Ahhhhhhh…love me some births…for reals! So much emotion I can’t even handle it. I know that births can be forever long, but honestly I don’t mind waiting around because the high is so worth it. I could totally be a birth junkie. And Caleb’s was no exception. I have to admit, I feel pretty special that I am one of the first ones that gets to meet these sweet little newbies. Caleb was just so adorable!! We had lots of different issues with Caleb’s birth coverage though…hospitals in the Valley are a bit different than I am used to. They definitely have policies that make it a bit more challenging for photographers. Debralee had a scheduled C-Section and tried her darndest to get me in to get just a quick snapshot but, ce la vie, it was not possible.
Sometimes it can be a bit frustrating…I had three of my four children up north and my children never went to the nursery or were taken from me unless I asked for them to be taken. They had all their shots, their temperature monitoring, their foot prints, their baths…all in my room. I was allowed as many people as I wanted into the delivery room. They were never given a bottle or a binkie unless I asked. They encouraged a lot of skin to skin contact for the first hour and urged nursing within the first 15 minutes. It was just such a different experience delivering here…I had a hard time with them taking the baby away for such a long time. My particular postpartum nurse was frustrating because I had asked to keep my baby with me so I could nurse on demand, and she was annoyed that I was messing up her being able to monitor the baby’s feeding schedule. I was so annoyed I checked myself out early because I was tired of feeling like I was inconveniencing everyone with just wanting my baby to be in my room. The fight wasn’t worth staying.
I will say it is getting a bit better. The birth I covered a couple weeks ago at Valley Baptist, the nursery nurse was so awesome…she had never heard of hiring a professional photographer for a birth and she thought it was so cool. And Dr. Vela, the Dr. who attended, Ginna, Vanessa, Taryn and Debralee (whose births I have photographed) is amazing at letting me get pictures. In fact, he has a signature pose for each birth I cover. So, little by little I am making some headway. Coverage options vary from hospital to hospital and Dr. to Dr. But regardless, I LOVE them all!!!
I loved Aden’s expression as was watching baby Caleb came into the room. I loved how proud he looked in his big brother shirt. I love how Debralee looked at him like he held the world in his little hands. And I love how Omar was just gaga over his new boy. Loved it all. So, Enjoy!
