Tampa Family Photographer | The F Family

I talk about being an introvert that plays extrovert really well, quite often. And if it wasn’t for my passion and love for this work, I would have never been able to have met some incredible people. Behind every single smile there’s a journey. No one is exempted from pain and loss.

Meeting this beautiful and loving couple has been nothing short of a pleasure. I have been around families and their children in so many capacities these last 15years and being around these two, I know Baby F is already blessed. The long and difficult journey they went through is not an uncommon one. And although there was some deep valleys, they are closer everyday to one of many peaks of parenthood.

I am so proud and honored to share a little snippet of Melissa and Greg’s story. And I know of all the feelings they experienced, love and hope was always a constant.

Sidenote: do you know when you smell the top of a newborn’s head or when the infant holds onto your one finger, and your joy becomes audible with a soft sigh? I heard it so often during this session. The sound of love, happiness and contentment all in one action, every time we spoke of Baby F.

“There aren’t enough words to express how excited and fortunate we feel to finally become the loving parents we knew we were destined to be….

They say it takes a village to raise a child. In our case, it has taken a village just to give us the possibility of having this child. Throughout the past four years we have undergone multiple rounds of IVF with three different doctors in two different states. As I started to tally how many hormone-filled injections went into my stomach and hips, I decided to stop at the 500th needle. I stopped because beyond the physical pain that each needle painstakingly caused, there was also emotional pain. The kind of pain that came with the uncertainty if any of these injections would even work. The pain that came from failed egg retrievals, embryo transfers, and ultimately miscarriage. The pain that came from temporarily leaving our home in Florida to undergo treatments at a clinic in Colorado that seemed so hopeful but ultimately were hopeless. The pain that came from leaving a job I felt valued and successful at in favor of IVF rounds that left me feeling the complete opposite way. Through all this pain, we feel so relieved that we never gave up and are able to have this baby not just with the help of love and science, but by our incredible and selfless surrogate who has become like family to us.

While there certainly was a tremendous amount of pain and heartbreak during our journey, the one thing that remained constant was the support and love our relationship provided. To that end, I cannot thank my sweet, loving husband enough for being my biggest cheerleader and supporter. For always being by my side to make me laugh or wipe the waterfall of tears away. We couldn’t have done this without each other or our devoted families who provided their limitless care and support.

It is our wish that by sharing our journey that we can bring those struggling to start a family hope instead of tears. I don’t think many couples go into IVF with the thought that it will take multiple treatments to work, let alone years. But for us, it did, and we’re here with open arms to help anyone we can.”

-Melissa