Noah Francis: Birth Story

I gently rocked back and forth with Amelia in my arms and breathed in her sweet baby smell. It was just about 3 am and I had just finished feeding her. I quietly prayed, asking God for Kelsey to go into labor and give birth before I had to leave for my photoshoot the next day. I was so anxious that I was going to miss it. Just as I finished, my phone began to ring and God answered my prayers. I answered the phone to hear Kelsey’s soft, calm, voice on the other end telling me her contractions had gotten stronger and she thinks this is the real deal this time. Noah had been playing games with his mommy over the past few weeks with a lot of prodromal labor, so we were excited that he was finally on his way!

I handed Amelia over to Steve, gathered my camera gear, and headed over. As I pulled into the driveway, Kelsey was outside waiting for me, swaying from side to side. When I saw her in the soft glow of the porch light, she looked refreshed and beautiful. I would have never known she was in labor. I sat with her in her room while she rocked on her birthing ball and we talked and laughed. Kelsey would just pause for a moment to breathe through a contraction and then continue with the conversation. Her husband, Alex paced throughout the house, not knowing what to do. It hadn’t quite hit him yet that they would soon be welcoming their son into the world.

About 40 min later her birth team arrived and I could see her relax even more knowing they were there. Her midwife checked her to see how she was progressing and much to our surprise, she said she was 7-8cm dilated. I haven’t witnessed a lot of births, but I’ve never seen a woman in transition, so calm before. Kelsey was all smiles throughout her labor and she couldn’t stop saying how happy she was that he was finally coming.

Kelsey’s doula, Lorie, was amazing. She didn’t hesitate to help Kelsey through her contractions by squeezing her hips and rubbing her back. She was by her side the whole time and really helped Kelsey stay relaxed. She even showed Alex how to do the hip squeezes so he could be involved as well. After Kelsey received her antibiotics as a safety precaution for Strep B, she moved to the bathroom to labor on the toilet while the birth team set up the birthing tub. I stayed back and allowed her to have some privacy with Lorie and Alex as I could hear her begin to softly moan and knew she was getting close to being fully dilated.

Just a few minutes after Kelsey got into the tub, her water broke and her contractions began to be stronger. She remained calm and breathed through each one with such grace. I was in awe of how strong she was and what an amazing experience this was to witness. Kelsey was surrounded by so much love and support as her body surged bringing the baby lower and lower. I could hear Alex softly whisper in her ear words of encouragement and how much he loved her. The midwives allowed Kelsey to listen to her body and push when she felt she was ready. Everyone kept low voices and it was so serene, almost dream like.

Kelsey was so calm, that I had to take a peek to see how close the baby was because I was afraid of missing it. I couldn’t always tell if she was pushing because she had such controlled breathing. I could see the top of his head and knew it wouldn’t be long. With one last push, his head was out and Alex was able to help catch him and bring him up to Kelsey’s chest. I fought back tears as I tried to focus on capturing those first precious moments of when a mom and dad meet their newborn baby for the first time. Relief washed over Kelsey’s face and then the room filled with Noah’s sweet cries.

I am so incredibly proud of Kelsey for achieving her dream of a home birth. She never complained or showed any doubt in her plan.

Kelsey and Alex’s two year old, Daniel, woke up shortly after Noah was born and I’m so glad I was able to capture his first time meeting him. It was a lot for him to take in right as he woke up so he was a little shy at first, but he quickly warmed up to him.