127/365 Xavier's birth story

Xavier James Hanks.  Born 11-1-11 at 3:33 pm weighing 8 lbs. 1oz.



The Hanks Family.  Brianna, Xavier, and Kenneth.


Last month I photographed my first grandchild, Julianna's birth story.  This month, I got to photograph my second grandchild's birth story...how priveleged I feel to have been in attendance of both births.  Here is the story of Xavier's birth.

Brianna's labor started at 6:00 am on October 31 (Xavier's due date).  Her contractions were strong and only 4 minutes apart when she went to the hospital at 8:00 am, only to be sent home to wait out her "early labor".  We waited at Brianna and Ken's apartment for the afternoon and had dinner, all the while Brianna labored and the contractions came stronger.  At about 7:00 pm we headed back to the hospital.  Only to be told she hadn't progressed any, and they suggested she walk the hallways of the birth center to see if that would help.

Ken supports Brianna as she walks laps at the hospital.



During a contraction, she needed to stop and hold onto something to get through the pain.

 After walking for an hour, the hospital again sent Brianna home to labor. The nurses told her she had an "uncooperative uterus"...meaning...yes, you're having a lot of contractions, and yes, they're strong, but they ain't doing what they're supposed to be doing.  Brianna was frustrated, but home we went.  Brianna's contractions were gaining in strength and still coming every 3 to 4 minutes and she was in quite a bit of pain.  She tried to sleep, but the contractions were too strong.  Ken would push his fist into her back with every contraction, trying to counteract her painful back labor. Brianna would moan with her pain, and their dog Juniper would whine and pace with her every contraction.  Finally at 3:00 am on November 1, Brianna could not endure the pain any longer and we headed back to the hospital.  This time they let her stay. Finally.

3 am with very strong contractions, Brianna asked for some pain relief.  She was told she needed to wait  till the doctor finished a c-section and administered another epidural.  So, wait, she did.

And she waited some more...her husband Ken holding her hand.

Brianna labored till almost 9 am having painful contractions that lasted sometimes as long as five minutes.  Again, I was watching one of my daughters endure the pain of childbirth. There is a bond that is forged between mother and daughter when she's giving birth.  It is a solidarity that is born among mothers everywhere...where you can look in each others eyes and think, "I too, know your pain".  Brianna, like Jessica last month, thanked me for bringing her into this world while in the midst of their pain.  I was touched by their gratitude....all I could say was, "It was my pleasure, honey."

With her pain gone after the epidural, Brianna was finally getting relief.  She became chatty, excited about meeting her son.

Both Ken and Brianna had been up for over 24 hours now.  He was exhausted, yet he stayed by her side thoughout it all, comforting her, calming her.

About 11 am the epidural began to wear off.  Brianna was beginning to feel pain again.  She asked for more medication, but they were hesitant to give her too much, worried it might slow down the delivery.

At about 11:30 am, it was time for Brianna to begin pushing. (No photos for awhile as I held Brianna's legs and encouraged her through her pushing.)  She had told her doctor she wanted to do a slow push if possible to minimize any possible tearing.  Brianna was ready to go and pushed long and hard on her first push.  By about her third push, however, the baby began to go in distress, his heartbeat dippinig dangerously low.  The labor nurse tried her in different pushing positions, until they found one that the baby could tolerate.

The doctor came in to visit with Brianna and told her that with the baby's heart dipping during contractions, they were going to have to have her push him out as quickly as possible.  Brianna agreed...she'd do her best.  The baby had had a bowel movement in the womb, and his head was a bit twisted in the birth canal.  Brianna continued to push for three hours, but was unable to make any progress. 

The baby went into distress again with each push.  Brianna was given oxygen to try and help the baby and was moved to yet another position to try and get him out.  With this push, the baby went into major distress and after the contraction he didn't recover. The doctor and several nurses rushed in...telling Brianna, no more pushing.  The baby needed to come out right away.  Ken and Brianna had the option of having the baby vacuumed out (which had a one in 300 chance of serious injury to the baby), or a c-section.  They chose the c-section and were whisked to the operating room.

Ken's mother, Elizabeth, and I were both in the labor room with Ken and Brianna.  We stood arm and arm, tears rolling down our cheeks as they prepared Brianna for surgery...both of us eyeing the fetal heart monitor.  Brianna asked me to grab a rosary from her bag.  I handed it to her, and she pushed it back at me, asking me to pray.  So, out into the waiting room I went as Brianna was wheeled away.  I knelt by a chair next to a vending machine in the corner of the waiting room and said a rosary for the health of my grandson and my daughter.  And...God listened...and he granted.

Two hours later, Brianna and Xavier were in the recovery room.  Xavier had come out crying his lungs out...healthy, pink, and perfect.  For me I felt relief, joy, exhaustion, gratitude to God for another safe delivery for one of my daughters.

Fresh out of the womb. He got his Mommy and Daddy's long eyelashes.

Elizabeth, Ken's mom, and Ken admiring Xavier.

Looking tired, but relieved and happy.  Their first official family portrait.

Getting a checkup...all sounds good!





Me and Auntie Piper looking at the little cutie.

Ken's brother, James....Xavier's middle name is after him.

Welcome to the world Xavier!

