[moongoddess176]

So I am planning on UCing my first in December. It will be just dh and I but I would like to have a few pictures of the birth process. I also don't want dh to be concerned about anything other than what is really important at the time. Did any of you other mommas take any pictures and what did you do or does anyone have any suggestions?

 

[mother culture]

That is a hard one! I absolutely love birth photos but if there isn't any one else there they probably wont get taken. I was just at a friends birth adn there were 4 of us and the mama and I still didn't get the baby coming out! ( she shot out) But I have seen a beautiful birth video of a couple having a UC and the tripod was set up and worked great. That would be your best bet unless you want to have a friend take pictures (it is not a job for the father to be)

 

[ErinBird]

I agree with the sentiment. I'm having my first birth in a few weeks (UC) and it will be just DH and me. I'd love to have a series of candid photos from the birth, but I also don't want DH to worry about taking pictures- his primary focus should be helping me, not fiddling with the camera.

I think my compromise will be to have the camera nearby. Perhaps we'll get a few shots of me laboring and of the baby in her first few minutes of life. If not, no great loss- we'll both have memories of the occasion. Its one of my peeves when people are so frantically trying to take pictures/videotapes of things that they can't fully appreciate whats going on.

Maybe for future births we'll get someone else involved or DH will be more comfortable taking pictures having BTDT already. Right now we're just focusing on getting through labor and birth.

 

[Kidzaplenty]

If you do get pictures, you might think about who you will be wanting to see them. If they are just for you, do whatever, but if you are considering sharing them, you might think about being a little modest in them. Unless you don't really care who sees what.

I have heard more than once about "great" pictures but can't show them because they are too graphic.

Just a thought to consider.

 

[frontierpsych]

I'm planning on videotaping mine, using a tripod.

 

[lactivist]

My amazing husband took great pictures at our UC. I can't show them to just anyone because they are incredibly graphic but they are the most beautiful pictures (to me) I have ever seen. It was just my husband and I at the birth because I never woke up my other kids or called my friend in time. I gave birth completely on my own without anyone touching me and my hubby had pretty much nothing else to do. My friend was supposed to take pictures but since she wasn't there hubby took it upon himself to take pictures. I am not sure I have any advice as it just worked out this way without any planning. If you can get pictures I would recommend it. I may not show them to many people but I absolutely LOVE having them and looking at them.
Wendi

 

[L J]

I'm so glad you posted this question. I have DH reading the book on our camera right now, trying to figure out what our best course of action will be. We have a really nice 35mm camera, professional quality, so I am thinking that we will be able to set the timer to take a picture every X amount of time. I seem to remember capturing a sunset that way once, as a kid...

I have a spin off question- Do y'all use digital or 35mm for birthing pictures? I don't care about the people seeing them while developing them, but I don't want to get in "trouble" for having them developed. Anyone know? Our digital is only 2 megapixels, so it sucks, basically, and I don't want to document something so important with it.

 

[MamaTaraX]

I take birth pics to be developed all the time and have taken my own personal ones to be developed. I seek out female employees or gentle looking male ones. I give them the filma dn tell them in advance what it on it. I go to 1-hr places...and I come back for then starting at 20 minutes. I want them back the secod they are done, so they don't sit around. I usually get them back at 30 minutes, btw

Never had any problems. There's nothing illegal or anything about birth pictures. If he photo developer gets skeeved out, that's their problem. I figure it this way: I am doing them a great service by bringing them beautiful pictures of the normalcy and power of birth

Namaste, Tara

 

[teachinmaof3]

My dh snapped a few pictures of me in labor. Then nothing until afterwards because he was busy catching ds.

He did set up the camcorder on the tripod so the entire birth and after is recorded.

The only thing is that it was kind of dark in the room. I had my little nightstand lamp on but it's on the opposite side of the room. Then a couple candles behind me on the computer desk. That was it until we turned on the bathroom light after my mw got here. But you can hear our conversation just fine.

