The birth of my 2nd niece.

From the start of my sister’s third pregnancy, she was in the mind-set that this would be her last baby. She wanted to make sure that she enjoyed every minute of carrying a child since she knew it would likely be her last time; but when you have two other kids to chase around, it is easier said than done. She had also decided that the gender would be a surprise, so I can only imagine that the 40 weeks of anticipation seemed to drag on forever…

… and it did… for 42 weeks. 

As her due date, Christmas, and New Year’s eve passed she realized that her dream of having all 3 babies completely naturally was slowly slipping away. After talking with her doctor, they decided that it would be best to try to induce her labor so that everything would be healthy for both the baby and mama. They scheduled the induction for January 2nd (dad’s 40th birthday!). 

At 4:00am they got a phone call from the hospital asking that they arrive by 5:00am, and they did. After being admitted, checking vitals, checking progress, etc.- they decided to start her on a round of Misoprostal (which is a tiny pill that is supposed to help soften the cervix). Her doctor chose this route because he knew that my sister desperately wanted to have this baby naturally, and this process was going to allow her to move around and hopefully get that baby moving. The only trouble is that this process is MUCH SLOWER. By the time that I had arrived at nearly 11:00am, she was already on round two and no progress had been made. After going on walks, eating lunch, changing positions, bouncing on a ball, it seemed like this baby just wanted to stay snuggled inside mama forever. 

Around 4:30pm, she was given her fourth dose of the pill in hopes that this one would finally do the trick. During this time, her oldest stopped by for a visit with Grandma. She got to play with daddy in the hospital room, eat crackers, and tell us all about her school day and how her friends were so excited for her to be a big sister again! Mama was so happy to see her baby girl and hold her for the last time as a mommy of 2.

A few hours had passed, with some light contractions throughout the day. They were enough to stop her in her tracks, but not enough to really help her cervix prepare for baby to make it’s way to meet us. Her doctor made a visit around 6:30 and noticed a *slight* change in progression, giving us hope that it could happen tonight and daddy would get the BEST birthday present ever. He also decided to break her water since he knew baby was on it’s way and it would help speed things up. Before he left, he mentioned to the nurse to “call when she is at a 6 because that baby will be here immediately after.” He has delivered all of my sister’s children and he couldn’t be more right. Once her babies are ready to come, they come out in lightening speed. 

More visitors stopped by, this time it was their best friends to help daddy celebrate his birthday with a sushi feast. At this point, my sister wasn’t interested in eating as her contractions started to become more intense and frequent. She had asked the nurse to check her progress about every 30 minutes and each time she had dilated another centimeter. At 11:57pm, the nurse checked and said “you’re at about a 5 or 6, I’ll go call your doctor!”. 

Over the next 30 minutes, reality began to hit my sister. Since this is planned to be her last pregnancy she was overwhelmed by a flood of emotions. She was afraid like I have never seen her. Afraid that she would be in pain, afraid something would be wrong with the baby, and afraid that her doctor wouldn’t make it on time. Our goal was to keep her focused long enough so that she wouldn’t start to push before her doctor arrived. 

At 12:28am a wave of calm swept over the room as her doctor came running in to prepare for delivery. Within seconds, my sister began to push and the baby’s head was making its way out. It happened so fast that she had the entire head out in 4 pushes. All of the sudden we heard the doctor shout, “Stop pushing! There is a cord around the head… Two cords! Three cords!” The room was silent as her doctor immediately untangled the umbilical cord from the baby’s face and neck. It felt like minutes, but was a matter of seconds. We heard, “Go ahead and push!”, and we were greeted by a beautiful, healthy, baby girl! The doctor handed my sister her daughter and said “this is a miracle baby…”

At 12:36am, baby Emilynn Iris was born. She just missed her daddy’s birthday by a matter of minutes, but we are all pretty certain it’s because she wanted to have her own special day. 

Mama got to enjoy an hour and a half of skin-to-skin time and lots of nursing before we found out that she is the second largest baby in the family at 8lbs 4oz and looks EXACTLY like her big brother. 

The three of them got a tiny bit of rest over night before we were back in the morning with all the other kiddos to meet the new addition. Elli and Oliver were both so excited to hold their new sister, Emi, in their “Big Sister/Big Brother” t-shirts and cousin Norah couldn’t stop giving the baby kisses. 

