This weekend, I had the great pleasure and honor of being invited to capture a birth. Finley was born Sunday at 10:51 a.m. and weighed in a 7 pounds 2 inches. He is every bit beautiful, and his parents were simply amazing. As I was going through to pick 5 or 6 to put on my blog here, I just couldn’t help myself! The thing about birth photojournalism is that it tells a story, and 5 or 6 images only tell a small part of the story. I just didn’t feel right about that, so there are a bunch of pictures here. But even this is only a small sampling of the nearly 400 I took!
One (of many) special part about this birth is the presence of a doula. Here is a quote DONA. “Studies have shown that when doulas attend birth, labors are shorter with fewer complications, babies are healthier and they breastfeeding more easily.” There was no reference link there, but you can go check it out. It was certainly true of this birth. Finley came quickly and easily (relatively speaking, of course), and nursed like a champ. In fact, check out this first picture. He is only 6 minutes old here and look just how alert and calm he is!
OK. That was the result. Now, back to the beginning. The ever present fetal monitor. I was amazed that Kate was allowed to labor without the monitor for nearly the whole time. Just a bit at the beginning here, and then again at the end.
The other not so fun part of giving birth in a hospital is the IV. Yuck!
One more unpleasant task, and then it’s up to walking. Wow! 7 centimeters!
Doula support is a wonderful thing.
Daddy certainly did his part, too.
Big Sis had to check in to be sure Mom was ok. Look at those amazing eyes! I’ve been wanting to capture those ever since I first met this gorgeous family! I hope her baby brother gets eyes like that, too!
Here’s the whole birth team. Mom & Dad, Suela the Doula, and Ellen, the Nurse-Midwife. She’s fantastic, by the way.
Now it’s time for the really hard work. That baby is ready to come!
The work is hard, but the reward is great! Just look at that beautiful boy! I love that he’s holding his foot.
Dad’s work is not quite done. He has this final task, and then birthing Dad turns into just plain ol’ Dad.
Just look at that proud papa!!
Praises for a job well done by an amazingly strong woman!
One last totally fun shot. Aren’t baby foot prints just the cutest thing???
Well, now I’m all teary just from this brief retelling of the story. Kate & Justin, I hope you enjoy your photos as much as I enjoyed taking them. You guys were awesome!
Suela, I can’t thank you enough for bringing me into this birth! Here’s a little shout out to you!
Go check out her website and if you are having a baby around these parts, hire her!
by Stacey
2 comments