Beautiful Beginnings Birth Photography » childbirth

5.18.13

admin — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:44:17 +0000

Happy birthday to such a cute little man!! Slideshow coming soon

5.16.13

admin — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:22:39 +0000

Happy birthday baby girl! Slideshow coming soon

a beautiful beginning: Liam Miles’ birth story.

admin — Fri, 10 May 2013 18:22:05 +0000

Jason and I have been good friends for quite some time. When I found out he was expecting his first baby, I was thrilled for him since I knew how much he had wanted kids. Then I was even more thrilled when Liz asked me to be part of the big day. She also knew I could act as part of her support system toward her goal of going natural. Towards the end of pregnancy the doctor was concerned with the weight and size of the baby’s head. After seeing Jason and his bobblehead as a toddler, it certainly wasn’t out of the question. Because of the “giant head” threat, she went in for an induction Sunday night. She sloooowly progressed all day Monday. Then barely into the night I got the call to come up, she was 7-8cm. By that time she was exhausted, settled in with her epidural that she accepted after the pit took it’s nasty toll on her, and frustrated at the fact she was barely progressing. More hours passed and the threat of C Section was being tossed around, which after all that work, it’s the last thing a mama wants to hear. (Esp when you had planned on no interventions!) Once she was finally almost complete, the Dr had her start pushing to rid the lip of cervix left. The baby was back and forth posterior (which often causes the delay in progressing and lingering lip of cervix) and he decided forceps was the only option to clear that pubic bone. If you’ve had a posterior ~~jerk of a~~ baby, then you know pushing is no joke. They promised the baby all sorts of awesome things in his future, like a car! If he didn’t come out immediately, he was definitely grounded til at least one. Let me tell ya, she was thankful to have had that epi at that point, even as a spectator, I can assure you that. I did learn that forceps apply more force to the mother than baby, which is very reassuring when watching a Dr battle with the moms pubic bone to get the babe out. Though he had a rough delivery, all 8.12lbs 21 1/4″ of him is adorably squishy and handsome. Oh and by the way, his head was big. So big, it was the largest that particular nurse had ever measured! HA! Congrats you two! Ecstatic for you!!(Jason went to CCM and is a fantastic bass player. So it’s natural for them to have picked out this classical piece.)

Love, Melanie.

a beautiful beginning: avalon luna’s birth story.

admin — Thu, 09 May 2013 20:17:31 +0000

I really did not know what to expect when I arrived to Amy’s birth in the wee hours of the night because this was the first time I’ve shot a birth without meeting the mama first. This baby was Amy’s 4th (and last) child, as well as her 4th homebirth, so she decided really last minute to have the birth documented and there was no time to meet beforehand. What I arrived to was a huge, gorgeous old house with a beautiful, peaceful birthing mama & her birth team inside. You could tell this was not Amy’s first time because she was so in tune with her body and knew exactly what to do every step of the way.

She even smiled through the pain when her 17 month old who was sleeping in the next room decided to wake up and see what was going on. It was so cute to see Amy chatting with Sophia and telling her she was going to be a big sister as she labored in the tub. Once things starting getting intense, the teenagers woke up to take care of Sophia and managed to get her back to sleep right before the baby was born. Right around 5am or so, Amy stood up and calmly said her water broke. Within minutes, she let out a few loud moans and little Avalon (Ava) Luna was in her arms! Such a seamless, peaceful birth!

While the midwives prepared her herb bath & Amy’s oldest daughter made her breakfast, Amy & Dave soaked in their precious new daughter. Baby Ava weighed in at 8.4lbs and was 21″ long. Once she finished her eggs & toast, Amy enjoyed her bath and then snuggled up in bed for some well earned rest & cuddles with her new baby. Too bad every birth can’t be this easy & comfortable!

Congratulations Amy & Dave & big sibs! I’m so glad you made the last minute decision to have me there

Love, Kelly

5.7.13

admin — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:05:35 +0000

Happy birthday big boy! More coming soon!

Love, Melanie.

a beautiful beginning: dominic joshua’s birth story.

admin — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:20:38 +0000

On Friday, May 3rd @ 1:56pm Josh & Brooke welcomed their LONG awaited adorable baby boy and Brooke so accurately described that day as the BEST DAY EVER on her facebook announcement. I – along with countless other friends & family who have been by their side through their 8 year fertility battle – could not agree more!

