When lifestyle photographer and new mom Laura Izumikawa first began photographing her napping daughter Joey Marie Choi in costume as iconic celebrities and TV characters, she never imagined the silly snaps of the infant would resonate with anyone outside of her inner circle.
"I just wanted to send some funny photos to my parents and in-laws just to show, 'Oh, we’re doing fine. We’re having fun," she explained in a chat Thursday. "Then, my friends wanted to see so I started sharing to Instagram as a way to kind of update them."
But after Izumikawa's obsession with Netflix's retro hit 'Stranger Things' inspired her to dress her four-month-old up as Eleven, her Instagram page went viral, swelling to nearly 100,000 followers.
"I kind of had this mother bear panic," Izumikawa admitted. "I was like, 'Is she going to resent me later in life?' But I’ve received countless messages from people — a lot of mothers who are coming out of postpartum depression have shared that this is the highlight of their day and older moms have shared how their kids are viewing it with the family and that they’ve never bonded like that before. I’ve heard a lot of personal stories from this and that’s been the highlight for me."
A photo posted by Laura Izumikawa Choi (@lauraiz) on
But of course, there have been some head-shaking responses from readers, particularly from those who wonder how Izumikawa manages to dress her daughter without waking her.
"My husband (Allen Choi) has been reading a lot of the comments and and someone asked, 'Are you drugging your baby? Are doing some witchcraft? How does she sleep through it?' And it’s like, 'She's just a rock, dude.' We’ve been really blessed that she's sort of an easy baby."
But that's not to say being a new parent has been easy.
"When I was pregnant, the whole nine months, I got so much attention," Izumikawa says. "Every time I showed up at the hospital, there was literature everywhere on how to take care of yourself and your baby. Literally once she was born and they wheeled us out to the car, that was it, and I realized we’re kind of left hanging to dry. It's like, 'You got to figure this out on your own but don’t mess up!' It’s a crazy kind of pressure that women go through — and fathers too. And I've realized it really does take a village to raise a kid. Just getting support from friends and mothers I’ve never met through all of this has meant the world to me."
A photo posted by Laura Izumikawa Choi (@lauraiz) on
