"I was in such disbelief that I ACTUALLY had my dream birth. My redemption birth."

This is the story of Capri's birth - told from the perspective of her mama, Brooklyn. I've attended both of her births, and while all birth is powerful and meaningful, getting to witness her overcome so much to get to these moments is exactly why I do this work. These photos without context are breathtaking - but knowing the story behind them will help you see just how powerful and special these moments really are. I'm forever honored to do this work, and to capture not only an event, but an absolute life-altering transformation.

I’m going to start out by saying I’m so proud of myself. I overcame so many fears and mind blocks that came from my previous birth and miscarriage. 


My previous birth experience in one word was traumatic. We ended up having a c section [instead of a planned home birth] and I felt like my world was getting crushed because I never imagined I would end up in this position. It was the farthest thing from what I wanted. I had a very hard postpartum with lots of tears from baby and I, feeling defeated in every way and lots of hard feelings that nothing went how I was anticipating. (You can read the full story here)

A series of people helping to inflate and set up a large blue inflatable pool in an indoor space.
A group of people stand next to a decorated food truck with American flag design parked on a dirt road.
A series of black and white photos showing people working on tattoos in a professional tattoo studio.
Black and white intimate maternity photo showing hands cradling pregnant belly in white shorts.

That birth experience very much had a role to play in my feelings for the next pregnancies. I wanted more babies but I was so scared to have to actually birth another baby. Knowing I wanted my home birth but also wondering if the hospital is where I should be. BUT also knowing the hospital is actually the last place I want to be. So many feelings of wondering if I could actually do it or what if something goes wrong. I worked hard on overcoming all those fears to achieve my dream birth.


In June of 2024 I had a surprise pregnancy when our son was 13 months old. We were so excited but were not prepared for having another baby after going through a previous traumatic birth. For some reason I just felt off about the viability of the pregnancy from the very first test and for no real reason. I wanted to wait until our scan before telling anyone because I just didn’t have the best feeling about it. Sure enough, a couple days before my scan at 7w6d, I started bleeding and passed the baby in the toilet. We had a mini burial for it in the flower garden. We were sad and who knew you could feel so empty with such a tiny being being gone, but really I felt almost “prepared” in a sense because I had an off feeling for whatever reason the whole time.


Fast forward to December 2nd. I decided to take a pregnancy test for no reason really. I didn’t have any symptoms and wasn’t late on my period. I just knew we weren’t being careful and wanted to know. Sure enough it came up positive and even though you know there’s a chance, I don’t know if you’ll ever not be shocked when you get a positive test. Somebody was visiting us and Logan was on a call in the other room but I still couldn’t wait to tell him so I ran in as soon as I left the bathroom and whispered “I think I’m pregnant”. He just stared at me and said “WHAT” so I repeated myself and it was just silence. The guy on the other end of the phone asked if he was okay but Logan was so caught off guard. And rightfully so.

Capri's Birth Story

A sequence of photos showing a parent and child lying in bed reading a book together.

I was 41 weeks and totally content with it. I knew she would come when her and my body were ready and I was in no rush. She spent the first 37 weeks breech and even though I knew I still wanted a homebirth if she came out breech, the possible negative outcomes were a fear in my mind. (Luckily she ended up flipping and stayed head down until delivery!)


On Thursday, August 21st at 41 weeks, I had some random period like cramps that were slightly uncomfortable but nothing painful. They were very random with no pattern. It was more so the feeling of this could be days or hours. They stopped around noon so I went to the chiro and let him know about those cramps. He gave me a symphysis pubic adjustment and said that could possibly kick start labor. Later that evening around 7:00 the random cramps started back up again. A couple of them I had to pause for, wondering if it was the start of things.


I carried on through supper and bedtime with the toddler and never mentioned anything to my husband because I wasn’t totally sure what was going to happen. I tried to get some sleep but around 11:30pm, I realized that as I would get a cramp, I would also get a cramp in my back and that’s when it dawned on me that I might be starting labor. I stayed awake just to see if they would keep coming back and sure enough they did. I couldn’t fall asleep just thinking about “what if this was the real deal”. At this time I also decided I should time the contractions to see what the consistency was. At 12:30am I got up and shaved my legs on the side of the bath tub because that was on my to do list so I could feel a little human when I wasn’t very functioning after baby came. I had to keep taking a break every time a contraction would come.


I crawled back in bed for a short bit and I was way too uncomfortable in my back. I got up to try to figure out the tens unit but could not manage to focus. I woke up Logan around 1:00am to say I need help with putting it on my back. He got right up and thank goodness he knew how to work it. That tens unit was such a life saver. Labor progressed quickly and I decided to call the doulas and Leslie to say I think I’m in true labor and that they could go back to sleep but I wanted to give them a warning.


