Last spring, Jessica contacted me and asked if I would shoot her upcoming home birth in August, needless to say, I was pretty excited because up until then, I had only photographed one other home birth and it was so awesome, I was eager to do another. What made this birth a little more unique, was the fact that her husband David, was not going to be able to attend the birth because he is currently serving our country in Afghanistan. While I couldn’t be more grateful for his service to our country, I knew I had a big task at hand! It was going to be my job to take these photos in a way that when he returned home, he would be able to look at them images and feel like he was there. I didn’t want to miss a thing! Even though David was not able to join us physically, he was able to watch the entire labor and delivery unfold thanks to Skype! It was seriously the coolest thing ever. He was such an encouragement to Jessica and provided the rest of us with a lot of comic relief as well. One of my favorite pictures from the day was the one of David seeing his daughter for the very first time, it gives me goosebumps every time I see it! Along with David, Jessica had an amazing support team consisting of her good friend and doula, her midwife and assistant, as well as her Mom.
Up until then, only her husband, David and their doula knew what Jessica was having. I think they both did an excellent job keeping such a big secret! Was this baby going to be a boy or a girl? That was the big question! I arrived to her house right around 2:45am and it wasn’t even 3 hours later that miss Artemis arrived into her mamas arms, happy and healthy as can be! Jessica made it look so easy, pushing twice, if that. This growing family was now complete with 2 boys and 2 girls! I hope that David is able to return home safely and see his beautiful baby girl in person very, very soon! Congratulations L family!
