I’ve had the pleasure of knowing and photographing Laura’s family for many years now, so I was beyond ecstatic when she asked me to be her birth photographer. Its not common for me to be able to photograph births in Sydney, as obviously by the time I would get there, it would be highly likely the birth would be over. But luckily, Laura knew she was being induced early, so we were able to plan for me to be there.
My morning started nice and early, with me leaving at 3am to make it down to St George Private for the early morning induction. I arrived at the hospital and was shown to Laura’s suite, where we sat and chatted and relaxed in the lead up to what was coming. The induction had been pushed back until later in the morning, so we continued to chill and chat. It was a very calm environment for bub’s entry into the world. Once Laura’s labor had been induced her sister in law arrived to be her support person. The labor was off to a slower start and the monitors were kept on to track bub’s heart rate. After many hours and the OB checking dialation, we were told it could be a while. Laura was such a trooper and after her epidural relaxed back onto the bed to continue laboring and eat some Allen’s red frogs, which had been her pregnancy craving.
As it looked like things were moving along slowly, Laura offered for her sister in law and I to have a break and go and grab some lunch. We headed down stairs to the cafe, grabbed a bite to eat and purchased a 1kg bag of Allen’s red frogs to surprise Laura with. By the time we got back up to the suite, the OB was there, scrubbed up, letting us know Laura was ready to deliver! How quickly that had happened! And like a true birthing goddess, Laura delivered her beautiful baby girl Hazel at 2:38pm.
It was such an honour to be there to share this incredible occasion with Laura!
