Hospital picture list

[abesmer]

Hey all, I am due in 8 days and am a pictureholic! So, from all of your experience, what are your favorite pictures taken in the hospital? What pictures do you wish you had taken? For example, I know I want a picture of my baby being weighed on the scale for the 1st time. Anything other recommendations??

[WatchingThemGrow]

We - (well, DH!) did a video with our camera as they took DD over to the table to be suctioned out, etc. It was SOOOO cute to see her crying and flailing, and it was great because I couldn't see all the action over there.

Totally not a picture list, but something to consider if your camera does video. It was just our little Canon Elph. I used the clip to make a little introductory movie on the Windows Movie Maker program. absolutely priceless. We did the same video with DS, although he's 10 mos old and I haven't "produced" the movie yet.

[pb&j]

I love some of the pics DH took of DS when he was all swaddled up with the hospital cap on, and the paper measuring tape was still next to him. I also have pics of DS nursing when he was one day old that I am really glad I have.

Oddly, and maybe TMI, but I am really glad I insisted that DH take a picture of the placenta! I found it really fascinating, and was glad I had the picture, since I only got a tiny glimpse of the real thing while all the cleaning and stitching and whatnot was going on after the birth. I can't believe that I grew that! YMMV, of course, and it may exceed your ick factor.

[deenass]

I love the one of DH looking at me when I held baby for the first time (my doula took it).

I also like the pic of my mom walking into the room, you can see the clock on the wall (and the time). IT was helpful when she told me that I made her wait FOREVER until she got to see the baby (nope, he was born at 7:14 and the clock clearly shows 8:00!)

I also like the pics of DS when he is all "gooey" before he is cleaned up.

[maylips]

I had a c-section and my favorite picture is the one the nurse took of DH holding our baby and introducing her to me. It was totally candid, but we're looking at each other and it's the most romantic picture in the world to me - the two of us realizing we formed this perfect human TOGETHER. I'll never forget it.

I also like the first bath photos - those nurses used a lot of soap and there were bubbles everywhere. DD also really enjoyed that bath so I like those photos.

Oh, and one last one (I'm a photo-holic too!) - a friend took one of me in the background in the hospital bed with my mom holding my daughter in the foreground. It was also candid, but it's a neat 3 generation photo without looking too cheesy.

All the best for a safe delivery!

[spencersmommy]

I have pictures of my boys being held by the doctor...one just born, cord still attached. She is beaming, and he is crying! The other one is swaddled and being held by the doctor, standing next to me. I like those. I didn't get one with my girl...bummed. Like the Daddy holding the kids for the first time, ones of all 3 of us, ones of the 1st bath, ones in the clear bassinet, picture of the nametag on the bassinet, on the scale, Daddy cutting the cord. With DS#2, the nurse had the camera and went crazy taking pictures when he was being born. Some of it was TMI for anybody besides me and DH, but I did like seeing them so I could actually see the birth! :-) Deleted those after a while! If I have time, I'll go look through their scrapbooks and see what else I liked...
Good luck!!!! It's such a magical experience!!!! :-)

[srhs]

{sniff, sniff} These replies got me choked up. :stork-boy:
Anyway, I personally just regret that I didn't have my gown on properly in any of the just-born photos. It keeps me from putting them in photobooks and such. But I'm modest and others may not care a bit. I am still glad I have those shots; I just don't share them.
Also, I wish the cord cutting photo had a better um...background... so it could be included in things too.
Probably not things to be caring about right after birth, but you know.

As for tips, the best photos we have of baby are when he is in the bassinett. The ones of him while someone is holding him are not as good.

Also, someone took a photo of the 3 of us from across the room rather than up close, and THAT was the one I chose to share with everyone via email (along with baby solo). Not every coworker and aquaintance needed to see my postpartum self up close.

