leah's story | the birth of roan oliver

This birth was such a blessing to me.  I loved being Leah and J's doula but I found so much that I was able to step back quite a bit and watch J support Leah so tenderly.  Leah is an incredible athlete and is always running or biking.  Labor was quite a challenge because the first 9 cm went really fast, but the last bit of labor was much longer and she had SO much back labor.  As mentally strong as she has to be to be such an athlete, labor took every ounce of that and truly sometimes it wasn't enough.   It was like watching a dance, every time she lost belief in herself, J stepped right in with words and physical support.  And so contraction by contraction she made it through.  

It was brutal to watch her do everything right but to still be stuck at 9.  We kept telling her it was almost over and that didn't turn out to be true.  I think it would be like moving the finish line several times at the end of a marathon.  

After a while her awesome nurse gently coached her to start pushing gently even though she wasn't complete yet and baby boy was born not much after.  

The gender was a surprise and it was so special to watch baby Roan Oliver be born and for his parents to meet him.  

Thank you J and Leah for letting me be part of this sweet experience and for letting me share your beautiful photographs.

sarah's story | the birth of birch

It's been a while since I've posted a birth story and I am so glad to share this one today with you all.

Every single birth I get to attend is near and dear to my heart, but this one was extra special.  I've been friends with Sarah and Matt since before they were married.  I photographed their engagement, their wedding and attended the birth of their second baby girl.  I was all set to photograph their third baby in May of 2015 when literally the day after we talked contract details, I got a horrible email that the baby's heart had stopped beating half way through the pregnancy.  The Rideouts are missionaries in Haiti and things are complicated there, health-wise.  So Sarah and Matt and their girls hopped on the first plane out to deliver their baby here in the states.  I met them the night before being induced and was able to laugh and cry with them and photograph her beautiful belly.

The next day I was their doula as they brought their tiny son Obed into the world.  Sarah is as mentally strong as they come and I've watched her rock natural birth.  I will never forget the look in her eyes as she looked at me during Obed's labor...she said "The sadness is too much, I have no strength."  

Fast forward nearly exactly a year and I was able to celebrate and attend the birth of their second son Birch.  What a happy occasion!  There was such gratefulness in the air that day as we heard that heart beat, steady and strong.  The gender was a surprise and so anticipation was building as well.  Sarah rocked out a natural labor and was able to catch Birch right there on the hospital floor (with Dr Spearman's back up hands nearby:-).  Her birth was attended by her Mama-lactation consultant extraordinaire and her dear friend Laura.  Sarah's sister arrived just minutes after birth!    

Sarah and Matt, I feel like part of your family and I feel so honored to have been witness to these moments in your lives.  

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.

-Psalm 30:5  

*and just one silly sidenote I'd love to clarify.  Matt is wearing a shirt from the summer camp he worked at for years, it isn't in reference to real world domination of any kind:-)

**also thanks to Matt for one of the only pictures I have of me in action at a birth :-)

selah | the drawing in of family

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:12b

This verse rings so true to me about the Dugdale family.  

Ever since I met Katie and her four young children I was drawn to the gentle way she fostered a strong relationship between them.  I would sit back and watch in awe as they played together and protected each other.  They quickly became one of my very favorite families to be around and truly they have given me such an inspired vision for putting family first and protecting that special bond.

In January, after weeks and weeks of migraines it was discovered that Selah had a golf ball sized tumor at the base of her brain.  At this point in time my children were in the Dugdale's home twice a week and Selah who had increasingly felt worse and worse would spend the times holding my Lucy Miller's hand and playing dolls with her.  A winter storm was fast approaching when Katie texted that she and Selah were taking an ambulance from her MRI to Charlotte to have immediate brain surgery that night.  

Mindnumbing.  Baffling.

I see several posts a day about children with cancer and even though my heart breaks a little more every time, this was one of our own.

They were able to remove the entire tumor and thankfully the cancer had not spread anywhere else.  Still weeks of radiation and months of chemo in  a different state were to follow.  

I have watched this family over the months and no matter what the trial or hardship of the day, they are forever drawing their family in.  Together.  

It was such an honor to capture just a little of that drawing in a few days before they left for the summer.  The girls honored me by posing for my sacred roots project.  

If you would like to help out the Dugdales financially you can donate here:

www.gofundme.com/selahsjourney

You can also follow their journey here:

 www.caringbridge.org/visit/selahdugdale