The Birth Photographer

When I was vacationing down in Florida a few weeks ago, I got a text from Jasmin that her contractions were pretty regular, and gaining in strength, my stomach sank. I was so nervous I was going to miss her birth. So I called my backup just in case and she was all ready to go if needed. Thankfully, things slowed down just a bit in time for me to come home. From then on, we’ve stayed in close contact waiting for the big day. We had a few close calls and with each passing day, we both knew we would be seeing each other again shortly! When she headed to the hospital yesterday morning, they were sent home, but the nurse predicted she’d have her baby by 8:30 the next morning. The rest of the day was spent emptying out memory cards, arranging child care, and charging my batteries. I had a good feeling I’d be seeing Jasmin in a fairly short time. Thankfully she waited to call me after my first softball game was over and an evening out with friends had come to an end. Instead of going all the way home, my husband just dropped me off at the hospital just to be safe. I was determined not to miss another birth! We waited for her to progress throughout the night and even mangaged to sneak in a little cat nap while Ryder ventured on down the birth canal!

Jasmin was ready to push just as the sun was starting to rise, it was quite pretty outside. As each contraction came back to back, the harder she pushed. The nurse had predicted Ryder was going to be in the low/mid 7lb range, so when he came out weighing 9lbs 1oz we were all really surprised! Ryder’s entrance into the world was a little tougher than we had all imagined. The doctors and nurses all came rushing in and surrounded Jasmin eagerly trying to get Ryder out, not only was his heart rate dropping with each contraction but his shoulders would not come out, the nurses later told us that’s one of the doctor’s worst nightmare. Thankfully it only took about a minute and a half but it seemed like much longer. I am so glad mom and baby are doing great and he was able to recovery fairly quickly from the rough entrance into the world! I had a tough time narrowing down the photos from today but I think these will give you a good insight on our morning!

Congratulations Jasmin, Shaun, and big sister Hayden!

..I have had the pleasure of photographing this family since Danica was just born. Nearly 8 sessions later, I feel like her and her big sister are are growing up right in front of my camera, and what an honor it is! Thank you Rachel and Scott for blessing me with your beautiful girls! I absolutely love our shoots together…I hope Danica has a wonderful 2nd birthday! Here are just a couple of my favorite pictures from our day to hold you over until you get your CD!

Enjoy!