diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 6a7a27af..b4ca5b76 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+- [v2.8.1](#v281)
 - [v2.8.0](#v280)
 - [v2.7.0](#v270)
 - [v2.6.0](#v260)
@@ -40,6 +41,12 @@
 - [v1.1.0](#v110)
 - [v1.0.0](#v100)
 
+## v2.8.1
+
+**Fixes**
+
+- Fixed a bug in TimeRotatingFileHandler ([#287](https://github.com/odygrd/quill/pull/287))
+
 ## v2.8.0
 
 **Breaking Changes**
diff --git a/quill/include/quill/Quill.h b/quill/include/quill/Quill.h
index 28eb505a..742a401b 100644
--- a/quill/include/quill/Quill.h
+++ b/quill/include/quill/Quill.h
@@ -31,7 +31,7 @@ namespace quill
 /** Version Info **/
 constexpr uint32_t VersionMajor{2};
 constexpr uint32_t VersionMinor{8};
-constexpr uint32_t VersionPatch{0};
+constexpr uint32_t VersionPatch{1};
 constexpr uint32_t Version{VersionMajor * 10000 + VersionMinor * 100 + VersionPatch};
 
 /** forward declarations **/
diff --git a/quill/src/Quill.cpp b/quill/src/Quill.cpp
index d4d32944..a3ded8cb 100644
--- a/quill/src/Quill.cpp
+++ b/quill/src/Quill.cpp
@@ -69,7 +69,8 @@ std::shared_ptr<Handler> file_handler(fs::path const& filename, std::string cons
 std::shared_ptr<Handler> time_rotating_file_handler(
   fs::path const& base_filename, std::string const& mode /* = std::string{"a"} */,
   FilenameAppend append_to_filename /* = FilenameAppend::None */,
-  std::string const& when /* = std::string{"H"} */, uint32_t interval /* = 1 */, uint32_t backup_count /* = 0 */,
+  std::string const& when /* = std::string{"H"} */, uint32_t interval /* = 1 */,
+  uint32_t backup_count /* = std::numeric_limits<std::uint32_t>::max() */,
   Timezone timezone /* = Timezone::LocalTime */, std::string const& at_time /* = std::string{} */,
   FileEventNotifier file_event_notifier /* = FileEventNotifier{} */, bool do_fsync /* = false */)
 {
@@ -82,7 +83,8 @@ std::shared_ptr<Handler> time_rotating_file_handler(
 std::shared_ptr<Handler> rotating_file_handler(
   fs::path const& base_filename, std::string const& mode /* = std::string {"a"} */,
   FilenameAppend append_to_filename /* = FilenameAppend::None */, size_t max_bytes /* = 0 */,
-  uint32_t backup_count /* = 0 */, bool overwrite_oldest_files /* = true */, bool clean_old_files /* = false */,
+  uint32_t backup_count /* = std::numeric_limits<std::uint32_t>::max() */,
+  bool overwrite_oldest_files /* = true */, bool clean_old_files /* = false */,
   FileEventNotifier file_event_notifier /* = FileEventNotifier{} */, bool do_fsync /* = false */)
 {
   return create_handler<RotatingFileHandler>(base_filename.string(), mode, append_to_filename,
diff --git a/quill/src/handlers/TimeRotatingFileHandler.cpp b/quill/src/handlers/TimeRotatingFileHandler.cpp
index 4ec5601d..c5b67c6d 100644
--- a/quill/src/handlers/TimeRotatingFileHandler.cpp
+++ b/quill/src/handlers/TimeRotatingFileHandler.cpp
@@ -75,6 +75,7 @@ TimeRotatingFileHandler::TimeRotatingFileHandler(fs::path const& base_filename,
     _calculate_initial_rotation_tp(_file_creation_time, _when, timezone, at_time_hours, at_time_minutes);
 
   // Open file for logging
+  _created_files.emplace_front(0, _filename);
   open_file(_filename, mode);
 }
 
@@ -100,7 +101,7 @@ void TimeRotatingFileHandler::write(fmt_buffer_t const& formatted_log_message, q
       detail::rename_file(previous_file, new_file);
 
       // Also store the file name in a queue to remove_file it later if we exceed backup count
-      _created_files.push_front(std::make_pair(0, new_file));
+      _created_files.emplace_front(0, new_file);
     }
     else if ((_append_to_filename == FilenameAppend::Date) || (_append_to_filename == FilenameAppend::DateTime))
     {
@@ -125,7 +126,7 @@ void TimeRotatingFileHandler::write(fmt_buffer_t const& formatted_log_message, q
         quill::detail::rename_file(previous_file, new_file);
       }
 
-      _created_files.push_front(std::make_pair(0, _filename));
+      _created_files.emplace_front(0, _filename);
     }
 
     // If we have too many files in the queue remove_file the oldest one