A Summerlin Hospital Cesarean Delivery
This beautiful couple came to me through a referral from a local photographer that I adore. She has been photographing them for years, and because she doesn’t specialize in birth or Fresh 48 sessions, sent them my way for this portion of their journey. I have been blessed by this Jamie Rubeis over and over in my photography career, and I am so thankful for her in an industry that can oftentimes feel so competitive and lonely.
Shana and Adam are both incredibly talented and beautiful individuals on their own, and together as a couple is just incredible. I had seen Emily through Jamie’s work and have always admired her beauty. Shana is a well-known vlogger and thrifter and stars in AMC’s Storage Wars, and Adam is the owner and president of Black Raven films.
I like to meet my birth and Fresh 48 clients in person before their delivery date. Birth is a personal and intimate genre, and meeting in person and talking about a family’s fears, concerns, wishes, and thoughts ahead of time makes a delivery day or Fresh 48 sessions feel so much more comfortable and relaxed. This particular period is so charged with emotion, and a million different decisions are thrown your way during the hours and days surrounding birth. I try to know what clients wish for ahead of time rather than bombard them with a million questions then!
With Adam and Shana both being in the industry, and especially Adam being an incredibly talented filmmaker, they just weren’t sure they would feel comfortable turning the birth to someone else. So, we decided on a Fresh 48 with an emphasis on the moments immediately following birth. The plan was to come to the hospital when Shana was close to delivery and come into the room immediately following birth to capture skin-to-skin, meeting the baby, weights, measurements, etc. and then come back the next day to capture some more of that classic Fresh 48 session after everyone was showered and rested.
After 19 years as a labor and delivery nurse, I have learned that labor is completely unpredictable and that no two laborers are the same. On the day of their induction, I contacted them via text, and they were so great in sending me regular updates. As the hours dragged by and things weren’t really progressing as planned, I could hear the exhaustion and frustration set in and finally just asked if I could come up a little earlier than planned. As I stepped into the room to let them know I had arrived before heading to the waiting room as we had planned, Adam approached me and verbalized that they both wanted me to document it all start then. Of course, I was so excited that they had come to this decision and were willing to let me into their birth space earlier than planned.
Within 30 minutes of my arriving at the hospital the decision was made for a cesarean section, so I was so glad I came when I did!
Photographers are not routinely allowed into the OR, and it is totally dependent on many variables from patient circumstances, OB/GYN, anesthesiologist, and hospital policies. I respectfully try my hardest to be allowed into the OR with families whenever possible, and because of my history with their OB, anesthesiologist, and the facility they delivered in, I was allowed into their delivery and was able to document it all!
Being in the operating room can be such a scary experience for parents, especially when things haven’t gone as planned. There is such a roller coaster of emotions and I love that they were willing to let me document it all.
Once he was here, it was easy to see why he wouldn’t come down. He was huge! 9lbs 2 oz of adorable squish! He was so alert, and capturing those first looks and skin-to-skin was so special.
I did come back the next day for a traditional Fresh 48. Shana and Adam still wanted to capture that truly fresh feeling in their fresh 48 sessions and just over 12 hours post-op, Shana managed to get out of bed and look as incredible as she did. I was so impressed! For those of you that have had a cesarean section, you know that it is no easy task!
