When I was pregnant with Myra, I did not know birth photography was a thing. Had I known, my mind likely would have immediately gone to "cervical paparazzi." NO, thank you. Pass. And that's fine. Trevor and I were both there, we remember, and he got some photos. We have photos of her all slimy and wrinkly and on my chest and the scale. Trevor did a great job being there for me, taking it all in, and doing the best he could to get some photos.
When we become a thing, we have an instant common ground with most other people who are also that thing. Upon becoming a parent, I became part of this club of other parents and this whole new world of conversation topics opened up. Thrilling topics, really, like how to get your baby to fart and how to appropriately get puke out of car seat straps. The first many times I heard people talk about birth photographers, I don't think I even paid attention. Immediate NOPE. But then I actually saw some photos. These photos, to be specific.
More photos from this friend's birth here. Photo credit to Jessica of Family Way Birth. This friend's baby was born about a week after Myra, so it would be a long time before I would need to consider birth photography myself, but these photos really stuck with me.
Somewhere along the way, I stumbled upon a local photographer, Angie Knutson, on Instagram (@angieknutsonphotography) and started following her. Then, one day, when I was pregnant with Niko, she posted this video.
And I was sold. I commented saying I was interested, thought about it, mentioned it to Trevor (who was still mostly in the "that's weird" camp), then actually emailed her. My first email asked for some basic info and by my second email I was already telling Angie all about my first labor and current placenta. If anything noteworthy came up at doctor's appointments, I emailed her. So many "right on track, but who knows what that really means!" emails. I wish I still had all the texts from the day he was born. I think she got more updates than anyone, understandably so. I mean, we hired her to capture all the special moments leading up to, including, and following baby's arrival, so she had to know what the heck was going on. If you want the play by play of the day Niko actually arrived, and when Angie came into the picture, check out his birth story here.
Anyway, the whole point of this is to show you all, many of whom know our family personally, how incredible these photos are. I don't think the beauty of birth photography would have struck me in quite the same way had I not seen photos from someone I knew first. Birth photography isn't for everyone, but I would strongly suggest considering it, and doing so early on. Some photographers take on more than others, but any birth photographer can only do so many. Being on call and available to take photos at any time and for as long as it takes sounds exhausting. Babies come when they want to come, there's so much unpredictability involved. It was so nice for Trevor to not have to worry about where the camera or phone was and just be there with me and our new baby. We knew we'd have great pictures, but didn't have to think about them at all. For the most part, we didn't even notice Angie was there. Seriously. Other brand new baby options are Fresh 48 and Newborn sessions. The rest of these photos were all taken by AKP. I really did try to limit the photos here, but there are so many incredible moments captured, it was difficult. I didn't even include any of the grandparents meeting Niko. And no, Angie isn't bribing me to write all this, we were simply that impressed with how it went.
Enjoying my epidural.
Seeing this picture brings back so many vivid memories. The ponytail Trevor put in for me because my hair was pissing me off. The panicky "I NEED A FAN RIGHT THIS SECOND" feeling. How hard I felt like I was pushing, for what felt like days (12 minutes people, 12 minutes...). The big jumble of other random feelings like nervous, anxious, excited, will my baby be okay?
The look on his face as he realized, and told me, IT'S A BOY!
We were one.
Getting acquainted with our son.
First time feeding him.
The first time Trevor held Niko.
The first time Myra laid eyes on her baby brother.
Those fresh little toes.
You can also follow Angie on Facebook here. What can I say, I'm a fangirl.
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