Probably the most touching display of support between husband and wife I’ve ever witnessed at a birth! So much love and emotion bringing their surprise baby girl into the world at the Mountain Midwifery Birth Center in Denver, CO.
(Please click on “View Full Post” to read their birth story before watching their film. As always, this film is **completely modest**.)
James and Kathryn were such a JOY to work with! Not only at their birth, but I seriously couldn’t stop smiling (or bawling my eyes out) the entire time editing their video. Kathryn is such a sweetheart, and wrote out her detailed birth story to be included with their film, along with some very touching compliments! Please enjoy reading their story from her perspective before watching their video:
” I didn’t see any of Laura’s work until I was already 36 weeks pregnant. I watched a video of another mom who had delivered at Mountain Midwifery where we also planned to go and I cried my eyes out. This was not too surprising since I was emotional and hormonal so late in pregnancy. I looked at her website and wondered if I was just throwing too much into the mix at the last minute. A few days later I showed the video to my husband James and when he cried too, I knew this was not just a fleeting thought, we absolutely had to have the birth of our first child documented. And after briefly looking at other photographers, I knew it had to be Laura.
Being added to her schedule at the last minute was risky as I knew she had committed to other moms months before and we might likely end up with a back up. As our due date approached, we kept in touch and I kept my fingers crossed that Laura would be able to make it.
Our due date was 12/22 and I was doing all the “right” things: prenatal yoga, chiropractic adjustments, acupuncture treatments and repeating over and over the birth affirmations that I’d written. We were ready for this kid to make an appearance! Around midnight on week 41, only 10 hours before we were scheduled to go in and see the midwife on call to discuss induction options, my water broke! We texted our team: Laura and Carolyn the doula to keep them in the loop and tried to rest while snow fell outside. By 1 am, contractions started and James kicked into gear all his hard work studying the Bradley method for the last four months.
Training and classes aside, I knew we were just getting started and a long way from going to MMC to have our baby. But the weather was making me nervous so I insisted James call and let the midwives know what was going on. For four hours, we labored in our bedroom and bathroom and around 5 am, our knowledgeable and reassuring doula showed up, driving all the way from Parker to the Highlands in record time.
Once Carolyn arrived, we got down to business, walking between and through contractions and working on breathing deeply. By 7 am she and James called in again and we made our plan to meet at the birth center at 8. Driving in the snow is always a bit nerve-wracking, but add in an anxious wife in the backseat who feels like she wants to push AND texting Laura to let her know it was go time! My husband deserves a medal for not crashing the car with all those distractions. (I couldn’t believe it, but he actually had the GPS going too…hadn’t we done this drive DOZENS of times by now!?) We actually beat the midwife to the building and Laura said she was about 30 minutes out. I had just one contraction in the stairwell outside the building and it was clear to Carolyn I had already hit transition.
The midwife Gina ushered us into a room and immediately checked and confirmed I was fully dilated and ready to push. Now this was what I had underestimated. I am so grateful to the team of strong women around James and me that shared helpful suggestions for positions, offered encouraging words and kept me focused and motivated for the next 2.5 hours. Looking back I know I wasn’t going to have the baby in the car, though it felt like it, and I wasn’t going to have it before Laura would make it there to capture it all, though I wanted it to be that quick!
We worked in the water, on the stool, on the bed, standing, and back to the stool for Lillian’s grand and miraculous entrance. For the final push, Carolyn wrapped her arm around me and all that energy and strength from everyone in the room helped me bring this baby into the world. I tried to imagine that moment when she would come to my chest and I’d hold her for the first time and it was more powerful and emotional than I knew a moment could be. It’s a blessing to be able to look back on that moment and recall how thrilling it was to become parents in an instant and to overflow with love for someone you are just meeting for the first time. Thank you Laura for that gift!”
It was my honor, Roman family, to be there for you on Lillian’s birth-day! Congratulations on your darling little girl and thank you for your kind words.
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Seattle, Tacoma, Olympia and Puyallup, Washington birth photographer & videographer
