I have known Emily and Andrew for several years now and I was beyond thrilled to be at the birth of their third, and final, baby boy. They are such an incredible couple; kind, loving, and so genuinely awesome. I knew that their birth would reflect all of the things that I love about them.

Their first two boys were born via c-section so for this birth they knew from the get-go that they would have a scheduled cesarean birth. Emily’s OB had given us then green light but going into the hospital we weren’t sure if I was going to be allowed into the operating room. Policy varies from hospital to hospital and from doctor to doctor. Thanks to the wonderful staff at Piedmont Hospital, we were able to get approval from her surgical team and I was able to capture a very important last first for one of my favorite couples.

Emily was so beautifully strong throughout the entire process. When Andrew and I walked into the OR he took his place next to her, I stood behind him and we both watched as his rock star of a wife gave birth to their son; she was amazing.

I was in awe of her on the operating table, so calm and sure of herself and her doctors. With Andrew by her side, holding her hand in solidarity, they owned that room and their entire birthing experience.

As third time parents Andrew and Emily were pros. There’s something to be said for the comfort of a third time parent with their new baby. They hold their baby differently. They find their way to counting all ten fingers and all ten toes a little later. Cries are soothed quickly and with a little more ease. There’s a sense of calm in the room, a confidence that exudes when they remember how it was with their other children and a different kind of joy begins to build when they start to discover the ways that this baby is already different from his brothers. With Andrew and Emily it was like I was watching their hearts grow bigger every second to fit the love they had for their new tiny baby, knowing that at any moment they were just going to burst.

When Ethan and Tyler arrived the next day to meet their baby brother (literally running through the halls) they fell right in step with their parents. Sure, the pace picked up, things got a little crazier and a little louder… and then they all just sort of melted into their new life of being a family of five.

There was the smallest moment of transition, if you blinked you missed it, and then it was like they had always been this way.  Their hearts were full and their family was complete.

“This is how we take the fear out of birth; by honoring and embracing all the many variations that birth encompasses. In this way, every birth is a natural birth: each of us is part of nature, not separate from it, and nature is always stunning in its variety. Your birth, then, is part of the natural world, however it unfolds. ”

— Lauralyn Curtis

*Now, leave a comment below and let’s all convince the Original Rebel Mama, Miss Nikita Simone, that her scheduled c-section later this month should include me in the OR! You know you want to see her beautiful rebel babies meeting for the first time!