birth photography :: bronx romeo

the first thing i noticed when i entered the spacious hospital room where whitney was laboring was the smell: it was lavender, vanilla, and chamomile. the second thing i noticed was the silence. the constant quiet whir of machines and the beeping of the heart rate monitor were conspicuously absent, like those noises you didn't notice until they are removed. this, i knew, was not to be a typical hospital birth. 

whitney and brandon had planned for a home birth. the decision to go to the hospital instead was devastating for their dream of how their birth would go. so much so, that whitney actually uninvited me as the photographer for a minute (until their midwife talked her back into it)! :) but if critically low fluid levels at 41.5 weeks gestation was going to push them into a hospital, they were intent on having it be as un-hospital-y as possible. and it really was. all their wishes -- so careful prescribed on the back of an envelop -- were followed respectfully, and whitney labored peacefully, without intervention, and without ever once getting into the hospital bed (haha. she was VERY insistent that she would labor anywhere but there). their midwife attended them in the hospital in the role of doula. their moms were also present.

in the end, it was the toilet that provided the most productive position for working through contractions, and for pushing. after a mild attempt to persuade whitney away from the toilet, the OB on call gave in, put scrubs on over his street clothes, and got down on his knees on the bathroom floor. right next to the midwife. which was the most beautiful picture of mutual respect between and OB and home birth midwife i've seen, and such a shining example of woman-centered child birth in a hospital. 

after long moments of held tension, breathing through the urge to push through the discomfort, bronx was eased out onto the little pillow cushion in front of the toilet, pinked and ready to yell. he went straight to his mama's chest and stayed there for over an hour. he was perfect. and BIG! i'm not sure there was a dry eye in the house.

here you'll see... the birth of baby bronx....

whitney and brandon, i'm ever so glad you decided to let me come after all. as you said, this really turned out to be the best scenario imaginable for bronx's debut. i'm so very happy for you all. 

personal :: these summer days

mild and lush.

watching my children become friends. 

eating food from "our farm": more delicious than i could have anticipated. 

most meals outside. 

water for playing, swimming, drinking.

slides. lots of slides. 

a quiet season with my little family. 

grateful as can be. 

smile :: the hollanders

i haven't seen josh and crystal in maybe 9 years, when they moved to colorado for work. so this was a sweet reunion. how lovely to meet their kids, zoe and micah, whom i've previously known only via the wonderful world of Facebook. 

one thing i always admired about them is how full of energy and adventure they are. they're active and athletic, and they explore the world with enthusiasm. i see them sharing these passions with their kids, as they frequently post shots of themselves on trails or in the mountains, kids in tow. and i just think that's awesome. 

josh is from wisconsin and crystal is from michigan. since they were in the area visiting family anyway, they thought they'd take the time to look me up and book a session that would display the flora and fauna of the states from which they originate. pure michigan. woods, wildflowers, lakes.

one more thing i like about them, and which you will see a lot of in these photos, is how much they kiss. partway into the session, crystal said to me, "this is what we do all day. kiss!" 

also, micah is about six months old. it was time to commemorate that most yummy of babyhood ages with some photos of his chubby cheeked self. :)

so nice to see you guys today, and to tromp through the woods under bright blue skies. even if we did get eaten alive by mosquitos. :)

family photojournalism :: the saigeons

michelle, eric, and sienna found me when baby maxwell was still en utero. we did a playful little maternity/family session at the nature center, and eagerly anticipated max's upcoming arrival and the in-home session we had planned to celebrate his coming. 

after a couple reschedules due to maxwell being "late," and other small schedule interruptions, we finally got to do it. maxwell is now 6 weeks old, but he's still new. he's chubby and yummy and hardly made a peep of protest the entire two hours i was with them.  

a few context details that might enrich your viewing experience:

• they do montessori style for sienna's bedroom. everything is at her level, including her bed, which is just a mattress on the floor covered with plush pillows. such an awesome space, and so empowering for this little two year-old. 
• they have a family dog name leila, who is getting on in years. she has to be carried up the stairs each night to go to bed with her family. her relationship with sienna is particularly sweet. 
• it was really fun to see some of the family photos i took of them a couple months prior on their walls and shelves and fridge. 

now, i'd like to invite you to come along with me into the saigeon's lovely east town home, where you can plainly see every detail is chosen with care, and that this family has built a rich life of love around themselves. 

so grateful we found one another, michelle and eric. i know we'll get to see one another again, and i'm already looking forward to it. :)

birth photography :: isabella fox

it's always simultaneously flattering AND a little nerve-wracking to be asked by another photographer have his/her family/birth photographed. that's not jamie's fault. she actually never once made me feel anything but confident and competent. thanks for that, jamie. :)

jamie is actually such a gifted photographer that she managed to do her OWN maternity photos. i just love this set of images she made of her with her husband, near to their EDD. take a look, because i think it's really fun to see the "before" photos of baby isabella, en utero. 

jamie is one of the rare women whose water actually broke long before she went into labor. that happens all the time on TV and movies, but is statistically very unusual in real women. this odd event was only the beginning of the oddities isabella exhibited during her labor and delivery. she was sunny-side up, and she was laying on her cord, which caused her heart rate to decelerate dangerously whenever jamie was in certain positions. all this created some intense moments, and also very nearly an emergency c-section. 

before i met them the hospital, jamie was hours into laboring drug-free with the support of ryan and her mama. but just before i arrived, and following the c-section scare (as in, the OB had her down on the operating table, ready to go), she opted for an epidural, in order to allow herself to relax in a way she hadn't been able to do in the face of the pain of back labor. 

she and ryan got in a good nap before sunrise, when it came time to push. the epidural began to wear off a bit, and jamie was feeling and working through her contractions with incredible focus and endurance. her mom and SIL became a powerful birth team, coaching and encouraging her through every hard contraction, while her dad and brother and husband sat very near, feeling the weight of her struggle and offering their quiet, supportive presence. i'm telling you, it was a FULL room. a family affair! 

at last, not long after "golden hour," miss Isabella completed her descent and emerged into the bright room, blinking and wailing. i'll never forget jamie's face, her tears, and her arms reaching down to her baby with that intense and instantaneous love. and the faces of all of her family, who had really been IN it with her for so many hours. wowsers. 

here is a selection of images from isabella's birth:

every birth, such a gift. thank you, jamie and ryan, for choosing ME to witness and document yours. 

life with a newborn :: sadie

here is a family whose warmth and gentleness overtakes any space in which you encounter them. every time i'm around them or photograph them (which i've had the privilege to do two times before now), i feel like i just want to study them, in order to understand their wonderfulness and take a piece of it home with me. chris and mindy are building something beautiful together. and their newest little one, sadie irene, was just welcomed home into that beauty two weeks ago. in these photos, she is not even two weeks old. 

during this session, i made many other images of their older children playing outside, and mindy fixing her daily cup of coffee, and a few other aspects of their family life. chris and mindy get all of those photos, too. but for the purposes of this post, i'm making it very sadie-centric. :) 

i hope this series of images paints a picture of sadie's embrace into the arms of all of her family members. and her squishy newborn yumminess. 

congrats, you guys! you're officially a party of FIVE!