The Birth of Nyra | Coit House Birth Center
/Stephanie and Finn were prepared for birth; they’d taken part in group prenatal sessions with their midwifery office, they hired a doula and birth photographer from BDS. They knew they were likely going to pass their due date, and actually hoped that they would! They knew they were likely going to have a longer labor as first time parents. They still felt they had so much to do and had so much time to do it, that when Stephanie’s water broke at work a month before her due date on the afternoon of October 19th, she just kept working.
When contractions started a few hours later, they stayed calm until the later hours of the evening when they grew more intense. They called their doula, who advised Stephanie to take a bath and try to slow things down a bit. After midnight, they knew they needed extra support and asked their doula to come. Upon arriving at their house and taking one look at Stephanie, their doula said “Oh, you’re pushing!” As the couple lived just a few blocks from the birth center, and getting into a car sounded horrific to Stephanie, they decided to walk. Every few feet, Stephanie would stop and lean on her doula during a contraction. Once they arrived at the birth center and began heading upstairs, Stephanie stopped and smiled and calmly mentioned “I think her head is out.”
As the midwife helped her pull her pants down, they were shocked to see that baby was indeed crowning! Finn got behind his wife to catch their baby and pass her up to Stephanie as just one more push brought baby Nyra earthside. Not long after settling into bed together, Stephanie realized “Someone needs to call Jen!”
Jen arrived at the birth center around 3:00am and found the new family cozied in bed chatting with Stephanie’s mom on FaceTime. She captured plenty of snuggles and the newborn exam. The midwife suggested Stephanie and Nyra take a bath together, as she wanted them to stay a bit longer since baby was a few weeks early. Jen began helping to prepare their bath, when she thought of all the beautiful bouquets spread throughout the birth center that were beginning to shrivel. She gathered up all of the flowers that were on their way out and filled the tub with petals before brewing an herbal bath and adding that to the water as well.
It was the dreamiest postpartum photoshoot, as Stephanie and Finn cradled baby Nyra in the bath and poured handfuls of water over her to keep her warm (and wash her thick, luxurious hair!)
Are labor and birth photos just not for you? We understand. In addition to our Birth Story photography package which includes up to 10 hours of photography from active labor to postpartum, we now offer a Golden Hour photography package! Think Fresh 48, except Jen is on call for you in the weeks surrounding your due date and comes as soon as you alert her of baby’s birth, day or night. Babies change a lot in just 24 hours, and we want to help you remember all the details of your new love; from their dark, alert eyes to their tiny curled up seashell ears. Contact us to book.
