Birth Photography

birth photography :: beau xavier

in

Dan and Whitney are these wonderfully salty people, who live close to the earth (they are dairy farmers -- and amazing ones!), operate their business with integrity, and are raising their daughter with gentleness and deep faith. When Whitney asked if I'd take her on as a birth story client, even though her own due date was the same month as mine, it was actually a no-brainer. I knew she was planning a natural home birth with the same midwife who attends my own births, and that being witness to her birth would be an encouragement to me personally as I mentally prepare to go through birth again. 

In the end, it was deemed wisest to have this baby in the context of a hospital, but the "natural" part of the plan stuck, and our midwife did, too. The result was an unplugged, well-supported, and peaceful birth. Whitney was so centered and confident through it all that at one point the OB joked that her birth was like a self-service operation! Indeed, she was in full command and she did an amazing job, as Dan ceaselessly and fearlessly lent his strength from beginning to end. 

After just 4.5 hours of active labor, little baby Beau was born at 9:11 pm, gathered to his mama's chest, and held in the loving gaze of his Papa while Sara and I looked on with misty eyes. :) He weighed in at exactly 9 lbs and 21 inches.

Thank you, Whitney and Dan, for inviting me into this experience with you. I'm amazed at your little family, and pray rich blessings over you all. Thank you, Whitney and Dan, for inviting me into this experience with you. I'm amazed at your little family, and pray rich blessings over you all. 

Note: This was my last birth story I was scheduled to photograph before my maternity leave begins. I'm starting up again at the end of June. If you are newly pregnant and interested in having me capture your birth story, now is the time to inquire, as my summer/fall calendar is already beginning to fill up. 

birth photography :: jameson patrick

in

beth is a bradley birth instructor. she is no stranger to the intricacies of the labor process. in fact, it was funny to hear her giving real time reports on her own emotional signposts and stages of labor -- until the end when she was too in the zone to continue that job, and her midwives and doula took over. :) 

this baby was due before Christmas, and as her first two babies were both early, she suspected this one would be too. but no, he waited until 5 days after christmas -- 11 days after her due date -- to make his appearance. 

it was their first home birth, and it happened in the coziness of a christmas tree-lit home in the dark of the night as the snow was swirling softly outside. beth's birth team was so lovely. her hubby, tommy, was the perfect blend of adoring strength and well-placed humor. her doula, laurie, who is also a midwife-in-training under beth's midwife, had a million helpful tricks -- from essential oils to robozo to guided meditation to massage -- and utilized them with such grace. and her midwives, sara and annie, sat by knitting quietly, expressing with their demeanors that they had full confidence in beths' ability to birth her baby, then stepping in with active support as the birth became eminent. 

one fantastic thing about home births is how you never can really predict where precisely that baby will get born! this is especially true if the mama tends to pace and move around a lot, like beth did. so, it was on a trip to the bathroom that the need to push became irresistible, and where beth then kneeled -- her midwife and doula on the floor on either side of her, her husband's hand on her back -- and pushed little baby j out in three deft pushes. 

jameson took to breastfeeding right away, was measured without ever leaving his mama's chest, and weighed the following morning because the scale couldn't be located! haha. he was every bit as big as the birth team was guessing he was -- 9 lbs, 12 oz, and beth's biggest baby by far. also, he's a bit of a ginger!

for me, it was a gift to witness this birth, especially as i'm gearing up to have my own home birth in about 3 months. seeing a woman move through labor and birth in the quiet of her own home, with no intervention, and an abundance of trusting support reminded me how we really are designed to do this work of having babies -- and that includes me -- and rekindled my excitement to do it again myself. 

without more rambling from me, here is the birth of jameson!

I'll write a separate post about this, too, but just a heads up on my maternity leave... it will begin March 15 or so, and extend until May 20 or so (i'm so precise, aren't i?). I'm accepting birth clients with due dates anytime starting in early June, BUT until the end of September, i will ONLY be accepting HOME BIRTH CLIENTS. I will need to keep open the option of having my newborn son with me at births, and this is not possible at hospitals. In a home birth setting, I can easily wear him in a back carry, or lay him down to sleep in a room of the house that isn't being occupied by birth activity. don't wait... I do already have births for June, July, and August, and will only be taking on 2 per month until 2016. (golly, it's going to be SO HARD to say no to births).

birth photography :: rosie jane

in

this is a birth story in which one of the biggest baby-lovers you can imagine -- the one who has spent years of her life perfecting the fine art of beautifully styling and photographing newborns, being peed and pooped on by them with good humor, and gently handling their tiny sleeping bodies -- finally gets to have her own baby. 