Josh and Brooke are the type of couple every couple strives to be – a perfect match for each other in my opinion They have been together for almost 17 years – married for 10 – and have remained just a strong as ever throughout their long & trying journey to parenthood. After years and years of fertility treatments, Brooke finally got pregnant – with twins! Things were going great for the first trimester, but early in the 2nd trimester, her cervix started to fail. Despite a successful cerclage surgery, Brooke went into labor a few weeks later and there was nothing the doctors could do to stop it. She delivered her precious baby boys on Christmas Day 2011 and their world just stopped.

I honestly don’t know how- except through the grace of God – anyone recovers from such a tragedy, but they did and decided to try again. Josh did some research and discovered Dr. Arthur Haney in Chicago. Dr. Haney is one of the leading doctors in the country and one of the first doctors to ever perform transabdominal cerclage surgery with huge success rates in women who suffered multiple losses due to an incompetent cervix. Brooke was a candidate and they decided to go for it – so she went to Chicago and had the surgery in May 2012. Then a few short months later, she found out she was pregnant again! Thankfully this time, her pregnancy was textbook and resulted in the birth of beautiful, healthy BIG baby Dominic Joshua via scheduled c-section.

Unfortunately due to her cerclage, Brooke cannot delivery vaginally, but after the chunkster came out at a whopping 10.1 lbs, she was not so sad He was completely breech anyway, and gave the doctor a run for his money as he had to use some maneuvering skills to get him out!

Josh & Brooke ~ you guys are such an inspiration. Your perseverance, your strength, and your faith are incredible. I know God has BIG plans for you & your precious new son who is the absolute definition of perfection.

Thank you for having me there – I was so honored to spend his birthday with you guys and your families

Love, Kelly

5.3.13

admin — Sat, 04 May 2013 03:26:55 +0000

Welcome baby boy! You are already loved more than you know:) Slideshow coming soon!Love, Kelly

4.18.13

admin — Wed, 01 May 2013 02:57:41 +0000

Welcome baby girl! Slideshow coming soon

Love, Kelly

Guest Post: Ruthie Claire’s birth story.

admin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 21:03:35 +0000

I’ve known Lindsay most of my life and like she’s stated on her blog before, it’s obvious she was born to be a mother. We’ve taught kids together and it was always a pleasure watching the students look up to her. I’m thrilled for her and Nick and the exciting road they have ahead of them. Teeny Ruthie is beautiful and I can’t wait to meet her! Congrats guys!

