Two Dads Welcome Their Second Baby Born to a Surrogate Mama | Amherstview Candid Family Photography
Lucky little baby Leo sleeps in his dad’s arms.
Today I’ve got a super special story for you!
The kind of heart-melter that you can’t help but get a little emotional about.
It’s the story of baby Leo, born during the pandemic, the second sibling to be born to surrogate mother Kera, and to be joining the family of Uli and Alex, two fathers from Italy.
It brings the term ‘blended family’ to an entirely different level! 😍
Baby Leo in the arms of his big sister on his surrogate mother’s side.
Here is baby Leo. He was born just two days before this photograph was taken, by surrogate mama, Kera, in the summer of 2021.
In fact, Kera’s holding his little hand in the photo, while his 'sister' (the daughter of his surro-mama) holds him. It's a precious moment, and one Leo's daddies wanted to make sure was captured.
The whole ‘blended’ family gathers to celebrate baby Leo’s birth
(I actually don’t know if ‘blended’ is the right term for this beautiful and modern extended family that includes the surrogate mama and her family, plus the intended parents Alex and Uli and their family… what is the best word?)
I was first approached by Uli and Alex about doing some newborn photos. They had heard from Kera about a similar family I had photographed in Kingston before (two Dutch dads welcoming two babies via a Kingston-based surrogate mother).
And they really liked the idea of having their whole family captured, so that all the parents were in there, without one of them having to be the one holding the camera
(I think one of the dads is quite an avid amateur photographer, so he is often the one taking photos of his fam. But I can tell you from personal experience that sometimes you want to be IN the photo, versus the one taking the photo! Haha. This is why you hire a photographer)
Anyway, once baby Leo was born, we decided to meet at Kera’s house in Amherstview for a sort of afternoon get-together/celebration of baby.
Everyone would get to hang out, and spend time with the two boys: baby Leo and his older brother Jan (pronounced ‘Yahn’). Jan was also born to Kera, in Kingston!
Uli and Alex arrive in Amherstview with baby Leo and their toddler Jan, to celebrate with surrogate mother Kera and her family.
Here we see the happy moments of the families reconnecting.
I also snapped a couple of photographs of Jan kissing and stroking his baby brother, which was just too precious not to share:
The family spent some time inside, chatting and admiring the boys. One of the most heartwarming photographs happened here:
You have to hear about this moment.😍
So, on the counter, sits Jan.
Kera holds baby Leo. She is an angel (and I'm not even religious). She not only gave birth to both these boys you see in the photographs as a surrogate, but she also had three kiddos of her own. Two of them are all grown up now.
In the middle of the frame is Kera's mother.
Jan is pointing at her, because just moments before this photo was taken, his two daddies asked him, "Where's grandma?"
He very naturally pointed to the woman who birthed and mothered his surro-mama.
This moment honestly brought tears to my eyes while photographing it. 🥰
Our world isn't perfect, but perfect moments like this one DO exist.
Here are a few other precious moments while we were all hanging out indoors, snapping candid photos of the ongoing action.
These two Italian daddies absolutely doted over their three-day-old baby. In this photograph, they both feed baby Leo with a bottle of Italian formula. That's right - they brought an entire suitcase full of formula with them.
Why?
Because they knew from experience with their oldest son (and from being amazing and well-researched daddies) that sometimes babies have a difficult time switching formula brands. They didn't want to risk introducing Leo to a Canadian formula if it would have made it more difficult for Leo to transition to the formula they could find in Italy.
Awww.
Here's Jan, dipping his toes in the pool.
Jan lives in Italy with his two daddies. He came to Canada for the birth of his baby brother. They all had to stay in PEC for quarantine, before being allowed to visit his surro-mama in Amherstview.
Jan had never been swimming before. But after discovering the joys of the water in Kera’s pool, he just couldn't get enough. (in fact, his daddies had to buy a tiny little inflatable pool for him back in Italy to satisfy his cravings once they returned).
He wanted to splash first, and then immediately got into some swim trunks and floaties (after applying sunscreen of course!) and stayed in the water the entire rest of the photo-session.
Jan loved swimming in the pool with his older Canadian sister. He spent over an hour there!
Photographing kids in the water gives rise to so many occasions for great action shots. You’ve got splashing water, lots of facial expressions, and so much colour (blue!) happening. Here’s a couple more of this lovely pool time.
While Jan was having an awesome time in the water, the rest of the family (including the two dogs) were having a blast on the deck.
They sat and chatted like old friends, catching up on all that had been happening since the two dads had last been in Canada.
Kera laughs with Alex and Uli. I don’t remember what they were laughing about, I just know it was a great time.
Kera’s mom holds baby Leo. I loved the warm skin tones in this natural daylight shot. It was a wonderful moment.
It was the perfect afternoon.
The perfect occasion.
Being asked to capture these moments for this family was a huge privilege.
Sharing their story with you might hopefully inspire you all. It might show you just how loving people can be.
Uli and Alex pose for a family photo. Kera’s two dogs can be see to the side. Because of course… they wanted to be part of the photo.
If you liked this blog, you might want to share it with families who are considering surrogacy, or maybe even surrogate mothers you know.
Because their love and effort should be celebrated!