It was Sunday around lunch time when I received a message to say that Debbie & Roy were heading to the hospital and as she was going to be induced… straight away, earlier then planned as she still wasn’t due for a few more weeks! The first thought that ran through my head was that we were so lucky we had done her maternity session just a few days ago, and didn’t leave it any later!
As you can imagine, this is a moment I had been waiting to happen for around 7 months after Debbie first announced she was pregnant. Off I went to pack my camera bag and make sure it was all ready to go as I would have a long 2 and a half hour drive ahead of me when I got the call to say she was progressing. Lets just say, I didn’t sleep much that night as the excitement kicked into overdrive and I was so worried I would sleep through the phone call, I made Roy promise that if anything changed with Debbie he would call me non-stop until I answered.
The next morning arrived and there wasn’t much progression so they were going to break Debbie’s waters to try and get things moving. If the birth was going to happen today, it was one moment I wasn’t going to miss, I jumped in the car and started driving the long 2 hour drive. I arrived down at the hospital around 9am and things were starting to happen, she moved to the shower (probably the hottest shower she has ever taken, I felt it to turn it up at one point and it was scorching!) to help with the paint and to take the pressure of her back. Debbie was at 7cm just after lunch time, it was a long after noon of contractions with little progress until her contractions slowed right down. The decision was made and they would wait for the next check and start the next plan to get it all happening again if there was no changes. 6pm came and went, she was still at around 7cm dilated when they checked, so they started her on the drip while she had more rest.
The contractions were getting more intense and closer, poor Debbie was trying to power nap between each contraction, while we tried to give her the support and empower her ready for what was hopefully going to happen tonight, that she would be meeting her little baby girl.
At around 8.30pm, Debbie started telling us that she couldn’t do it any more, she was in so much pain and that she wanted the drugs, at that moment I knew that she couldn’t be too far away from pushing as my most vivid memory from Emily’s birth, was the panic that kicked in, and I said exactly what Debbie said word for word a little before I started pushing. We all made a guess on the time we thought that she would be born, Roy took 9.15pm, my guess was 9.10pm, the Midwife said 9.20pm and the student midwife said 9.25pm.
The moment the midwife said she could see her head, was the moment that changed it all. I had a photo which I showed Debbie on the back of the camera so she could see that her baby girl had hair! As soon as Debbie had seen this photo, it ignited the desire to meet her baby girl. It was only a few pushes and Cadance Reta Lillian Gough was born, at 9.10pm on the dot!
Roy cut the cord after Cadance had some skin to skin time with Debbie and was then taken for all her measurements, her first nappy on and a quick cuddle with Daddy before her first feed. Those first few moments Cadance shared with her mum & dad were so precious to witness.
This is one of my most privileged photography moments and I am so very thankful to Debbie & Roy for inviting me into the birth ward to share this journey with them and to be able to give them some beautiful memories on such a life changing day. I am still speechless and words cannot describe the whole experience, it was really such a great reminder that we can do anything we put our mind to! The love and yearning to meet her unborn baby was so inspiring to watch and photograph.
As I am often asked if I offer birth photography, I will now be taking limited bookings each month. I can’t wait for the next birth I will be able to document, it is an incredible milestone in your life! If you would like more information, please call us for a quick chat.
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