From hearing the birth stories of friends, to watching open-mouthed and teary-eyed as one was born every minute on TV, I just knew that I would adore photographing the first moments of someone’s life.

Every time the phone rings, or buzzes with a text, you jump with expectation (and a little nervous energy) to see whether this is it. Whether this is a grab your camera, jump in the car, prepare for something amazing moment. But this first time, mine and theirs, you ready yourself for a wait. Because baby #1 is always late, right? Creeping past the due date, making you twiddle your thumbs, watch the clock and tick off the past due days on the calendar.

Wrong.

5 whole days early, mercifully after Downton had already finished on a Sunday night (how thoughtful), I got a text on Monday evening which read “…crampy again – assuming this is contractions but don’t really have a clue!”

One restless night later, Matt calls, invites me over and later welcomes me into his home where I become witness to something amazing, photographer of a little miracle, storyteller of a much anticipated arrival – a baby girl born in the water, warmed by Juliet’s heart and hands.

Beautiful baby Ezra. Hello my lovely. How wonderful to meet all 7lbs 11.5oz of you.

If you’d like to read all about Juliet’s experience hypnobirthing, then just click here. But to witness the full birth story, watch the slideshow below. Be brave. Go fullscreen because this is a PC rated birth story. Nothing from the business end of proceedings to be seen here.

(If you’re a Google Reader reader, or following on an RSS feed, you’ll need to click here to view the story.)

I’d like to say a huge, heartfelt thanks to the wonderful women of the Royal Surrey’s Homebirth Team. Thank you for showing me what incredible work you do on a daily basis. Thank you for creating a calm, kind and caring atmosphere for Ezra to emerge into. I’m quite sure that the work of such dedicated midwives is not recognised nearly enough.

And of course, thank you so much to Juliet and Matt, the wonderful new parents who cooked up this gorgeous bundle between them and trusted me enough to capture her first breath for them. It was a privilege and an experience that I’ll never forget – I hope these images will always help you remember the little details and the big moments of the day.

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