Palmer June’s birth-day | Seattle, WA Birth Photographer & Videographer

I fell in love with this sweet, beautiful family the first time we met.

3 babies in 3 years? No sweat for these two! It also doesn’t hurt that they make pretty.cute.kids.

This was the most lovely experience, working alongside two incredible, capable midwives (Nedra & Melissa) and their doula Misty (Divine Doula). What a peaceful, loving home this baby was born into on August 1st, 2013. This family chose not to find out their baby’s gender, and waited until their kids came in to meet their new sibling to find out together.
I hope you love reliving the day Palmer came earthside just as much as I have while piecing their story together.

Please click on “View full post” below to read the birth story before watching their video.

From the very beginning, I was nervous about this birth, but OH so excited. The baby was due on August 4th, and the family knew that I HAD to leave on August 6th to be in my best friend’s wedding on the 9th. Since this was her third baby, we were fairly confident she would come early, but you never know!! So as the days inched closer and closer, and I continued to wake up to check my phone every hour every night and never letting it leave my sight every day…. then about 4am on the morning of Thursday, August 1st, after checking for the hundredth time that night and just laying my head back down on the pillow, I got a text from Jenny:

“Sorry for the early wake up call, I woke up about 45 minutes ago and contractions are 7 to 8 minutes apart.”

To which I replied: “YIPPEEE!!!”

Of course I couldn’t sleep, so I bustled about getting dressed in comfy clothes, throw on some makeup, packed up a few last minute items, waited to hear something else…. and waited some more. Ate some breakfast. Decided to curl my hair. Cleaned the bathroom.

“Okay, I’ll just lay back down to rest for a *few* minutes.”

An hour later I woke up and still nothing new. Well at least I got a little more shut-eye!
Started texting with Misty, Jenny’s doula, who I have worked with several times now. She said Jenny’s husband Aaron would be texting her with updates and to let her know when they were ready for her/us to come. (If a client has hired a doula, it’s usually a good time for me to go at the same time with them.) So we stayed in touch, asking if the other had heard anything, and started to make babysitting plans in case we had to head out immediately. Between noon-1pm we started to get our kids to babysitters and headed down to Castle Rock. We stopped at Jimmy John’s to grab some lunch, and while we were there Aaron texted Misty to let her know they were ready for us to come.

When we got there, Jenny was clearly working hard through each contraction, laying on her side in bed, breathing deeply and listening to worship music. I especially loved the irony of her water bottle sitting on her nightstand from the new hospital that opened up around the corner from them on the same day Palmer was born.

Her first midwife Nedra showed up soon after us, and then the other came about an hour after that. They were so calm, reassuring, and felt no need to check her, as she was clearly laboring well and it could only interfere with the process. Jenny felt that it was taking much longer than she expected, as she had awoken about the same time with her last daughter in labor and she was born about 1pm. But she just stayed focused, with little smiles here & there, and was supported so well by her birth team, while her mother bustled around quietly downstairs caring for their two other children.

A little before 4pm, Jenny felt like she wanted to get in the birth pool (the plan was for a waterbirth) and we needed to heat some water up on the stove because their hot water heater didn’t have enough in it. Once in the pool, she switched positions just a few times, usually leaning forward holding onto Misty, with her husband gently stroking her arm or back and reassuring her. (I found out later that Jenny had actually bitten Misty’s arm while pushing! Oh, the hazards that come with being a doula.) At about 4:30, the pushing groans started, and it was clear this baby was almost here!! Nedra checked her and felt baby’s head descended really far down. The moment got really intense as all of a sudden Jenny wanted to stand right up out of that tub! However, with the baby being born in the water, they needed to make sure baby STAYED under water until they came up to her arms. So they all firmly but gently reminded her of this and held her so that the baby’s face would remain in the water until she was completely out. After a few short pushes, at 4:44pm, baby slid right out into daddy’s hands!! Her cord was wrapped twice VERY tightly around her neck, and Nedra calmly but quickly unwrapped the cord and handed her to momma. The midwives were amazing, immediately checking everything and stimulating baby, encouraging Jenny to start talking to her baby and rubbing her back. She took just a couple minutes to start crying, and then pinked right up and just looked all around! We still had no clue yet if she was a boy or a girl, but nobody cared. She was here. Healthy, breathing and crying.

Jenny rested in the tub for a bit just talking to her baby, while Aaron continued to pour water over her to keep her warm, and then soon after they moved right over to lay in their own bed! Jenny’s placenta came out right after she stood up, and they left it in a bowl on the bed by her side for a very long time, since there was no rush to cut it while she just laid baby on her chest and snuggled her. A short time later, the siblings were brought in to meet their new baby! Together, they lifted up the towel and discovered that she was A GIRL!!! What a fun moment, watching them find that out, seeing her precious brother & sister give her hugs and kisses, and then announcing that her name would be Palmer June. Her sister Henley was especially excited, kicking her legs and saying “BABY! BABY! BABY!” over and over and reaching out for her. So so sweet.

I will wrap their story up with Jenny’s reflection of Palmer’s birth-day:

“This was our third delivery, but first homebirth. Of course, going in to it, I knew it would be challenging and slow-going, so I was very surprised that despite this, I was comfortable throughout the whole day. Throughout labor, I never once felt like I wasn’t in control - I remained composed, which was a feeling very unfamiliar to me in past deliveries. The day was calm and serene, and the way she came into the world was the same - she didn’t let out the typical newborn cry in the first few minutes; instead, she took a few moments to look at her surroundings and take everything in. I look back on the day she was welcomed into the world, and feel very peaceful. I fully credit this difference - between chaos and uncertainty with my other deliveries, and peaceful composure with this delivery - with being at home surrounded by a birthing team who respected our family.”

Thank you so much, Nagel family, for allowing me to be there for the birth of Palmer, and I am honored to have played a small role in your forever story.