A Colorado Springs Homebirth - The Birth of Luke

I first met Heather when I was just starting out on my birth photography journey. I knew I had found my passion…and that maybe, just maybe, I’d found a way to also share my voice. My goal with my work has always been two fold: to give the incredible families I work with images they’ll treasure for the rest of their lives AND to improve the birth experiences for women both here locally and around the world.

Heather trusted me to document the arrival of her first baby…and what an honor it was! She gave birth with Jolene Hamman, CNM, at Memorial Central Hospital, in Colorado Springs. Jolene had just moved to Colorado Springs from Illinois, and she had brought a breath of fresh air to the birth community in Colorado. She truly supported physiological birth, and it was incredible to watch her work with Heather, a first-time mom, in the hospital setting.

When Heather got pregnant with her second baby, she asked both Jolene and me to attend her birth again. At this point, Jolene had opened up a thriving homebirth practice (which would later evolve into her incredible birth center - Beginnings Birth Center - which just opened this fall!).

Heather’s first birth had been relatively quick for a first time mom, and I think we all expected her second baby to fall out. But as always: birth surprises us and makes fools of those who try to theorize or predict. Her sweet baby boy was born in the early morning hours after a long night of intense and unrelenting contractions. Despite the intensity, Heather remained so strong and graceful as she labored. Her husband, Mark, was by her side through each contraction. And then finally…Baby Luke came earthside. And what a celebration we all had then!