 

[2+twins]

This was really important to me for my last birth (since I didn't have pics from my prior births) so I made sure I got a really good setup. I have a really nice digital camera and found that there's an accessory for it which can take timed photographs at any interval I set for an unlimited number of shots (well, until the card gets full, but my card could fit LOTS of photos before filling up). I setup a tripod with the camera on it (prior to labor - aimed it at the birth tub) and connected the accessory to the camera and purchased another accessory for the camera (power cord so I wouldn't run out of battery power) and plugged that in as well. When labor begun I had dh start the camera taking photos. Should have had him practice this more in advance b/c it didn't start taking pics and we didn't get our first shots until just after the birth (I had an extremely quick birth which was one of the main reasons for the elaborate setup - we missed it for this same reason last time around). Fortunatley, I had also set up a digital video camera on another tripod and had that filming the whole thing, so at least we got the actual birth on tape. It was a pretty cool setup. Just wish I had set the interval period to something like every 15-30 seconds instead of every 2 minutes.

 

[JanetF]

My doula snapped lots of the actual crowning and birth, DP had the video camera as well. Lord only knows what he captured with a camera in one hand while checking around her neck for the cord LOL. A digital camera means no processing too

These are mine if you're interested:
http://www.joyousbirth.info/gallery/v/homebirths/janet/

 

[mothragirl]

this one is so beautiful! those brought a tear to my eyes!

 

[carolina~mom2be]

absolutely amazing janet!!!

 

[Emilie]

Oh those pics are so beautiful! I am sad. DD had a cord and we stopped getting pics till we got that all straightend out!
Congrats!

 

[moongoddess176]

Thank you Janet for the beautiful pictures! As I thought, we will just have to see what happens at the birthing. If possible maybe dh will get some pictures, but I will also look into settings on my dig camera. Hopefully there is a timed setting like someone mentioned! Thanks for all the great input!

 

[freebirth2]

Yeah, I'am kinda stuck with that. I want my future dh to be there to catch the baby(really important to me), but then I want to get pics of the birth, so that I can have material proof that I had a UP/UC. It would be cool if it had a timed setting. Also we could also get one of our older children to take the photos(if we have kids). The one photo I want is a pic with just me and my child completley nude in the first moments of life. I want a pic with me and hubbby, and baby, a timed camera would work that. I don't want anybody else except for me and my future dh, and future kids around so have work the pic thing with them. I never want to see myself in stupid hospital gown, and lame L&D room. There is no beauty in that. My mom's friend had a baby in a hospital( If I had known she was preggo I would have done everything I could to stop her from going to the hospital), and the photos were cute, but they were ugly they had her legs up in stirrups luckily she was covered up in this stuff, the baby was swaddled in one of those ugly hospital blankets there was no beauty in that. No idea why women want a hospital birth.

 

[momof421]

JanetF your pics are so wonderful and beautiful thank you so much for sharing

 

[tabitha]

lovely pics, thank you for sharing.

my feelings:

1)have a digital camera around, even if you have to borrow one. a digital camera allows you to take more pics without worrying about wasting film, allows you to see them right after in case you're trying for a particular shot. leave the option of pics up to your partner, and dont be attached to how many, if any, or the quality.

2)do not look at them right away. i know a lot of mamas who have no trouble looking right away, but i made a mistake by looking just about 12 hours after. my memory of the pain was brought to the forefront in a time when i had all but forgotten it. the pictures were so raw and near to my soul. i should have waited a week or two.

3)dont worry about being modest! your choice to share the pics is off in the distant future. there are pics i have shared and pics i havent, but it has nothing to do with how much of my body is showing. some of the pics from k's b irth captured expressions that remind me so much of what her birth was like, and they are of the more personal nature. others are more generic. you make the choice to share or not share later- not something you should be worrying about at all.

of course i *want* to have pics, but it is ok if i dont get them. i dont have any from t's birth, and the experience is still there, magical in my mind. with this birth i may be with dh, the kids, or alone- who knows? pics are just icing if we get them.

tabitha

 

[JanetF]

Shucks. *blush* Didn't mean to take over your thread. I hope it helped

I really wanted pics for a few reasons one of which is educational. It's good for people to see births without all the medical crap piled around or on top or inside the mother!

 

[moongoddess176]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JanetF Shucks. *blush* Didn't mean to take over your thread. I hope it helped I really wanted pics for a few reasons one of which is educational. It's good for people to see births without all the medical crap piled around or on top or inside the mother!

I agree! Your pictures are beautiful and I hope that I have the opportunity to get some as well!