BEFORE BABY ARRIVES
Grow, baby, grow! It is never too early to book your birth story with Fresh Pine Photography - St. Louis Motherhood Stories. Most clients prefer booking in the first or second trimester so they are able to utilize a payment plan throughout their pregnancy. I do accept third trimester bookings, pending availability. When you're ready to book, here's what happens:
- I arrange a prenatal consultation for us to meet in person for coffee so you can put a face to the Fresh Pine name before your baby arrives! I don't like walking into birth spaces as a stranger, so let's chat about your plans and visions for this pregnancy, birth, and postpartum. I also thoroughly walk you through my contract so you know how everything will work and how I address all the 'what if's.'
- I officially go on call for my birth clients at 38 weeks. Any outstanding balance due for your birth story is due prior to this, at the 35 week mark. What does being on call mean? For me, being on call for birth clients looks like this:
- No traveling further than an hour from my house. I want to be sure I can get to you ASAP if you go into labor.
- No wine with my dinner, no margarita nights with my girlfriends - I need to make sure I am ready to go at a moment's notice for you.
- Having childcare lined up 24/7 - someone is always ready to take care of and shuttle my kiddos to and from school/dance/tennis/etc. if I get called to your birth.
- I do not shoot any other kind of time sensitive sessions or events. No weddings, no parties, no retirements, etc. -- YOU ARE MY ABSOLUTE PRIORITY! If it's a session that cannot be rescheduled, I'm not booking it. Mine & my family's lives revolve around my birth clients and being on call!
BABY DAY IS HERE!
YAY! It's 3:45 AM and you just woke up to repetitive tightness in your belly or your water just broke. What now? You reach out and let me know, that's what!
- As soon as you begin having any signs of labor starting, you will contact me and we stay in touch throughout the next few hours. If you've hired a doula, this is a great task to delegate to her so you can focus on laboring. This is also a great task for dads to be in charge of.
- When you are in active labor and ready for me to join you, I head to your birth space.
- The exact time I join you will vary. We will use many factors in deciding the best time to come, such as how any previous labors went, if you are laboring with an epidural, how far away your birth is from my home, etc.,
- It is ultimately always your choice when you are ready for me to head your way!
- After I join you for your birth, I am there until baby arrives - whether that be two hours or twenty hours. Birth is unpredictable, we're all here just along for the ride. I always head to a birth hoping for a quick delivery for my client, but am always prepared for a long one.
- If I am unable to attend your birth for any reason, I work with a team of skilled, professional birth photographers to offer back up coverage, ensuring your birth story will still be photographed. I would never send a photographer in my place who is not experienced photographing births.
AFTER DELIVERY
Whew! You did it, Mama! I'm so proud of you, look at that sweet little baby. That was one wild ride, huh? You are so strong. Your baby is here, so what happens next?
- After delivery, I stay 1-2 hours postpartum to document the newborn exam. Gotta get those adorable close up shots of baby and see how much they weigh & how long they are!
- I pride myself in having a very quick turnaround time. I will have your photos done within a 1-2 weeks postpartum (usually much quicker than that). I know you are so eager to see those photos, I do my best to get them back to you as soon as possible! I will also send over a few sneak peaks to your phone within 24 hours.
- I deliver a fully edited, digital gallery to you when your photos are complete. Birth Story galleries contain 150+ images edited in a mix of color and black and white. Majority of your gallery will be in color, I just feel it tells the story so much better than black and white.
- I keep your Birth Story gallery indefinitely. The galleries are stored via cloud storage and on an external hard drive. If you computer breaks down in three years and you lose your photos - have no fear! Just give me a shout and I can reactivate your gallery.
Let's grab coffee and chat about this more! I would love to be a part of your birth team. I'm here to answer any questions you may have.
schedule your complimentary consultation today!
HEre's what some of my previous birth clients are saying...
The Haba Family
