I was going to title this birth "A Long Haul" because it truly was... spanning 3 days, this family had quite an eventful journey to meet their little boy. This mom hired me a couple weeks before her due-date, and I already had holiday plans to go away to Portland between Christmas and New Years, but we had faith that she would last till her January 2nd due date and I would be back by then. Well, you can't schedule birth, so on December 30th I get a call from her saying her water had broken, and although contractions were light throughout the day they didn't progress so I stayed in Portland another day. The morning of Dec. 31st, she was induced and I decided to cut our holiday short and drive home so I could hopefully still arrive in time to photograph her birth. We kept in touch as I was driving home (meanwhile I was biting my nails the whole way.) Thank goodness my back-up photographer Sharalee Prang had my back and as we were driving through Seattle, she let me know she was on her way to the hospital since mom was 6 cm. To cut a long story very short, I arrived at the hospital Dec. 31st at 7:30pm and at 1:30am on January 1st mom was 9cm and no longer progressing... so after 3 days of labour, this mama delivered her baby via c-section. He was beautiful and healthy but because he had a fever and had fetal distress from such a long labour, he was transferred to the NICU. Mama got to join him soon after:) Happy New Year and thank you so much to Sharalee for helping me out in a tight situation. I'm glad I was able to make it since witnessing this mama in action was incredibly inspiring! (All births are inspiring, but this mama was the most positive person in hard circumstance I have met yet) Congratulations to a beautiful new family of 3 in 2013!
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Paige had a beautiful entry into this world! Grandparents, sister, brothers and friends surrounded mom and dad with love and company while they all waited together for mom and dad to be taken to the OR. Then everyone waited in anticipation for mom and dad to return with a little bundle in their arms. There was so much joy filled in that room, I was honoured to be able to capture this little one's birth journey. (Happy 1 week birthday Paige!) What an amazing emotional birth journey this couple had! This mom was told 4 things her entire pregnancy. (1) She would most definitely have her baby earlier than her due date (2) She had a small baby and lots of fluid in her belly (3) Her baby's head was down (4) It was a girl. 1 out of those 4 things were true, and thank goodness they got the sex right (since their nursery is very purple and very cute!) When this mom made it 10 days past her due date, she went in for an induction (She had her doula beside her and was ready for a long and difficult natural birth) But... as doctors would discover that day, her baby was breach (and most likely large) and instead of starting the labour she prepared for, she was scheduled for a c-section the next morning. It's not easy to digest all that news in one sitting, but both parents focused on the end result, knowing they would hold their healthy baby girl tomorrow... and healthy she was! 10 pounds 11 ounces of healthy baby girl! Congratulations to an amazing new family. Since I'm not permitted to photograph in the OR, I handed off my camera to dad, but luckily Heather, their practice midwife was also in the OR supporting them and she snapped some great photos to complete their birth story. The next 2 photos were taken in the OR. Heather, and dad, please don't get any ideas about a career change... I am presently working on their slideshow. Stay tuned...
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