Birth Story : Gavin | Jacksonville Birth Photographer

When my dear friend and fellow birth photographer, Dallas, asked me to document her birth story I was elated! She and her husband, Dave, are such a fun couple and I felt so privileged that they asked me to be a part of their day. On a warm Florida summer morning, joined by their daughter, Alexis, as well as Dallas’s mom, Vickie, they welcomed their precious baby boy in this incredible home birth. Dallas’s midwife, Shea, birth assistant, Milkah, as well as doula, Emily, were part of her birth team and I loved seeing them in action. Such sweet care was given as Dallas labored intensely to bring Gavin into this world. It was absolutely beautiful!

Soak up this precious birth story, written in Dallas’s words, as she shares her thoughts on all that happened in the captions that follow the pictures. Their birth video featured at the end of the post.

TRUST: I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to be surrounded by people who trusted me and trusted this process. There is no room for negative energy in birth.

PEPPER: My husband jokingly nicknamed our first baby “Chalupa” while we were pregnant with her. This time around, he gave me a deadline, saying he would name this one “Gordida” if I didn’t choose a nickname. Baby was the size of a peppercorn that week, so “Pepper” was the nickname I chose! I gathered a few special items here: my mom learned how to knit during my pregnancy and made the white hat. The album has ultrasound images from both of my pregnancies, and the birds are from the recently-closed UF Birth Center, which held such a special place in my heart.

SLOW DANCING: Erin pointed out that we were also slow dancing in the wedding picture in the background! How far we have come together.

MOM’S HANDS: I remember my mom’s hands being so cold and smooth. She stroked my face and soothed me as the waves got more and more intense.

LEAVING: My eyes are closed in this image, but shortly after this moment I was gazing out into my backyard. This quote that I’ve read a thousand times as a birth photographer drifted through my mind: “It is said that women in labor leave their bodies, travel to the stars, collect the souls of their babies and return to this world together.” I felt very far away from the present in that moment.

WOMEN: How a woman in labor could have a baby without the loving support of other women is beyond me. I needed that understanding, loving, empathetic energy surrounding me.

MORNING: My Lexi wakes up happy. Always. She woke with the morning light and was thrilled that her “Pepper” was finally being born.

INTENSITY: The last half hour of my contractions was so intense. I vocalized through each one, moaning and growling in a way that I hadn’t with my first birth. I felt wild and out of control, but also keenly aware of what was happening.

FRIENDSHIP: Beyond just being my birth team, Shea, Emily, and Erin are my friends. I’ve attended births with them for years (or supported each other in birth work, in Erin’s case) and having them with me filled me with joy.

RELIEF: I cannot describe the deep relief I felt of sinking shoulder-deep into hot water. As strange as it sounds, my first thought when I sank in was frustration that so few women in our country get to feel this kind of relief during their labors. I was instantly calm; my contractions suddenly spaced out and quickly turned into pushing contractions.

JOY: This one brings tears to my eyes. David loves me so deeply and I felt every ounce of it in this moment. I adore this man.

PUSHING: I believe this is the contraction when my body started pushing. I remembered this unstoppable, satisfying sensation and knowing my baby would be in my arms soon. I was surprised at how quickly all of this was happening!

UPRIGHT: I realized afterwards that I was upright during this entire labor. That isn’t always possible, but since my labor was so short and came after a good night’s rest, I was able to listen to my body and let gravity bring my baby down.

HANDS ON, HANDS OFF: I told my birth team over and over again that I wanted a hands-off birth. What’s so funny is that they knew exactly what I meant…and it had nothing to do with their hands! I had loving, supportive hands on me almost every minute of my labor, and that was precisely what I needed. But I was given freedom, space, autonomy. No one told me what to do. No one told me how to position my body. No one told me to push. No one touched my baby. I was completely in control.

ALMOST THERE: My memories are hazy, but I think this was about two pushes before the end. Shortly after, I was able to reach in and feel the top of baby’s head.

