Will was an incredible support for Cara throughout her labor.

I had no idea that when Cara invited me to film her birth that it would forever change my life.  I have to admit all my births touch me deeply.  I can’t help but be moved when I am invited into the sacred space of birth.  But in this case, a client turned into a best friend!

So here’s the story:

On April 13th, I got the call that Cara’s water had broken at about 2am.  I jumped out of bed and dashed off to the store as fast as I could to complete the catering spread I was bringing (yes!  I cater births!), and arrived at Cara’s home.  Cara labored into the night until she decided that labor wasn’t progressing as fast as we thought it was and she went to bed.  I stayed up chatting with Natalie (an amazing doula) into the wee morning hours till we both fell asleep.  When we woke up, everyone went home and returned later that evening.  This time, though, I brought my pillow and blanket and planned to spend the night (again).  We labored with Cara until she decided she was ready to sleep again.  By then Cara’s main doula Katie had arrived and the 3 of us talked deep into the night.  Nothing compares to late night deep conversations.   On the morning of April 15th, the birth team again headed home, and Cara decided to go get an ultrasound to check on the baby.  Everything was fine with the little bubs, so Cara returned home to labor.  I got the call in the late afternoon to come quick!  I rushed back to her and arrived just in time to capture the birth.

Here’s what struck me about Connor’s birth… Cara had listened to her intuition and instincts completely.  She was patient with her labor and her body.  She had gotten the ultrasound which revealed that his cord was wrapped several times around his neck, so when he crowned, her incredibly skilled midwife took care of it immediately.  And when the placenta didn’t detach properly, this incredible mama braced herself while her midwife scraped inside of her uterus.  I can only imagine the pain, yet Cara was the strongest and most courageous woman I have ever seen during that ordeal!  And her husband Will never left her side- for the entire 3 day labor.  Watch in the film how he supports and comforts her during the entire process.  And you’ve gotta love the part where he’s holding a wiggly 18 month old in one arm and holding up the scale with his newborn with the other.  Talk about super dad.  And I love the shot where he’s dressing his new little bug.

So back to the part about Cara becoming one of my best friends…  A few weeks after the birth, Cara invited Natalie, Katie and I out to dinner to thank her birth team.  Cool, huh?  At the dinner as we re-told Cara’s birth story to her from our perspective and listened to her re-tell her journey, we all realized what an incredible opportunity we’d had to have this experience together.  I am forever grateful to Cara for inviting me to her birth and into her soul.  She is an incredibly intelligent, generous, sensitive, forgiving, understanding and downright beautiful woman.  As I’ve gotten to know her more deeply in the months since her birth, I can feel her positive influence on my life.  Sometimes it’s hard for me to get all sentimental on a blog that I know will be read publicly, but I do want to tell Cara publicly how much I appreciate her friendship and am so honored to be close to her.  I love you, Cara!

Cara’s Blessingway Necklace

There is so much more I could tell, but I’d really like to link Cara’s birth story for the details (later).