Oh my, what an adventure this was!
Please click on “View full post” below to read the Bonn family’s birth story below before watching their video.
Note: client slideshows are not designed primarily for marketing purposes- they are long because it captures the entire experience for each family, and each moment included in their slideshow was chosen for a reason.
{This video is completely modest.}
Mike’s brother hired me to photograph Kyleigh’s birth, because they had seen my previous work & had fallen in love with it. A few months before her due date however, Mike’s job transferred him from Colorado to New Mexico. They asked if I would be willing to fly down when she went into labor, and since I did not have any other sessions too close to their due date, I said “sure!” And despite worrying constantly and always having my phone on through every night waiting for a call, the timing worked out just perfectly! Her due date was on May 22nd, and after waiting a week to for that call to come in to hurry to the airport, it finally came on the morning of May 29th! Mike called to let me know Jennifer was having contractions and they seemed pretty steady. They wanted to wait an hour to see if it was the real thing before having myself, his mother & his brother book our tickets to come down, but in my mind I knew it was time.
An hour later, it was confirmed that she was absolutely in labor, so we quickly got our tickets, I had everything ready to go, and we headed to the airport. The 1.5 hour flight went quickly, Mike & an early-laboring Jennifer picked us up at the airport (about 5 minutes away from the hospital) and we were on our way!
Mike’s mother Donna is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. She was quite emotional as she had anticipated the birth of her first grandchild for quite some time, and did tear up several times even on our ride to the hospital and just while we were waiting in triage for a bit.
Mike & his brother kept teasing her for crying so much….
to which I laughed & said, “I hope I never have boys!”
I can relate with her- I’m quite an emotional person myself, and even more so, by the time I have my own grand babies I will hopefully have been working in the birth world for quite some time. I will be a MESS! So Donna, I got your back.
I was so amazed at how happy, smiling and conversational Jennifer was for so long. She had to breathe through some very intense contractions while in the car and waiting in triage (which seemed like FOREVER!
Surprisingly, she was there for about 2 hours (I think) but was laughing and Skyping with her family on her phone throughout much of her early labor!
Soon after arriving into her L&D room, she wanted to spend some time in the tub, where she stayed for a good while. During this time, she the contractions were clearly getting much more intense, and she became very focused and internal for the rest of her labor.
It was so obvious what a wonderful, supportive relationship she & Mike have. They had prepared so well together for a natural birth experience, and he was such an incredible support partner for her.
Looking back, everything progressed normally & just perfectly, but it always seems like such a terribly long time once they have told you that you are past 8 or so cm and you just have to wait until you are complete and those “pushy” feelings come. Jennifer was so incredibly patient, spending the last several hours of her labor lying on one side or the other, focusing on her breathing & just taking one contraction at a time.
For the first half of her labor, Mike helped her visualize being somewhere else, like on a beach or in the water, to help take her mind off the pain & relax. At a certain point though, it just wasn’t enough anymore. There were a few times that Jennifer softly said “I can’t handle this pain anymore….” and together Mike & I just reminded her to get through each contraction, that her body was doing just what it was created to do, and that while the pain was intense, it would be over as soon as Kyleigh was in her arms. She quickly moved through that moment of doubt, and quietly continued to press on.
During the early stages of her labor, members from both sides of their families had been messaging them with “Birth Time Bets” which we wrote down on the dry erase board in her room, and crossed off names as we passed each guess.
Before she was even checked for dilation in triage, I guessed that Kyleigh would be born at 2am. It turned out that Mike’s brother’s girlfriend Anne guessed the same exact time, aaaaaand……
After almost 2 hours of pushing, Kyleigh Marie Bonn was born “sunny side up”, at 1:59am.
I’ll try not to brag too much about my awesome guessing skills.
(Since I was directly “in front of the action” when Kyleigh was actually born, those photos are a bit too graphic for internet publication. 😉 )
When Jennifer’s water broke on its own right before she was ready to start pushing, a little meconium was seen in the fluid, so the nurses immediately took Kyleigh when she was born to suction her out before she started crying, and then stimulated her to make sure everything was fine. Which it was. 🙂
She then went straight to momma to stay there skin-to-skin for over an hour and for both Mike & Jennifer to marvel at their perfect little beauty with her mother’s incredible eyelashes, dark hair and long fingers.
And Daddy got to give her her first kiss.
She weighed in at 7 lbs 1 oz and measured 20 inches long.
Look at those lashes!
I loved going back with Mike’s brother & mom later the same day she was born, and to capture them holding Kyleigh for the first time. Very proud new uncle & grandma!
Since everything went so smoothly with her birth, they stayed for just one full day, then checked out the following morning to head home. I stayed for a couple more days to capture their first moments at home, and Kyleigh meeting their two dogs, Achilles & Panda, for the first time.
We then took some newborn photos later that day and the next morning. Because Jennifer’s milk hadn’t come in yet, it was difficult to get little Kyleigh in that wonderful newborn “milk coma” that can be achieved between days 5-10.
However, I was able to capture some very sweet moments of them as a new family of three together, just TWO DAYS after she was born!
I still marvel at these photos, particularly of this one of Kyleigh “standing” on her mommy’s tummy, which had been her home just 48 hours earlier.
Our bodies are amazing.
Thank you, Bonn family, for allowing me to be a part of your forever story with Kyleigh. I will never forget what a beautiful experience it was.
And how good Weck’s breakfast papas bowls were. Obviously. 😉
Your daughter is perfect.
Sissy - - These are so sweet. I’ve been hunting for ideas for a 4month old seosisn I have tomorrow and came across your site. I so love the one of her grabbing her toes!