In February I had the privilege of doing something that was both an honor and a blessing. I photographed my first birth, which is not only an incredible thing to witness, but better yet, it was for my sister-in-law, Steph.

Steph's an incredible lady and gave birth naturally. No drugs, no crazy hookups, nothing. Just her and Kyle - and lots of breathing. :)

And then, just like that, there he was: Stephen David Atteberry... at 10:33pm. What was almost as amazing as the actual miracle of birth, was how Kaila (now a big sister) was instantly protective, concerned, and overwhelmed with love for her little brother. One of my favorite lines she said, just after Stephen was born, was "Are you going to get in too?".. referring to the bathtub. I politely answered, "No. Not today", when I was actually thinking "You couldn't PAY ME to get in that bathtub!"

In all of the images below, Stephen is no older than a few minutes. Childbirth is incredible. Almost beyond belief at times.

One of my favorite authors, Shauna Niequist, says this about babies, "I think babies really do make you believe in God. They make you believe in God because there's something just beyond understanding about their freshness and fragility and their smell and their toes. When they take their first breaths, and when they land, floppy and slippery, on your chest under the bright overhead light in an otherwise dim delivery room, when you watch their tiny sleeping selves, when you hear their thin wild animal cries, you know, you just know in your guts that God is real, and that babies have been with him more recently, have come more directly from him than our worn-out old selves have....

... It makes sense to me in a new way that God chose to wrap his divinity in baby bones and baby skin. I always thought maybe it was to demonstrate vulnerability, or to identify fully with each phase of humanity, but how I think it was something else. I think it was because babies make us believe in the possibility and power of the future."

[BC]