allie's pregnancy was not without hiccups, and her actually body started prepping for birth a few weeks before this day, so that by the time she was finally admitted to the hospital, at 37 weeks, she was already dilated to 6.5 or 7 cm (all this without any real pain worth mentioning)! we thought it would go super fast, but those last few centimeters were 10+ hours of hard work and waiting. 

the epidural she received at nearly 9 cm meant that the time she spent laboring down was a fun and relaxed one, and allie was making me and the nurse crack up with all her comments and self-abasing humor. such joyful anticipation, such relief at the pain having lifted. 

one of my favorite birth moments is the one where the mom and dad realize that they are about to start pushing, and therefore about to meet their son or daughter for the first time: there's this holy hush that settles over everyone in the room after the initial chattering excitement dies down. there are often tears and shaking, from emotion and hormones, there is the clutching of hands and the gathering of inner strength. it's at this point that birth is imminent. that moment was potent for allie and josh, and you'll be able to see it in some of these photos, i think. 

there were some concerns that baby girl would need some help upon being born, possibly with breathing or blood sugar, because she was early and also suspected to be well below average size. but as allie was pushing and the NICU team was standing by, she just kept saying confidently, "she'd going to be perfect. she's not going to need NICU," which was the expression of everyone's hopes and prayers. sure enough, as soon as rosie's head had emerged, she opened her mouth and began wailing loudly, already a very wholesome pink color, and clearly perfectly fine! the NICU team just turned around and left the room at the sound of her voice and the color of her skin. 

this little peanut weighed in at 5 lbs, 10 oz and was 18.5 inches long. she may be small, but it's already apparent that she is also mighty!

This birth is my second-to-last of 2014. I have one more booked in early March, and then I'll be on maternity leave until June at least. I can fit in one or two more in January or February if any of you want to make that happen still! There's still the winter special to take advantage of if you're so inclined (or you can just do the basic birth photography). And if you're due in July or August and planning a home birth, please get in touch sooner than later, as I'm already booking for those months, but will need to keep it to a minimum (for obvious, newborn-related reasons). :)

 

birth photography :: avery douglas

in

Libby and Joe. After difficulty and loss, they got to welcome their firstborn into the world on an unseasonably snowy november day, four weeks before they were expecting him. 

Though he was quite early, Avery came out crying healthily, showing us all his ridiculously adorable lips. And every step of the way leading up to his arrival was drenched in peace, and his birth was so smooth. His little heart kept plugging away at 140-ish bpm the entire time, regardless of how intense the contraction, and his mama pushed him out in less than 30 minutes. 

Libby's mom and sister and future brother-in-law were all close at hand, and able to welcome their newest addition within an hour of his birth. There are so many special moments here. Enjoy...

I'm eager and waiting to photograph your birth story, too. If you're considering it, don't hesitate. Let's get a hot beverage and discuss. 

birth photography :: harper danger

in

harper's one-of-a-kind birth story spanned almost every possible scenario, from home to hospital, "dry land" to water, working hard for vaginal birth to an ultimate cesarean section delivery. but through it all, there was such love and such humor. 

casi (the mama) is a student midwife. this is her first baby, and the midwives who assisted her throughout her days and nights of labor were the same midwives she works with, who have become, as she put it, "her people." because of the depth of trust amongst her and her partner and her birth team, there were inside jokes, comfortable laughter, and raw emotions expressed throughout her birth journey.

casi is uber-knowledgable, she was prepared, and she is no stranger to all the gritty details of birth. yet no matter how knowledgeable and prepared and familiar a woman may be, when it comes to your OWN birth... somehow it will always surprise and challenge you in ways you couldn't even have anticipated. that was certainly true for casi. yet through all the curve balls she was thrown, for all the times we all thought birth was imminent (and then it wasn't), for the changes of plans and difficult decisions among the way... through it all, she listened to her intuition above her head, and she found her way through, supported by "her people." and the fruit of their long journey -- a journey that started before harper was even conceived -- is the sweetest reward.

a couple notes that will help you follow the story: there are a couple sections of missing time in these photos. i left their company twice over the 2.5 days that they labored. i was gone overnight, then rejoined them after they transferred to the hospital the following morning. i also left just before their c-section and returned the next morning to capture them all recovering together. :)

now i'll let the photos speak for themselves, as you go along with casi and lesley on their wild adventure to welcome their superhero daughter, the amazing harper danger!

PS: i'm running a winter birth story special right now. be sure to check it out if you're expecting your own little one between january and march 2015.