Birth of baby #3 at Mountain Midwifery Center; Denver birth photographer

The story of how I met Laurel and her family was pretty unique. She happened to be IN labor, and decided she wanted birth photos. We got in touch and that day she delivered her third child (a gender surprise) at the local birth center, Mountain Midwifery Center, in Englewood, Colorado. About 3 hours after they hired me, I drove to the birth center to meet them and welcome this baby!  It was a cold, cloudy day and a front was coming in, the snow started to fall as I left my house and it was really coming down as I arrived at the birth center, it was early afternoon, the sun was setting and we watched the snow fly and mom birth a baby. When I arrived, Laurel was on the birth ball, dad was supporting mom while the staff checked mom and listened to baby.  We had a great connection right away and chatted during contractions for a few minutes.  It was clear that this birth would be like no other.  Dad did a great job keeping the mood light, and everyone smiled, told jokes and laughed right up until baby boy arrived.  It was blissful birthing at Mountain Midwifery Center that night! I was excited to see their midwife was Aubre, who I liked from my experience at MMC.  The other midwife, Sarah, I had not met yet, but liked immediately.  This was her 40th birth and she was excited about her next step in her midwifery training.  What a perfect way to welcome a baby.  Take a few minutes to check out his story coming earthside.

Baby Elan was born into water, under the waning moon, while the snow came down, on 11/11/14.

He was welcomed by his parents and gramma; his two older brothers awaited his arrival at home.

I love how a couple works together during labor.  These two were so beautifully working together to welcome baby.  Dad was great at keeping the mood light, mom laughed throughout a lot of her labor.  It was awesome to watch.

Smiles and laughter all around.   This is what it feels like to get into the water during labor!  Do you see that look on her face?  Its the look every mom makes when getting into the tub.

Less than 30 minutes before baby was born, smiles all around!

Eventually mama needed a little help and Aubre suggested the rope, it really allowed mama to push her baby out!  After a few contractions with the rope, she pushed her baby out.  I love this shot below, Sarah the midwife catching baby, Aubre helping mama pull, and then Laurel's mother and husband giving her support.  This is the instant before he came out and was born into water.

One of my favorite images this year, above!  In between worlds.

Very cool, bilobed placenta.  Thank you so much Laurel and Michael for choosing me to be a part of Elan's birthing day.  It was a beautiful story to capture and I was so glad to be a part of it.

If you'd like to chat about your own birth story, please contact me here.