As most of you already know, I am a doula in addition to being a photographer. This past Saturday was pretty hectic for me – not only was I moving into my new apartment/studio space, but my first doula client went into labor at 2 am! 7 hours later, Emmet James was born au natural at 9:13 am at a very healthy 8 lbs 4 oz and 20.5 inches long. It was truly the most beautiful and amazing thing I have ever witnessed. There was several things throughout the course of Caley’s labor that struck me – her incredible and enduring strength as she pushed through each contraction, so in-tune to the rhythm of her body as it slowly worked Emmett out and into the world; Jimmy’s unconditional love for his wife and his ability to be there for her every step of the way (for both her pregnancy and labor!); and the warm and enthusiastic staff who awaited us in the delivery room at the hospital. By the time we arrived at Prentice Women’s Hospital (which, by the way, I’m convinced is the most phenomenal hospital in the world to give birth at), Caley was already fully dilated and effaced so unfortunately there was no time for her to have the water birth she planned for (but I think her unusually smooth labor made up for that!). She pushed for about 30 minutes and it was at 9:13 am that I stood back and watched as the love emptied from her belly and into her arms, overflowing into hers and Jimmy’s hearts. I still cry when I think about it as I’m looking through the photos, and so let us all be very thankful to Caley and Jimmy for allowing me to share one of the most memorable moments of their lives. Here are just a few of my favorites for now until I can post a slideshow of all the images once I’m finished with them, along with his official ‘photoshoot’ images that I’ll probably be taking in the next week or two.

As a side note about the photo above, I was totally blown away at how I could literally see Emmett shifting around inside of Caley as he was getting ready to be born!  Unfortunately I didn’t catch it on video, but I love this picture because you can kind of see what I’m talking about here, as baby Emmett is pushing outward with his legs I think.. ha