When Sugarplum was born, my water broke at 3:30 in the morning. I called the midwives and even though I wasn’t having strong contractions, I’d been having regular contractions for hours so they told me to come in right away since it was my 2nd baby and I’d “probably go fast” (unfortunately we didn’t meet her for another 21 hours!) My cousin had come in to town to stay with Honeybun and I quietly woke her to tell her we were going to the hospital before we quietly slipped off into the night (after I installed the car seat, of course.)
Honeybun and my cousin played the day away, anxiously awaiting the news that the baby was here. They went to the park and to lunch. Honeybun had her nap and dinner. And at bedtime, Sugarplum still wasn’t around so Honeybun went to bed. At about 11:30 p.m., hubby called to have my cousin wake up Honeybun to bring her to meet the baby that was on her way.
They showed up about a half hour after Sugarplum’s arrival and it was magical. Seeing my big girl gaze in awe at her baby sister was amazing and I snuggled my sweet Honeybun close while Sugarplum was weighed and measured. Some people think I was crazy for waking her up in the middle of the night to come but I wouldn’t have wanted it any other way, she needed to be a part of our growing family.
And some people thought it was even crazier when I had Doodle almost three years ago that I wanted my daughter’s there to see it and be a part of it. I had planned a homebirth from the beginning and despite some concerns through the second trimester, things worked out for me to have my sweet boy at home and I couldn’t imagine not having my girls there and while I had grandiose visions of their roles in the birth that didn’t work out, they were still there to see our first glimpses of his sweet face and we all treasure those moments.
And with the birth of Pipsqueak, I again wanted my girls there. But this time, we took it a step farther and rather than having them be mere spectators, we let them be archivers. We gave each girl one of our older digital cameras in order to document the arrival of our latest addition.
The cameras are old, the lighting was bad but the moments my daughters captured are priceless. They managed to capture moments the rest of us missed and these pictures have already become family treasures.
This is Birth Through a Child’s Lens:
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As a hospital-based midwife, I LOVE it when kids are present for the arrival of a new sibling. Their perspective is always so interesting, and they are only afraid if they are told to be. When parents step out of the way, kids are almost unanimously fascinated, respectful, and in awe of what’s happening. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos!
I agree, Kristyn. Kids will experience birth the way they are told to. If we as adults say it’s scary then they’ll be nervous but if it’s treated as an awesome, natural thing then they’ll see the beauty in it.
This is the best! What a great idea to let them be your birth photographers :)
Thanks, Gina! It was pretty special.
How amazing it must have been for you to be able to see the fascinating arrival of their little brother through their eyes! Such a lovely family!
I loved looking back at the pictures afterwards and seeing all the beautiful moments they captured.