A Woman's Strength

I've been there myself, twice. Two boys, long labor for the first with an emergency C-section, and short and fast labor with no time for pain meds for the second. Somehow, when you are in the moment, you become numb (figuratively and literally, I suppose) to the magnitude of what it is you are doing. My husband explained it best, when he told this family's two boys (who you will see in these pictures) that "Your mom is like a superhero. She created a person inside of her body and carried her until she was ready and now she is pushing as hard as she can to get her out so that she can live with your family!" The boys were beside themselves... "YA! That is a SUPERPOWER!!!"
Having been in that bed twice, I guess I took for granted what was really going on. Now that I have had the great honor of witnessing and photographing someone else sitting in the bed... I am beside myself with PRIDE for women. Damn. We are AMAZING!
This story started on Wednesday with a text telling me that contractions were becoming a little more regular and a little more intense, but it probably wasn't going to happen yet. That didn't stop me from taking the half hour drive and hanging out in the town that the hospital was in until 11:30 at night... just in case.
Then Friday morning rolls around, 3:39am to be exact, and I am awoken by a phone call. I jump straight up out of bed and answer "IS IT GO TIME?!" I think I caught her off guard a little, but I was just a bit excited... after all, this was the first birth that I had ever photographed!
We ended up meeting down by Canandaigua Lake and spending some time watching the sun rise as she continued to labor. We went to the hospital where labor continued for several more hours. I kept thinking, as she swayed back and forth, taking perfectly controlled breaths, "how on earth is she doing this?" I mean, I should know... but, it was just SO impressive to watch.  The labor continued to strengthen and get more consistent as the hours progressed. Her two beautiful boys stayed in the room, you could sense that they felt that they needed to protect her and be there for her, no matter how difficult it was for them to comprehend. Her husband (though I'll be honest, we joked was going to be a wreck) was a rockstar! He coached her like a pro, saying all of the right things at the right time, breathing with her and making sure she ALWAYS knew how strong she was and that she could get through this! She continued on, with no pain meds and no epidural, just as she had wanted.
Finally... at 3:46pm, little miss entered the world. Now, I'd like to say that I kept my composure, but I'd be lying! Even the nurse had to lean over and give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and said "oh, look at you, you're so sweet... you're crying!" It was beyond incredible.
To all of the mama's out there... you all kick ass... seriously. After this experience I can't even wrap my head around what we go through to bring life into this world. It was truly one of the most incredible things that I have ever witnessed. Now, I'm sure you'd all love to see a few of the pictures... Enjoy!