THE HARD PART: In one strong push, I moved my baby’s head outside of my body. I briefly felt the head retreat back in, but I was unwilling to endure this stretch any longer, so I pushed through until the head was all the way out. “Whew, I’m glad that part is over,” I said out loud!

HOME STRETCH: “Oh, that’s a big baby!” I said! Baby’s head was fully out in this image and I was waiting for another contraction. I reached down and felt his soft, round head. I didn’t have this experience with my first baby, so I soaked it in, knowing this peace would only last a moment. I think I’ll be 100 years old and still be able to remember the feeling of his head in my hands.

KICKING: This silly baby decided to take this peaceful moment and kick me incredibly hard! I hollered out, “Stop kicking me Pepper!” Emily said she could feel him with her hands on my back.

CURIOSITY: Alexis was so prepared for this birth. We watched dozens of home birth videos and she was content to watch what was happening without fear.

STRENGTH: I had hoped that Erin would catch an image like this and she nailed it. Pure strength and power in that final push.

BIRTH: “Reach down and grab your baby!” Shea said. I shifted my legs to support myself and reached down.

FLOATING: I’ll never forget the sensation of bringing my baby up out of the water. I tear up every time I think about it. It seemed like it happened in slow-motion: my baby floating up out of the water, slowly seeing his face come closer and closer to mine.

HERE: Suddenly, baby is here. In my arms, completely safe, perfect in every way.

SHOCK: WHAT?? It’s over?? After what seemed like the longest pregnancy ever, the fact that this stubborn child was in my arms in under 4 hours absolutely floored me.

JOY: Pure, unbridled joy. I got my perfect birth, my perfect baby.

WITH WOMAN: The word midwife means, “with woman.” Shea was with me in my joy. Yes, she is my medical provider. Yes, she was watching like a hawk and ready to swoop in if she saw any signs of distress with me or my baby. But she was also with me in spirit, sharing my pure ecstasy and triumph in that moment. THIS IS WHAT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR CARE PROVIDER CAN LOOK LIKE. I want to shout it from the rooftops!

FAMILY: Our little family grew in the most amazing way that morning. As comfortable as she was during my labor, she was a little anxious about this chubby, purple little baby in my arms. “I don’t want to hold Pepper,” was the first thing she said when I asked her, “What do you think?”

FRIENDSHIP: It was a joy to share these incredible moments with Erin! We have debriefed births with one another for years, and I was so happy to have her there with me.

SMUSHY: Oh, how madly in love I am with this sweet, smushy face. “You little stinker, you ARE a boy!” I called out! I was a little anxious about being close to two weeks past my due date, and I had read that this could be an indicator that I was carrying a boy. He was worth every exhausting day!

MINE: All mine. Mine to hold, mine to comfort, mine to love. Forever. No one took my baby from me to be examined or measured. He was right where he needed to be in that moment: snuggled up with mama.

CONNECTION: “Wait until mom and baby make eye contact. When it happens, it’s magic.” I can’t remember who told me that, but as a birth photographer, I try to wait for this moment and catch it. I’m so glad I have this moment to treasure for myself.

PEACE: My birth team stirred happily around me, getting our space ready for the transition to postpartum. But we just soaked everything in, grateful and peaceful.

TEAMWORK: As an introvert and the owner of a small house, I was worried about the number of people I would have around me during my birth. As it turned out, this perfect team was a perfect fit. They each had their own role to play, and did it beautifully!

TIME: I had all the time in the world to greet my baby. We patiently waited for the placenta to come and looked over every inch of this sweet little guy in my arms.

PERFECTION: This will always be one of my most treasured images. My sweet boy, 8 minutes old, blinking in the morning light.

INTRODUCTIONS: Be still, my heart! Having Alexis there to meet her baby brother was so amazingly special. I know she probably won’t remember this moment on her own, but I’m so glad that she will have these images to help her hold on to this magical moment.

PLACENTA: I know, I know. Most people think placentas are gross. That’s okay. I think they’re incredible. It was my baby’s home, his protection, his nourishment.

