I just love photographing a baby in their own bedroom... it's so special to see all the work that mama put into making a beautiful haven for herself and her baby. I personally love spending time in my own son's nursery, looking at the photos on the wall and the gifts on the shelf... and so when I saw Jack's nursery, I knew we would do our photo session in there. Dad also requested some sports themed photos. This session was too much fun!

My niece was born last year, and I've been meaning to make a shorter, public slideshow to share with everyone. Well, I've finally gotten around to it, and spent the afternoon balling because of it. I'm 2 months away from my own birth (which my sister will hopefully be attending) and it was very emotional to watch her last birth story again. As you will see in the photos, everything moved quite quickly. There aren't many labouring photos because I was helping her as a doula and then she got in the tub and literally birthed her baby. One moment she was in labour, the next she had her baby in her arms, then the paramedics had been called because of her bleeding and we were all at the hospital. It may look dramatic, but it was lovely, and calm and she focused on her new baby girl in her arms the whole time.

This is only my second 6-month baby session, but I loved doing it and would love to do more if anyone else out there has a baby in the 6-month to 1 year range!  
Mason is a junior golfer. He even has a mini golf club that was his mom's when she was a little girl so mom wanted to do a golf themed shoot. The little chair he's sitting in was made by his grandpa. So cute!

How lovely to meet Mr. Colbie at 1 week old. As you can tell in most of my shoots, I like to make newborn photos very personal to each individual family's interests. Colbie's daddy is a fire fighter and avid hockey player, so we incorporated both hobbies into his photos. Good thing he was a small newborn and didn't mind fitting into hockey and firefighter helmets;) 

I met Samantha through the birth community last year. She is a fellow doula, lamaze teacher, specializes in placenta encapsulation and teaches a pre-natal yoga class. You can read more about any of her classes or services on her website here: breatheintobeing.net When she became pregnant, we thought we would do some great pre-natal yoga shots in her home studio (that she uses for her own personal morning exercises) When I arrived, I was in awe... I love this little haven that overlooks a beautiful view of Mission, BC.  Since it was a nice day, she continued her morning yoga routine outside in her yard. It was so serene photographing her in silence while she transitioned from one pose to the next. 

We followed up our photo session by feeding the goats in her backyard... This photo session was a serious rejuvenation to my soul!

I rarely get to play the role of doula these days since birth photography has picked up... but absolutely loved supporting this couple on their journey to becoming parents as their doula and photographer. I've really gotten to know this mom over the last few months and truly consider her a friend now.

She is a planner... I mean seriously, she's a wedding planner, so she had a birth plan in her head. Birth bags meticulously packed, planning to labour at home as long as possible, was ready for the long haul, etc... but when her water broke while at the blood lab, her plans got a bit of a jolt after the paramedics were called and she was taken to hospital via ambulance. Yep. arrived to the hospital all alone, no birth bags, no husband, no labouring at home. I arrived shortly after her and her husband rushed home from Vancouver. She also had 2 great nurses and we all supported her the best we could, but back-labour is hard (unbearably hard) and after hours of labour, no progress, a lot of meconium and infection setting in, she was taken for a c-section. That sort of news is hard... especially for a planner, but she was brave and looked forward to meeting her little girl.

I wasn't allowed into the OR doors, so the anesthesiologist took my camera and got a fantastic photo of the actual birth. The staff were great and let me into recovery to be with mom, dad & baby soon after birth. Here are a few photos from their journey.

What a treat to photograph this little guy and the beautiful details that surround him in his woodland themed nursery. His mom is a crafty lady. She made his mobile with some twigs from her backyard and her cricut machine. She also makes the little stuffed owls that are shown in the old carriage (that belonged to her as a child.) You can like her Opechee handmade facebook page here. 

Since the photoshoot was woodland themed we used some great little knit hats given to her by a co-worker, Nicola. You can order any of the knit hats shown in this photoshoot by emailing her here: nickymatt@hotmail.com. We ended the shoot by placing Henry on the huge REAL Grizzly that daddy shot, stuffed and put in their entry way... hahaha... he looked so small sitting atop this massive bear.

I already blogged my favourite photos from this birth in colour here, but wanted to post their extended birth story. This was such a lovely mom! When I arrived at the hospital she greeted me with some David's Tea and a new David's Tea mug that brews the tea (I use it all the time!) It was such a nice treat to sip throughout the day.

She's also a great mommy blogger. Follow her local blog here: blog.theconnectionweshare.com (right now she is giving away a $100 grocery gift card) 

This is baby #1 for this family and they don't know if they are having a boy or a girl... so we decided to play off that and take some fun shots with colour in the candy shop. They also brought a balloon bouquet with them (with pink, blue and some fun random colours) just to add some extra character to their photos. We met in the Old Clayburn Candy Shop and the shop keeper was kind enough to let us snap a few photos before we exited into the drizzling rain to explore the rest of Clayburn. This post has lots of photos... but there were just too many fun locations (including an old abandoned bath tub we found beside a barn!) 

I had a great time photographing this birth at BC Womens Hospital in Vancouver. They have such a great birthing facility! The nurses were amazing, the doctors were amazing, the rooms were amazing... this mama had lots of support and she laboured amazing. She pushed for 3.5 hours (in many hospitals this would have been an automatic c-section) but she was determined to keep pushing and the hospital staff were so supportive, finally helping the baby out with a vacuum. 

I have never met a mama who rose so quickly after birth. She came over to the examining table to be right by her baby's side as she was measured & weighed. It was beautiful to watch a mother so attentive. Congratulations to this beautiful new family of 3!