Why I Wrote “When You Arrived: A Book About Birth”
Every birth has a story. This beautifully illustrated 7×7” board book explores the many ways babies are born, helping families celebrate their unique birth stories with warmth, curiosity, and love.
As a doula, birth photographer, and now an author, I've spent years witnessing one simple truth: No two births are ever the same.
Some babies are born in hospitals. Others are born at home or in birth centers. Some arrive through cesarean birth. Some are welcomed after years of waiting, loss, IVF, surrogacy, or adoption. Every family has a different journey, but every baby enters the world surrounded by hope, courage, and love.
The more birth stories I witnessed, the more I realized something was glaringly missing.
We have shelves full of books that prepare children for becoming a big brother or sister. We have books about pregnancy, birth, and growing families. But when parents want to answer the inevitable question—"What happened the day I was born?"—the options often feel limited.
Many books either skip over birth completely or only show one version of what birth can look like.
As a birth worker, that never sat right with me.
Birth Isn't One Story
One of the greatest privileges of my work is watching families welcome their babies in countless beautiful ways.
I've seen quiet births and joyful births.
Fast births and long births.
Unmedicated births, epidural births, planned cesareans, and unexpected cesareans.
Every single one of those stories matters.
Children deserve to grow up understanding that birth isn't something scary or secret. It's actually something incredibly, beautifully, and messily human.
Hot take: When we speak about birth with honesty and respect, we help children develop curiosity instead of fear.
Creating a Children's Book About Birth
That belief became the heart behind When You Arrived. It started as a simple note in my Notes App. Something I worked on when I couldn’t sleep.
Instead of presenting one "right" birth, the book introduces children to the idea that every family's story is unique. (Because it is.)
Whether your baby was born vaginally, by cesarean, after fertility treatments, with a surrogate, or through another beautiful path, your story belongs.
And your child deserves to know it! And parents deserve an opportunity to talk about it.
More Than Just a Children's Book
While When You Arrived is so great for children, I really wrote it for parents. The ones processing, celebrating, and talking about their births months and years later.
I wanted families to have something they could return to over and over again.
A book that sparks conversations.
A book that honors every birth experience.
A book that reminds children that every life begins with a story worth telling.
Because birth isn't just a medical event…It's the beginning of someone's story.
A Book About Birth…by a local San Antonio Doula
Being a doula (and birth photographer) has changed the way I see birth forever.
I've had the privilege of supporting families through some of the most vulnerable, joyful, challenging, and transformative moments of their lives. Those experiences shaped every page of this book.
This isn't just a story I imagined.
It's a reflection of the incredible families I've had the honor of serving and the countless birth stories that have reminded me there is beauty in every path.
If When You Arrived helps even one family start meaningful conversations about birth, honor their own experience, or help a child understand that every family has a unique beginning, then it has done exactly what I hoped it would.
Because every birth has a story.
And every story deserves to be told.
Looking for a children's book about birth?
If you're searching for an inclusive children's book about birth, a board book for siblings, an heirloom gift for a new parent in your life, or a thoughtful baby shower gift, When You Arrived was created with your family in mind. I hope this book becomes one you'll read together again and again.
