Cadence's Birthing Day

{birth story}

This couple reached out to me about documenting the birth of their 2nd baby, but sadly my birth schedule was fully booked. So when they reached out to me for their third baby I was very happy to have an opening for their estimated due date. I met with this family (which you can see here) and she told me they were planning the birth at the birth centre, which always makes me a little extra excited!! Have you seen that place?!? It’s beautiful and so cozy and inviting!! So in the early morning hours on March 29th, I got “the call”. When I arrive I walked in to a room so calm with a very focused mama. As she worked through her contractions she would listen and watch adorable videos on her phone of her children giggling and playing. It was really sweet that they were virtually there to help support their mama on their new siblings birthing day. Well, it wasn’t long before baby made her debut!! So fast, so wide eyed and alert! When her brother and sister arrived to shower her with cuddles, my heart just exploded. Watching siblings meet for the first time will never ever get old. Scroll down through some of my favourite images from this birth, and then press play to watch the birth story!

*** now press play to watch this super love-filled birth story ***

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Ten Years of Documenting Births!

{birth stories}

Two days ago I celebrated 10 years of documenting births!! And honestly, never ever in a million years did I think that I would go on to be a birth photographer/videographer who is getting close to documenting 100 births! After all, 10 years ago I was just heading to India to continue documenting the relationship between wildlife and humans which I had been doing on my travels around the world (I am slowly working on getting those photos up here: Projects).
However, after our trip to India, I learned that we were going to have a baby. So naturally the whole experience of having a baby of my own opened up a whole new world to me with new passions. These passions led me down a path to the birth world where I knew women were in need of a voice, and support, and sometimes healing. So here I am, 10 years later still working hard to help normalize birth and heal wounds. With the help of these wonderful families who invite me in to their sacred spaces, who allow me to share their stories with you, I can assure you there has been change!
When I first started doing this, it was unheard of! Other than midwives being super supportive and excited about what I was doing, there was mostly confusion as to why anyone would want this experience documented, and a lot of concerned staff that were not that welcoming towards me as they were worried I was documenting them working. But after building relationships with hospital staff, and with some education from all sides, here we are 10 years later and now birth photography has become quite popular! I’m even welcomed in the O.R for c-sections most of the time!!
We still have a long way to go to make sure pregnant, birthing, and postpartum folks are respected and heard, so I don’t imagine I will be quitting this type of photography any time soon. But in celebration of this milestone, let me share with you, some gorgeous loving births to watch! Maybe check the flyers of your local stores for sales on boxes of tissue before you start pressing play, ha ha ha! Enjoy! And feel free to share this with all the expecting parents you know!

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Vivian Eleanor

{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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Thanks for stopping by!
To see more blog posts, head to the Blog Archives.

Contact me for more information about sessions and collections.