So background: I had been wanting to start photographing births. I had mentioned it to several mommies that had contacted me for maternity sessions. I got the whole, “No way you’re taking pictures of my va jay jay…” schpill more than you could imagine. And, in their defense, it’s pretty hard to explain to someone, “hey look! it’s totally not like that..at. all.” when the first thing that comes to mind is: A baby is coming out of my vagina! haha….
So, after noticing that a local midwife liked my Facebook photography page, I emailed her to offer my services….honestly thinking that there was no way in hell that anything would come of it. Surprise, surprise!! I got an email back that very next morning asking to meet up! I couldn’t believe it! Then I thought..what the heck am I doing? Brian is deployed. How. in. the. world. am. I. going. to. swing. this??!! But, I’m a HUGE believer in “if it’s meant to be, it will be..” kinda thing.
We met. She told me that she had a client who she thought would be very interested. Enter Jill (and her husband of course!) I actually ended up doing some shots for Jill and for Cindi’s office (www.gentlebirthoptions.com).
Okay, so fast forward a week or so… I get a text around 7pm from Cindi saying that Jill is probably having her baby tonight. Earlier, I had plans to take Jackson, my oldest, to a movie. My mom was in town and helping me out for a couple of weeks, and I thought that we could use a Mommy/son date. Until, around 430 pm, when I got a weird feeling that we shouldn’t go. (Hang tight..you’ll notice I get **a lot** of feelings. Don’t laugh! ;D ) Anyways..Cindi mentioned that she was going to go out and check on her and let me know how things looked. I got another text from 30 mins later telling me that she (Cindi) was going to go grab a quick bite to eat (it was her and her husband’s anniversary!! 
The whole drive I was shaking. This was it. My initial shot. I didn’t want to be that kid that sat on the bench all season, only to get put in the game the last 30 seconds, passed the ball, and then miss the shot.
I arrive and start to clicking. I felt at ease. The house was full of family members, and I had already established a nice, strong relationship with Jill and her two girls already. I felt like I was amongst friends. 
Jill had two friends in her bedroom, along with her husband and the birthing team. I remember seconds before Jill birthed her baby, looking over, seeing these two girls with tears streaming down their faces-in utter awe of Jill’s amazing power. It was a beautiful birth. Jack helped catch Delilah and put her on Jill’s chest at 1203 am.
They brought the girls in shortly after, and seeing their excitement (in the middle of the night) brought tears to my eyes. Not only that…but to see the love that Jack had for his house FULL of girls..words couldn’t explain what I was so blessed to witness.
Here’s some shots from the birth, followed by their birth story below!
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