This is the story of the birth of Leæna Balabanos, but, in her father’s words: “you can call her Lea.”
When Philip Balabanos was told on Aug. 2 that his wife would be induced into labour six days early, he knew it was going to be a big day.
So, he decided to document every second of the process on Snapchat, calling it Making a tiny human: A Snapchat documentary.
“Honestly, I think If I hadn’t filmed the whole process, I would’ve had a nervous breakdown,” Balabanos wrote on Facebook.
“Now, I have this amazing gift to give my daughter when she’s old enough to appreciate it and all of you were able to share this brief moment in time with us.”
Balabanos started downloading the stories off Snapchat daily and posting them on Facebook.
He said he doesn’t know why his wife, Anna Theodorou, let him film her at all (and yes, he did put a few Snapchat filters on her).
The video starts with the couple leaving their home at 7:26 p.m., overnight bags in hand, and arriving at the Jewish General Hospital, where both of them were born.
“Any words of encouragement?” he asks her.
“To myself?” she responds.
“Yeah,” he says.
“No,” she laughs.
Watch the full video here:
Balabanos documents everything, from his sister lounging in the waiting room to each contraction recorded on the monitor.
“Pain just went from zero to 10 in a flash…I’ll give updates soon,” he writes on Snapchat.
At one point, the tired father-to-be admits he’s lost track of how many hours the couple have spent in the hospital waiting for their daughter to arrive.
After 15 hours of labour, Balabanos writes that the doctors are shuffling between a Caesarean and a vaginal birth.
Eventually, a C-section is performed.
Leæna Balabanos was delivered Aug. 5 at 5:17 p.m. – three days after labour was first induced.
“Lea, this is what I do. I hope you like it,” the proud father wrote on Facebook.
rachel.lau@globalnews.ca
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