[octmom]

In addition to some of those already mentioned, I really like photos of both of my kids just as they were born via c/s. I know it sounds weird, but my OB is an old pro, and I remember him telling DH to hold the camera over the drape and take a photo as he was pulling out DS from my belly. The doc has a way of positioning the baby, the drape, and the light so that you can get a great shot of the baby without seeing lots of gore. We have almost identical shots of DS and DD (same OB delivered both). I love that I have photos to see them just as they entered the world, since my head was in the other side of a drape and I couldn't really see it firsthand. They aren't pics I would send out on an announcement, but I like having them.

[randomkid]

DH took pics of me before we left the house, signing paperwork at the hospital, then one of the two of us after my 3rd of countless walks around the hospital (we both held up 3 fingers). He took one of me in active labor (near transition) with both of my parents over me.

The pics of DD I like best are:
right after she was born after they cleaned her up a little, but no clamp on umbilical stump yet
on the scale
first time I nursed her
taking footprints
first bath
first time my parents saw her
my most favorite is that I actually thought to take one of DH holding DD. It was less than 30 min after I delivered and my hands were shaking, but it turned out great. DH loves that photo and I think it means more since I took it.

We weren't able to get one with the OB, which I wish we had. I did understand as it was 1:30am and she just wanted to get home because she had to go into work that day.

We didn't do the hospital photos because they never seem to come out well. DH's friend is a professional photographer and he came in and took pics for us when DD was only about 14 hours old - they are beautiful. My favorites of those other than the close ups of her are her tiny fingers wrapped around my finger and DH's thumb held up next to her tiny foot.

Then, of course, dressing her to leave and the whole process of leaving the hospital and arriving home.

I do agree with PP that I like hate the closeups of me right after delivery, but am glad I have some from the next day (even though I was still bloated and looked like cr@p!).

[KpbS]

Just make sure you get a family picture of the 3 of you--imo those are just the best--even if you don't look your greatest it is a moment you can never recreate.

Congrats and good luck

[maestramommy]

Dh brought our camera along for both births, so we have just born, being measured, first pics in my arms, pics with my parents, pic with Daddy. It's pretty funny because Arwyn looked so much like Dora in the beginning, a friend joked that we could just skip taking pics of Arwyn and just make copies of Dora's pics and relabel:ROTFLMAO:

[mecawa]

The one of DD being weighed is my favorite, another one is of me holding her for the first time, DH holding her (the nurse took that one), one of the nurses also took a pic of the clock at the time she was born. I don't know if you scrapbook but that is a really cool picture to have if you do. We also love the pics of her under the billyrubin lights (hopefully you don't have to deal with that though) she is just in a diaper with the little purple sunglasses on that they make them wear, those pics are absolutely hysterical. We put those in her scrapbook with stickers I made that say "my first tanning bed."

[mdb78]

My cousin had a professional photographer in there with her during labor and she took several picture of the clock. Me, I wish I took a picture of the clock when we arrived and the clock when dd was born.

[cath_b]

Hey all, I am due in 8 days and am a pictureholic! So, from all of your experience, what are your favorite pictures taken in the hospital? What pictures do you wish you had taken? For example, I know I want a picture of my baby being weighed on the scale for the 1st time. Anything other recommendations??

I requested that my baby be brought to me even before cleaning. The doctors and nurses did but my husband forgot to take a picture. I wish I had that picture.

[wellyes]

My one piece of advice that hasn't been covered: if you have people waiting to come hold the baby after the birth, get a picture of ALL of them if you take pictures at all. We have pictures of both grandmas but only one grandpa holding the 1-hour-old baby, and I wish we'd gotten that last shot.

I took what seemed to me a reasonable number of pictures when DD was newborn. But with a digital camera, "reasonable number" is much bigger than it used to be. I'm not proud to admit this but I have about 800 pictures from her FIRST THREE MONTHS. So, make room on your hard drive LOL!

And I absolutely second the opinion upthread to use the video function on the camera. I'm amazed to watch the videos of her when she was just a couple days old now. And since then I've shared lots of baby videos with the grandparents on YouTube.