On the otherside

I can honestly say that being invited to document the birth of little Nova was one of the highlights of my year and honestly one of the most amazing moments I have witnessed in my life. As a mother of three I have only experienced this on the other side so it was incredible to witness this intimate moment for this family.

Up until this point I have never had the priviledge to document a birth before. Its challenging to coordinate with my own work and family schedule, so when Kailey and I spoke about it, it was totally on the basis of “if all the stars aligned” that I would be there.

At about midnight on Sunday October 14th it all became a reality when Kailey texted me saying it was go time. I don’t even think my husband knew what I was up to but I jumped out of bed.. basically told him good luck with our babe through the night and jumped in my car and was on my way!!

When I arrived at their home 20 mins later, Kailey was in active labour at their home in such a beautiful setting. Lights were low, the midwife from Birth Partnerships was doing her thing and Kailey’s husband was an absolute rock. One of my favorite parts of the night was how many times he kept saying how amazing she was. They were such a team.

From a photography perspective, it was so exciting and also challenging for me to shoot this as it was extremely low light, I didn’t want to use a flash and I wanted to ensure I was out of the way. It was a home birth and I loved how amazing this was to capture in the comfort of their own home, with candles, Kailey being able to get into the tub and to give birth right in her own home.

I think the fact that I had been in her shoes only 5 months prior everything was so raw. With every contraction, I felt it. With every little moan I knew where she was at. The waves coming and going like you are riding of wave of pain but that much closer to the pure joy of meeting the little person who will call you mom forever. Every part of me wanted to just wrap my arms around her and tell her how amazing she was. I had tears streaming down my face for so many moments of this night. It was so powerful.

Here are some images from this night. It was beautiful, life changing and I will never forget witnessing this beautiful soul coming earth side. The stars aligned when little Nova made her entrance into this world!