birth photography :: roman jacob

what is astonishing about birth is that it works at all; that a 6 to 10 lb baby can find it's way out. and so there are times when it seems NOT to work, and when interventions become necessary. that was the case with nicky's first birth, which ended in an emergency cesarean. coming to terms with that outcome was difficult, as it is for many women. though she has since made peace with it, there was a part of her heart that still really wanted a home birth. she comes from a home-birthing family, and that was a really normal idea to her. her husband jake was the one who encouraged her to give it a try with their second baby. he believed that they could do the thing that it seemed couldn't be done the first time around: that this baby could be born vaginally AND at home. 

their seeking led them to Yolanda, the city's longest practicing midwife with thousands of births under her belt, and many of them HBACs (home birth after cesarean). her experience and encouragement bolstered their confidence, and they made plans to have this baby at home. 

over their entire home while nicky labored was a thick peace, that kind of peace that exists when the Holy Spirit's presence is near, and when a laboring woman is surrounded by a birth team that believes she can do the impossible. jake, me, yolanda, and nicky's mom and sister were all with her as she labored, while her dad and son were playing downstairs. it was a textbook labor, but not an easy one. she had a long-ish pushing stage (which she had never had to do before) to move that baby down and through, but she never complained or whimpered, just pressed on, steady and sure. fearless. 

jake was a rock -- supporting her emotionally and physically with such natural ease that i feel he could possibly be one of the world's few male midwives.

when at last baby's head was crowning -- which meant birth was for sure going to happen in the way and place she dreamed of -- she reached down to feel his fuzzy head and gasped with joyful disbelief at how close he was to being in her arms. after delivering the shoulders, yolanda invited nicky to reach down and grab her own baby, which she did! 

this was a moment of true triumph and redemption. absolutely beautiful to witness. and the baby at the end... well, he's pure sugar. ;)

so enjoy these photos! know that there are many left out due to nudity, but i think what remains here is still sufficient to tell the story quite well. and there are still lots of them (130 or so... i need to get better at culling things down maybe). grab a cuppa and a box of tissues... 

Thanks for riding along on these birth story adventures. I hope that the more we can see birth working well, and mamas surrounded by loving support, the less afraid we can be of it. It's powerful, miraculous, and mysterious, but it is not something to fear. 

contact me if you have a fearless birth story you're about to write, and which i can help you document. i'm taking 2 births per month at most, so don't delay. 

family photojournalism :: the saigeons (again)

june is birthday month for both siena and max. this year, siena turned 3, and max turned 1. growth is so obvious and noteworthy at these ages, so even though i had just been to their home last year to photograph them -- while max was a tiny baby -- michelle asked me to return. this year bassinets are replaced by floor beds (they practice montessori at home!), 3 word sentences are replaced by a fully conversational vocabulary, the toddler has become a kid, and the baby is well on his way to toddling. but what remains constant is the warmth, the color, the affection, the "crunchiness" of their lifestyle, and the beauty of the space that they call home. 

this photo series starts at 8 a.m. on a sunday morning, which also happened to be father's day. right as i walked through the front door, max started making sounds to alert his mama that he was awake, so we got to start this session with those precious just-woken moments, in which little ones are still blurry-eyed and cuddly. siena was excited to present her daddy with a father's day card and gift, then they enjoyed a family breakfast of bagels, kombucha (well, actually, siena wasn't too keen on sharing the buch), and watermelon on the front porch. the dressed and diapered and brushed their teeth. then they planted a watermelon seed, enjoyed their new sensory table, identified the bird perched on the roof next door, swung and slid, and drew with sidewalk chalk. 

a thousand ordinary moments thoughtfully lived build a beautiful life. come see. 

click here to learn more about family photojournalism sessions. 

life with a newborn :: beau xavier

beau was born on a wednesday in march, and when he arrived his family's farm stood still for maybe 24 hours -- or rather was put in the hands of a farm babysitter. then whitney and dan were right back to the milking, the feeding, the moving of livestock, the breeding of the pigs, and the delivering of milk and eggs to their CSA members (like me!). theirs is a real life working farm. 

