Birth of a Second Baby Boy! | Boca Raton Regional Hospital

I met this extraordinary mom when we were both pregnant a couple of years ago.

Our friendship and connection through our previous pregnancies together made it so special when she and her husband reached out to me to capture the birth of their second son. 

Tears welled up in my eyes when I sat with this sweet family talking about their hopes and dreams for meeting their second little boy. It moved me so much to see how excited (and a little nervous) they were, but most of all, you could see the love in their eyes, their faces, the way they looked at each other in eagerness and joy. 

And it made me so happy to hear that they would be meeting their little boy at my favorite hospital in Florida (Boca Raton Regional Hospital) with one of my favorite practices too - Women's Health Partners.

I cannot wait for you to view and enjoy the images from this incredibly sweet and beautiful birth story below. I hope you love them as much as I do!

What Does On-Call Mean & Why You Shouldn't Ask Just Anyone to Photograph Your Birth

Watch a calm, behind the scenes short trailer of the experience of having Paulina Splechta, professional birth photographer and film maker attend your birth

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The most commonly asked question by families who are expecting a new baby and considering hiring a Birth Photographer is..

"So... how does it work?"

I love to answer this question, and its an excellent one. The way birth photography sessions work is unlike any other type of photography you've ever done before. It is similar to a wedding in that it is one of the greatest milestones in your life that happens quickly, and only once, and can never be simulated or repeated exactly the way it happened.

But unlike all portraiture photography (such as newborn and family photography) and unlike wedding photography, birth photography brings with it the element of unpredictability.

Boca Midwifery Nurse Certified Midwives Courtney McMillian and Polina Goldenberg patiently waiting on a mom in labor

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One of my favorite practices to work with in Boca Raton, Boca Midwifery, recently posted the perfect example of how unpredictable birth is with the following quote...

“She chose a midwife. She hired a doula. She stayed at home for hours in early labor. She was active, rocking and swaying to get her baby to come down. She walked the halls, she used the shower. She endured 18 hours of natural labor beautifully. Sometimes you do everything right and birth still doesn’t go as planned. So this baby was born by cesarean. Not at all how this mom had planned to bring her baby in to the world, but she was okay. Why? Because she was still respected. She was educated and part of the decision. Her mom and husband were by her side as she greeted her new baby boy. She saw him emerge from the womb, and stared at his sweet little face as he took his first breaths, while we allowed the cord to pulse. Routine procedures were delayed and he was in his mother’s arms just minutes after being born. He was latched on to the breast as soon as she was back in her room. Not ideal, but ok. In the end, she has no regrets. She was well-prepared for her ideal birth but also realistic about her priorities. She trusted her birth team and is so, so happy with the outcome overall. And she is so proud of herself. THIS is what informed birth is about. THIS is why she won’t be in another doctor’s office, years down the road, still crying about her birth. Unfortunately we hear horrific stories of birth trauma every week in our office. It doesn’t have to be that way. Choose your birth team wisely.”

— https://www.facebook.com/BocaMidwifery/

Boca Midwifery patient with her newborn baby boy, older daughter and husband the day after her cesarean birth.

So the next question is...

"if birth is so unpredictable, how do you make it in time to document the birth story?"

When I start working with my birth clients, we start preparing for their birth story from the very first day they contact me. 

I take limited birth clients each month to ensure there is no overlap, although it is estimated that "only 5% of women go into labor on their due date (In other words, it is wrong for 95%!). [source]"

Once an expecting mother becomes my birth client, I am available to her via text, phone call, and email through her entire pregnancy. And for a healthy pregnancy without any risks or complications, I go on-call for birth clients at 38 weeks gestation. 

Boca Midwifery patient with her newborn baby girl the day after giving birth at Boca Raton Regional Hospital

"So what does being on-call mean?"

Addressing this question requires a multi-faceted answer.

Because working as a 12-month-per-year on-call photographer involves the client, the medical provider, the birthing facility, the photographer, and the photographer's personal life (family/children). 

Certified Nurse Midwife Courtney McMillian of Boca Midwifery with her patient and newborn baby girl.

COMMUNICATION

Me being on-call for a client means that I have my cell phone with the volume always on, even during the night. During the day, my cell phone is never in my purse or in another room, it is with me, in my hand, 24 hours of every day, 7 days of every week from the time my client is 38 weeks pregnant until her baby is born. Furthermore, I instruct birth clients to only call, and never to leave a voicemail after 9pm and before 9am, so that I don't miss a text during the night if they are updating me on early labor progress.

