Giving birth is an exciting, nerve-racking experience.
Bringing a new child into the world is a big step, even if you don't give birth on the side of the freeway like this woman.
If you've ever been through it yourself, you know that most parents forget about the challenges as soon as they hear their newborn's first cries.
Seeing your baby for the first time is an incredible experience: no matter what, your baby will be the most beautiful thing you've ever laid eyes on, even if it is screaming and red and covered in gunk.
Many parents notice that their newborns have oddly shaped heads immediately after birth. According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine, that's totally normal: "Newborn head molding is an abnormal head shape that results from the pressure on the baby's head during childbirth."
In fact, babies have "soft spots" because their skulls are designed to be a little bit flexible during birth.
Sometimes, head molding is barely noticeable, though there are cases when in can be extreme — as new parents Nikki and Chris learned.
Nikki and Chris knew they wanted a photographer at their birth to capture the special moment, so they hired Kayla Reeder of K. Reeder Photography.
Kayla told LittleThings what happened during the birth, saying:
Nikki let me know she was in labor on Valentine’s morning. With her first daughter, she was in labor for 36 hours, so we thought this might take a little bit longer.
She went about her morning as usual (WONDER WOMAN, I TELL YOU!).
A little later she decided to make her way to the hospital. When they kept her, I decided to make my way to her since it was a 45-minute drive.
Along the way, her mom kept me up to date as her husband and I both raced to the hospital. I pull in the parking lot 45 minutes later and her mom calls me [and says that] she’s nine cm.
I make my way up the stairs with haste. She's had an epidural, so the room is calm — much different than earlier, I was told. This sweet mama was listening to worship music as her beautiful mom whispered encouraging words to her. It was a blessing to witness.
Her husband made it right after me. The room lightened as it was time to meet her son.
Her daughter came in for a kiss before it was time to push. It encouraged mama, you could tell.
Pushing took about an hour… Little man was a bit sideways, so Mama had to work a little harder, but no additional interventions were necessary.
Finally, Graham made his way into the world! He is BEAUTIFUL. Mama had immediate skin-to-skin with him and Dad showered them in love. The love and adoration and relief that he was finally here radiated through them.
Graham was perfect in every way — right down to his little cone head. The molding on Graham’s head was extra dramatic because of his position.
His head was tilted a bit to the side, so the molding isn’t centered, and it caused his mama to push for a bit longer than if he would have been in a better position.
Soon after birth, the molding went down and by few days old, he had a perfectly shaped head. It’s no cause for alarm or concern in this case, and his birth was in no way traumatic because of it.
The U.S. National Library of Medicine explains that newborns’ skull bones are soft and flexible, with gaps to allow for movement.
When a baby is born head-first, the head may change shape as it is pushed through the birth canal. Usually, the shape will return to normal within a few days.
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