Andrew Mijen Vincent :: An Ashland Memorial Center Birth

Expectant mamas usually create a birth plan–it can be intricately crafted or loosely planned {I was totally the latter!} and sometimes things go according to THE PLAN. Sometimes things don’t go according to THE PLAN and that’s a-okay. 

 

Amaris and Nick had planned on a midwife-led home birth with a traditional ceremonial elements including a birth lodge, a birth fire, and singing. When she texted me early one April morning, informing me that she and Nick were speeding to the hospital, with her experiencing intense contractions, I was surprised to say the least. But here’s the thing: as a birth photographer, I’m there to tell the story of your baby’s arrival to earth. Not to judge. Not to scold. Not to offer medical advice. Not to remind you of an revised birth plan.  

 

I’m there to support you. To witness. To document. To celebrate. To love.

 

When Andrew Mijen Vincent made his grand entrance, he did so in a hospital setting. All that to say, the revised birth plan didn’t diminish the joy his arrival precipitated: Amaris, locking eyes with her newest son as she nursed him for the first time; Nick, cradling a tiny baby bundle to his broad chest; older siblings marveling at the miniature fingers and toes and their other-worldly softness. The images tell his birth-day story, his precipitous arrival, his family’s love for him, the community who celebrated him one early day in April.

 

Amaris and Nick: thank you for inviting me to document and celebrate the day Andrew Mijen Vincent made his way here. Telling a birth story is always magical and the invitation to do so is one I will never take for granted.  Thank you, both.