birth :: lochlan kale

After many days of prodromal labor -- which is a special kind of torture -- Shauna and Dustin called me in on Sunday evening, late at night. A special at-home webster technique chiropractic treatment had finally gotten the labor to stick and start up in earnest. This was the night. 

I arrived to find Shauna just about to sink into the recently filled birth pool, the walls around her covered with birth affirmations, and Dustin, midwife Shannon, and sister moving quietly around her, tending to every need and detail. Their daughter Tatum was upstairs watching Disney movies with grandma, but occasionally came downstairs to check in on her mama. It was quiet throughout the house and Shauna was already deep into labor land, that special altered state of being that a mother laboring unmedicated invariably enters into at a certain point. 

Shauna's last labor was relatively quick, particularly the pushing stage. Knowing that, her midwife took her seriously when after what was a very short time, Shauna indicated in a smooth tone that she was pretty sure the baby was very close to being born. A mirror held under her in the pool showed that she was right, and the midwife and I watched with happy interest as more and more of their baby's head appeared, while Dustin held Shauna tight as she gently cooperated with what her body was doing. Shannon reached down and received the slipper blue-pink baby as she slipped quietly out, lifting her through the water and immediately through Shauna's legs and up to her chest. Gender was a surprise, and they were pleased to find upon peeking, that they had a second daughter. 

The holy hours immediately following Lochlan's birth were spent with uninterrupted skin-to-skin time, placenta delivery, cord clamping/cutting, first latch-on, and bringing Tatum down to meet her new sister (this moment always slays me!). After Shuana was all tucked into their bed, the whole family, who bed shares, got happily situated with her while Shannon did the newborn exam, and then Dustin -- a chiropractor -- adjusted his new daughter. So much tenderness surrounded them, so much affection. As Shauna later wrote as a caption beneath the last photo in this post, "I don't know how life can get any better than this moment in time."

This is birth. This is love.

Just an update: my own EDD is not even two months away now. I'll be taking a break from photographing births until early March, and the inquiries are already pouring in for birth photography in March, April, May and even June. Please don't hesitate too long to reach out and make things official if this is something you want to make happen for your birth! <3

birth :: luke henry

Mark and Janelle and their kiddos have showed up on this blog before (here and here). They're really dear to me and my family. When they reached out to ask me to be present at their home birth this summer, there was no possible answer besides YES! 

One of Janelle's main priorities for this birth was having a supportive team that would offer continuous care, and finding a midwife team they trusted emboldened them to go the home birth route. They shared with me that having me present as well, not only as a storyteller, but also an experienced homebirth mama who carries peace and confidence about the process, made a difference for their feeling of well-being in this process. 

We all thought the labor would be FAST and probably pretty easy since her last birth was both of those things, and because Mark is a chiropractor who gave her regular webster technique care to optimize her body's alignment for birth. As it turned out, it wasn't that speedy, and the process was harder and more painful than her last birth. Though that felt frustrating and surprising to Janelle, the entire time she was surrounded with patient and fearless supporters who were able to convey to her through words and actions that she was still perfectly okay. Mark and Janelle spent most of the transition contraction with eyes locked as Mark spoke truth and encouragement over her about her body's abilities to birth her baby. I was reminded of how powerful well-timed and empowering words are to a woman in labor; what she hears can sometimes make or break her birthing process! 

Another amazingly sweet element at this birth was the presence of their eldest child, their daughter, who was like a miniature doula. She came and went out of the birth space, but whenever she was near her mama she was all gentle touches, kisses, and snuggles. She was a beautiful source of comfort for Janelle.

Finally, after about six hours, baby's head emerged, followed quite quickly by the body. His head had been positioned in military position, which means the widest diameter of the head is presenting, and that obviously makes the pushing stage longer and harder! The joy and relief on their faces -- and especially Mark's, who was sitting behind Janelle, supporting her while also watching his baby emerge -- are so sweet in the photos that follow. Gender had been a surprise, but Janelle was pleased to discover that her intution -- that it was a boy -- was correct. 