when it was time for beau's Life With A Newborn session, dan and whitney knew that the true story of life with beau was also a farm story and a family story. beau is with them everywhere they go, accompanying them via arms, stroller, or baby carrier to all the many farm chores and errands. so i joined them on a friday for their evening chores. both beau and his big sister ceci (age 3.5) are fully integrated into the process, and ceci even carries a good size amount of responsibility, which she does with a serious sense of importance and deftness. and beau -- who is so good natured and easy -- just smiles and coos as he watches it all. no doubt he'll be chipping in with chubby toddler hands within the year. 

this is a really special farm, too! a small one happy, free-range animals that graze on pasture and eat non-GMO food and all other manner of wonderful wholesomeness. i don't have all the language to talk about the thoughtful way that dan and whitney are running their farm, but i can say that the raw milk and the eggs are incredibly delicious and i can also point you here to read more about what they are doing, in their own words. but here's your chance to see it up close and in action. 

i have some july openings still for family photojournalism and life with a newborn sessions. and i won't be shooting much in august, probably only 2-4 sessions total, so please get in touch if you're interested in having me tell a story with you. 

milk time (vol VI)

for this edition of Milk Time, we did some creative thinking so that we could get outdoor sessions for the many who had requested it. i knew we needed a space that had some scenic but private outdoor options but also an indoor location that was photograph-worthy in case not everyone wanted to be outside, or if it were to rain. that place turned out to be my house! which meant i had to send my own kids away for the afternoon to tidy and rearrange and clean both the house and the yard. it was a lot of work, so i hired nick at Rise Grand Rapids to do the bulk of the food prep. He brought over some delectable treats to spoil us all rotten. 

by the time the 2-hour event was over, 10 mamas with their babies had come and gone, many of them lingering to chat and snack and change diapers before or after their turn in front of the camera. it's the loveliest way to spend two hours, let me tell you!

also, for the first time ever, i had the privilege of welcome two mamas with bottle-fed babies. i'm happy to be able to celebrate all the many variations of how babies get fed. the connection that can be felt between a baby and his/her mama when being cuddled and fed is palpable in the air. every time. every way.

there will be one more opportunity to participate in Milk Time this summer. Friday, July 17 at Renew Mama Studio. Go HERE for event details and to purchase your ticket!

family photojournalism :: the butler family

in an old log cabin on a lush plot of land outside grand rapids, michigan there lives a family of four. a family who takes life slow, with a collectively laid-back personality. melding together linn's norwegian heritage with brian's native michigander background, these two have carved out an thoughtful life into which they've welcomed their daughter norah and their baby benjamin. 

when i visited them on a saturday afternoon- an hour and a half later than planned due to a sort of embarrassing and accidental detour my family took on the expressway -- they welcomed me in without any sign of frazzle, as my senses were filled by the smell of norwegian waffles cooking in the kitchen. after that delectable late-day snack, i followed them outside for chalk and tricycle play, running down slopes of grass, and strolling through wooded paths. i watched them take a letter to the mailbox and fill the bird feeder. back inside there was play time and story time and a nursing break for benjamin until we went out once more so norah could water the flowers. an afternoon full of quiet and rich activity with a loving family. 

come see...(warning; LOTS of photos -- grab a cup of joe and settle in)

life with a newborn :: elizabeth grace

stephanie and jonathan have great friends. why? because instead of buying them tons and tons of baby clothes and other unnecessary baby "gear," they went in and bought them a life with a newborn photo session. that's where i come in. 

it was so fun to head over to their home, which they had only just moved into, and spend an hour with them as they interacted with their tiny new girl, who was just over a week old at the time we did this session. it took their pup a few minutes to warm up to me, but once she did we were in business, and she added such an amusing element to these images. really, the dog is the first baby, and the big sister. :)

here's an afternoon with elizabeth and her family. watch out for the pink tutu!