             Jaydene Freund is a birth photographer in the Vancouver, Fraser Valley area. She has captured over 80 births and is passionate about women preserving their birth stories to pass on to their own children.
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The moment a woman becomes a mother is one of the most incredible, pivotal moments of her life. After years of dreaming, 9 months of waiting, and several hours or days of labour, you receive the biggest reward of a lifetime. The main reward is that little person that lives and breaths, but the secondary reward, and perhaps the greater reward is the transforming gift of motherhood.
When you become a mother, you become someone new. Baptized into this roll that is not for yourself but has you living and giving to another. The exhaustion, determination, confusion, loneliness, togetherness and selflessness converts you into a better version of yourself. This version grows just as the little ones grow. Your heart beats a little different. Your soul sings a new song. After my own birth, I remember feeling more powerful than superwoman, like I had conquered the world and in that moment, I must have been the strongest woman alive. The adrenaline rush was incredible and I was floating above the world. Then seconds later, I immediately had more gratitude for my own mother and instantly felt more bonded to her. The days and weeks that followed were hard and they transformed me into a better, stronger, more capable version of myself. The days are still hard, but I wouldn't change it for anything. Because of those 2 amazing little people that I have been entrusted to raise, I am filled with an immeasurable amount of love, laughter and life… so much so that I feel like I could burst. I asked some of the women who invited me to capture their journey into motherhood to tell me how they felt "the moment they became a mother…" This is what they said: 
"The moment I became a mother I was instantly in love with my baby. All my selfish concerns didn't matter anymore. I just wanted him."
"The moment I became a mother for the fourth time, I felt the miracle, the magic, and the relief all at once."
"The moment I became a mother, the chaos of the most hectic and stressful day went away; my baby became real as I saw her for the first time." -K
"The moment I becomes a mother, my whole world slowed down and there was nothing else but her." -S 
"The moment I became a mother I felt so alive, like I had just climbed a mountain! I never knew how much I could love hearing that first newborn cry."
"The moment I became a mother for the third time, I felt complete in this stage of life."
"The moment I became a mother to Hunter I was happy, sad and scared. I was happy to know my son was finally born. But sad cause my husband was not able to be there and scared due to the complications surrounding his birth. But in the end he's happy healthy and loved so much."
"The moment I became a mother for a 3rd time, there was such a relief in meeting the missing piece of our family puzzle."
"The moment I became a mother I was overcome with relief. Relief from the physical pressure of pregnancy and birth. Relief knowing that my baby was okay and healthy. And relief and peace knowing our family was complete."
"The moment I became a mother for the second time, my heart was overwhelmed with relief, disbelief, euphoria, gratitude, amazement, and elation. Our family and my happiness was complete! It was the most joyous glimpse of worship to our Creator I have ever been privileged to experience."
"The moment I became a mother I felt complete."
"The moment I became a mother, I was perplexed with overwhelming sense of relief, responsibility, nervousness, and excitement. I couldn't believe it actually happened. He finally arrived safely to us."
"The moment I became a mother, my whole body filled with light."
The moment I became a mother, I knew that we were about to start the most amazing adventure yet!"
"The moment I became a mother, I was changed forever. From that moment on, everything I would do, I would think of someone else first. My baby boy changed the way I looked at every problem, every joy, every experience. Time slowed down and sped up all at the same time. Being a mother is something indescribable. Like your heart is now walking around outside your body, never to return."
"The moment I became a mother for the second time, I felt overjoyed to have added a daughter to our family and a sibling for our son, yet both relieved and sad, knowing I wouldn't be having any more babies."
"The moment I became a mother I never thought I could love that tiny person so much… and they were mine!"
One of my favourite quotes is, "The moment a child is born, the mother is also born. She never existed before. The woman existed, but the mother, never. A mother is something absolutely new."
Happy Mothers Day. 
My sister. I only have one sister… and we've always been close. She's been at both my births, and I've been to hers. This was a special birth because it's the last time she will travel this journey and experience these emotions. (I'm crying just typing those words.) Birth is hard. It's not "fun" but there is something about it that's magical. Despite the pain, women want to give birth. My sister is an amazing birther. She is in control in her labours, she's focused, she knows she needs back pressure, silence and water. It's been the same every time, so it was nice to know what to expect this time, except we didn't expect things to happen as fast as they did. Rewind back to the holidays. All through Christmas we were waiting for this little babe to arrive. My sister was overdue and we were waiting… in anticipation at every family event. Finally on Boxing Day, after all the family events were wrapped up, she called me at 8:45pm to let me know things might be starting but were "early." I hurried to her house which was quiet and peaceful. It was a beautiful night for life to enter this world. The kids were all sleeping, and she and her husband were working together. The 3 of us offered up a prayer for safe delivery. Things moved quickly… the midwives soon arrived to set up and when they checked her, she was already 10cm. The tub was finally full and she crawled in and melted into the water… (oh, I remember how good that water feels.) 5 minutes later and another boy entered her family at 9:59pm, still in the bag of waters (you can see it slipping off him as the midwife pulls him up out of the water.) PS: Thanks to the midwives from Abbotsford Midwifery Group and West Coast Health Collective for being so awesome. To my sister: Thank you for inviting me in to capture this birth and all your births. I've seen you at your strongest. You are such an amazing mama from birthing to potty training to home schooling. I'm so happy we live close together and raise our kids side by side.   The onset of labour
  10 cm dilated and still smiling. Meanwhile her amazing midwives are quickly preparing for baby's arrival.
 Baby born in caul. As the midwife lifted him up, the sac of waters slid down the baby and into the tub.  
 His first cry  
 In daddy's arms 
 All cozied up by the tree
   Watch the full birth story: When I arrived at this birth, this mom was still walking around, getting her kids ready for bed while listening to her hypnobirthing affirmations. When compared with most labouring women, you wouldn't think she was in labour at all. She was 5cm at this point and soon decided to hop into the tub. She continued to listen to her beautiful affirmations that were playing aloud and when she felt the baby coming, she reached down and pulled him up herself. The next 20 minutes were spent just chillin in the tub, admiring the little man that was inside her for the last 10 months. When she felt her placenta coming, she reached down and delivered it as well. This birth was an absolute gift. She was strong and in control of all the sensations her body was feeling. It was an honour to witness this family welcome this new baby into our world… and yes, now I believe hypnobirthing can truly make a difference in labour and birth.  
  