Love, Melanie and Kelly.

~~~~~

Throughout the second half of my pregnancy, when we found out I had a two vessel umbilical cord, Nick and I were anxious about the growth and health of our baby girl. At 33 weeks, I needed to go to twice weekly testing to check the amniotic fluid levels, the stress level of the baby and growth scans. She always looked good, was growing on track and was never under stress but the thought of something potentially going “wrong” with our growing baby made Nick and I especially anxious for her arrival. We were told that if around week 36 the levels were low we’d probably just go ahead and induce labor to get her out where she would be safer. So, with every visit we thought, okay, this could be it. At my normal 38 week appointment we were in for a growth scan, just to make sure the baby was growing on track and were told she hadn’t gained an ounce in 2 weeks- that she measured the exact same (5 lbs 5 ounces) as she had two weeks previous- hence was deemed failure to thrive. Sitting in that ultrasound room with Nick waiting for the tech to come back from speaking with our doctor I became terrified. Is the baby okay? Why hasn’t she grown in 2 weeks? Are we having the baby today then? I was sent to triage where my doctor would meet us and talk about what was going to happen. She was amazing and put so much of my anxiety at ease. She told us to go home for a few hours, come back after you’ve gotten everything at home squared away and we’ll have this baby. I was overwhelmed and the tears started coming. My doctor was so wonderful and reassured us that the baby was fine, it was just time. The next 4 hours at home were beyond bizarre. We did some laundry, and straightened up, made sure we had everything in the hospital bag that we’d need and ate some lunch. We were giddy and scared and happy and excited and a whole other slew of emotions I’m not even sure I know how to articulate. We were having our baby!

The first step was to start with a dose of cervadil to ripen and try to open up my cervix. I was not at all excited about being induced, knowing my body and the baby weren’t quiet ready but I also knew the health of my baby was at risk so I was willing to do whatever needed to be done. The cervadil needed to be in place for 12 hours so we knew we had a super long night ahead of us. We got to the hospital around 3, got settled in our room, was given my IV, I was checked (only 1 centimeter dilated) then was given the cervadil around 5:15pm. Okay, 12 hours to go until I’m ready. Around midnight that night I was checked again and so naive to what this medicine was capable of doing. I was ripe which made the check extremely painful yet still not dilated. The pain and the news made me sob. Nick was there to hold me and tell me it is all going to be okay and that no matter what, we get our baby at the end of all of this. I tried to relax and get some sleep knowing the induction was going to start in about 5 hours. I had contractions on and off through the night, nothing super regular so again I felt a bit discouraged. 5am came, I was checked, still not more than a centimeter. We had a very long day ahead of us. I was moved to labor and delivery where i’d spend the rest of my time until baby girl was here and pretty immediately we started the pitocin. I was super nervous about how intense the contractions would be initially but was handling everything pretty well for the next 6ish hours. I knew I did not want an epidural until I was at least 4 centimeters and even then I wanted to just see how I was coping with my labor and make a decision then. I took lots of walks around the halls (thank goodness they have rails for contracting in the hallways!) used a birthing ball, got up on the bed on my hands and knees and Nick massaged and supported me the best he could which ended up being the best anyone could. He was absolutely amazing. He never left my side and was attentive to my needs without me ever saying a word.

A different doctor from my practice came in around noon to see how I was doing and to check my cervix. Still only about 1 centimeter. What the hell! My labor was progressing yet my body was just not cooperating. My doctor then broke my water which also turned out to be excruciating causing the contractions to then come full force. I was contracting HARD every 2 to 2 1/5 minutes, for about 60-90 seconds each for a good hour, unable to talk through them, also almost unable to breathe through them. I was afraid I was going to hyperventilate and started to loose control a bit of how I was handling. I started crying through most of the contractions which of course did not help my breathing. I gained some composure, lasted another 30 minutes or so then asked for the epidural. During those hard contractions my doctor started noticing the baby’s heart rate dip with each contraction. She watched for a solid 10 minutes on the monitors in my room and said we needed to start thinking about the possibility of a c-section if baby’s heart rate keeps dipping with each contraction so start thinking of questions we may have. We’d keep a close eye for the next hour and see how she does but with where I was at with only being 1 centimeter, my doctor was not confident in keeping our girl in there with the possibility of who knows how many more hours of labor. My contractions at this point were so strong and close together that when it came time for my epidural, leaning forward absolutely still was unlike any pain i’d ever experienced. My nurse was amazing. She held my shoulders and told me how strong I was the entire time. I couldn’t have gotten through without her. The rush of pain from the medicine spread through my lower back and hips like fire and then came relief. I was actually able to relax and for that I’m so thankful I chose to have the epidural. My body relaxed which I was hopeful would start opening my cervix up. Internal monitors were put in place and I was turned from side to side to get the baby in proper position for the next hour or so. Around this time my doctor came back in and told us we just couldn’t keep this up. She had been watching the monitors and baby girl was just not handling labor well and it was time to get her out. I didn’t want to do it, but I more importantly, wanted my baby to be safe. I suppose this was my first lesson in mothering. My needs and wants were no longer the priority- my