The first few days with a new baby can feel like a dream. You are feeling so many things, physically, mentally, and emotionally. This time can seem a little foggy, mostly wonderful, and certainly worth remembering. Whether you have a hospital birth or a home birth, or something in between, you'll recognize there is a sacred space where a new life has joined the earth but hasn't really joined the world yet. It could be just 24 hours, or it could be a few days, but it is a time when you and your new love are in a bit of a cocoon, a time to be cherished and documented.

Meet Everly. She is the newest addition to my extended family. A sweet redhead, who has already established her stubbornness by refusing to move from her breech position. But birth is special, no matter the method, and a healthy baby and mother are always the goal. I had the honor of photographing her at just about 24 hours old in the sweet cocoon of her hospital room. I just can't get enough of fuzzy baby arms and wrinkled hands. Those newborn features fade so very quickly.

I am so proud of my sister, she is already an amazing mother to this little soul.  And this little girl, well, she is already fiercely loved by her parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, a lot of cousins, and so many other special people in her life.

If you, or someone you know is expecting, I would be honored to document this special time of life.