  Birth is one of the most empowering events of a woman's life. When I look back on my birth images I feel like superwoman... I pushed LIFE into this world!!! It was the hardest, most rewarding thing of my life. I have rarely shared images of the actual moment of birth to protect my client's privacy, however I have received permission to post these incredible images of these little super-humans when they were only half earth-side. Don't be scared to be amazed by these images! This is human life before it has taken it's first breath. Suspended between 2 worlds, life is waiting for that final push to be born. This post may not be for everyone… but as a birth photographer I always share the beautiful strong labouring woman and the shots afterwards of mama cuddling her squishy new baby, so I also want to show you how miraculous and beautiful the moment their child enters the world can also be. Celebrate how amazing life is and enjoy these images of the actual MOMENT OF BIRTH!   The excitement of birth  Daddy delivers his son  Many women birth on toilets. It's where they feel the most natural urge to push. This is a rare photo of a posterior baby born facing it's mama.  Almost born  C-section birth  Born safely on his bathroom floor  Just waiting for the next contraction...  The final push  Welcomed by warm hands  Unwrapping the cord  Mama delivers her own baby  Cradled Creations has photographed nearly 80 births in the Vancouver, Fraser Valley region. To see what an entire birth story looks like from start to finish, click here.
Since I have been getting a lot of traffic on this post, I would love to know who linked you to this post. Comment below to tell me where you are from and how you found me. Make sure to follow me on Instagram at @cradledcreations and like my Facebook page. This was a beautiful and very quick home birth. I arrived at the house on a calm, rainy evening and didn't expect things to progress so quickly. Events were slow and serene until all in one sudden this mama felt like she had to push… so right there on the bathroom floor, this baby was born surrounded by love, support and warm fuzzy towels.
 
     
   
  Watch this beautiful Abbotsford home birth story below:
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