Jordyn found me on Instagram at the beginning of her second pregnancy. She was barely 7 weeks pregnant when she reached out, but she knew without a doubt that she wanted her home birth photographed!
The birth of her first baby was at the height of Covid, and nothing went the way she had hoped, right down to having to be induced in the hospital after planning a home birth for 9 months.
This pregnancy was totally different than her first. Easier physically, but emotionally more difficult. Jordyn’s mom passed away just a few short weeks before her son was born, and she found joy and hope through feeling him in her belly.
Johnstown Home Birth
When she was 41 weeks and 5 days into her pregnancy, Jordyn started having consistent contractions. She did her best to sleep through them until morning, but it wasn’t a super restful night of sleep. She spent the day eating nourishing meals, walking, and just hanging out with her family. Around dinner time the contractions became significantly stronger, and her hubby, Nick, decided to call the doula, midwife, and me!
I arrived about 8:15pm before the doula or midwife. Jordyn was in good spirits, but I could tell the contractions were getting really intense. She and her hubby were doing a great job of working together through them though. The intensity had definitely picked up by the time the rest of the birth team arrived.
Jordyn labored beautifully with the help of her husband and her doula. Around 10pm she was feeling stuck in her labor, like there was a block, so she had her midwife check her cervix. Sure enough, baby’s head was caught on a lip of the cervix – just a small part of the cervix was left.
“After some time in the water I asked my doula what time it was and it was 10. I felt stuck. I felt like I wasn’t progressing and was just laboring for the sake of laboring. I said I felt swelling and felt stuck, so she asked to check me and I was at a 9.5cm with a cervical lip. That’s why I wasn’t progressing! I knew. She held the lip as I pushed down and hard while propping myself on my hands and lifting my hips up toward her hand in the water. He immediately moved past the lip. He kept doing a bit of a back and forth, so she had to apply pressure to the lip multiple times. The relief that I felt when I was pushing him out and he was sliding down the birth canal was unreal. It was so amazing to feel. After he was well past the lip, I was on my own and things got intense. In between I was smiling telling my husband and daughter how much I loved them while making jokes. At 10 cm. Birth is cool. During contractions, I was gripping my doula and making primordial roaring noises to get him out.”
Jordyn
A Baby Is Born
Baby Hugo came out at 8 lb 1 oz and 21” long on September 30th, 2023 at 10:46 P.M. Jordyn pushed his whole body out in one strong push and he came out still in his amniotic sac. She pulled him up and out of the water straight to her chest like an absolute badass birthing mama! Exactly the experience she missed out on with the birth of her daughter.
Working With Kylie
“Kylie caught the moment that my baby looked up at my for the first time and I remember that exact moment. It was magical and like I had known him my whole life, but I was ready to watch him grow and flourish. The feeling was euphoric.”
Jordyn
Jordyn says she chose to have her birth photographed because she wanted to see herself being a badass, and because that experience was taken from her with her first birth. She says that even though the cost was financially hard, it was so worth it!!
“I only noticed the flash one time in transition because my room was so dark, but other than that I did not notice her when I was working through contractions. When I was around 6 CM, I remember laughing with Kylie and joking in between contractions and it was nice to have a friend.”
Jordyn
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