We are so grateful to have another baby girl in the family and even more grateful for an amazing doctor who knew exactly what he was doing. I am so thrilled that I was able to capture this day to be remembered forever. 

In order to respect the family’s privacy, not all photos are included. 

December 20th, 2017- The day my best friend was scheduled to be induced at a week overdue AND my sister’s due date. 

Naturally, I would have to miss my friend’s labor if something were to happen with my sister; but my fingers were crossed that this situation would never come up. As I was on the freeway headed to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tacoma to start documenting the induction, I got the call! My sister was having contractions and was headed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Puyallup. “Hooray!” and “Oh no..” both began to set in. After spending a few hours there, my sister was sent home because her progression had completely slowed down. While I was so sad that she wasn’t in labor, I knew that I could probably make to Tacoma in time!

I hopped in the car and headed for St. Joe’s and arrived around 1:00pm. While it was absolutely freezing outside, the day could not have been more beautiful. The sky was vivid blue and written on top of the hospital’s impressively tall white building were the words, “Live like the mountain is out”. This phrase stirred up so many emotions for me. If you’re from Western Washington, you know that when the “mountain is out”, it’s going to be a gorgeous day. Crisp air. Bright sun. Nothing quite compares. 

At the same time, the phrase also reminded me of my best friend’s who were about to give birth. This family lives for the mountain. It is part of their soul. Dad is an avid skier and any chance they get to head up for a hike or a day in the snow, they take it. At this point, you might have noticed Lyla’s middle name- Skadi (pronounced SKAH-dee). Her auntie is also a lover of the mountain and suggested it to the family. It means: Goddess of Winter, Skiing and (bow-hunting). They aren’t a hunting family, but with her being born on the eve of the Winter Solstice, and the family’s love of everything outdoors, the name was a perfect fit. Those words, “live like the mountain is out” rang so beautifully true. 

As with most inductions, progress was slow going. Mom and dad arrived to the hospital around 8:00am and mom was hooked up to pitocin by 10:00. When I arrived by 1:00, mom was comfortable and taking a break for a grilled cheese sandwich with pickles. During the next hour and a half, both auntie and grandma arrived as contractions started to get more intense. Mom was such a champ that you wouldn’t have even realized she was in pain as she laughed through conversations and stories.

The nurses told her that if she was interested in an epidural, she would need to get one when the pain was no longer tolerable.  With that, mom made the call and we were all asked to leave the room until the procedure was done.

Grandma, auntie, and myself were invited back into the room by 3:40pm. When we arrived, mom was nice and cozy under tons of blankets and anticipating a long evening at the hospital. Her first birth took quite some time, especially after her epidural, so she wasn’t expecting for things to start progressing for awhile. However, within minutes of being back in the room, her water broke! The nurses came to check her progression and baby girl was already starting to make her way.

The moment was surreal for mom. All of a sudden everything was happening so quickly. By 4:00pm her room was packed with nurses preparing for baby girl’s arrival. As the sun began to set, the hospital lights were turned on and a mirror was set up for mom so she could see her baby make it’s way. Auntie was in position to record the sound of baby’s first cry, while grandma and daddy held mom’s legs to help her push. Mom was so full of determination. She was completely silent as she powered through 13 rounds of pushing to meet her baby; and at 4:30pm-she did. Baby Lyla was placed immediately on mom’s chest as tears were shed across the room. Even though this was Grandma’s thirteenth grandchild, it was the first birth she was able to witness; and she was ecstatic! Daddy cried while he studied his new daughter snuggling his beautiful bride. 

After a few minutes, dad was asked if he would like to cut the umbilical cord and he happily chose to do so. Over the next couple hours, mom, dad, and Lyla got to spend time bonding as she learned to nurse and refused to let go of daddy’s hand. 

By 6:00, the rest of the family arrived to meet the little one. Big brother, Jack, was making his way into the room and everyone was waiting in anticipation to see how he would react to his new little sister. Jack brought a birthday present for Lyla and it was an adorable stuffed puppy dog, but he was shocked to see that baby Lyla had also gotten him a gift. After opening his new box of Legos, he warmed up to the idea of meeting his little sister and gave her a big kiss and spent the next 15 minutes holding her and singing her his favorite songs.

