While I usually just blog images from a birth and let them tell the story, this birth needs a little narration!  I attended the birth of this family's first baby two years ago.  Her birth was a typical first birth... she took her sweet time, but mom did beautifully staying relaxed and calm and had a gorgeous natural birth.

Fast forward two years.  They were planning another natural hospital birth.  I woke at 4:07am to a phone call from mom saying she was in labor!  She sounded so calm, but when a contraction kicked in, she was working.  Dad said they were coming less than a minute apart.  The biggest thing I can say as a birth worker is to listen to your gut.  Seriously.  So my gut was screaming "RUN!!!"  I literally threw on my clothes, grabbed my equipment and hoped in the car.  I was on the road by 4:20.  At 4:23 I get a text saying "Water broke.  Moving fast.  Meet us at the hospital"  I am ZOOMING along the tollway as fast as I safely can, knowing that I still have 25 minutes to get there.  Not more than a few minutes pass before I get a call from Mom saying, slightly panicked that she needs to push.  After a quick check with Dad, he says he can't see head and really wants to try and get to the hospital.  I tell them to go right NOW.  I drive a little faster.

So I pull into the hospital and head straight for the ER entrance.  Being an experienced birth photographer and doula, I know that we always enter the ER at night.  Plus we had discussed prenatally the plan if we needed to meet at the hospital.  I am so glad we did!  So I pull up to the ER and see their car parked in front.  I pull into the first spot, grab my gear and run to their car.  I see staff coming from the front door and mom in the back seat.  A quick update reveals that mom is pushing in the back seat.

 

So we start to open the doors and allow the hospital staff room to do their thing.  There is some discussion about whether they have time to get mom inside the hospital or not.  Meanwhile, dad is telling mom she is doing an amazing job and she was!  She was so calm and collected and truly in touch with her baby and body.  Loved it!

 

So the decide that there is no way this baby is going to wait.  As another contraction begins, the doc gloves up in preparation for a baby to arrive!  He was so calm and did a beautiful job just letting mom have a baby.

 

Adrian Jacob arrives perfectly!  He cries, pinks up and is just beautiful.  They clamp and cut the cord right there since mom won't be able to get out of the car otherwise.  Even in all the chaos, the staff thought enough to ask dad if he wanted to cut the cord.  I was very impressed with their attentiveness to those little details that matter to parents.

They hand Adrian off to the other staff and I could have cried right there as dad whips off his shirt in the middle of the parking lot so that me can do skin to skin with his son immediately after birth.  Dad of the year.  Seriously.

 

Adrian reaches out for dad and says hello!

 

After getting mom settled on the gurney, they ask that Adrian ride on mom.  They immediately state that they need to be skin to skin to keep baby nice and warm.  More points for the staff on that one.  So we load everyone up and head for labor and delivery.

 

 

Mom has a moment or two to bond with him while we wait on an elevator.

 

Traffic jam in the hallway (busy night, apparently) and dad joins in the bonding moment.

 

Finally getting settled into the room and feeling a little less chaotic.  Mom is on cloud nine on how easy and beautiful that was.  She is amazing!  Adrian takes a moment to get to know his mama...

 

And his photographer and her camera...

Wait... I wasn't really sleeping!

As we were sitting there enjoying this sweet babe, mom's iphone reminder her that he was due tomorrow.  We all had a good laugh!

Mom felt so great that she even got up to watch Adrian get his bath.  She kept commenting on how amazing she felt!

 

Grandma and big sister arrived shortly after!  They were so excited to meet the new arrival...

 

 

Finally had everyone together in bed again just in time for the morning news.  When your labor is only 1 hours and 40 minutes total, you can go about your day as regularly scheduled.  What a beautiful family... I am soooo excited for you guys and honored (and grateful) that I was able to document this time for you!