From Tonia:

As a birth professional myself, I am privileged to witness birth on a regular basis. Admittedly, there is a unique sanctity in the moment when a new life enters the world. For parents however, those early moments with their newborn can be filled with such excitement that long-term memories are often masked by the chaos. Philosophically, I have always felt strongly that laboring women should be surrounded with only the essential people needed to provide support and care – birth is not intended to be a spectator sport! Needless to say, a birth photographer was the furthest thing from my consideration. As the end of my pregnancy approached, my perspective shifted dramatically however. I wanted to be able to focus on the moment and have the memories documented without undue pressure on my support person to capture photos/videos. When it came time to choose a birth photographer, I knew what characteristics I wanted...someone with a calm, quiet presence that could capture the beauty amid the messy chaos that might ensure. Kailee was our 1 st choice...her work speaks for itself – beautiful, intimate, yet unobtrusive.

As is typical of birth, things are often unpredictable. Even best intentions often unfold quite differently as labor ensues. Nothing could be truer of Spencer’s arrival. In the final month of my pregnancy, I developed severe high blood pressure requiring induction of labor. After many years of professional training my expertise reminded me that inductions can be quite lengthy, so I settled into my reality and let the waiting game begin. A quick message was sent to Kailee as a heads-up but we were adamant that we were not expecting her to come to the hospital anytime soon.

Even when my water broke a few hours into the process I was still convinced that several more hours of labor were ahead of me. We again updated Kailee but were content to continue waiting patiently, knowing there would likely be plenty of time for her to capture some labor photos down the road. Much to our surprise, however, it only took 1.5 hours of contractions before our little Spencer arrived. Kailee was obviously not in the vicinity because we had conservatively kept her at bay while awaiting active labor. One urgent message to Kailee let her know that we had mistimed her invitation to the birth.

Despite missing the main event, Kailee went out of her way to arrive quickly at the hospital and make the most of our first couple of hours with Spencer. We could not have asked for a better birth story for our little one, despite our best laid plans for photography not working out as intended! Kailee’s creativity and artistry is unmatched! She captures birth and newborns in whatever context prevails and manages to tell each story perfectly – even when she has limited time afforded to her!