A beautiful second birth at Avista Hospital

I love shooting other photographers’ births…but it also makes me just a little bit nervous! They often know exactly what they want and their expectations are high. So when I heard that Brittany and Matt were photographers (and amazing photographers too!) that same mixture of emotion sprung up. But as soon as we sat down for coffee, all my nervousness melted away. They were the sweetest, most down-to-earth couple, and they were so excited to have their second birth documented.

Brittany had their older son early at 35 weeks, and so everyone was prepared for baby Breena to come a few weeks early as well. Sure enough contractions started on a Friday morning…and within just an hour or so, they were coming 3 minutes apart. Brittany was 4cm dilated with a bulging bag of water when I made my way from Denver to Avista hospital. I was lucky enough to have my friend Lindsey Bartell nearby. She went to the hospital just in case I got stuck in Denver traffic. I had a feeling this little girl was going to come quickly (and I ended up being right).

By the time I arrived, contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes and they were strong. Lindsey and I swapped out, and Brittany opted for an epidural. Brittany’s sweet son, Brayden, was able to come in for a quick snuggle…and everyone caught their breath from the excitement of the morning. But not too long after, Brittany started to feel the urge to push. I love seeing the emotion on both her and Matt’s face as they realized it was almost time to meet their daughter. Her doctor made it into the room and suited it up with minutes to spare. With only a few pushes, sweet Breena came into the world. The love and joy that filled that room still overwhelms me as I look back at these images.