Here is a little glimpse into something you’ve never seen from me before now: birth photography. Birth photographers are a dedicated and hardworking bunch. You must have your bags packed and ready to go at all times, being “on-call” for delivery for 2-5 weeks, ready to go at a moment’s notice! Thankfully, I almost always have a few cameras close by, because our second son decided to come 3-4 weeks early. Even though I don’t know how much birth photography you’ll see from me in the future, I had a blast. A new baby is just about the most significant event that a documentary photographer/photojournalist can cover.

We were sitting at our annual church hog roast when Stacy grabbed my leg with a look of pain and surprise on her face. She told me she thought her water broke and we needed to go to the restroom. I thought she would be more sure, or would show more signs of labor, but she was serious! We went to check it out and sure enough, things were moving along. We had help from some friends, left our 3 year old son Micah with my parents, exited the hog roast with applause, and headed from New Philadelphia to Aultman hospital in Canton to have a baby!

“I would have lied,” Stacy’s nurse friends told her when she later recalled the physicians asking when she last ate. Unfortunately, she was eating while her water broke, so Stacy had to endure 6 hours of (un-medicated) labor before the anesthesia team would allow her to go through with her C-section. Stacy was only 1 cm dilated when initially checked, but later on the doctors would tell her that she was incredibly close to a natural birth when she was finally taken to surgery. Everything went well aside from Stacy’s pain, and Harper Hugh Rippel was born at 6:57PM on October 13.

After NICU nurses gave the OK, Harper was able to snuggle with his mom for skin-to-skin contact immediately after birth. Witnessing these two together and the incredible love they share was awe inspiring. I can’t think of a more important moment to photograph and enjoy! I am incredibly blessed to have the family I do, and it was an honor (and a rush) to be able to document the birth of our second son in this way. Micah is an incredibly happy and proud older brother, and has done a great job helping us care for our newest addition to the family.

We would like to thank everyone for their prayers, support, and love through Harper’s birth. It’s amazing to have such a strong and caring community of people behind us. We know your love will continue to shape Micah and Harper’s lives and the way they care for others both now and in the future. I don’t know if it will be for my own family, but I would enjoy another opportunity to photograph the miracle of birth. What a blessing, and what an experience!