Instant Friendship
Jaelene contacted me towards the end of her second trimester. She had seen an ad I posted looking for home birth fanatics near me. We clicked pretty quickly. She is also a doula and a big-time birth nerd, and she knew, without a doubt, the incredible value that having her birth photographed would offer. Jaelene is the owner and founder of Beyond Birth. She teaches classes for expecting families and doulas, creates breastmilk jewelry, and encapsulates placentas, among many other talents!
We had a blast planning and executing a milk bath maternity session and getting to know each other. She SERIOUSLY rocked her belly photos, and we had so much fun playing in her bathroom that afternoon!
The Fastest Home Birth EVER
Jaelene planned to have a home birth at her new home in Frederick, Colorado, with her husband and daughter there to cheer her on. The beginning of her pregnancy was rough with terrible morning sickness that made her lose about 30lbs. Then, after weeks of watching for every sign and symptom of labor, at 41 weeks and 1 day it finally happened!
“I went pee around 11:40pm, and had a contraction on the toilet and felt I could no longer move. I didn’t want to have my baby on the toilet so I dropped to my hands and crawled out to my ball and was on my knees with the ball on my chest. I started banging on the floor to alert my husband and I called [Kylie] and my midwife to let [them] know I was in labor! At 1:15am [Kylie] came in and helped my husband know our little was coming and my husband caught baby. Our midwife showed up after the placenta was born. Accidentally an unassisted birth, but so worth it!” -Jaelene
The entire labor, from start to finish, was only 2 hours long. I parked my car in the driveway LITERALLY five minutes before baby William was earth side. I barely made it in time! This is known as a precipitous labor/birth. It’s fairly uncommon, but Jaelene powered through it with the kind of strength and power that a woman that trusts her surroundings, her team, and her body is capable of!!
After Natalie, the midwife, came in and assessed mama and baby we moved to the bedroom. Natalie took the time to teach Jaelene how to feel where her uterus is and to put pressure on it to help it shrink down. She also showed us the three vessels in the umbilical cord (which I had never seen up close before so I was totally geeking out!) Then daddy got the chance to get acquainted with his new baby boy, and mama took a moment to rest.
So, How Was It?
I stayed just long enough to capture some of the family’s first moments together. Then it was time I left to let them get some sleep! After awhile I asked Jaelene to tell me about the experience from her perspective. This is what she had to say…
“I had birth photography done to remember how amazing our birth was. I wanted to prove I could do a home birth without a hospital, I wanted to see how everything looked, I wanted to remember his cord and placenta, I wanted to reminisce and remember my husband’s face as he caught and held our son for the first time. I was so shocked and proud of myself for having a baby! No meds; No interventions. No one in our space I didn’t trust completely. My son was absolutely gorgeous and I couldn’t believe he was finally here! I still cry when I see them. The pictures were perfectly captured. I would have paid tons more now that I know how perfect and beautiful the pictures came out. Kylie was calming and a breath of fresh air. I truly needed her there and her presence made everything calmer and kinder.”
People come into our lives for a reason, I think. I’m so happy to have made a new friend out of this experience! I have had the pleasure of photographing little William and his family a handful of times since his grand entrance into the world. Most recently his 6 month cereal milk bath 😆 and I absolutely love watching him grow!
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