Soon they were tucked into bed to snuggle, initiate breast-feeding, and come back to earth. After over and hour of that, Luke received his newborn exam, mostly while remaining in his mama's arms, and was weighed and measured, then received his first adjustment from his daddy. 

It's always hard to leave the sacred afterglow of such a beautiful birth, but I was glad to see them so happily on the other side of their sweet home birth experience!

birth :: merida-kate

This is not your ordinary home birth, except for  in all the important ways: continuous, hands-on care from a skilled midwifery team, the comforts of familiarity, the nearness of family, the lack of intervention, and the lack of fear. But Latricia and James and their three kids call an RV home, choosing it as part of the grand adventure they're on of following the sometimes wild call of God on their lives. And because an RV is home, this is an RV home birth!

Let me just tell you that from a technical standpoint, this is hands-down own of the most challenging births I've ever photographed! Stormy night, small quarters filled with six other adults (midwives, midwife assistant, husband, mother) and a birth pool to work around, and very low lighting (think, shooting at ISO 12,800 if that means anything to you). But let me also tell you that it was incredibly beautiful. There was such peace, the falling rain was like a benediction, and things couldn't have gone more smoothly as Merida-Kate quietly made her entrance. 

This was the first home birth Latricia has had, and she absolutely rocked it. It was a joy to watch her, and afterwards to hear her comments about how easy the contractions were compared to her last natural birth, which included pitocin-induced ones (notorious for being nearly unbearable). It was awesome seeing the glow of triumph and contentment on her and James' faces as they lay snuggling their new little love.

So come along and bear witness to the birth of a daughter in the dark of a rainy night on the floor of her mobile home, into the arms of her remarkable parents. 

Trisha and James, being a tiny part of this amazing birthday party was totally worth the nearly 2-hour drive AND the speeding ticket I got on the way home. Can't thank you enough. 

PS: If anyone reading this needs a birth photographer for October or November, i have unexpected openings. Reach out.

birth :: ophelia grey

just a few weeks shy of her big brother's (i was at his birth, too) 2nd birthday, ophelia grey made her entrance on the floor of a hospital room in the early morning hours. her mama was the most remarkable blend of fierce and kind, a rare combination perfectly blended in this woman. whitney knew what she was about, knew the birth she was determined to have, and she held her line unwaveringly and respectfully as she first informed her nurses and OBs that she would not be getting into the bed at all, and continually turned down nudges to move into any positions or places that would make things easier for her team but weren't working for her body. i wish that all women could watch her in action as an amazing example of what it looks like to be your own advocate in birth!

and i don't think i've laughed more at any other birth! whitney and brandon were full of humor and wit, at least in between contractions. sara, who is a midwife acting as a doula in this space, and i were giggling most of the way through this unfolding miracle of birth. truly a delightful experience to be with this couple as they did the work of bringing their sweet girl earth side.

finally, a reminder for you, dear blog readers: the reason i show so many birth images on this blog -- including depictions of the hard emotional and physical work of LABOR -- is because i believe it's so important for us to see what birth is really like, all the guts and glory. so that we don't need to be afraid of it anymore, so that we can know what is possible, and so that we can know that giving birth is a natural and beautiful invitation to the human experience. i am SO grateful that mamas like whitney are brave enough to share their images and stories because slowly, bit by bit, as women give one another this gift, we can change the  misconceptions and culture of fear and control that has dominated american birth for too long. let's do this!

Yes, I do have limited availability for a couple fall birth stories. Reach out sooner than later if this is a gift you want to give your own family, too. 

birth :: alec glendon

Melinda and her family moved back to the US from central America midway through her second pregnancy. In addition to the myriad difficult transitions involved in such a move, Melinda's husband Santiago often works overseas, which meant that his ability to be present at the birth was uncertain. preparing for the possibility of his absence, Melinda assembled a dream team for herself, knowing that she'd need the support -- and photos to show Santiago later -- if he wasn't able to be there. as a doula herself, she hired two amazing doulas -- Laurie and erica guthaus -- to attend her, and she booked herself at Midwifery Matters Birth Center with their great nurse midwife team. 

