Cadence's Birthing Day

{birth story}

This couple reached out to me about documenting the birth of their 2nd baby, but sadly my birth schedule was fully booked. So when they reached out to me for their third baby I was very happy to have an opening for their estimated due date. I met with this family (which you can see here) and she told me they were planning the birth at the birth centre, which always makes me a little extra excited!! Have you seen that place?!? It’s beautiful and so cozy and inviting!! So in the early morning hours on March 29th, I got “the call”. When I arrive I walked in to a room so calm with a very focused mama. As she worked through her contractions she would listen and watch adorable videos on her phone of her children giggling and playing. It was really sweet that they were virtually there to help support their mama on their new siblings birthing day. Well, it wasn’t long before baby made her debut!! So fast, so wide eyed and alert! When her brother and sister arrived to shower her with cuddles, my heart just exploded. Watching siblings meet for the first time will never ever get old. Scroll down through some of my favourite images from this birth, and then press play to watch the birth story!

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*** now press play to watch this super love-filled birth story ***

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Ten Years of Documenting Births!

{birth stories}

Two days ago I celebrated 10 years of documenting births!! And honestly, never ever in a million years did I think that I would go on to be a birth photographer/videographer who is getting close to documenting 100 births! After all, 10 years ago I was just heading to India to continue documenting the relationship between wildlife and humans which I had been doing on my travels around the world (I am slowly working on getting those photos up here: Projects).
However, after our trip to India, I learned that we were going to have a baby. So naturally the whole experience of having a baby of my own opened up a whole new world to me with new passions. These passions led me down a path to the birth world where I knew women were in need of a voice, and support, and sometimes healing. So here I am, 10 years later still working hard to help normalize birth and heal wounds. With the help of these wonderful families who invite me in to their sacred spaces, who allow me to share their stories with you, I can assure you there has been change!
When I first started doing this, it was unheard of! Other than midwives being super supportive and excited about what I was doing, there was mostly confusion as to why anyone would want this experience documented, and a lot of concerned staff that were not that welcoming towards me as they were worried I was documenting them working. But after building relationships with hospital staff, and with some education from all sides, here we are 10 years later and now birth photography has become quite popular! I’m even welcomed in the O.R for c-sections most of the time!!
We still have a long way to go to make sure pregnant, birthing, and postpartum folks are respected and heard, so I don’t imagine I will be quitting this type of photography any time soon. But in celebration of this milestone, let me share with you, some gorgeous loving births to watch! Maybe check the flyers of your local stores for sales on boxes of tissue before you start pressing play, ha ha ha! Enjoy! And feel free to share this with all the expecting parents you know!

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To see more blog posts, head to the Blog Archives.

Contact me for more information about sessions and collections.