A Mothers Day weekend birth story. What a gift.

In February of 2023 I gave birth to my firstborn Juniper and enjoyed a postpartum season with her during my self imposed maternity leave. But near the end of my leave I got a call from my friend and fellow birth doula and photographer Emily Croff that she was at a birth and had a second client going into labor too! This is a scenario all birth workers prepare for, double duty! We had already worked out a back up support agreement so jumping in to support both Emily and her clients was so exciting and an honor to get to be a part of their stories.

All images are taken and edited by me, Randi Armstrong and shared with permission.

Sometimes once you’ve decided that you want an epidural, it can still take a few minutes before the anesthesiologist is able to place it. Waiting and laboring and breathing baby down.

But thankfully even once the epidural is placed, you still have lots of options for movement! Hands and knees laboring with an epidural is still a great option for progressing labor!

This family anticipated baby would need some support after birth, so the NICU team carefully waited as she labor and pushed her baby earthside.

She’s so beautiful, and she’s here!!

Even with babies that need a little help after birth, they try to prioritize some skin to skin or golden hour whenever possible. These moments are so precious and important for both mom and baby. It’s an honor to get to witness and capture these memories for everyone, but especially important for babies in the NICU who may be soon utilizing breathing support and IV’s and be a little harder to see.

Being able to join this family as they transferred to the NICU was an incredible honor. I was careful to document their experience while staying out of the way of the hospital staff and respecting the other families in the shared room with their own babes. I’m grateful that everyone values how important capturing these memories is for our birth families.

I’m so grateful to be able to have witnessed baby C’s first moments here, and to know that she’s doing so well now. This job never ceases to amaze and inspire me through watching the strength of these parent bonds and resilient little babies.