I have known Viktoria for about the last year and have had the honor of photographing her first son, TJ, numerous times. So I was just so excited to photograph the birth of their new baby, Kayden!
No one knew that Kayden would come as early as he did (though, of course, babies do what they want)! I woke up early in the morning to a text that came in around midnight that read: “My water broke. I am headed to the hospital.”
Well, I thought that about that time (it was 5:00 a.m.), she was probably just getting settled and checked in and such. I know that Tripler is always a busy place, so I figured it would be a few more hours before she started to make progress. Boy, was I wrong! She texted me back and said she had already had her epidural and was at about 5 centimeters.
I hopped in the shower and quickly made my way to the hospital, where I found Tim and Vik just hanging out, talking, smiling, and eagerly awaiting the arrival of their second son. Tim was exhausted from being up most of the night and had an energy drink readily available, while Vik was comfortable in the bed, in the frog position to get the baby to come down.
I had stepped out of the room to give the two of them time together when Tim sent me a text: “She’s 10cm and ready to push.”
Now, Tim is quite the jokester, so I wasn’t sure I believed him. I texted back, “Don’t play.”
He responded, “I swear she’s pushing now.”
Holy cow! I flew back up that elevator and busted into the room to find Vik still holding a smile on her face, now complete with oxygen mask! The doctor came in to talk her through, telling her to push . . . push again . . . and then, I heard the words: “He’s here.”
2 pushes! Can you believe that?! Not only did this girl have the easiest labor I have ever photographed but she did it all with a smile!
Baby Kayden was quite the screamer when he came out. Dad was able to cut his cord, and then Kayden snuggled in with his mom for about an hour. The doctor who did the delivery allows the babies to snuggle with Mom right out of the womb before they take any invasive measures like weight or injections—just Mom and baby bonding time! So Vik nursed him to get him to calm down, and after that, he just stared out into the room—such an alert little fellow!
Thank you, Tim & Viktoria, for allowing me to be part of another special moment in your lives! I was so honored to get to be there for this amazing moment, and I can’t wait to watch Kayden grow!
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