Regardless of the way his birth went down, Holden's post-birth moments were just as joyous as Claire's but I would say that the moments happened in a different order. When Claire was born, there was a clear, magical moment where her presence changed our world in an instant. Time stands still. I experienced it with Claire and I've witnessed the same thing happen at the birth that I photographed last year. This moment, in my past experience, happened at the moment of birth. The arrival.

Since we missed Holden's actual arrival, and our initial meeting was overshadowed by feelings of relief and a little shock, the mom/baby floor, is where we had our moment. The timing was different but the feeling is unmistakable. I've always adored hospital photos of fresh new babies in the recovery room but these are extra special, not only because these are of my own little bundle but because they are where we had our moment.