Some stories know exactly how they want to start. This one was a little hesitant. Mel and Jimmie's first baby, sweet baby Gracie, arrived at Butterworth Hospital in Grand Rapids. She was also my very first Michigan birth. I still get goosebumps thinking about it.

Mel went in to be induced on March 15th, and Gracie was taking her sweet time. Mel started at 1 centimeter, slowly worked her way to 3–4, and then everything stalled right there. So that evening I was posted up at home watching the newest season of The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives. Turns out, so was Mel. When you’re waiting on a baby, you need something to keep your mind busy, and apparently we both picked the same thing. As the next day went on, she stayed stuck at 3–4, and the nurses started to worry a C-section might be coming. That can happen, and when it does, all any of us can do is wait it out. (And if a birth ever changes course, every one of my birth packages includes a Fresh 48 session, so those first sweet days still get documented.)

On the afternoon of the 16th, after a stretch of waiting in the hospital parking lot, I headed home to pick up my kids from school. The second my husband walked through the door, my phone buzzed. It was Mel. Her body had finally relaxed enough to let labor take off, and she was suddenly 8.5 centimeters and ready to go. I grabbed my bag and headed straight back to the hospital. This time, I was going to meet a baby.

First-time parents feel everything at once. Mel and Jimmie were over the moon, and a little scared too, because nobody really knows what to expect the first time. After all that waiting, Mel’s body knew exactly what to do. She progressed all on her own, and it was the most beautiful thing to witness.

Gracie arrived on the evening of March 16th, and it snowed lightly the entire time. Every time I glanced up, soft flakes were drifting past the hospital window, like the world outside had slowed down just for her. Inside, Mel was surrounded by her people: her mom and dad, and her husband Jimmie, who was steady and supportive every single minute.

When it was time to push, Mel buckled down. All that waiting, all those hours stuck at 3–4, and suddenly here she was, doing the hardest, bravest thing she'd ever done.

Jimmie never left her side. He held her leg, held her hand, and held it together for both of them. The nurses coached her through every push, calm and steady, cheering her on like she was the only patient in the building.

And Mel? She was determined to meet her daughter. Every push, she dug a little deeper. I've watched a lot of strong women, but she absolutely blew me away.

Here’s the thing about a birth room: it’s full of beautiful chaos. Monitors beeping. Nurses coming and going. Quiet conversations in every corner. And then the baby is here, laid on mom’s chest, and for one second, all of it stops. That’s the moment I live for as a photographer. The one that says: "we made this. We brought her into the world."

One of the best things I found out about being a mom was having an iCloud full of photos. I was always taking pictures and videos, because I knew it was the only way to freeze a moment and slow time down. Birth is one of the most powerful moments of your life, and you deserve to go back and feel it again. My births are documentary style. I’m there in the background, right next to you, and sometimes I’m the one holding your hand.

Thank you for trusting me with Gracie’s very first chapter. I believe every story is worth telling, no matter how it starts. Yours started a little unsure, and it turned into one I’ll never forget.