Thank goodness nobody went back to sleep because it got intense quick. Right after I got off the phone with them, I wanted them here ASAP but I also remembered how long my labor was last time and knew I had a long ways to go. Callan woke up around 3:00am (I think). He was concerned about me making noises and logan also had the air compressor going to air up the pool. He couldn’t find the air pump so I told him to get the air compressor. Callan sat on the bed next to me as I leaned over, [he kept] saying "uh oh" because he didn’t know what to do about my noises. I paused and explained to him that it’s okay because mommy is just working on getting baby sissy out. He did seem calmer after that.

A series of connected photos showing a baby in a diaper playing and posing on a bed with white sheets.

At some point the doula and Leslie showed up. I was already naturally pushing without trying. My body was doing all the work with every contraction and my noises felt like they were coming out of my soul. I was left alone in the room and then my water broke in a huge gush. I could hear the pop and it splashed everywhere through my pajamas and on the floor. This whole time I was leaned over the side of the bed because it felt best for my back. I called my doula on the phone in the other room to ask for a towel. She helped clean up and applied counter pressure.

A black and white photo of two people sitting at a kitchen counter in dim lighting looking at something together.
A pregnant person experiencing labor contractions leans on a birthing ball while receiving support at home.

At some point it was suggested (or I suggested?) to try the pool that was in the living room but it felt so far away. So during a break, a got out there and leaned over the side of the tub. My initial thought when seeing the birth pool was that this thing is way too tall for me to want to kick my leg over. I stayed leaned over the outside of the tub and felt her head move down. Callan was concerned about poop and honestly it was one of my favorite moments because toddlers have such an innocent, pure soul and will call out anything they see.

A person in a green shirt crawls through a blue inflatable obstacle course tunnel at an indoor event.
A group of people lean over a large inflatable pool during what appears to be an indoor gathering or party.

I told Logan to come feel her head because it was right at the surface. I had to give myself a pep talk in my head because I always hear about the ring of fire. I was a little nervous but there was no going back. So the next contraction I gave a good push and her head popped out. And truthfully, I didn’t experience the ring of fire. I think I had so much adrenaline and relief  that I was actually do this, that it just felt more like pressure. Callan kept saying “uh oh” because obviously that wasn’t like anything he’s ever seen before.

A person doing stretching exercises on a gray carpet floor near a blue exercise mat.
Two people on a concrete floor work together to process a large cut of raw meat.
A newborn baby cries during their first moments after birth while being attended to by medical staff.

In that same contraction, I just wanted to see if I could give one more push and get her any further and she shot right out. I thought she fell on the floor but Logan caught her perfectly. I flipped over and Logan handed her to me.

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She did cry right away but didn’t continue when she was given to me so I was asking for help but I was reminded that she’s okay and she already cried.

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I was in such disbelief that I ACTUALLY had my dream birth. My redemption birth. I had my baby at home. No complications. Just my family. My husband caught her. My son watched front row. We went at my pace. And it was all so fast. I just kept looking around at my birth team in such shock because I couldn’t believe what just happened.

A series of tender moments showing a newborn baby being wrapped in a soft pink towel after bath time.
A sequence of candid family moments showing parents and children embracing and playing together at home.
A family relaxes together on the floor of their living room with a baby wrapped in a pink blanket.

We moved to the couch to hold baby and wait for my placenta. I really thought the placenta would be a breeze compared to labor. The contractions were still so strong in my back, I could hardly take it. I had Logan cut the cord and spend time with Capri so I could brace myself through contractions. I kept giving some traction on the cord and trying to switch positions to help it out and be done with the pain.

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A person lies on a dark couch while reading a book in a dimly lit room.

It did finally come after some time but I did end up with a postpartum hemorrhage and went in the next day despite my natural attempts to help my blood loss at home.


I cleaned up in the shower and got in bed and we got Capri’s measurements, latched, and snuggled up in bed. Logan and my AMAZING birth team worked hard on cleaning everything

A newborn baby is shown in multiple photos crying and making different facial expressions while wrapped in white blankets.

[This birth experience] taught me that I am powerful, strong and capable. The hardest part was the back labor and I really didn’t know how long I would be able to continue remembering how long my labor was [the first] time and how intense the back pain was already. Little did I know, I was already nearing the end. 


If I could give my newly pregnant self advice, it would be that I am as strong as I think I am. I wish I could go back and take away some of my fears and anxieties knowing what the outcome would be. But during those months, I really worked HARD on trusting myself, my intuition and educating myself. 

A child reads a book while lying on a couch in black and white vintage photography.
Black and white photo series showing tender moments between parent and child lying together on bed.