The New York Times wrote about it and so did my fellow Mommy Blogger Mommy in Sports…and while I didn’t have hair and makeup stylists arriving to my hospital room for pre and post “delivery” shots, my appearance was definitely on my mind. In my opinion, to each her own…it’s a huge moment in life and whether your baby’s arrival goes to plan or throws you a curve ball, I say if a women wants to be done up, good for her and if not…it’s all good too!
In my case, I come with a broadcast television background, complimented by days of dancing professionally for major sports teams and have done an occasional modeling gig here and there…so hair and makeup “glam,” are the norms in my world. And even without those tidbits of influences in my life, my circle of childhood friends who I remain close to now certainly like to get done up and we tend to be our own paparazzi wherever we go, so taking pictures usually equals some type of primping…ya feel me?
At any rate, my first baby ended up being delivered as an emergency c-section…but that was only after we began the induction process where I was told we could be in there for hours. So, as any girlie girl may be accustomed to doing, I packed my makeup and curling iron in my overnight hospital bag. And — since that was the first baby, both my sisters were in town and not only did they shave my legs that I couldn’t see in my then 39 weeks of pregnancy, they also curled my locks as I passed time waiting to dilate and let the baby drop into the birth canal. I actually recall my other half “complaining” about why did I need to have my hair done and how silly it was, but I got it and my sisters got it…we had time and why not!?!?
Eventually this “fun” passing time beauty shop took a more serious turn when it was decided an emergency delivery was necessary and I was whisked away to the operating room. Needless to say, as the hours passed, my curls fell out and with all the sudden stress and “unknown” that was thrust upon me in a matter of minutes, I won’t be sharing those first few photos taken right after surgery, when I didn’t feel (or look) anywhere near my best. The first “okay” snapshot was taken at like 3am when my body had somewhat recovered from the anesthesia and other meds necessary for the surgery…it was something like a full 4 hours AFTER delivery that I finally got to hold my first born in my arms. No makeup, hair in a messy pony-something…bloated beyond belief! lol!
Needless to say, when my second baby boy was getting ready to make his appearance 53 weeks later, I took my time getting to the hospital and did my hair with some makeup before checking in. This was an “emergency” of sorts in that this baby did make his entrance a few days prior to his scheduled delivery, but when I started spotting, I figured they would want to do the delivery early and while I was in labor (didn’t even know til we got to the hospital), I sure did take an extra 30 min. to an hour before I went in to make myself presentable, but yeah, I’ll admit it was all in the interest of having a better post-delivery photo. Yup, I said it, I wanted to look better in the picture and you know what..in my opinion I did! 🙂
Alright, so I was far from glam or what we’d call “camera ready” in television, but my skin looks even and my hair was tame. FYI..first photo of this post also comes from my second delivery. It’s amazing what a touch of tinted moisturizer with some mascara and eyeliner, plus bronzer too…can do!