Grief during birth and the story of baby A...

I got to work with this gorgeous family after Lindsay from Birthing Matters referred them to me. This gorgeous mom wanted their whole journey as a family documented. She booked my services for Maternity, Birth Photography and Newborn!

I always like to chat with prospective clients on the phone so we can get to know each other a bit more, this also gives me the opportunity to hear my clients visions. This beautiful mom knew exactly what she wanted and she valued a lot images of her oldest child. I arrived to their Maternity Session in their home and OMG was this kiddo a hoot! We played, we jumped, we had so much fun! But you know what was the best part, the love that he has for his mom, dad and even his little sister!

You could feel it in the air…

““Don’t grieve. Anything you lose comes round in another form.””

— Rumi

A few weeks later this family had a loss in their family. Loss is so difficult to deal with when you are expecting a little one. It’s a middle point between sadness because of the loss and happiness because of the new addition. She had hired Lindsay as her Doula and decided that Lindsay was going to be her main support person during her birth, while her husband mourned and cared for their oldest at home. Grandma was also at the birth as a support person.

I remember I was called into the birth as they were settling in at Mount Auburn. She knew she wanted to labor in the tub so she requested that immediately. To her surprise when she arrived she was already 7cms and her face of surprise was priceless. She was expecting to be earlier in the labor process, but was definitely closer to the end than what she expected!

She stayed in the tub, moved around and changed positions as needed (changing positions is one of the best things you can do during labor). She asked if she was allowed to push, the staff would direct her to do whatever she needed or wanted (one of the things I love about Mount Auburn!!!). She requested a little more guidance in regards to pushing and both Lindsay and her midwife guided her through.

She roared baby girl into this world and the number of emotions in the room was just amazing! Witnessing grandma seeing her daughter give birth was also amazing. If you look through the images you’ll see a moment when mom loved over at grandma saying “I did it and you were here!”. Having a supported birth is the most amazing thing you can experience. Grandma got to cut the cord of her granddaughter, so precious!

After a while, grandma left so that mom’s partner was able to join them at the hospital. When Dad arrived another rush of emotions filled the room. You could definitely know there was still a lot pain in his heart, yet the excitement of having his baby girl in arms! Tears, words, love, sadness, mixed emotions were very clear in the room.

After a while, after Dad arrived they were able to sit down and enjoy their little one, with calmed yet visible emotions. The nurse measured and weighted the little one and the family looked over. Mom got to enjoy her golden hour with her little one in arms. To witness this beautiful family enjoying their little one was amazing. The loss was still very tangible, but having a little one in hands was a moment that needed to be embraced.

A few days later I got to see them in their home and I got to have some fun times with older brother, who was very eager to introduce his little sister (little did he know that I was at her birth hehe). He was excited that I was there and the only thing he wanted to do was to play hehe. I got to work his little sister and capture some special moments of her VERY AWAKE and her asleep! WIN!

The family pictures are the best in my eyes!

This family is just gorgeous!