Panda Birth

So I've been pretty immersed in birth culture and newborn babies lately. I'm looking up this, researching that, photographing all of the above . . . generally all about little babies and their pregnant mothers.

In today's time wasting episode of surfing the web I came across this video of a giant panda in Japan giving birth:

Panda Birth

Apparently it is the first giant panda in Japan to give birth by artificial insemination . . . so it has made an impact on the news.


I have watched humans give birth. I have watched dogs and cats and mice give birth. I have watched videos of numerous other mammals give birth. None of that prepared me for the sight of that new panda!! Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I knew that panda babes were small . . . but this is nuts! I looked it up, and according to The National Zoo "At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother's part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about the size of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother's size."

My last babies averaged about 1/12th my size. Seems a little unfair, yes?

How I spent my weekend

So as I've previously mentioned I took a Doula training course. I took it as a leg up when it comes to birth photography. As I thought about it I realized that it would be a great compliment to the volunteer work I already do with women and families at the Association for New Canadians.

Fast forward to this past weekend where I had the distinct privilege of supporting this wonderful lady as she had her 7th child. She had a long and difficult labour and faced some fears of birthing in a new country. Her wonderful friend was able to help translate and between us all we were quite a team.

Baby Boy, 7lbs 6oz. Happy and healthy.

I was not there as a photographer . .. but I did take photos. I did not take any photos leading up to or including the birth because I was busy focusing (no pun intended) on mom's needs. After baby arrived mom collapsed into the pillow and dozed on and off . . . I snuck away on and off to see the sweet sweet babe.

I will gift her with a set of images. These are a few from that set:

I think I'll send a few to this nurse as well. There is nobody in the world more comfortable with newborns than delivery room nurses.









Mom's wonderful friend. We should all be so lucky as to have friends like her. Here she is showing off baby to the doctors.



Baby is checking me out!



I sang him happy birthday and he really liked it.



I am not going to post many of mom here. She was in and out of sleep and utterly exhausted.




But by the next day she was in fine form. Amazing what a little sleep can get you! Check out baby, he was so alert and ready to take on the world. I think he looks like he is a pretty smart little fellow.




And lastly, mom agrees that wee little babes look pretty funny in their big seats.



It was my pleasure and joy to be there. I am so grateful that I am able to help another woman in this way. It was a great way to spend a weekend, even if I do have to work double time to make up the time I was away!!

Christmas

I encourage anyone interested in Christmas sessions to book soon. Spaces are already filling up.

Deadline for Christmas delivery of finished framed pieces is a session date of Nov 4th, 2008.

A reminder that a large framed portrait of all the grand kids is the PERFECT gift for those hard to buy for grandparents. If you can gather the various families together in secret and surprise Grandma and Grandpa on Christmas morning with something so unexpected . . . you are the hero for the rest of the year!

Maternity

A maternity session with a wish to include dad and big brother. Big brother was full of joyous energy on the hill and a bit tricky to photograph. I don't give up that easily though, and pinned him down for a few shots. I think I managed to even capture a bit of the joyous energy!



Mom: Is that not the most perfect pregnant belly you have ever seen? Swallowed a basketball, indeed.





Mom and Dad: I am so happy with these. I can see the love, and isn't that what having a baby is all about? :)

Family at the Park

This was an extended family session in the park. I wanted to go early enough to make sure the ducks and pigeons were hungry, and it worked like a charm. It was pretty fun actually, despite nearly getting clobbered a few times by flying birds! That's what happens when you ask kids to throw duck food at the camera I guess. All I could think of was my mother and her fear of birds. She would not have enjoyed this session, haha.





We did some sort of traditional groupings and then once the kids started getting restless I handed over the Holgas to the oldest girls. I always bring Holgas, and I am generally pretty relaxed about lending them out for play. They are toys after all!



I assume all child photographers bring candy to their sessions, right? Makes sense to me . . .

Facebook

So I created a facebook group for my photography . . .

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=21586552214

I invite you all to join . . . invite your friends to join . . . that sort of thing.

Thanks!