Baby Samantha's Birth

I first met this couple just after the new year when mama was already 39 weeks pregnant. 

They were first time parents, excited to meet their new baby girl any day.

They had been looking for a birth photographer for a while and ended up finding me at the last minute.

They knew they wanted to capture the memories of this incredible day and didn't want to leave it to chance. Plus, if dad was the one taking all of the pictures, who would take pictures of him?

So I went on call for this couple immediately and we waited.

Late at night on January 12 - 2 days after mom's due date - I got a text that she was having a lot of cramping. She was going to try to rest and see if they went away, but would let me know if anything changed.

A little after 3:30 in the morning, I got the call that they were heading to the hospital with contractions 4-5 minutes apart. When she arrived she was only 1 cm dilated, so I told her to keep me updated, but I was going to get some sleep and I hoped she would be able to do the same.

I checked in with mom throughout the day. Progress continued slowly. Later in the morning, she was 2 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She hadn't been able to rest because the consistent contractions were still keeping her awake. 

As of 1 PM, there had still been no change, so her OBGYN decided to start pitocin to see if they could get things to progress. 

A little while later mama got an epidural and the doctor broke her water. She was 4-5 cm dilated that evening. 

I arrived at the hospital around 8:45 PM. I ran into dad in the waiting room. He looked exhausted and was hoping they could both get a nap now that mom had an epidural. I told him to get some rest and I would be hanging out in the waiting room until they were ready for me.

Dad was able to get some sleep, but this poor mama never did get a nap. Because of some concerns with baby's heart rate and meconium in her water, the nurses were coming in periodically to check on baby and help mom change positions. 

Around 1:30 AM, mama called me back to the room. She was completely dilated but they were trying to let her labor down some before pushing.

When I got in the room, mom was touching up her makeup and everyone was joking about how hard it had been to wake dad up. It seems he was having full conversations with people without ever actually waking up.

A little after 2 AM, the nurse said they should be ready to start pushing soon and this sweet mama had a tiny moment of panic realizing she was going to meet her daughter soon. She said she was excited but scared too.

Dad was right there by her side reassuring her that everything was going to be great and he was so excited to meet their baby girl.

Just before 3 AM, mama was finally able to start pushing.

She pushed in a variety of positions and eventually was given a little oxygen between pushes to help baby's heart rate. I kept expecting her to get tired and run out of energy, but from what I could see, you'd never know she'd been up for over 24 hours at this point!

The soon-to-be grandfather (mom's dad) was there in a chair by her head. He sat between pushes, but every time a new contraction came, he stood up to support and encourage his little girl. 

At 4:25 AM, after about an hour and a half of pushing, baby Samantha was born with a head full of dark hair!

After snuggling with mom for a little while, Samantha was weighed and clung to the side of the scale the whole time.

Samantha went back to mom's chest and dad called some other family members to meet the baby over video.

After taking some time to work on that first latch, baby Samantha was taken to the warmer for her remaining measurements and was swaddled in a precious new wrap and headband.

I left this family to settle in and hopefully get some sleep just as the sun was coming up on this baby's birth day.

Congratulations to this new family of three and thank you for trusting me to capture your first baby's entrance into this world!

Interested in having your baby's birth story captured? I'm currently booking due dates in May 2019 and later! Click here for more information.