Remember this mama? She had her baby!
I was thrilled to spend the day with little Mr S making his first portraits. I will never forget his birthdate because my youngest daughter was born on the same day, and, like Mr S, had a little jaundice. I was super happy to see the sun peek out the morning after our session. After Meg was born, the first sun was only hitting out on the sidewalk, so I took a chair out and nursed her in the sunshine. Quite the conversations ensued, including one with a midwife whose mom had had 10 13-pound kids without c-sections, and Meg cleared her jaundice and didn’t have to go to the hospital after all. Which for me, having had a home birth, was a definite plus!
Anyhow, on to Mr S. What a sweetiepie honeybunch! I made portraits of his mommy pregnant, so it was doubly fun to make his first images. This little guy at six days old was soooo soothed by his daddy. I know he just wanted to stay up all day partying, but the problem was he’d been up all night partying and we wanted to conk him out. But he’s a light sleeper, a very light sleeper, and we had to content ourselves with a limited range. No belly shots for Mr S!
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Some words from mommy:
Your little guy was a little over seven pounds and arrived May 20. Every mom is longing to know: how was the labour?
Just like everyone said would happen, there were definitely some twists I wasn’t expecting. For one, I had insane back pain which felt much worse than the contractions. Second, I had planned a home birth and labored at home for most of it but ended up transferring to the hospital near the end because when my water broke there was meconium in it and we wanted to be on the safe side. The car ride was atrocious but waiting to for the paperwork when we arrived was worse. Finally, when the little guy finally tried to make his debut, his hand was up by his face so he got really, really stuck and we had a very scary two minutes. Thankfully once born, he turned out to be in tip-top shape; what a little trooper. In the end, though the circumstances were different, I did have the natural, medication-free birth I hoped for and for that I am grateful. (But I’m not going to lie: it hurt. A lot.)
How soon did you get out of the hospital?
I gave birth at 2pm on the nose and we checked out a few hours later.
What was your favourite part about meeting Mr S?
Finally getting to see what he looked like (oh, the hair!) and marveling at the tiny little feet that only hours before had been kicking me from the inside. I could finally touch them and for me that was something that truly made me feel that connection between my belly-baby and the baby in front of my eyes.
You’ve been a mother a little while now…do you keep pinching yourself to say: I’m a mom! Is it all a little unreal?
Yes – in fact, I pause in front of the mirror at least once a day while I’m holding him and stare at him and myself, trying to wrap my head around it. At the same time, while my conscious brain may have some catching up to do, the rest of me feels like I’ve been doing this forever. It’s come so naturally.
Does Mr S let you get any sleep or is up all night partying?
It’s true what they say: the first week really is the hardest. Now that we’re in the second week and have both become better at breastfeeding, he’s started sleeping for a couple hours at a time and I’m able to get him to ‘the restaurant’ before he starts crying. It’s amazing how much better it’s become so quickly.
Your hubs, R, is a super crazy baby whisperer. Are you going to hire him out? I know a lot of moms would pay him big bucks.
I definitely would, if his legs could stand it. He does these crazy squat/lunges that knock S out every time. It’s pretty magical.
What is the moment with Mr S that just melts you completely?
It would have to be a tie between the little snuffly kitten sounds he makes while nursing and how he smiles in his sleep. Oh ok fine, who are we kidding – everything he does melts me completely… even when he toots.
What is the time watching R with your son that melts you?
When he cradles S and sways with him, humming Elton John’s ‘Your Song’. When he gets to the line, “How wonderful life is now you’re in the world”, he sings it out loud and oh man, I dissolve into a puddle. I’m doing it now, just thinking about it.
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