Birth Story at North Suburban Hospital in Thornton, Colorado
Erika and Jesse met me when Erika was 7 months pregnant, we planned a beautiful maternity shoot in Golden, Colorado which you can find here. They planned on giving birth to their first child at our local birth center, Mountain Midwifery Center, but plans changed and Erika ended up delivering at North Suburban Medical Center in Thornton, Colorado. Even though her plans changed, her birth photography story was just as beautiful. I got a message around 6:30am to say that Erika's water had broken, but no contractions yet, they were going to head to the birth center in a few hours for medication. They had travel there every 4 hours throughout the day for meds, but each time mom was not progressed far enough to stay. At their 5pm check, I thought surely they would end up staying at the birth center, but that didn't happen and they headed home again. Unfortunately, it was rush hour and they were stuck in their car for a long time, as Erika's contractions continued to progress and become more intense. After going through transition in the car and some at home, Jesse called to tell me that Erika wanted to go to the hospital and get an epidural. Contractions in the car are NO fun, so they drove to the nearest hospital to them, North Suburban. When they arrived, Erika was dilated to 7cm and shortly after that, dilated to 9cm.
When I got the call that they were heading to the hospital, I headed out the door myself. Erika had just had an epidural and was feeling much better, but still feeling some pain with contractions. Their family was all eagerly waiting out in the waiting room for baby to arrive, and shortly after I got there, Erika's doula arrived too. Julie from Expecting Greatness jumped right in and made sure Erika was comfortable and supported. She labored and rested until it was time to push, then she was able to deliver Sidney out in just a few short minutes of pushing.
Take a minute to check out this amazing and emotional birth story, filled with lots of love.
Can you tell how excited dad is? He was definitely ready to meet his daughter, what a joyous time! 
After a few tries at pushing, the nurses realized that Erika wasn't messing around and they called the doctor in to deliver baby. It only took a few minutes. 
Erika and Jesse, thank you so much for allowing me to be a part of your birthing day story, and the night Sidney was born. It was a blessing to share her birthday with you and I can't wait to watch this little lady grow up, she is beautiful.
If you'd like to chat about your own birth story, please contact me here.