Brittany + Birth Photography (Part 2) | Stuttgart, Germany
All throughout pregnancy, moms dream of what the moment will be like when they first hold their baby in their arms. There are so many emotions involved in that exact moment: relief, happiness, exhaustion, UTMOST LOVE. The world kind of stops turning. The life that was once safe inside your cozy womb is now outside in the real world, living, breathing, and YOURS.
I was so blessed to have been able to document Brittany's labor and delivery and to document the details of Baby Lena's birth day. To witness a baby being born is one of life's greatest miracles. A woman GROWS an actual child inside of her and then physically births the child into existence on this Earth. AMAZING. I can't think of a greater feat in life than that. Can you imagine growing a brain? a heart? a pair of lungs? making bones??? I can't even wrap my head around it. The entire pregnancy and birth experience is mesmerizing.
Brittany was the epitome of a perfect laboring mother. She was kind the ENTIRE day. She never lost her cool. Her water broke on its own the morning of her last checkup and she let me know she was heading to the hospital for her appointment, but wasn't having any contractions at the time. After a few hours when I didn't hear from her, I headed to the hospital. As it turned out, the hospital had a no cell phone policy and there was close to no signal at all in the hospital. We walked the halls for a few hours and she had to go back to the labor and delivery area every 3 hours for non-stress tests. The Germans are very natural when it comes laboring. They encourage WALKING. I loved it! She didn't even have a room to "labor" in for the first few hours.
Once Brittany's contractions really started to pick up, the midwife told her to take the elevator to the 5th floor, walk down all 5 flights of stairs, and then take the elevator back to L&D. This was to help the baby get into position and open Brittany's pelvis up. I'm pretty sure that happened on the FIRST flight of stairs. Brittany's contractions were almost right on top of each other. I honestly don't know how she made it to 1st floor. Her mom and husband were so incredibly supportive and were right there with her the entire time. I'd like to point out that Brittany was still being so incredibly nice! Once we got back to the L&D floor, she needed a wheelchair because her contractions were slo close together and walking was near impossible. There was a point where I could tell she was in a lot of pain as she was standing up rocking back and forth with her husband. It was such a beautiful sight. I know she was in pain, but she was working through it and her husband was so in the moment with her. I got teary eyed looking at them and it was in that exact moment when I knew this was my calling. I wish I could capture every baby's birth! I let the midwife know that Brittany was coming in from the hall and that she was READY. She got into the delivery room and Lena was born 6 minutes later!!!! It was incredible.
This is my most favorite photograph!!! She hadn't even taken her first breath of life yet.
I love this picture of Brittany so much. She has just seen her baby girl for the first time!!! She's happy and crying with her husband and mother on either side of her holding her hands. Lena was born with her umbilical cord wrapped around her neck. The midwife very CALMLY unwrapped it and let Lena lay on the end of the bed until the blood started flowing and she took her first breath all on her own. No drastic measures. No suction. SO CALM! As soon as Lena cried, she was placed in Brittany's arms. Brittany began to sing "Yes, Jesus loves me! Yes, Jesus loves me..." and she immediately stopped crying. She knew Brittany's voice! It was SO BEAUTIFUL and moving for me. I cried :) I cry at every birth. I can't help it! It is amazing!
I urge all expecting mother's to seriously consider birth photography. Yes, you might not look "your best." Yes, it is not always "pretty." Yes, unexpected things can happen. You know what though?? That is all part of THE STORY!! It is real life! You are GIVING life! All births are perfect and wonderful in their own way. EVERY story and labor is different. Not everyone will be a "Brittany" and power through the day like an Olympic Birth Champion, but that is OKAY!!! Please contact me if you are even the slightest bit interested in birth photography and I will be more than happy to answer any and all questions you may have. Brittany didn't even know birth photography existed until I told her about it. Let me tell you about it too :)