When I met Stephanie, she gave me a smile and a hug, and I liked her immediately.  We met at the new space at Mountain Midwifery Center, and checked out the birth center together.  She picked the Prairie Room to deliver in, and we chatted some more about her birth.  This was baby number three for their family, a third boy.  They are a military family and so Stephanie has had her children in two other states, and she was looking forward to having the birth she wanted in Denver.  The birth center was the perfect location for Stephanie and her family to have their third child, and I was really excited to capture this little guy's birth, in a space that she had envisioned for her prior births. When she arrived at Mountain Midwifery Center, it was daytime and a storm was coming in.  Stephanie wanted to walk outside, and so she and Justin walked around the parking lot, over and over, as the storm rolled in.  Every half an hour, Gina, one of the midwives, came out to check Stephanie.  I loved that Gina came to her, in the mama's space, rather than asking mom to come in each time.  It was awesome to watch her laboring just like she had hoped, free and detached from monitors, listening to music and doing the things that made her feel comfortable.

After it started to rain, we went inside and Stephanie labored on the birth ball for a while; her contractions got stronger and she decided to listen to some comedy on the speakers.  Laughing your baby out is a real thing, I watched a mama do it at Mountain Midwifery Center last year (here) and it was great to watch Stephanie listen, laugh and labor.  Jim Gaffigan entertained us for a good hour before she got in the tub and the music was turned back on.  At this point contractions got intense and Stephanie started to push.  A little bit later, baby Lincoln was born - he was perfect, at 8.6 lbs, he was about the same size as his siblings at birth.  Mom and baby did amazing and the family and MMC staff worked as a team to get baby out.