Welcome Home Baby | A family of two dads and their sons
Bringing a baby home when you’re in a foreign country
Marco and Damian are two incredible dads from the Netherlands.
They first emailed me in 2018, about photographing the birth of their first baby boy, who would be born to a wonderful surrogate mother from Kingston. That story has never been blogged and definitely deserves its own post. I promise I’ll make that happen soon!
Today’s story is about the second time Marco and Damian traveled to Kingston from the Netherlands, in times of Covid, no less - having to adhere to very strict quarantine protocols. It was all so that they could welcome their *second* baby boy into the world, with the amazing help of the same surrogate mom.
Now, this is what dreams are made of.
Despite the hardships they had because of travel restrictions and documentation (the first time, the Dutch municipality gave them a hard time about adopting their baby legally, owing to outdated bylaws)…
Despite the long trip and the different cultures… they made it happen, and they are now a family of four: two dads and two sons.
I really count myself among the lucky ones to know this family, and to be able to capture their memories for them as they show us that anything is possible when there is enough love.
So without further ado, let’s see some of the photographs!
“Welcome home, baby” as a photo-session
For this session, we all decided that because of the restrictions, it would be best if I didn’t go to the hospital with them. Instead, I would meet up with Marco at his rental apartment in the East end of Kingston, and photograph him with baby Lucas.
There was an even more exciting detail: daddy Damien would come home once the session had started, and bring with him their toddler son Thomas.
This would be the first time Thomas would be meeting his baby brother. (Thomas had been staying with the family of their surrogate mother for a night while his baby brother was born).
Thus, we could capture the first moments when big brother met little brother. Super precious!
Here’s how that all began:
Marco and baby Lucas wait in the apartment. When Damian is very close, he calls up, so that we can arrange ourselves to surprise their son Thomas. They’re just minutes away now!
The two brothers will meet for the first time.
Here is daddy Damian with Thomas, just entering the apartment where daddy Marco waits with newborn baby Lucas.
Thomas was so sweet when meeting his little baby brother. At first, he was unsure. He was a little tired (having missed his full nap), and was missing his daddies, so the first thing he wanted to do was cuddle with Marco.
Then he wanted to look curiously on at his baby brother.
And soon enough, he warmed up to him and gave him a very big kiss!❤️
After that, he started to get a bit emotional, and it was time for a BIG snack. A boterham (sandwich) took care of most of the emotions.
When we are doing “at home” sessions, it is important to capture all these little details. What was everyone doing? What were they snacking on?
In my last post, I told you about a family who was thankful that we captured their young daughter enjoying yogurt. Because she LOVES yogurt, and when she is 15 or 30, she might not love it. Revisiting those photos will be interesting and fun.
With Marco, Damian, and their two sons, it was similarly important to capture not just the “traditional” meet your baby brother moments, but also the reality of having a tired and peckish toddler (and let’s face it, they’re always either tired or peckish, sometimes both!), so that they will have these memories to look back on and to show Thomas as he grows up.
The all-important yogurt snack. It’s like energy in a tiny capsule for toddlers!
And while Thomas was snacking and recharging, Marco had a chance to feed baby Lucas, and to enjoy some time with him.
When you have two kiddos under two, it’s difficult to find long stretches of time with just one or the other child. Making the most out of the moments you *do* have is key. These dads intuitively knew this, and made the most out of it!
Once everyone is fed and happy, there’s usually a fun activity everyone can enjoy. Thomas had a lot of toys that his daddies had brought, borrowed, or bought (or had been gifted), despite their short stay in Kingston. They wanted to make sure they were giving him the best possible experience, and minimizing any stress he might feel because of the long travel.
Sure enough, he felt completely at home in this apartment. As long as his dads were there to read him a book or two :)
Damian reads a picture book with Thomas.
Marco hold his newborn son and looks lovingly at his older son and husband
Once we have done fun things with dad, and we know things are still ok, we have renewed interest in our baby brother. That’s the adorable tentativeness of toddlers. They just want to make sure things are still normal… things are still good. Once they know things are good, then this new baby becomes fun. Thomas wanted to caress his brother’s head, and was really fascinated by his little tiny toes!
And that was almost a wrap. The rest of the session was spent changing a diaper (for baby Lucas), more snacking (for Thomas), and lots and lots of cuddles for both boys.
The two daddies had their hands full, but in the best possible way.
In just one hour, life had completely changed for this family of four. They now needed to give TWICE the hugs, and TWICE the love.
That’s what family is all about! 🤗
Did you enjoy these photographs?
Did you have a similar experience bringing baby home for the first time? Leave me a comment as I’d love to know! What was YOUR experience bringing baby home to an older sibling, and did it go as you expected?
The first moments bringing a new baby home are always full of emotion, especially with a toddler in the house!
If you’re hesitant about birth photography, a ‘welcome baby home’ session can be just as meaningful
Some families love the idea of birth photography, and others don’t.
What all families do want is to treasure the memories of those early days, when baby first came into the world. So a welcome home session like this one can be PERFECT for all families, whether or not you go for birth photography.