Jessica + Birth Photography | Caesarean Delivery | Fort Bragg, NC
I have never seen a woman more determined to have a baby GIRL than Jessica. She dreamed of having a little girl her entire life. If you want to know any tips or tricks on how to conceive a girl, Jessica is the resident expert. I'm not kidding. She can give you an entire list of things to try! Since she had a girl, there's a 50% chance that her methods work :)
Jessica is one of my most dear friends in life. I couldn't have been more thrilled when she invited me to do her birth photography!! I was over the moon excited for her when she got pregnant and even more excited at the thought of being there when McKenzie was born. As Jessica's pregnancy progressed, baby girl was bound and determined to be born feet first and her doctor started discussing induction and a caesarian section. All Jessica cared about was that her little girl be born in the safest way possible. She didn't want to take any chances with manually turning the baby or chancing any worst case scenarios. Despite her dream of having a vaginal birth (Jessica was born with birthing hips!), she quickly put that dream to the side for the sake of her daughter. She was already such a good mom before her baby was even born! It is so important to realize that just because a birth doesn't happen the way you thought it would, doesn't mean it is any less perfect. At the end of the day, you still have an amazing birth story and you get to hold your baby!!!
Jessica gave birth to McKenzie in an Army hospital with a waiting room full of excited friends and family. People were stopping by all morning just to see if there was any news yet. Both Grandmas were on the edge of their seats awaiting the big news!!! I wasn't allowed in the operating room so I captured all of the waiting room moments for the family instead.
Once Jessica was out of recovery, we got to meet McKenzie! She had SUCH a sweet face!!! She was so calm, sweet, and alert. I even got to swaddle her :) It pays to have one child under my belt to be the swaddling expert at a moment's notice.
My favorite moment of the entire day was when everyone had the left the room and it was just Jessica, McKenzie and me. I got to help Jessica learn how to breastfeed her baby for the first time! I'm a big breastfeeding supporter so this was such a special moment for me to be a part of. I'm so blessed in life to have a friend close enough to be able to share this moment with her. The female body can do some amazing things! Not long after being in SURGERY, Jessica was able to provide nourishment for her child. Simply amazing. Lactation is one of the coolest things ever. Imagine making several meals for the day on demand, but not having to lift a finger! Magical, I know.
The picture above is my favorite picture of the day! This was their first nap together :) I very much enjoyed the quiet moment with them while they both rested and I continued to take pictures so that Jessica wouldn't have to worry about memorizing every detail of the day--that's what pictures are for!
