{birth story}

When I walked in to the room this mama was calm and resting. You could tell she had been working really hard and was using her time between contractions wisely. Those micro naps can do wonders. When the urge to push came on, baby started coming out in her caul, however, the caul ruptured on it’s was out. After that, mama changed positions. Due to a hip injury dad got creative and used his belt for extra leg support. Not long after getting as comfortable she was going to get, she pushed her sweet baby in to the world. I love the images of mom as she hugs her baby for the first time. The immediate feeling of relief and amazement. The incredible adrenaline rush. Pure, genuine, gratefulness, and happiness. It’s a really beautiful thing to witness. This glorious moment lasts a little while before it’s time to birth the placenta. Your body will expel that naturally within 30 minutes of birth, but sometimes, like in this mama’s case, the placenta doesn’t detach from the uterine wall which is called a retained placenta. If this happens, intervention is needed. This super strong and extremely determined mama wanted to avoid surgery, so while dad held baby, she held on to the laughing gas for deal life as the doctor manually removed it. This woman’s determination and strength absolutely amazed me. And so did the umbilical cord! Seriously, scroll down and check out that beautiful cord, along with baby Vivian’s tiny feet and hands. Oh I just loooove the baby wrinkles you only see on brand new babies. And of course be sure to press play on the video at the end of this post to see this whole birth story which includes precious video clips.

*** now press play to watch this beautiful and powerful birth story ***

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{birth story}

Even though birth, in general, is predictable, it's very unpredictable on an individual level. As a birth photographer I never know how long I will be when I head to a labouring mama. On average, I'm gone 14 hours. Sometimes 6, and sometimes 26! When I arrived at the birth of Sage it was 10pm. These two were calm yet eager yet patiently going through the motions as baby was slowly making her way down. Things were moving along nicely. This totally supported Mama laboured at home for a while before we made the move to the hospital. She wanted to make the transition before she got further along because as many mama's know, the car ride isn't so pleasant when you're in labour. It's very normal for things to slow down or even stall after a transfer, but she was deep in labour that things really didn't slow down too much. Things were going so well and she was embracing every contraction as they came. She was doing everything in her power to help baby down. But after the sun came up, exhaustion hit. Things slowed down. Rest is very helpful and can become quite vital at this point, and sometimes that's when epidural is recommended. After she was connected, she napped. Her partner napped. I napped. The midwives napped. We met back in the room a few hours later and found there wasn't much progress. But this mama was determined. She wasn't done. Her baby wasn't done. Her partner was the best supporter. So they sailed on. She laboured through a whole other day. Sometimes, you can do everything in your power and things just won't progress. Baby just gets stuck. And when heart rates start dropping, baby needs to come. So they made the very emotional decision to have a c-section before it turned in to an emergency. Their midwives stayed by their side and helped them with a gentle c-section so when Sage was born she was passed to her mama from under the surgical curtain! It was unbelievably emotional. My words don't really do this birth story justice. It was definitely a birth I will never forget. And I am so grateful to be sharing their story with you today. Just look at these images below and of course watch the birth documentary at the bottom of this post. You'll probably cry.