the birth of miles: a story in pictures

Our darling little man, Miles, is settling into our family. He is such a cutie, we cannot stop looking at him - between the parents and the siblings, he is under constant kiss and cuddle rotation! It still seems surreal that he is here to stay... and that I am the mother of three kids. Um... wow! Much to say about life at home with our new family, but before I get back to the present day, I really need to cover off how we got here - yes, the birth of little Miles!

I feel like it is going to take a while to process and record the story of his birth - just remembering, reflecting and then of course physically writing it out - I've gotten started but don't want to rush it. In the mean time,though, I do have some beautiful photos!

My dearest friend Amber of We Stood Together crept out of her cosy house in the middle of the night to record the arrival of our new family member. A gift of time and talent from her that I will never forget. Birth photography is admittedly not something I ever (umm... EVER!) imagined having... but being part of this blogging/photographic community the last year has changed things I guess! This being our last planned baby, it seemed like a wonderful opportunity to capture the incredible first moments of welcoming a child into the world. As my talented photographer sister-in-law Alex said to me - if I didn't like my birth photos, I never had to look at them - but if I don't have them, I would never have that option!

I am so grateful now to have these images - just as beautiful as my memories - of the moment we met our new son. I am so grateful to Amber for her time and incredible talents - not to mention her gentle, supportive and unobtrusive presence during such a special time. I don't think I will ever be able to thank you enough, Amber!

I have wavered over what to share here - though certainly not graphic, they are intimate portraits of a pretty intense and personal time for our family! So many will be kept just for us... but there are some special highlights I couldn't help but share. I am too proud of Amber's stunning photography and my adorable new son to keep them all in the vault, haha! ;)

And so...

A quiet night, a gentle labour, a waterborn baby, and two very happy, blessed and thankful new parents.

Welcome to the world, baby Miles!

It was the last night of not knowing you.... so thankful that now and forever, we do...

Our room at the Birth Centre. Yes, we made it there this time - third time lucky?!

Micro-sleeps in the bath.  I admit to thinking 'Wow, can't wait till this baby is born so we can curl up together and NAP!''

I caught him in my arms as I have all my babies. He came out of the water, and into our hearts and lives.... the first magic moment of meeting Miles.
A beaming, proud Daddy and a brand new little person! This memory takes my breath away!

Oh, that face! My heart! He kept trying to open his eyes but the world was just too bright for him just yet...

Born only four days early...
he was absolutely covered in vernix. He could have swum the English channel with that coating!

The look of love...

Just a minute in this world and he has already captured Daddy''s finger and all of our hearts. 

Beautiful boy. He was so peaceful and calm upon meeting us - as long as I kept him snuggled close, he was happy!
I love in this shot that you can see the time on Daddy's watch!

And just like that - he was here - and we love, love, loved him!