Ava's birth story involves a birth center, a transfer to the hospital, one of the hardest working women I've ever met, her incredibly supportive husband, and an utterly adorable baby girl. I was thrilled to be a part of their birth experience.

Ava’s Birth Story
(as best I can remember)
On Wednesday, December 19, I started having contractions while walking Walter. I used a contraction timer and realized they were very close together. I called Adam and told him I thought I was in labor. I had had an appointment at Inanna that morning and she had attempted to strip my membranes and had told me to use the breast pump and walk to try and get labor going. It had worked! (Or so we thought). I had a follow-up at Inanna to do bloodwork later, so when I got there, Jean checked me and said that I had dilated from a 2 to a 3 and she thought I was in labor! She told me to call my family and have them start heading our way because I was going to have a baby that night. She also had an ultrasound scheduled for me because she thought I had a big baby. I called my family and they started coming down. Adam and I went to have the ultrasound done, but by the time the ultrasound was over, the contractions had started slowing. Afterwards, we kept pumping and got packed because Jean wanted to see us again that evening. When I went back in, Jean checked me and said I had not dilated any more and she didn’t’ think I was in labor after all. She gave me a double Nubain injection and sent me home to sleep with instructions to come back in the morning. The Nubain knocked me out in minutes. I could feel the pressure of the contractions all night and then they stopped some time in the middle of the night. The Nubain made me sick and I threw up, which wasn’t fun. The next morning I went back and saw Betty. The contractions had stopped. Betty said she wanted to take that day for my body to relax. She told me not to pump or try to start labor. I was really disappointed. I was also stressed because my family had already come down. We spent the rest of the day with my family. The next morning, I came back to Inanna and Jean stripped my membranes and told me to start pumping and walking. Mom, Kristen, and Kelsey were at the house and so I pumped and took Walter on a long walk with Kristen and Kelsey. That did it! Continue reading →

To follow up from the most recent birth story, here's the story of Lulu, Gracie's younger sister! I had the honor of photographing her birth. That photo is of her meeting her grandmother. I know Lulu's mom, Amber, as she's the owner of Soma Denton and gives the best massages in the whole world. (She's AMAZING, go check out Soma!)