the birth of braden daniel :: northern virginia birth photographer

Braden’s mama Keri contacted me just a few weeks prior to her due date and in our brief meeting before his birth, I learned that she was a woman who goes for what she wants. She wasn’t afraid to switch from a hospital birth to a birth center birth at the last minute, she wasn’t afraid to hire me even knowing I was going out of town two days after his due date – in fact, she wasn’t afraid period. And in the hours I sat with her waiting for Braden to be born, I saw that courage displayed in a thousand different ways. At the moment when she was told that she was 2 cm – hours of work after being told she was 1 cm – she didn’t hesitate to express her disappointment but she also didn’t let it get her down. She just moved right into doing the next thing, getting through the next contraction, moving through the hours until he was born.

There is a moment in almost every birth I photograph when I cry – and it’s not the glamorous “lifting the baby up to her chest” moment (as much as I love those.) It’s when the mama I’m photographing finds her power. It’s when she bites back the tears to keep going, it’s when she digs deep and pushes one.more.time., it’s when she roars her baby out. That kind of power can move mountains…and bring new humans into the world. Nothing else can. I was privileged to be witness to Keri’s power in her birthing time. The love between her and her husband was mesmerizing and her power and determination were inspiring. Watch…you’ll see.

As always, the midwives from NOVA Birth Center were fantastic. Keri’s amazing doula support was from Andrea Proper of Nova Birth Services. I highly recommend all these ladies as a top notch care team!

music: “Forever Mine” by Marie Hines licensed through The Music Bed