Being on-call means anywhere from as little as 5 to as many as 200 text messages can be exchanged during day time, as well as multiple phone calls during the day and night updating me with early labor progress, the birth client or her partner or spouse giving me updates from their doula or nurse on labor progress, and sometimes, to tell me there has been a change made by their OBGYN or Midwife to their previous birth plan.

Being on-call also means that I do not travel outside a specific distance from my birth client's birthing location in any direction so that I can attend her birth as soon as she is in active labor and ready for me to arrive and begin documenting her journey. 

PRIVACY

Unlike other fields of the birth world such as obstetrics / midwifery where a birthing woman may occasionally have a different practitioner from the practice who she's met during her prenatal visits deliver her baby if her chosen provider is unexpectedly unavailable, hiring a birth photographer can sometimes be a leap of faith for first time and even second time parents. 

Some of my birth clients understandably need extra privacy and confidentiality, and my goal is to work as closely to my birth clients as possible without a need for hiring a backup photographer to replace me during births. Although it is important for me to work with highly professional and skilled women (who are also mothers) who are put to the strictest standards of high quality birth artwork in the event I have an imminent emergency during a client's labor, my goal is to always be dependable and attend every one of my birth client's births myself, and I am glad to say in four years of birth photography (out of my ten years of working as a photographer), I have attended each of my client's births myself.

Because of this, I refrain from going to locations where I know I won't have cell phone signal when I am on-call for my clients, such as certain grocery stores, movie theaters, malls, etc. Or if I am on-call for a client and need to briefly go somewhere there is no cell phone signal where they would temporarily for 1-2 hours not have access to me, I am sure to check in with my birth clients prior to ensure there have been no early signs of labor and inform them when I will be reachable again.

Certified Nurse Midwife Courtney McMillian of Boca Midwifery steadily waiting on her patient without rushing

Being on-call means I also have a back up contact number, and although this has never happened, if my birth client calls me multiple times and cell towers are being funky, they have a back up number to call me on where they can reach me immediately.

And lastly, being on-call means I have to have my personal life in check. I am fortunate to have a supportive and active spouse, grandparents down the street, full time childcare and meal planning ready to ensure my personal life continues to move smoothly with my absence in mind.

To paraphrase from the awesome post done by Boca Midwifery and changing it a bit to apply it to the artwork I create for my families...

THIS is why my clients won't hire an photographer without years of birth artwork experience, years down the road with subsequent births. Unfortunately I hear sad stories of family portraiture photographers, siblings, husbands, grandparents missing the shot, pictures being blown out (too bright) because they didn't know how to deal with the last minute and unexpected changes in light, blurry pictures, or pictures not being special enough because they were too anatomy-textbook-like.

It doesn't have to be that way. Choose your birth team wisely, including your professional birth photographer who will quietly work around you so as not to disturb the birth process or the birth professionals caring for you. Someone who has formed great relationships with midwives and obstetricians who welcome your birth photographer to document their patient's stories.

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CONTACT ME TO SET UP A COMPLIMENTARY BIRTH PHOTOGRAPHY & BIRTH FILM CONSULTATION TO TALK ABOUT YOUR BIRTH STORY.

I CAN'T WAIT TO HEAR FROM YOU.

The Ultimate Guide to the Third Trimester | Things to Do Before You Go into Labor

The Ultimate Guide to the Third Trimester & Things to Do Before you Go into Labor

 

Things To do During the Third Trimester

For all my birth clients with January due dates and February due dates here in south Florida and Boca Raton, a common question is, what should I be doing in my third trimester to prepare for labor, for birth and to prepare for meeting my baby and bringing my baby home?

First things first... 1. Movement

Once you are in your third trimester, its important to be attentive to how active your baby is, and monitor and keep track of your baby's movements, especially if your OBGYN or Midwife suggests it. If you notice a decrease in movement, some medical providers will tell you to let them know. It's always good to be on the safe side and keep a vigilant mind.

2. Prenatal Visits

At some point during your third trimester, your prenatal visits should become more frequent. Some time between 32 and 36 weeks, you will start seeing your provider on a weekly basis rather than once every few weeks. Be sure to ask your provider what kind of exams, tests and discussions you can anticipate to arise over the course of these visits so that you can be well informed.

3. Cord-blood banking

Be sure to talk to your doctor about cord blood banking, what it is, how it is done, what the pluses and minuses are and how to plan for it. If you are planning on doing delayed cord clamping, make sure your provider is aware since these two processes can affect each other and not all providers may offer their agreement to do both.

