The Birth of Jack at the University of Colorado
Bree and I met at the Denver Center for Birth and Wellness. She was planning on having her first babe at the birth center, where I’m honored to photograph births for many of the birth center families. She was warm and excited…and looked just radiant the day I met her. I was so excited to photograph her birth, as I knew it would be a special one.
Much to everyone’s surprise, Bree’s water broke when she was only between 35-36 weeks. She messaged me right away, and I could sense her disappointment. Because she was preterm, she could no longer deliver at the birth center…and was now having to rapidly re-envision her birth at the University of Colorado.
She asked me if I’d still be able to photograph her birth even though it wasn’t going to be happening at the birth center and this was all happening before I officially went “on-call.” I assured that I could…and that I’d be honored to be with them. I love working at the University of Colorado with the Center of Midwifery. These midwives are able to manage low-risk and high-risk families…and they provide such compassionate and woman-centered care in the hospital environment.
Bree and Trevor settled into the University of Colorado, met their midwife team, and came up with a plan to bring their baby earthside. I joined this precious family when contractions grew intense. Bree’s labor progressed very quickly once it got started…and even though she hadn’t been checked…I knew she’d have her baby soon. She labored with SUCH strength even though her contractions were literally coming back to back. It didn’t take long for her to feel the urge to push…and before we knew it, her baby was crowning. The midwifes with the Center for Midwifery do such an amazing job of keeping the birth space quiet and calm.
Bree’s midwife came into the room once we realized baby was near, and gently guided Bree as she gave birth standing up beside her hospital bed.
Bree and Trevor didn’t know the sex of their baby, and they were overjoyed and surprised to see that they had a beautiful baby BOY. Even though baby Jack was early…he cried right away and was able to go right to Bree’s chest for over an hour of skin-to-skin time. Bree and Trevor are amazing people, and it was a true honor to document their powerful birth.
