I was so excited to meet with Lauren when she was just 6 weeks pregnant with her first baby. Lauren and I have crossed paths many times in the local birth community. She works at the Winnipeg Birth Centre and she is also a Midwifery student here in Winnipeg. I was and still am very honoured that she hired me that day to document the upcoming birth of her first baby.

We kept in touch over the next many months and it was so nice to have such a long time to build our relationship and friendship. Lauren is so loving, caring, kind and passionate. She is going to be such an amazing Midwife and help so many women, babies and families. The last couple months of her pregnancy kept her busy with her clinical placements and then her exams but once she got closer to her due date we found the time to get out to the forest for a maternity shoot. Instead of a sunset session mother nature gave us a very wet, cold and windy spring day. We decided to go for it anyway! Why not right? The session of course was really fun plus it was so great to meet Derek that day.

A couple weeks later I had the honour of facilitating Lauren’s Mothers Blessing. I had been at an all nighter birth and turned up on zero sleep but the energy in the room was enough to keep me completely fuelled! I wish I could have bottled some of that goodness up. It was such a powerful afternoon full of love, support, wisdom, laughter, tears and of course food. Lauren is truly surrounded by a village of amazing women and I just know they were with her energetically during her labour and birth. Henna Art by: Henna By Nicole 

On June 21st, 2017 at 41+5 I got THE text from Lauren that her water broke and that she would be heading to the Winnipeg Birth Centre later that morning. We were all so excited! I joined her and Derek around 9am and right away started documenting their journey to meet their baby! Midwife Emily was there for a bit and Lauren’s primary Midwife, Elaine, arrived not long after.

Over the next many hours Lauren used so many of the wonderful labouring options available at the Birth Centre. She kept very active in her labour listening to her body and her baby while changing positions and environments. We were even surprised with a very loud thunderstorm and power outage! It was magical and grounding to feel the energy and sounds from the storm during such a strong and powerful labour.

After an entire day of active labour this birth journey called  for Lauren to transfer over to Women’s Hospital where she could get some comfort and rest. Lauren and Derek worked so hard every step of the way embracing the changes and their determination to meet their precious baby never wavered. This little one had their own plan and at 6:22 pm on June 22nd via belly birth little Nash was welcomed to the world. He weighed 7lbs 10oz and was wide awake and so very ready to meet his parents! I was welcomed into the OR and was able to document their journey and story every step of the way. I will forever be grateful to the staff at Women’s Hospital for trusting me in their environment and even going over and above so I could capture the story from many different angles. Nash was able to have some delayed cord clamping as well as skin to skin in the OR. It was so special after such a long birth for them to still have those first moments that every expecting parent dreams of. He was so calm once with his Mama and I know that calming energy he brought forth was felt around the entire room. 

A few days later I visited Lauren, Derek and Nash at home for a Babymoon session. It was was so nice to connect again after everyone had some rest and Nash was settled in at home. 

 

Lauren and Derek – it was an absolute honour to be alongside you both as you navigated the twists, turns and spirals of birth and worked seamlessly as a solid team throughout the entire process. I will always remember Nash’s journey as one that was full of support, team work, dedication, trust, passion, surrender and so much love.

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