4. Classes

At this point, you may have taken a pregnancy and childbirth class, but this is the perfect time to educate yourself and make decisions about whether you know enough about baby care, breastfeeding, labor, pain management techniques during labor and infant CPR. Sometimes your local hospital will offer some of these classes, there is an amazing childbirth class offered by Diane Ellen at Boca Raton Regional Hospital. Other times you can contact a local birth center such as Natural Birthworks birth center in Margate or an organization such as The Orchid Nest in Delray Beach to find out about their class schedules and offerings. The Orchid Nest offers hypnobirthing classes in Delray Beach as well as at local hospitals, so be sure to inquire asap as classes sometimes have several dates and may be booked out in advance.

5. Breastfeeding

If you are planning on breastfeeding your baby, this is the perfect time to learn as much about breastfeeding as you can. Get yourself a breastfeeding pump, many insurances now cover the cost of excellent, high grade breast pumps. Every city nowadays has a local La Leche League Chapter, which is a group of women who are pregnant and have already had their babies who meet on a monthly basis to discuss important things to prepare for during pregnancy and techniques to use following birth to have the best opportunity at breastfeeding. There are many local lactation consultants in south Florida such as Sandra Lobaina with Peaceful Pregnancy Pathways in Margate, FL who you can contact should you have problems breastfeeding. Be sure to equip yourself with anything you may need to make breastfeeding more comfortable for you, whether that be a nursing cover, nipple shields, nipple ointment to help prevent dried out nipples, or the use of an inverted nipplette from Avent that helps with flat or inverted nipples. 

6. Pediatrician

This is the perfect time to choose the right pediatrician for your baby. 

If you live in south Florida, there are a vast recourse of amazing pediatricians that come with glowing recommendations from south Florida's best OBGYNS/Midwives and doulas. Some of my favorites are: Dr. Edna Tello with Personalized Pediatrics, Pediatric Associates who have many locations making it very convenient to get easy well and sick visits (my favorite location is in Coral Springs but they are also located in Coconut Creek and Boca Raton). Several of my clients love working with VIPediatrics in Boca Raton, and many holistic first-time-moms love working with Dr. Linda Colon in Coral Springs with Coral Springs Holistic Pediatrics. Many of these great pediatricians are affiliated with some of the best hospitals in south Florida including Broward Health Coral Springs, Northwest Medical Center, Boca Raton Regional Hospital (formerly known as Boca Community Hospital) and West Boca Medical Center.

Scheduling in-person interviews with pediatricians is best. That way, you can sit with them, see how comfortable you feel with them, and ask them all the questions you may have about their approach towards pediatric care for your new baby. 

Now it's time to make sure you have everything you need for when you bring your baby home. Here is a list of items you should have prepared and ready for use, just in case your baby makes an unexpected arrival, so you can be totally prepared:

1. Bedding: Have your baby's crib and bassinet set up, bedding washed and put on and ready

2. Stroller: You may want to take your baby for walks in your neighborhood after giving birth, you don't want to have to deal with that assembly after you brought your baby home. I love youtube videos because you can type in the name of your stroller and find instructional videos on how to assemble, open and close your stroller.

3. Baby Monitor: Do you have a registry at Babies R Us or Target in Boca Raton? Did you know that anything that wasn't purchased from your registry for your baby shower, these stores will usually offer you a 10-20% off discount for the remaining items on your registry? This is the perfect time to use that discount on a great monitor. I recommend looking up reviews on the best video monitors on amazon.com because you'll always have more of a peace of mind when you can see your baby on the monitor!

Educate Yourself on the Stages of Labor

Once you have all this done (I know my December due date moms just finished up setting up their nurseries this week!) It's time to educate yourself on stages of labor.

We go over this together during our first meeting because you need to know how to update me on the progress of your labor and when to expect me to arrive at your birth. However, I will also share my resource list with you so that you can contact a some of my favorite local doulas (ranging from Delray Beach and Boca Raton doulas to Fort Lauderdale and Miami doulas) so that they can help you prepare and go over various labor pain coping strategies, especially if you are planning an unmedicated birth (or even leading up to getting an epidural during labor) it is good to learn about your options now so that you can be prepared, know what to expect and know what you want. 

Doula and Birth Plan

When you hire a doula, she should help you to create a birth plan, also known as a birth preferences list. 

Although birth is unpredictable, it is good to have an idea of what you'd like from your birth as long as everything goes smoothly with mom and baby. Things to consider for your birth preferences list are: who would you like to cut the cord, do you plan on having delayed cord clamping, what your pain management tools are, who will be part of your birth team and present during labor and birth and more.

