Emily Gipper Photography, Glendale, AZ (2026)

05/16/2026

The Birth of Baby R: Part 6

Baby's first latch, and the first time her dad held her 🥲 This is why I will always encourage birth photography with a practiced birth photographer! There is nothing like having these moments to look back on and celebrate again and again.

Baby was weighed and measured - can you believe she was 7 lbs 9 oz? What a darling little chunk! And she is so stunningly beautiful; she looks like her older brother to me.

She enjoyed more skin-to-skin with mom and dad during golden hour, the time right after birth where parents and baby snuggle. There are so many benefits to skin-to-skin!

After a few hours, returned to check on the family and congratulate them and we took a few photos together.

I am so proud of my clients. They wrote their dream birth down on paper at our prenatal appointment and absolutely achieved it. I have no doubt they will continue to meet every life goal for themselves after witnessing how well they work as a team. I am overjoyed that I had the chance to work with these clients a second time.

Please share your best parenting or postpartum tips below, we can all benefit from good advice!

Welcome to the world, baby R!

05/15/2026

Birth of Baby R: Part 5

After about 7 hours of labor, Baby GIRL was born!

Mom and dad were so ecstatic, and it was beautiful to see their tears of joy.

Baby was born with lots of vernix (waxy moisturizing coating) and lots of dark hair.

Mom was an absolute rockstar, and moved through her entire labor and birth with such grace and elegance. She achieved her goal of natural birth! Dad was so present, diligently supporting her in every moment, so solid and emotionally and physically available for her.

Her midwife was so loving and encouraging.

What a phenomenal way to be welcomed in to the world! I was so grateful to witness it.

After the birth, the placenta was born and their midwife gave the couple a tour. Placentas are so neat. They give our babies life in the womb and are just another tribute to how cool women's bodies are, that they can create life and nourish it.

Next, baby will have her first latch, and be weighed and measured. ⚖ What's your guess on her weight from these images?? Share in the comments!

05/14/2026

Birth of Baby R: Part 4

Mom labored in the tub for about 15 minutes. The water felt good! There were some really intense waves in the water, and dad was able to reach her hips for some support.

Her midwife waited quietly just outside the door, until mom was ready to get out. We helped mom get dried off and over to the bed, where she mentioned that she felt she was going to throw up.

Welcome to transition!

Luckily no throw up happened and mom stated she was feeling pushy and her sounds began to intensify to low, guttural noises. This is perfect for bringing a baby earthside!

Her midwife suggested we try side lying release to help baby move down. She told mom, "You won't like this position, it's not comfortable." And it totally isn't but mom pushed through the pain of the position and got baby ready for birth.

Nurse checked on baby's heartbeat while dad comforted her. It was time to push.

To be continued...

05/13/2026

Birth of Baby R: Part 3 (funny story at the end)

Now that mom was settled in to her birth suite, her body was able to fully relax.

She asked to labor in the tub, and it felt like it took forever to fill!

While she waited, she used her birth comb during waves to focus her mind on her hands instead of the pain of the wave. After baby was born, she showed me her hands and she had deep indentations in them!

Her husband continued to bring her sips of water, and got the fan turned on for her. At this point she had been in labor for about 6 hours, and at the hospital for 2.5 hours.

Through every wave she would use the strength of her voice, usually with a relaxed moan. She would let me or her husband know when a wave was coming so we could support her with hip squeezes.

Her goal was natural birth without intervention, and she had studied and prepared for that. She and her husband had brought the tools and knowledge they needed to the hospital and that is why her labor was going so well - her body knew what to do and she trusted it.

05/13/2026

Birth of Baby R: Part 2

Waters were confirmed to be ruptured, it was baby time for sure!

Mom's waves were getting closer together and stronger. I had to keep checking with the nurse to see if her labor and delivery room was ready, they had been cleaning it for a while, and mom was ready to be in her birth space.

Once of my favorite parts of doula and birth photography is being a fly on the wall. I love to be the third wheel in the room to witness the beauty of the team working together. That sounds so awkward but it's true!

This team is the dream team :) Dad would ask how the pressure of his hip squeeze was. Mom would share if she needed something different. Dad was always there, offering hydration, food, essential oils, and hands on touch. There is nothing like natural oxytocin to get labor to move along! It was a joy to watch them love each other through the birth experience.

The L&D room was ready, so mom moved to the wheelchair, and dad chatted with their midwife as they moved down the hall and around the corner.

