I think it was the day or two after I found out I was pregnant – maybe even that day – my husband was browsing his Facebook news feed and saw a posting from Beth about her Capturing Day One business. He blurted out all the details about birth photography that were on Beth’s site and told me all about her and how great she is. Beth was a fellow marching band peer of my husband’s in high school and remained connected through Facebook and hometown events. We spent a long time that day browsing through Beth’s photo library and other birth photographs. I know it wasn’t just the hormones that made me completely choke up – more and more with each image. Both my husband and I agreed we had to schedule a get-together with Beth shortly after we shared the news of our pregnancy with our families.
The investment in Beth was never a question for my husband and I. We found the price pretty nominal relative to the story the photos could tell to our friends and the memories they would evoke for us. We knew that planning for a baby isn’t cheap, but let’s face it – most of the items we think we need really aren’t necessary. Hiring Beth was.
My husband was thrilled that I went along with the decision to hire Beth, but frankly he was a little surprised. And so were my parents. I am a social person, I love to talk and connect with people, but I am actually a pretty private person when it comes to details of my life and important events. But hiring Beth to capture our birth wasn’t about that – those images were for my husband and I and it was up to us who we shared them with. And after meeting Beth, having her present during our birth didn’t even seem weird to me—she was completely professional and incredibly passionate. My dad was the biggest skeptic, “give me your camera and I will take pictures for you.” Um, OK, dad — really? A. You are my dad, B. You would forget about the camera in excitement and C. You are my dad. I didn’t want any of my family wrapped up with capturing those first moments on camera when really they should be capturing them in their hearts. How many times have you went to a concert or event and were so busy taking pictures that you just forget to live in the moment? For me, it was too many. And THAT is why we hired Beth. Not to mention, I didn’t want my husband or any other member of my family worrying about pictures – that day was about getting through the labor and birth – and I needed my husband and families’ comfort. I didn’t want any distractions.
As I neared my due date I remember being so worried that I wouldn’t call Beth on time or that she would miss it. She assured me every time we talked that she would be there. She checked in with me after all my doctor appointments towards the end and always checked to see if I was “feeling anything” and “if I thought I was going to go into labor soon.” Her being there was just as much of a priority for her as it was for me. And that was very comforting. You know, pregnancies are unpredictable and I never would have predicted that I would go almost TWO WEEKS over my due date, but I did. But Beth was standing by – waiting for the “she’s progressing, it’s time” phone call from my husband. Once she arrived, Beth did an amazing job taking the photos, she sneaked in and started photographing – I really didn’t even know she was there. And by then Beth and I had become friends (and still are, of course) and she never let her excitement or anxiousness get in the way. She was professional and just did her job.
My labor was long. Very, very long. But I was finally to the point where I could push. My husband called Beth and she was there within minutes. It was time. I only pushed for 20 minutes and Beth was there every step of the way. Not that I would know – as I said, she was almost invisible and remained calm and professional. Our daughter experienced some minor complications immediately after she was born and Beth was able to go into the next room and capture moments that I would have never known about had she not been there. My husband was comforting and crying with me and didn’t even realize he could go see our daughter in the next room. I am so thankful that Beth was able to capture my daughter’s first moments of life because I wasn’t able to be there next to her. Beth was able to come back to the hospital and document with images the moments that led up to our departure from the hospital. Never once did I have to worry about getting my camera out – all I had to do is love my baby.
Within a few days Beth sent us the link to view the images and I was so anxious to see them all. My husband and I promised each other we wouldn’t look at them until we both could sit down together. Once our daughter was asleep quietly we sat down to relive one of the best days of our lives. The result….beyond amazing. We both were very emotional as we flipped through the images. The ones of me laboring were so unbelievably amazing – capturing the connection between my husband and I and the love and support around me. Ones that stand out….an image of my husband telling my family in the waiting room “it’s a girl” while I was still in the hospital bed. Without Beth’s image I would never have known the complete joy our family experienced at that very moment. My favorite image? Beth was standing behind me and shot over my leg while my daughter emerged from my womb – she literally captured my daughter’s first second of life. My daughter was born – the cord still attached and her arms stretched out. I would give my life savings for that one image. No one else could have captured that in such an amazing and tasteful way.
Documenting your birth isn’t about the medical side of it—the pain, the blood, the doctors, it is about capturing the connection between you and your significant other during the laboring process, it’s about capturing the wrinkled little baby toes that smooth out within minutes after being outside the womb, it’s about documenting the love and support of the people around you in the moments leading up to the birth and the moments afterwards. Would I do it again? YES, 100 times YES. When I think about the images that Beth captured during this time I feel so blessed that I am able to have these images. I have sent several of my friends to Beth (all of whom have the same sentiment) and it’s not because she is a friend or I think birth photography is “kind of cool.” In my opinion, it is a necessity. Oh and my dad, the one who said “I’ll take pictures for you” – every time he looks at our birth images he cries like a baby himself.