What to do with a Birth Plan / Inductions

Make sure you make a copy for your provider and whoever their backup doctor or midwife is in case of emergency and they are not with you during delivery. You also want to make copies for your nurses. Nurses at the hospital work in 12 hour shifts, so depending on how long you are in labor, you may need a new copy for each nurse if it is not left in the room. If you end up being induced, you may be in the hospital for 1-3 days leading up to birth, depending on what medications your provider will administer and how your body reacts to them.

Long Labors

It is not uncommon for first-time moms to be in labor anywhere from 12 to 24 to 30 hours. 

Most first time moms are in labor for an average of 15 to 20 hours. And usually, it shortens with subsequent births. You won't be in intense labor for the whole time. It usually starts with sporadic uninformed contractions that feel like your belly or the skin on your belly is tightening, stretching, contracting. Then, as they become more uniform and start coming in more consistently, as they become more frequent and intense they may be accompanied by lower back ache or menstrual-like cramps below your belly. 

Hospital Bag

I tell all my birth clients, even my home birth families, to be sure you pack a hospital bag around 35-36 weeks in your third trimester, because in the event you need to go to the hospital, even if its for a non-emergency situation, you don't want to waste your time or energy trying to make sure you have everything last minute. 

Home Care

A lot of my birth clients wonder whether they should hire a house keeper or housecleaner before they have their baby, and the answer should always be yes!!

It is such a calming and relaxing feeling, coming home to a beautifully clean home once your baby is born. And it takes care of everything on your to do list that you won't have to worry yourself with when you are recovering from birth with a newborn. 

Post Partum Care

It is a great idea to stock up on your favorite snack foods, freezer meals, pain medication, toiletries and menstrual pads for postpartum bleeding. A lot of moms like to get underwear just for wearing during the postpartum bleeding time frame.

Install your baby's car seat

You definitely want to install your baby's car seat by 36 weeks. Hospitals won't let you take your baby home unless you install the car seat in your car, and be sure you are using an infant car seat, so you can remove it from the base that is attached to the safety belt in your car and bring it upstairs to securely seatbelt your baby. Again, I love to take to youtube because there are many car seat technicians who help guide you with step by step instructional videos on how to specifically install your car seat. 

Tour Hospital

Make sure to schedule a tour of the hospital you will be birthing at and be sure you register! I didn't realize the two don't go hand in hand! You must do both. Be sure to google list of questions to ask on a hospital tour and bring the list with you, and ask the questions that matter to you. 

Older Children / Fur Babies

Make sure if you have older children or pets that you make arrangements for family or friends or sitters who will be staying with them while you are in labor. Add their contact information to your birth plan. 

Late Pregnancy Complicatons

Sometimes are women near the end of their pregnancy, certain medical conditions may come up such as premature labor, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes and GBS. Make sure you educate yourself on these issues and talk to your provider about your concerns if you notice any symptoms. 

Past your due date!

Don't worry if you go past your due date. It is estimated that only 5% of women go into labor on their due date. The next 50% of women will go into labor within 7 days of their due in either direction, and the rest outside of that. It is so normal for first time moms to not go into labor until after their due date and some even at 41 weeks. 

First Time Mom | Jupiter Medical Center Birth with Dr. Dudley Brown

I was so excited to meet Erin and Tad when they first reached out to me. I had never met anyone before who permanently lives in an island and I was excited to meet this couple from the Bahamas about to have their first baby (a baby boy) in Jupiter. 

Jupiter Medical Center is one of my favorite hospitals to work in as a birth photographer in south Florida. I love that somehow, all my births at Jupiter Medical have been overnight. The drive from Broward to Jupiter overnight is always calm, quiet, with empty highways, and good vibes as the highway lamps light the road every few yards.

The hospital is always so calm and quiet during the night. But it's not a creepy feeling like some of those hospitals that have empty, desolate wings that look like they're decades old. 

Everything about Jupiter Medical Center, especially their Labor and Delivery unit is so modern, clean and vibrant. You walk in and you feel the positive energy in the air. It's a happy place to be.

Jupiter Medical Labor and Delivery Nurses are some of the best I have worked with.

Every single one of them is filled with optimism, has a reassuring smile, is well versed in caring for laboring mothers, and easily adaptable to all forms of laboring from unmedicated to inductions, and even cesarean births.

I hope you enjoy these hospital labor and delivery photos from this beautiful first time mom and dad's birth...