in the end, it turned out that Santiago was in the US and therefore very much present -- and offering the amazing support of near constant counter-pressure to her sacrum! -- throughout. but it moved FAST. by the time her mother and laurie got Melinda safely to the birth center (which was well over an hour away), she was already very nearly ready to give birth. after the somewhat intense arrival, she sunk into the welcoming water of the beautiful birth tub and quickly found her center again, relaxing into the rhythm and pressures of her body working hard to bring out her baby. she was so surrounded every step of the way with all sorts of support. it was beautiful to see the effect of a focused, caring birth team dancing well together all around Melinda. 

then it was time to leave the water, to work through those final difficult contractions on the toilet before moving to the floor (hey, ya do what sounds best in the moment!) to mightily push her baby out. he was very nearly born in the caul, in fact his head came out that way, but due to meconium in the water, the midwife wisely ruptured the bag before the rest of his body was born. the look on melinda's face when she pulled him up to her chest was ecstatic relief and truly a very moving moment. i hovered over her and her four support people clustered around her as she clutched him close and said over and over again, "i did it! i did it!" since gender was a surprise, she waited several moments before looking, but announced beforehand that she could tell by touch that he has a second son. :)

they then moved to the bed and got tucked in to enjoy more than an hour of uninterrupted skin-to-skin time before the newborn exam and melinda's own clean-up began. 

a fast-moving but peaceful birth. what a gift. 

Photographing births is hands down one of my greatest joys. Because I'm gearing up to have my own (fourth) baby in December, I'll be taking a hiatus through March. But i plan to get back to it in April, and it's not too soon to book me for your birth if you're a mama due in April and onward. I also have availability for one birth in November of this year yet. 

birth :: baby t

One surprisingly snowy day in early April, i drove north to Big Rapids to meet Meadow in the early part of her labor. It was the first time we'd met face to face, and I immediately liked her. Their home radiated intention, compassion, and warmth, and besides that, I was googly-eyed over their the presence of all the Waldorf materials, and everything that that method of education implies about a family. :)

 When I arrived, her midwives were already present, and her mother was in the kitchen making us all salad and lasagna, while the children watched shows and hovered around their laboring mama, and husband Dan stood by ready at a moment's notice to offer his strength. Meadow was excited and chatty and it seemed everyone was in a state of happy, patient anticipation.

Between contractions, Meadow extended hospitality to every one of her house full of birth team members. It wasn't until after she'd seen us all adequately fed our lunches that she really got down to business, going deep inside, and into a dark solitary space upstairs to labor her baby down. At last, she climbed into the birth pool in the beautiful birth space she'd so carefully created for herself, Dan never leaving her side. Very shortly thereafter, she powerfully and quite quietly birthed her baby, and brought him up to her chest from her midwife's hands. She and Dan enjoyed a few still and maybe slightly stunned moments of gently clutching and peering into their baby's face before they even bothered to take a look between the legs and discover the gender: a boy!

Their older children came into the room with their grandmothers with looks of happy wonder on their faces and reached out their hands to welcome him and to smooth their mama's hair. Truly a peaceful and sacred scene. 

I've avoided showing any of the children's faces -- including baby's -- by Meadow's request and for respect for their privacy, and yet even without their (totally adorable) faces visible, these images tell a good, full story, and I know you'll feel the love. 

Here's a shout out to Jennifer Holshoe of West Michigan Midwifery, who took the the lead in helping Meadow achiever the birth of her dreams, and to Laurie and her assistant of Faithful Guardians Midwifery in Northern Michigan whose presence added an additional layer of support and wisdom. 

On a personal note, attending a birth with Jennifer was a special full-circle moment for me! She was at my daughter's birth (at that time, she was a student midwife) and photographed it. Her support was instrumental in seeing me through a really really long labor, and her photos are what made me fall in love with and decide that I simply must try my had at birth photography. I'm so grateful to her for both of those things.

I'm booking births for October and November now.