daughter’s safety and well being comes first- I’m sure a parenting “lesson” that will continue to reign true for years to come. Nick agreed that we just needed to do what was best for the baby. We trusted our doctors and decided to go ahead and do the c-section. What choice did we have really when we could see clear as day on the monitors that our baby’s heart rate kept dropping? The next 5 minutes were a complete blur. In the instant it was decided we’d be doing a c-section 6 new nurses and an anesthesiologist were in the room prepping me and rolling me out into the operating room. I frantically asked if we could tell our families first but by the time everyone from the waiting room came into our room, I was on my way out the door. This is the part of my labor and delivery I’m unhappy about. It felt so rushed and I felt panicked, short of breathe and terrified. I was not told that Nick was not able to come with me until I was on the table ready to go so I was laying on the operating room table, shaking uncontrollably, starting to loose it a bit. I was telling my doctor I could still feel my belly, my arms were hurting, I couldn’t stop shaking and where was my husband!? In hindsight, I really lost my cool and regret that I wasn’t more relaxed so I could enjoy the fact that my baby girl would be in this world in no more than 15 minutes. They poked me with needles and asked if I could feel it to which I absolutely could not yet I was still scared I’d feel the initial cut of incision. Nick came in, finally, and the c-section started. Literally 1 minute later my doctor said, okay you’re going to feel a little pressure, I’m bringing the baby out- here she comes! she’s here! WHAT! already? that was so quick! She was here! I heard one little, adorable, thank God I can hear you cry and was shown her sweet little wrinkled up face. Oh my goodness, that is my daughter! While I was being stitched up Nick bounced back and forth from being with our baby to me. I asked to see the placenta (so cool!) and watched as the nurses weighed and measured our girl. Nick could not hold back his tears either and together we sobbed as he told me how beautiful she was and how much he loved me. I was stitched and back on my hospital bed in less than 5 minutes and had my baby girl in my arms a minute after that. We stared right in each others eyes for a solid 30 seconds and it was the happiest I’ve ever felt in all my life. Sweet baby girl was here, safe and healthy. From the moment I was wheeled out of my room and into the operating room to the moment baby girl was in my arms was no more than 15 minutes. How in God’s name was this sweet little 5.2 ounce, 18 inch long baby inside my belly 15 minutes ago!? The miracle that is birth absolutely blows my mind.

Looking back on my experience as a whole, I’m really okay with it. I look at our sweet girl today and don’t care how she came into the world. The fact that she is here and healthy is all that matters to me. I’m still processing my feelings towards not having delivered vaginally and am not sure where I’m at with it. I was so scared in the weeks leading up to delivery about the actual delivery, but towards the end I became excited that I was about to do something so amazing and conquer a fear. I wanted Nick to see me do it and I wanted to be able to say, I did that! I don’t feel like I failed, but I do in some weird way feel like I lost out on an experience. It’s a strange emotion, what I’m feeling. I’m not angry or bitter. Just trying to still process the entire thing. Again, my baby girl is here, safe and healthy and that’s what matters the most by far.

She has the most amazing head of hair, coos the sweetest coos in her sleep, snuggles all the day long, nurses like a pro, and has brought more joy to our lives in the past 10 days than we ever thought imaginable. Now on to actually raising this little miracle we’ve been so blessed by…..

a beautiful beginning: anya & isaac’s birth story

admin — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 22:20:57 +0000

Well there’s nothing like going to your 37 week appointment only to be told you’re having those babies TODAY! Aimee had her routine ultrasound and baby B was measuring close to 2lbs heavier than baby A and that was enough to be slightly alarming to the doctors. Thankfully Aimee & Jon had already made peace with the fact that they were going to have a c-section because baby A was breech, so at least that part wasn’t a surprise. Even though she made it to 37 weeks with twins – way to go Aimme!! – she was having no signs of labor, so she definitely didn’t expect that news. Aimee was really hoping to just go into labor on her own, and since nothing was going on, she didn’t even have her hospital bag packed! So Aimee & Jon left the appointment, went home and packed, and then checked into the hospital for an afternoon c-section.

When I saw Aimee & Jon before surgery, they were so cool, calm, and collected. The rest of the family, however, was on pins & needles waiting to find out the baby’s genders. I love the moment when dad comes in the waiting room and announces the big news…it never gets old. Jon came in with a huge smile on his face and proudly announced that they had one of each – Anya and Isaac – and everyone was doing great. Anya was born first and was 5.5lbs, 18.1″ long and Isaac followed a few minutes later and was 7 lbs, 18.5″ long. There wasn’t quite the 2 lb weight difference that the ultrasound depicted, but it was still significant enough and everyone was glad they made the decision to get them out when they did.

Unfortunately there was a bit of unwanted excitement that followed as Isaac had to be transferred to the NICU so the doctors could monitor his breathing. Shortly after he was transferred Amy started loosing a lot of blood and was pretty delirious, so Jon told me to head home. I offered to come back up to the hospital the next day after everything settled down, but they decided to have me come to their house once they were released from the hospital. I’m so glad we decided this because I was able to get some really sweet pictures of their first full day home as a new family of 4. Everyone is doing great – and aside from the obvious lack of sleep and craziness (x 2 with twins!) of having a newborn – they are adjusting well to their long awaited precious bundles of joy

I’m so happy for you guys!

Love, Kelly