126/365 Samantha

I helped a friend of mine photograph a wedding last weekend.  My role was to photograph the bride getting ready.  Samantha is the daughter of one of my favorite co-workers, Sandy.  Sandy was a cool, calm and collected Mother-of-the-Bride (something I'm not), and she kept things moving along smoothly.  The pride and love that shone in her eyes for her daughter was so beautiful to see. Samantha was an absolutely gorgeous bride and I wished I could have stayed for the entire wedding.

125/365 Julianna's birth story

Julianna Margaret Worden   September 29, 2011  

My daughter, Jessica, gave me my first grandchild last week.  Little...or maybe not so little, since she weighed in a 8 lbs. 4 oz., Julianna Margaret.  When Jessica asked me to be with her during her labor and delivery, I was honored, and excited to photograph the arrival.  Jessica opted to have a natural childbirth at a birthing center (vs. a hospital).  Her labor was long, 48 hours, with 24 of those being hard labor.  2 hours of pushing, no meds, lots of pain, lots of blood loss.

I was unprepared for just how difficult it would be for me to see my child in so much pain, or the worry I would experience for her safety and the safety of my granddaughter.  Towards the end of her labor, when she was in extreme pain, I often stepped out into the hallway to cry in the arms of my husband.  And, when she was pushing I asked my husband to be prepared to call 911 at any moment. I held Jessica's hand, I wiped her brow with a cool cloth, I offered words of love and encouragment...but that couldn't take away her pain.  Thankfully, through her exhaustion, my amazing daughter found the strength to push for two hours and bring her beautiful little girl into the world.  However, since my focus was on the safety of my daughter and granddaughter, my photography suffered.  So...these photos are far from my best...but they tell Julianna's birth story.

Tuesday evening - at this point Jessica had been in mild labor for about 12 hours.  The contractions were inconsistent...some strong, some mild.  Jessica and her husband Jesse, came to my house to spend the night since we were anticipating things to heat up anytime.

Wednesday morning - Jessica had been up most of the night with contractions.  But they were still inconsistent.  About 5 am Wednesday morning the contraction were 5 minutes apart and by 7 am they were 4 minutes apart and lasting about 50 seconds.  We called the midwife out to check on her, but when she arrived, the contractions stopped for about an hour.

To get things moving again, Eric, Jesse and I walked with Jessica around the neighborhood.  Stopping when she'd have a contraction.  Now the contractions were about 7 minutes apart and pretty strong, but still inconsistent. 

Jessica stops to breath through a contraction. 

Since Jessica's contractions were still inconsistent, we tried having her drink some red raspberry leaf tea.  I don't if that was what did it or not, but within an hour her contractions were 4 minutes apart, 50 seconds long, and painful.  Jessica called the birth center to let them know we were on our way as Jesse looks on.

Alma Birth Center.

Jessica and Jesse decided on a water birth.  Feeling it was the most soothing way to bring a baby into the world.  Jessica found the warm water helpful for her back labor.  This photo was taken just after we arrived at the birth center.  Jessica was so sweet trying to smile between contractions, but she was in quite a bit of pain at this point.

Jessica labored all through the night.  Her back labor became much worse.  Jesse would rub her back right after the contractions, which seemed to help.

As her labor became more intense, Jesse left the tub so Jessica could switch positions as often as she needed.  Her pain was so intense she could no longer tolerate the back rubs, but was comforted by a hand on her shoulder or a cold cloth to her forehead.  This is the time I stopped taking photos.  It was brutal seeing the pain she was in and I wanted to do nothing more than encourage her, tell her I love her, press a cold cloth to her head and pray.

After 2 long hours of pushing, little Julianna finally was born.  Jessica had been awake and in labor for 48 hours.  She tore and bled extensively.  In the sweetest voice, when Julianna was handed to her, Jessica said, "Oh, Julianna, you tried to kill Mommy." The laugh this gave us was all it took for the tears of relief to come flooding to all of us.

Jessica cradles and snuggles with Julianna.  I had the honor of cutting Julianna's cord.

After a little time with Mom, the midwife hands off Julianna to Jesse.

Jesse was amazing through the whole process. He encouraged Jessica and was there for her every step of the way.  Here he gets to hold his little girl for the first time.

Julianna Margaret Worden.  Born September 29, 2011 at 5:56 am.  Weighing 8 lbs. 4 oz. and 20 inches long.

Jessica, Jesse and Julianna came to stay at my home after the birth so I could help care for Jessica while she healed and so that we could support the new family during those first few days.  I took a few photos of our little miss her second day home.  I'll try taking a few more when she's a little bit older.

Sweet little girl...cute little cheeks.

Welcome to the world, Julianna!

124/365 Jessica

My daughter Jessica lives in town with me and we do a lot of things together...which mean she often ends up being my model - a lot.  She's a good sport most of the time, always willing to pose for me patiently when I find an interesting spot to take a photo or beautiful lighting I want to experiment with.

I took this photo of Jessica on her birthday in early May up by Skamania Lodge.  We were walking through the woods and stumbled across an old metal shed.  I asked her to stand in front of the wall.  She scooped up Skeeter, her 3 pound dog, and tucked her inside her coat and posed.  I'm not sure why I love this photo so much.  Maybe it's the grungy backdrop, or the beautiful diffused lighting, or the way Jessica's amazing cheekbones and blue eyes stand out...I think mostly though it's because to me, this photo capture's Jessica gentle spirit.