Sister Birth Blog

The birth photographer life is a crazy one, sisters. Well, any kind of birth worker life is crazy, really. But in this story, i’m playing the role of photographer (for the 3rd time for this family!). And on a pretty typical weekday evening I got a text from Jed (the baby daddy) at about 9:50 […]

I knew Courtney a while before this much-wanted and waited for baby began growing inside her. And there’s something just SO wonderful about a baby that comes after waiting, isn’t there? At the time it’s so difficult, and then it’s SO GOOD. Courtney and Mitch have been in love a long time. They’re solid, healthy, […]

Attempting a vaginal birth after a cesarean section is a brave thing to do. It is brave because to do it is like giving birth for the first time, physically and emotionally. It is also brave because we live in a culture that likes to proclaim it impossible: “Once a cesarean section mama, always a […]

Amongst the many details of intentional and informed home birth that I LOVE in these images… The chalkboard sign that reads “There’s no place like home.” The presence of the bigger siblings and the grandparents. The mama (Angel)’s hands open between contractions and curving slightly closed during them. The way Angel spoke so lovingly to […]

The following words are Teri’s, the photos by me. I’m going to let the two interweave in tandem and trust it’s more than enough to get the point across. This was a redemptive, sacred birth…. The poignant period of time waiting for Maia’s arrival, her natural hospital birth, and this simple, quiet postpartum period has […]

Our first two prenatal visits happened over good food in fun restaurants, totally in keeping with Becca’s love for “fancy” things. She’s a boy mom, so engaged in her community and her kids’ schools, and she was on the brink of welcoming a fourth son, with her favorite nurse midwife by her side again. Because […]

Before I launch right in to the amazing goodness that awaits us here, let me begin by saying that somehow this Grand Rapids birth photographer and videographer has NO births scheduled for October or November! I’m not sure how it happened, and truthfully, I’m willing to accept that my good father God knows that I […]

Sometimes you barely make it in time for a birth. Sometimes — especially with second babies — you get a text saying she’s “only 4 cm”.. and another one a half hour later saying “come now. pushing.” Haha.  So I arrived at Jake and Nicky’s house to find baby very near to crowning. She was […]

Kim and I were friends before I began Sister Birth, having been introduced by a mutual friend and sharing some common interests. I was so excited when she got pregnant for her 4th and decided that this time she would have a home birth. And I was pleasantly surprised when she contacted me 30-some weeks […]

This spring I took a leap, and signed up to take a birth films class with Monet Nicole. Though the cameras I shoot with have HD video capabilities, it always seemed like an intimidating feature. Even when I could figure out how to take short clips that looked OK-ish,  I had no idea what to […]