{birth story}

When I met Kelly Swartz she was 17 weeks pregnant with her third baby dragon. I love that she loves dragons so much because I also love dragons so much! We walked around Trinity Bellwoods Park during the cherry blossoms and snapped some baby bump pictures, (which you can see HERE) and she told me a bit about herself. She has travelled, knows quite a few languages, she has experienced life, and studied hard and now she is an Erotic Expert and Health Coach who raises baby dragons. She’s the woman behind Awoken Beauty! In fact, if you are interested, she is hosting an upcoming workshop called, “Sex, Cannabis, and Intimacy - for women” because since the legalization of Cannabis here in Canada, Kelly has explored a whole new world! Check it out! It sounds like the kind of Mother’s Day gift everyone deserves!
Anyway, I followed Kelly on Instagram and watched as she documented and shared her life with 2 toddlers and a growing baby. It got me more excited to document this beautiful day. When I got the call that early morning, I raced to the birth centre. Third babies are predictably unpredictable. When I arrived labour was in full swing. This mama was circled with love and support. It was a beautiful sight. After learning that meconium was present talk of transferring to the hospital started. But Kelly knew better because mama’s always know!! She knew that there was no time to transfer. Contractions were coming hard and fast. And she was right! In no time at all sweet little Annabella made her debut and everything was absolutely perfect!
I invite you to scroll down through these gorgeous moments captured, and then press play to watch her beautiful birth story!

*** now press play to watch this beautiful and powerful birth story ***

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{birth story}

When I walked in to the room this mama was calm and resting. You could tell she had been working really hard and was using her time between contractions wisely. Those micro naps can do wonders. When the urge to push came on, baby started coming out in her caul, however, the caul ruptured on it’s was out. After that, mama changed positions. Due to a hip injury dad got creative and used his belt for extra leg support. Not long after getting as comfortable she was going to get, she pushed her sweet baby in to the world. I love the images of mom as she hugs her baby for the first time. The immediate feeling of relief and amazement. The incredible adrenaline rush. Pure, genuine, gratefulness, and happiness. It’s a really beautiful thing to witness. This glorious moment lasts a little while before it’s time to birth the placenta. Your body will expel that naturally within 30 minutes of birth, but sometimes, like in this mama’s case, the placenta doesn’t detach from the uterine wall which is called a retained placenta. If this happens, intervention is needed. This super strong and extremely determined mama wanted to avoid surgery, so while dad held baby, she held on to the laughing gas for deal life as the doctor manually removed it. This woman’s determination and strength absolutely amazed me. And so did the umbilical cord! Seriously, scroll down and check out that beautiful cord, along with baby Vivian’s tiny feet and hands. Oh I just loooove the baby wrinkles you only see on brand new babies. And of course be sure to press play on the video at the end of this post to see this whole birth story which includes precious video clips.