I was contracted for this birth by Rebecca who happens to be Sierra’s mom. She wanted to be able to gift her daughter something truly unique and I do believe she succeeded. Sierra is a mom who suffered an unimaginable loss with her first son, and was, understandably incredibly scared for this birth. I remained in contact with Rebecca as Sierra started a LONG induction process. I arrived two days later around 8 in the morning and settled in. Not long after I got there, Sierra was feeling some intense contractions so she decided to go walk the halls with her mom. I was able to capture some raw powerful laboring shots. A few hours go by and not much progress had been made so Sierra agreed to have her water broken. It didn’t take long for things to intensify in a hurry. We did some more walking and Sierra leaned on her husband and mom for support. This birth space was filled with so much love and peace. It was an honor to be involved. Sierra opted for an epidural and took a much needed nap as I happily edited galleries and chatted with her mom.
A few hours later and Sierra had a seizure and the room was quickly filled with doctors and nurses all racing to help her. As she came back around she started to feel pressure and the urge to push and she began to cry. Watching Sierra muster the strength to push through her grief and sadness to deliver her son is something I’ll never forget. When Oliver was placed on her chest and she cried “ he’s alive” I lost it.
This birth was unique in so many ways, but most importantly it was one of strength, resilience and love. Wishing a lifetime of happiness to this new family.
Whitney