HAIR: Hair! Alexis was bald and blonde, so this full head of dark hair shocked me!

PIGGIES: Ten perfect little piggies to love.

SEPARATION: David didn’t feel strongly about cutting the cord, so I gave it a try. I struggled to hold the scissors in one hand and balance him above the water in the other, so David ended up doing it instead.

THE HAND-OFF: So many new dads hold their babies with such timidity and awkwardness; totally understandable when you are tasked with supporting a person who is only minutes old. But Dave was a natural with both babies. He scooped him up for some skin-to-skin time like a pro.

MIMI: I was adamant that I wanted my mom to be the first one to hold him after David. She was such a huge support for me all through my pregnancy and she was so ready to hold this sweet boy!

WARMING UP: Once baby was out of the water and starting to pink up, Alexis warmed up to him.

LATCHED: Breastfeeding came easily to us, thankfully. Shea was in the other room and I figured she would want to chart this, so I called, out, “He just latched, if you need to know that!” “Got it!”

BLISS: I was so in awe of how perfect this birth went. I got everything on my wish list. I was in heaven!

LAUGHTER: Yep. This is what patient-and-care-provider relationships should look like.

COUNTING: Alexis is working on counting. She’s got 1-10 down and was able to count his cute toes!

SELFIE: Gotta get baby’s first selfie!

PRINTS: Milkah took a few moments to get a placenta print for me, while Alexis watched. A few days later, I photographed the prints and discarded the paper, and I’m working on creating an art piece to print and frame.

MILKAH: This amazing woman is mother to 9 children. I loved her calm, joyful presence in my home.

SIBLINGS: Your relationship with your sibling is the longest relationship you will ever have. It is longer than your relationship with your partner, your parents, and most friends. I felt the weight of that fact in this moment.

IMPERFECTION: I adore the imperfection in this perfect moment. We are a silly, flawed little family and I am so happy we have each other.

DISBELIEF: Pretty sure this was the moment of “Oh my gosh…we have two children!”

SAFE: Alexis was such a trooper during the birth. But I knew she needed to know that I was safe and that she was safe. She isn’t much of a snuggler, but she sank into me and let me cuddle her for a good long while after things calmed down.

DADDY: It was so clear that he recognized his daddy’s voice. He quieted down and listened whenever he spoke.

EXHAUSTION: Once things calmed down I realized how exhausted I was. I was so grateful to be snuggled up in my favorite spot of the sofa!

PAPA: My dad popped over just under an hour after baby arrived. He loves babies and was so excited to meet his first grandson!

EMILY: I’ve photographed several births where Emily was the doula. She always grabs a shot of baby’s feet and shares it on her social media. I’ve taken photos of her doing this so many times, so it was fun to see her doing it with my own baby!

HE’S HUGE: 9 pounds 2 ounces! I knew he was big but WOW, I wasn’t expecting that!

GENTLE: I love how midwives do newborn exams. Shea was slow, gentle, and warm, carefully taking measurements and making sure he was healthy.

DREAM TEAM: I love my team! Husband Dave, mom Vickie, daughter Alexis, midwife Shea, doula Emily, birth photographer Erin, birth assistant Milkah. THE BEST!!!

INTRODUCTIONS: This is a dear friend of mine, who started off as one of my birth photography clients. She brought us food and played with Alexis while we all settled in.

UNCLE CURTIS: My brother lives just a mile down the road from us, and he was off work that day. He came right over for some snuggles!

GRANDPARENTS: This is my parents’ third grandbaby, and first grandson. They were just in awe of how perfect he was!

FAMILY: Baby in my mom’s arms, getting kisses from dad, with uncle and big sister in the background. Amazing.

FOOTPRINTS: The one unpleasant part of baby’s first day: getting his footprints made!

CRACKING UP: Get yourself a birth team that has this much fun together! They giggled and giggled as they worked together to get perfect little footprints on his birth announcement and belly cast.