Did your partner do anything that you loved during labor? Anything you absolutely couldn't stand? Share it all in the comments, I'd love to hear how it went!

05/11/2026

Birth of Baby R: Part 1

I am so excited to share the birth story of a repeat doula-tog family!

Mom texted me the morning of March 25th to say that she thought her water was leaking. Her estimated due date was not until April 6! However, this is exactly how labor began with her first, about 17 months ago. Two siblings, both born a week and a half before their guess dates, and both starting labor off with the water leaking before steady contractions began.

We were definitely curious if labor would start on it's own like last time. A few hours later, mom texted me to let me know that she was having inconsistent yet strong and crampy waves, and her midwife's office encouraged her to head to triage to confirm if her waters had ruptured.

Her husband got home from work a few hours after that, and let me know that mom's waves were starting to come regularly, around 15 minutes. They were waiting on grandpa to come stay with their little guy so they could head to the hospital.

In a matter of only 25 minutes, her waves jumped from 15 to 6 minutes apart, and then to 5! They were strong, and I told them I was heading over.

They got to the hospital around 12:45, and I met them about 20 minutes later. The car ride slowed down labor a little bit, which can be typical. In triage, mom was breathing through waves and dad was supporting her with plenty of hip squeezes, sips of water, verbal encouragement, and hugs. Mom was a champ, especially during all of the fetal monitoring and blood draws during her waves.

They were a beautiful team during labor, and it was an honor to witness their love for each other for the second time in their sacred birth space.

01/21/2025

Birth of Baby B
Part 6

Baby was ready for his newborn exam and weight check. He was so alert and focused on me as I was taking his photos.

He was 6lbs 10oz, and barely complained about getting his measurements taken.

Then Dad held him for the first time, and it was a tender moment watching them bond. Dad chose to do skin-to-skin with baby, which has so many beautiful health benefits.

Afterwards, the new family snuggled in to bed again, and invited me to take a photo with them (last picture).

These first-time parents were an honor to work with, and I am grateful to be a part of their birth journey!

01/18/2025

The Birth of Baby B
Part 5

Dad had brought their video camera, and made a sweet video of their new baby snuggled up with mom. Their midwife wrapped mom up in a big hug.

Then it was time to cut the cord after it stopped pulsating, and their placenta was beautiful. I just love placentas!

I left the hospital room to give the new family time to bond, and spend their golden hour together. When I returned, mom and baby were ready for the first latch! She and baby were a perfect team, and made it look so easy :)

Next, baby will be weighed! What do you think he weighed? Comment below - I got it totally wrong!

To be continued...

01/17/2025

Birth of Baby B
Part 4

Baby was in position and was ready to meet his mom and dad! Mom felt best pushing against the stirrup with one foot and turned slightly on her side. She was so in touch with how she was feeling, and moved accordingly.

At one point, as baby's head was being born, she felt like it wasn't moving fast enough and that she really couldn't do this. Her husband so lovingly looked into her eyes and cheered her on. He told her she WAS doing this. And then her midwife guided her hand down to touch her baby's hair. Mom was so surprised that her baby was almost here and it gave her the momentum to keep going.

Baby was born, and he was a beautiful boy! As mom reached down to bring him to her chest, I caught a photo of their absolute elation. They were both sobbing as they looked into each others' eyes. Their sweet love filled the room, and I couldn't help but cry as well.

Birth can be an incredibly unifying experience in a relationship. And this was true for this couple.

I am so grateful to witness the journey of this couple, and see their preparation and using all the techniques they had practiced to attain their goal of a natural birth.

They did it! Please welcome their darling baby boy to the world in the comments 👶🏻
🌎

To be continued...

01/15/2025

Birth of Baby B
Part 3

Mom continued to change positions like a champ, and dad was with her during every moment. We filled the bathtub and mom wanted to labor there for a while. She experienced some relief with the warm water, but started to feel some pressure and nausea.

She got out of the tub, and almost made it back to the bed until a wave brought her down into a deep squat. She vomited, and at this point, she was in transition and her waves were right on top of each other.

She had been at the hospital for about 14 hours now, and in active labor for 6-7 hours. Her body was spent. Birth is the olympics of motherhood. She was an absolute champion!

Transition is often point in time where I hear women say they can't do this. And that's the magic phrase, for me as a doula, that baby is right around the corner!

Baby's heart rate was perfect, and mom was starting to feel like pushing.

To be continued...

Emily Gipper Photography

05/16/2026

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05/14/2026

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05/11/2026

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