The atmosphere has a distinctly sacred feel to it when you walk through the door where a brand new human has just entered the world. It seems like maybe one should slip off one's shoes, and sink into reverence. This is how it felt when I came through the front door of the home where Halo had just been born the day previous in order to do the Fresh48 session her parents had arranged.
Her daddy greeted me at the door, cradling her in his arms. But immediately I was struck with a crazy thought based on a simple observation. Noticing her legs pointed straight up in the air, I asked, incredulous, "Wait! was she born breech?!" I knew they'd had a home birth and breech home births are a rarity so I wasn't sure what his answer would be. "Yeah!" he replied, with enthusiasm, going on to tell me the crazy story of the moment when the midwife realized it was a BUTT rather than a head emerging from the birth canal. He had loved every moment of witnessing his daughter's unusual entrance, while his dear wife Karen was too in the zone to realize that she was delivering a baby breech. Probably a good thing, she says, since it might have made her unnecessarily fearful. Thankfully, their midwife is trained and experienced in helping babies come into the world in breech presentation, so the entire experience was more amazing than terrifying. :)
Walking into the bedroom where Karen lay resting, we got to work documenting their tender snuggles and tentative touches, all of them getting accustomed to one another, taking in Halo's beautiful face, perfectly round head, and sticking-up-legs (don't worry, they'll go to normal position in a few days). :) Such a beautiful baby she is, and with parents unabashedly in love with her.
And for those who are interested in birth-y details, you might like to see this next bonus image: Halo has a large bruise on her upper thigh near her butt cheek, as this is the part of her body that was leading the way through the birth canal. Just as a baby's head will often bruise and swell when born in the more usual cephalic presentation, so will a butt, apparently!
