birth :: william andrew

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You can cross every t and dot every i, and birth is still an unpredictable and wild adventure. It smashes expectations and demands surrender. In this way, the best and deepest parts of a woman's heart are called upon to see her through, and in that process a mother is born. 

Sarah -- an intuitive and insanely informed birth doula -- and her husband AJ planned with wisdom and intentionality every last detail of their beautiful home birth. The space they created was equipped with every necessary practicality, and their hearts and minds were in the game. Sarah labored long and gently at home for a full day or so before she called me in with the camera. Along with their doula, Megan of Over The Moon and their midwife Yolanda of Birthsong Midwifery, they had an incredible team. Though her labor was slow-going, all was going smoothly. 

Until it wasn't. Suddenly, Sarah lost her vision and became disoriented. Under Yolanda's calm command, we all hustled into action and got her to the hospital -- where an advance call had them expecting her -- within 15 minutes. Then frightening words were being used, like "pre-eclampsia" and "seizure" and "hypertension," as a compassionate and skilled set of health professionals set to work bringing her body and mind back to equilibrium. It was in many ways their worst nightmare, yet the love and support with which Sarah and AJ were surrounded in the process was unwavering. She was in good hands. 

It took about half a day before Sarah would be out of the woods, and she labored mightily, with a perseverance and determination i've rarely seen, for another day and a half after her health scare. She labored with monitors and medications and many other elements she never planned on. But each one was chosen deliberately and with full informed consent. Through all these things, she didn't lose her power. 

But a uterus, being a muscle, can get exhausted and refuse to march on, just like the legs of any distance runner that's been pushed to the max. Sarah's lack of sleep over the previous days, the baby's stubborn asynclitic position (and resulting lack of progression), that weary uterus, and finally the baby's increase in heart decelerations eventually lead to the need for a hard decision to be made. Sarah and AJ huddled together while their birth team gave them space, and in the space of loving trust between them, they decided to elect for a surgical birth. 

Things moved very quickly then. It wasn't long at all before Sarah was whisked away to the OR, AJ following in his scrubs and holding my pre-programmed camera. And very shortly after that, their beautiful son was brought up and out of Sarah's body and almost immediately to her chest. 

And what a boy! Hunky and healthy, he stole their hearts immediately, the joy of him overshadowing the travail of getting to him. 

Here, in photos, is the story of William's birth. Please note, I came and went several times, so there are four phases of photos here.

Note: because i know this will come up, it is still my firm conviction that home birth is a safe and wonderful choice and that home birth midwives are (more often than not) skilled, wise, and responsible practitioners. this birth story doesn't alter that conviction (or the research that backs that conviction up) in the slightest. yet the truth is that women also need hospitals and OBs, complete with all the tools that they have in their arsenal when birth moves from being a normal physiological event to being a medical emergency. gratefully, that is relatively rare, but when medical help is needed, it is invaluable to have a hospital that is willing to step in and compassionately resolve a birth-related crisis. what we need is not 100% home births in the world nor 100% hospital births; what we need is to have OBs and Midwives who see and value the contributions that the other brings to the table, who can then respectfully collaborate to meet the varying and diverse needs of women in labor and delivery, without shaming or competing.  during Sarah's birth, this happened! and when it works, it is really beautiful to witness. i was so proud of both her midwife and the doctors and nurses at Spectrum for their respectful collaboration that centered on the needs of Sarah. 

fresh48 :: ruby jean

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Ruby Jean, born late one Saturday morning in February. Weighing 9 lbs 8 oz., she had the most luscious chubby cheeks from right out of the womb. She was born at her Grand Rapids home, and her birth made one of the best memories her mama and daddy have ever experienced. 

The day after she was born, I popped over and made these pictures of sweet Ruby with her adoring family.

Fresh48 sessions exist for these surreal, magical moments of discovering and falling in love with a fresh new baby. After you've caught your breath just a little from the work of birth, you get to snuggle in with your people and have some pictures like these done. One hour, no posing, just resting in your delight. 

personal :: day in the life, february edition

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At the beginning of this year I sat down and put four randomly selected dates on the calendar, designating them in advance as the days that I would do a personal Day In The Life (DITL), one per quarter. The first of those dates was February 24, and on that day, this is what life looked like at our house. 

Using my remote, I was able to make a few pictures of myself getting things prepped in the kitchen before the kids came down for their breakfast. I was showered and dressed in the day's clothes from the waist UP, but still had on pajama pants because I didn't want to sneak into the room where the baby was sleeping in order to get some jeans from my noisy dresser. 

Other random details I notice here, which delight my heart, even as they annoy me: the pile of dried rice and pumpkin seeds on Gus' bed (why?!), Hazel using a tiny orange container to pour water over her hair so that she can brush it out before going to school, Hazel's high-water pink snow pants that she won't stop wearing even though they are now obviously too short. And then there's Gus's belly, which is slowly shrinking from it's toddler status to that of a little boy, and he's wearing a pink cloth diaper in a few of these, because his daddy put it on him before his nap (he can't sleep without wetting himself, but he's otherwise mostly in big boy underplants now). I love the way that Walter looks up at Gus with admiration and an unfettered grin on his face in the photos taken by the window toward the end. All of Gus' grumpy faces, and the way Hazel is pulling Walter off the bed because she takes so much pride in being able to lift and carry him. The images Gus took of ME sitting/laying on my bed in the afternoon,  my exhaustion so apparent. Nursing Walter in front of my computer while I watch a Creative Live class. Tim eating a mid-day smoothie, which is the story of his life. ;) And, of course, the morning visitors: my new friends with whom trust and affection levels are quickly rising. 

Those are the sorts of detail that makes these photos so special, even though, to be honest with you, I don't feel like I did my best work with the photos on this particular day. 

 

snuggle :: the stobs

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When a respiratory illness prevented the Stobs from coming to my recent Snuggle Sessions event, we rescheduled it for a week later, and moved the location to their own home. They spent some time reading, tickling, snuggling, jumping, kissing, and looking out windows... all from their couch and their daughter's floor bed. :)  

It doesn't take much to make a good picture: just 2 or more people who love each other, a bit of light from an uncovered window, and a comfortable place to relax and play while a skilled photographer snaps away. All those ingredients were present here. I couldn't be more pleased with the feel of these simple but love-full images of this really lovely family.

If you're in Grand Rapids, and would like family photos done like this in your own home, I'm temporarily extending the offer of a private, in-home Snuggle Session through the end of this month (while supplies last). $150 gets you 15 minutes and 15 or more edited images (downloadable and with copyright permissions). Reach out!

snuggle :: the sessions

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Instead of the more usual outdoors-at-a-park mini-sessions this winter I ran a little series of cuddly, indoor mini-sessions on a couch or bed and called them The Snuggle Sessions!

Though the weather that day turned out to be the least wintery of any of the days before or after it, rendering the promised fire and hot chocolate less desirable, these cozy sessions still had such a great feel to them. I love seeing all these lovely families enjoying one another with such affection and playfulness, and I really like the results! 

Stay tuned tomorrow for one more Snuggle Session feature, along with a special and very limited time offer. 

school :: montessori in motion

I recently arranged with my daughter's preschool teacher to have my volunteering be an afternoon spent photo-documenting the classroom. It was such a treat to be a fly on the wall in the children's house (that's what Maria Montessori called preschool), watching these kids so competently and peacefully (well, mostly) going about their work.

Though I can't show photos with any faces of the students (other than my own kid), these images will give you a glimpse of how a Montessori classroom works for ages 3-6.