LeRoy, NY Home Birth Photography ~ Bridget & Jonathan

Debra Wallace — Mon, 24 Feb 2014 02:58:00 +0000

If you’ve ever followed a dream, you know that it can take you to some unlikely places. When I arrived at Bridget and Jonathan’s house to photograph her home birth at 4:30 in the morning last Thursday, he said, “How many births have you photographed?” The answer? Absolutely zero. But if you have an adventurous spirit, these things are impossible to turn down.

One of the remarkable things about home birth is that you can have the flexibility to do things that are disallowed in hospitals – such as having siblings present and being in the water. Bridget took full advantage of that – her parents, her mother-in-law, Jon, and their two children were all there as well as myself and two midwives. It was a birth party.

Jon was a faithful labor attendant – only leaving Bridget to help care for the kids.

In this image he was actually sleeping. It’s easy to overlook dads in the birth experience, but they go through a lot too.

E sat quietly in the room eating animal crackers and keeping vigil over mom. When Bridget wasn’t mid-contraction, she was able to smile and talk with her kids and answer their questions about what was happening.

When R saw mom in the birthing tub, he went and got his rubber ducky.

Our midwives refer to the “birth cave.” A strange thing happens in birth where you experience less pain the more you can focus inwardly. This is why some women find people in the room to be distracting, which creates more physical pain. You can often tell how far along a woman is in her labor by how internally focused she is.

As time went on, as you would expect there was less smiling and talking, and more focus and quiet.

The kids went from playing with grandpa to watching mom labor.

As the sun rose, Bridget started pushing.

And after all that waiting, baby T was finally here.

Brand new baby feet.

As baby T cried, Bridget said, “It’s okay, you have a whole family to love you.”

The first time T was held by his dad.

R was a big fan of the birth tub hose.

Getting acquainted with the family.

If you’d like to learn more about birth photography, check out 10 Reasons to Hire a Birth Photographer.

Rochester NY Newborn Photography ~ A Home Birth Story

Debra Wallace — Wed, 24 Jul 2013 15:21:00 +0000

When you’re super pregnant and people ask where you’re going to deliver, “home” is usually the last thing they expect you to say. You can almost see the wheels turning, “You mean, on purpose?”

My husband Jason and I are pretty scientifically minded – I tease him that half his PhD is mine. We did a lot of research with my first pregnancy and were compelled by what we found. Primarily we fell in love with the Midwifery Model of Care. We love being home, we love our midwives, and we love home birth. It’s been an awesome and unexpected journey.

Melody, 9 lbs 6 oz., 2006. Born after 3 hours of pushing. I. Hate. Pushing.

Caleb 10 lbs 2 oz., 2008. Born in a hot tub. Remembered for the phrase, “Someone grab the baby!”

Daniel 11 lbs 12 oz., 2011. Remembered for being super sized (I don’t recommend this).

You know the stories about people that don’t make it to the hospital in time or deliver on the side of the road? I never thought that would be me since I’m so in tune with my body (ha!).

This time I went into labor three days after my due date. I knew I was in labor but the contractions weren’t regular and some of them weren’t very painful. I spent the day napping, listening to music, and emailing my friend Tara fully convinced the labor could stop or slow down at any minute.

Then they picked up for about an hour and I started to feel ambivalent about having my midwives there instead of wanting to be alone so I called and said, “I know the labor’s not stopping and I feel ambivalent, so maybe you should come.”

They got their stuff together and made their way up to Rochester. Meanwhile, my body very suddenly stepped it into high gear. A little while later I was telling my husband that he might be catching the baby. I wish I had a picture of the look on his face. Then I was pushing, and Sarah, one of our midwives, was on speakerphone saying, “Jason don’t worry, Debra will deliver the baby, you just need to catch it.”

My poor husband, who has never even wanted to cut the umbilical cord, had no choice. He caught Eli and very nearly threw him at me. It was miraculous.

Eli, 9 lbs 14 oz. Remembered for being caught by Dad.

Eli receiving world class medical care – in my bedroom.

Our 8th year with Meg and Sarah. We love our midwives!!!!

Welcome home baby Eli. We’ve been waiting for you.

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