Janey and Jonathan are good friends of mine. I was so honored when they asked me if I would be at the birth of their second and take some pictures! As Janey’s due date window approached I would joke with her that any day was a great day to have a baby- except for Valentines day. On February 14th I had an induction scheduled with another client so for me to attend both births I was hoping to avoid overlap. Well, turns out the day we celebrate love is a perfect day to bring more love into the world because I had the honor of capturing two amazing love stories on Valentines day this year!
On Thursday February 13th around 8pm I checked in with Janey to see how her day had been. I knew that day she was planning to have a prenatal massage and I wanted to see how it went. She shared that it had been a really nice experience and she was having some mild contractions that were continuing to come but still pretty spread out. Janey was feeling unsure if it was just her body preparing for her baby or something that was imminently moving towards active labor. At 10:20pm on the 13th, Janey texted me that the contractions were 4-5 minutes apart and getting pretty intense and her midwife was thinking she should head in soon. Janey checked in with her midwife again at 10:45pm and things had slowed down a bit and she decided she would try and get some rest before heading in. After being able to get some sleep, Janey texted me at 4:40am to give me an update and told me that the contractions had slowed down a lot and though they were intense when she had them. Waves were coming inconstantly and sometimes as much as 15min apart. My other client was starting her induction at 6am and there was a potential that it would be a fast labor and so I reached out to some awesome women that I use as back-ups just in case. At 9:30am Janey’s labor picked up in intensity a lot and she headed into the birth center. We all pulled into the parking lot at 10:40am on the 14th. As Janey got out I could see she was working very hard and things had progressed quite a bit! At 10:50am Janey was done getting her initial check and was taken to her birthing suite. At 11:03 Janey stepped into the shower and her water immediately broke and she began to feel the uncontrollable urge to push. She was quickly guided to a chair in the room and at 11:09am the midwives placed Sweet Theodore Paul on Janey’s chest. Soon after he was born we realized Theo had made an ankle bracelet for himself with his umbilical cord and that was why he was tricking us with inconsistent but strong contractions. Once labor was active, however, things went insanely fast! Throughout Janey’s whirlwind labor Jonathan was attune to Janey’s needs and fully present with her. He was such a proud daddy the moment he met his son for the first time.
The moment that Theo was placed on Janey’s chest the room was filled with so much JOY that I thought we all just might burst from happiness. As soon as Theo was settled in with his mom he had a sweet grin on his face. In so many of the images I captured of him he was smiling. His infectious smile was the main topic of conversation for the hours following his birth. This precious trait has has stayed with him every day since!
Theo- you bring joy into this world. I am so blessed that I will get to watch you grow and see how that infectious smile brings great love and joy to all those you meet! When I pray for you and think about you I think of the word, abundance. I also think of the old hymn Ive got “Peace Like a River”. My prayer for you is that you have an abundance of peace, joy, and love in your soul for all of your days!
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river in my soul
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river
I've got peace like a river in my soul
I've got love like an ocean
I've got love like an ocean
I've got love like an ocean in my soul
I've got love like an ocean
I've got love like an ocean
I've got love like an ocean in my soul
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain
I've got joy like a fountain in my soul
