting. (I was completely in awe of her calmness!).   While shooting, several staff members came in and said they would come back (it’s true, you never get any sleep in a hospital). the pediatrician came and said she would come back, but Kari knew that one was super important (I couldn’t agree more!). So I was able to capture the pediatrician check in on Owen as well :).  Grandma and Grandpa came in to visit and anxiously waited for me to finish shooting so they could get some snuggles in. Grandma wore a “GrammySauris” dinosaur shirt perfect for the occasion. 

Everything happens for a reason. What an amazing story of resilience, love and strength!  

Happy Birthday Owen!