Baby Lyla was welcomed into a family full of so much love and joy, just in time for the holidays! And now, their new adventure begins…

In order to respect the family’s privacy, not all photos are included. 

On the evening before Thanksgiving, I got the call that “we were headed to the Birthing Center”. Of course I started panicking. It was about to be the first birth that I would ever get to capture. Do I have my camera? Batteries charged? Cards empty? Tons of thoughts were racing through my head as I quickly got out the door to head up North to St. Joseph’s Midwifery Birthing Center in Tacoma. In true Holiday fashion, traffic was a nightmare. I started reliving my own birth story and worried that “mama” was going to have this baby before I even arrived. But she didn’t, thank goodness. 

When I arrived to the Birthing Center, “mama” still hadn’t been checked into a room and was experiencing intense contractions in the lobby with her husband. The space was brightly lit, but very serene and welcoming. The cream colored furniture, glass light fixtures, and Keurig in the corner- made it feel more like the living room of your best friend’s house than a hospital. The night was quiet. So quiet, in fact, that the 6:00pm hour felt more like 2:00am. 

Just a short time later, the Midwife checked on “mama’s” progression and decided that she was ready for a room. We entered the 500 square foot (dream of a) room and everyone got comfortable. The Birthing Center had two Midwives and a Doula on staff for the evening. In addition to the help, the family had also hired a Doula of their own. All together, there were 7 of us (including mama) waiting on edge to meet baby Evelyn. 

The two Doulas did their job to make “mama” comfortable. The lights were so dim that my Christmas Tree would have provided more light to the room. They also set up a few battery powered candle lights to add an additional ambience. One of the Doulas played calming instrumental music on her phone. Dad even made a comment that they “got to experience all of East and West Asia” through the channel they were listening to. To add to the calm, the other Doula filled cotton swabs with scents of Lavender so that “mama” could breathe it in to help relax.

Multiple positions were tried to get baby moving, all while “mama” handled every contraction like a champ. She didn’t enjoy the process of her first birth and she was determined to have more control over this birth story. She wanted it on her terms. She provided to her Doula a list of quotes and phrases to help her in the most trying moments. As she was between contractions, her Doula would read them to her to remind her of her purpose and power. It was such a moving experience. “Mama” was in pain, but she didn’t let it consume her. At times, she was so calm that you wouldn’t even know that she was progressing that way that she did. 

By 11:00pm, things drastically began to change. “Mama’s demeanor became more intense  and the midwives started to check her progression. Baby Evelyn was almost here. After just a few short pushes, her head began to crown. At 11:25pm, little girl Evelyn Clary was here!

She was a whopping 8lbs 11ounces (which is huge for both families) and 21inches long. Her face was squishy and perfect. After her arrival, she got to spend about 25 beautiful minutes with her mama. Mom needed a little more medical attention, so Dad hoped in bed and took over the “skin-to-skin” time. 

The entire experience was perfection. Since the family delivered at the Birthing Center, they were able to leave within the next 12 hours. I heard from “mama” later that they only slept about 30 minutes that night; but since the next day was Thanksgiving, they were welcomed home to a house filled with food, family, and a new little girl. 

In order to respect the family’s privacy, not all photos are included. 

Birthday celebrations aren’t just for little girls and boys, it is a day to celebrate for parents too. You are on either side of the spectrum: “Hooray! We survived a year!” or “Where has this year gone?!?”. My husband and I were both the latter of the two. When Norah’s birthday approached, we knew it wasn’t just an ordinary day. Exactly one year ago our lives completely changed! Even though we had already celebrated with friends and family, we knew we couldn’t just wake up, go to work, and go about our regular routine on that drizzly Monday. 

So we took the day off!

Our day was filled with love, laughter, and adventure as we followed our little girl around town. The best part- the Hands On Children’s Museum. Since she was able to walk, we thought it might be fun to check it out; and boy were we right. Her face was filled with joy as daddy helped her down the slides and escorted her around from exhibit to exhibit. I, of course, spent most of the time behind the camera admiring the two of them playing. 

We still can’t believe how fast the year has gone by and we look forward to our new tradition every March 27th- Celebrating not only Norah, but the day we became parents!