There are few things more miraculous than the birth of a baby. When I started to get into birth photography, I felt so honored that parents welcomed me into this intimate atmosphere. I made it mission to help my clients feel at ease, and then quickly fade away into the background. Ironically enough, most of the hesitation for having a birth photographer comes from the husband. I have had many momma’s hire me, and then have to convince their partner that it was a good idea. Thankfully, I have only had raving reviews from the proud daddies, and all of their concerns were put to rest by the time I said goodbye.
When my sister found out she was expecting baby #2, she told me that I HAD to be at her birth. I was there to document her first baby’s grand entrance into the world, and this time it would be no different. (But of course it was because that’s just how birth goes!)
We knew that Ayla was going to come early, we just weren’t quite sure when. I got the call from my sister when she was just 30 weeks along that things were picking up, but she wasn’t totally sure it was the real thing. Thankfully it wasn’t and Ayla hung out for 6 more weeks. The night that labor began, everyone was so excited! I called my Nana to ask her if she could spend the night with my kiddos and take them to school in the morning. She arrived at my house, and I headed to my sister’s. When I arrived, April was handling her contractions beautifully. Her first birth was completely unmedicated, and this one would be the same. She rocked and breathed her way through every surge, and then squatted and bounced in between. With her first baby, April and I were laughing and joking the whole drive to the hospital, and she was 7cm when we arrived. As soon as she could no longer talk through contractions we headed in to the hospital. She was in so much pain, and the car ride was torture. So different from the first time. When they took her back to triage, she was only 2cm dialated. Devestated doesn’t even come close to how she felt. We walked the hospital for a few hours, and eventually they sent her home. It was 2am and we were all exhausted. My heart broke for my sister. She was working so hard, and her body wasn’t progressing the way she was hoping. 2 hours after I got home, Arthur called me. I could hear my sister screaming in the background. We headed back into the hospital. She was checked again, and still only at a 3. As my sister paced the room, crying in agony, I asked the nurse if we could get her into a tub. Thankfully she said yes, and with in a few moments we were settling into delivery room and we got the tub filled. The relief was instant as soon as she sank into the water. For 30 minutes, we took turns pouring warm water on her belly. At one point, April stopped making noise, and flipped over to her hands and knees. She was in the zone, and I knew it would be soon. The nurse came in to help get her out of the tub so that she could check her progress. Right as April got on the bed, her doctor stuck his head in to say hi. Right at that moment, the nurse called the doctor over and told him to grab his gloves. With in 30 seconds, with out a single push, Ayla was born. What started out as a slow and agonizing labor, quickly turned into a whirlwind delivery.
Each and every birth is so unique! It was such an honor to be able to document this life changing day for this beautiful family.
