Oh my, this birth story is so beautiful, I have been so excited to share it! Perri contacted me only about 2 weeks prior to her due date to inquire about birth photography. Thankfully, I was open and so excited to have a birth so close! Perri’s husband was overseas, so she also had the wonderful doulas from Kindred Hearts Birth Circle to help her through her natural labor. I arrived at the hospital last Tuesday night (over a week past her due date!!) and Perri had already been laboring for hours, but shortly after I arrived her water broke and we were all excited that the baby could make his appearance soon! And so we waited, and Perri labored so calmly, chatting and smiling and laughing in between contractions. Soon, the contractions became stronger, but along with that, baby’s heartbeat was dipping a little lower than the doctors liked. Around 1 AM on Wednesday morning, September 7, 2016, it was decided that a C-section was necessary, Perri was rushed away (unfortunately I was not able to accompany her), and baby Atlas arrived at 1:29 AM! Although I was not able to capture images of baby being born, you better believe I was waiting to capture their first moments together as soon as they were back to the room, and they were so precious! Perri, thank you for letting me capture this beautiful time in your life, and congratulations on a perfect little man!