Nashville Birth Photography: Baby Willow born at TriStar Centennial Medical Center

It was April 30th in Nashville, Tennessee when the time had finally come for baby Willow to make her grand debut. I arrived to TriStar Centennial Medical Center after dark, it was a nice spring day just being enveloped by the cover of night. When I got up to Whitley's room she was laboring on the side of the bed standing up with a whole slew of little supporters running around the back of the generously sized suite, to include 2 of her own kids and 2 of her best friend's kids.

Whitley's mom served as a support person as the night lingered on and the younger kids had gone to sleep. There was one more very important designated support person, Whitley's 13 year old eldest son! See, Dad was away doing Army things, (why does that always happen that way?!) so Whitley knew she wanted him there to hold her hand and cut the cord. He played Nintendo Sports, entertaining the whole crew with his mad skills at bowling, tennis, and more. It was past midnight when he finally fell asleep next to his mom in the bed, after he expressed not wanting to fall asleep and be groggy and miss the important stuff he knew was soon to come.

Thankfully big brother didn't miss anything overnight. At shift change and morning meeting, the team agreed to bump the Pitocin up again and this time that did the trick, quicker than any of us were expecting after a slow night. Before things got too intense, she made sure to call Dad and give him a good talking to about all the pain she was in, playfully threatening him. Once the sunlight was pouring into the room around 8am, contractions had gotten more and more intense. Whitley was doing this all unmedicated, and this was the most uncomfortable I had seen her by far, escalating to the point of begging for an epidural. I had a feeling there wouldn't be enough time and sure enough, baby Willow was already crowning. The intensity of the last 15 minutes or so had been transition, and this girl was coming down and out the birth canal with NO doctors or anyone ready in time to catch her. Grandma quickly turned around to the sleeper sofa and woke up big brother who got the most exciting wake up call of his life, the moment was finally here and baby sis was being born right this instant!

"I NEED HELP IN HERE!" a nurse shouts down the hall. Sweet baby girl flopped out on the hospital bed in all her glory as the team rushed in the room putting gloves on as quickly as they could. Instantly the room was filled with doctors and nurses for both Whitley and Willow. All was well with baby and mama, and after a quick exam, Willow was whisked off to the NICU where she stayed for two weeks.

This birth story is especially unique as Whitley and baby Willow had been inpatient at Centennial for over a month carefully monitoring her progress and determining when the time was right to bring her earthside. Baby Willow has a story like no other. First, she is a twin whose twin sister heartbreakingly passed away during pregnancy. After the tragic loss and complications, Whitley and Willow Jo then faced the long hospitalization anxiously awaiting her safe arrival. Her four older siblings often roomed-in with Mom, homeschooling from the hospital bed and playing games to pass the time. Then add in her dramatic entrance into the world...this birth was definitely one for the books and I am so grateful to have been able to capture this wild ride. This girl is a fighter and I can't wait to photograph her studio newborn.

Rest in peace sweet Hazel Mae, twin sister to Willow Jo.