There may not be a more badass mom move than taking picture of the first moments of your child, as you push him into the world. As a professional photographer, Megan Mattiuzzo knew plenty of ʙɪʀᴛʜ photographers that could capture the arrival of her first son. But that’s not exactly what the 29-year-old first-time mom had in mind. She wanted to take the pictures herself, and she really just wanted one shot: her son’s first breath, from her perspective.
she wrote on Facebook along with pictures of the big moment: “Yes I documented my own ʙɪʀᴛʜ. Since I got ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ I knew I wanted just one photo .. of his first breath!” She went on to describe how the ʙɪʀᴛʜ went, in relation to the original plan. I wasn’t sure I would be able to actually pull this off because of my ᴇᴘɪᴅᴜʀᴀʟ not fully working. My ᴘᴀɪɴ ʟᴇᴠᴇʟ at the end was over my limit. I grab my light between two ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs and then Ryan handed me the camera the min they said that ʟᴀsᴛ ᴘᴜsʜ would be the one! He came out crying but calmed so much down they made him cry again to make sure he was okay. He has proved to be a very calm baby who is dealing with some ʙʀᴇᴀᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪssᴜᴇs but is a ᴛʀᴏᴏᴘᴇʀ. We are so in love with our Baby Easton!”
Mattiuzzo tells Scary Mommy more of the story: “When I first found out I was ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴛ I knew that this was something I wanted to capture for my self, I have friends who are in the ʙɪʀᴛʜ photography field who said they would be happy to capture the moment for me. But I didn’t want just the moment captured, I wanted it from my perspective! My doctor and husband where both on board! I told the doctors as I started to push to turn the room lights off and just keep the spot lights above the bed on, to make for a better photo. Between two ᴄᴏɴᴛʀᴀᴄᴛɪᴏɴs I started my setting in my Nikon D5. Then my husband held the camera for an hour and 15 mins until the moment my doctor told me it would be the ʟᴀsᴛ ᴘᴜsʜ! He then handed me my camera and as I curled my chin to my chest to push I balanced the bottom of the camera on my stomach looking through the viewfinder.”
The next moment was an amazing one, both for a first-time mom, and as an artist. She said: “I then captured one of the best moments of my life. The first time I got to see my so the first breath he took. It was the best day of my life and I now I will always remember it. Photographs keep moments from ever being lost. I’m glad I captured my son’s first moments!” She also spoke about the first moment she saw her son, through her viewfinder. She told BuzzFeed : “The focus went away from the ᴘᴀɪɴ. It’s your son, it’s your child. Seeing him…I can’t describe the feeling. You go nine months not knowing what they look like, who they are. And then to see finally see a healthy baby, you’re just overwhelmed with happiness.”
Since she published the pictures, they’ve gone viraL, she told Scary Mommy: “I am very surprised by the overwhelming attention the media has had to the images. Its been quite a ride! Im excited to have this story for Easton as he grows. Its nice to see a warm story of ʙɪʀᴛʜ and I’m so happy to see the great response from mothers and women. It’s been a very eventful few days since his ʙɪʀᴛʜ and I can’t wait to share the story of his ʙɪʀᴛʜ with him when he is old enough.”
As you might guess, there are already tons of other great picture of Easton – and we’re guessing many, many more to come throughout his life. Mattiuzzo added that she wanted to thank her nurses, her doctor, and the hospital, all of which were completely supportive of her wish.
