Tag Archives: Photos

To be honest, I really didn’t know how Aubrey’s birth was going to play out - do we ever? From the moment I found out I was pregnant, I was scared. Scared that I was going to have a bad laceration like I did with Trent. Scared I wouldn’t have my doctor for the delivery again. Scared I would have blood pressure issues after the birth and pass out with the nurse screaming for Brett to push the red emergency button. Scared of having a newborn AND a toddler at home.

But being scared is part of most pregnancies I suppose…there’s just so many unknowns. I toyed with the idea of an elective c-section because of all the things I was scared of. My doctor wasn’t a big fan when I mentioned it very early on, but he was willing to discuss all options with me and I think he knew that deep down, I didn’t really want a c-section either. I love my doctor. But so does half the city and that’s why I wait in the waiting room for an hour every time I go for an appointment.

This pregnancy, I had high blood pressure from the beginning and was on medication for that, and I also had diet-controlled gestational diabetes. Those two things combined put me into a high-risk category. When I went in for my 39 week appointment on a Monday morning, they took my blood pressure 3 times…including my doctor once just to be certain. Seeing my doctor fumble with the blood pressure cuff - and even having one of the springs pop out - made me really want to joke about when the last time he had to actually use one of those things was, but I figured now wasn’t the time for jokes. It was high, so my doctor wanted to schedule an induction. After the first BP check, he gave me some options: either come back for a recheck in a few days or schedule an induction. At that point, I opted to wait it out and hoped that it would go down or Aubrey would come on her own by then. But after the 2nd and 3rd high BP checks, he felt I shouldn’t wait and should be induced.

I hadn’t really given that option much thought, but I found myself disappointed and sad. We’ve had two friends in the past couple of years get induced and they were in the hospital for a few days just waiting for something to happen and then ended up with c-sections anyway. I certainly did not want to be sitting in a hospital for longer than necessary, especially with a toddler at home to coordinate babysitters for.

I won’t go into explaining the ridiculous process for scheduling an induction at the hospital, but we were scheduled to go in the following night. The hospital would be calling us between 10pm-12midnight on Tuesday to let us know when they were ready for us to come in. We had Nana & Papa come over around 8pm to stay the night and watch Trent…his first overnight experience without us (FYI - he did AMAZING!).

The hospital ended up calling a little early, at 9:15 while I was giving Trent a bath. It was weird how even though I knew the call was coming, the fact that the call came early while I was with Trent kind of threw me off-guard. Having to stop doing what I was doing with Trent to go do something else made me sad and wondered if that’s what life was going to be like now with 2 kids. Silly pregnancy hormones!

We arrived at the hospital around 9:45 to an empty lobby, which was nice. I filled out some paperwork and then we waited just a few minutes before being brought right back to the delivery room. Thank goodness I got to skip Triage.

I changed, put away my belongings, got hooked up to everything and prepared to be there for a while.

After I was hooked up to everything, they wanted to monitor me for about 30 minutes to get a baseline for how everything was going.

Thank goodness for hospital wifi.

Then, around midnight, I received Cervidil, which is a tampon-looking string with medicine at the end that is put in the cervix to help with dilation. This is given before Pitocin. I was only 1cm, so the Cervidil was supposed to be a better start for the process. Then, I had to pick a side to lay on and not move for 2 hours so the medicine could do it’s job. I chose to lay on my right side and then immediately regretted it once I as there and couldn’t move. The funny thing is that I almost always lay on my right side, but when you are told you can’t move, that’s all you want to do!

Wow - that was a very long 2 hours. I was so uncomfortable and could not sleep. I kept looking at the clock, which I know is not a good thing to do, but I was counting down the minutes to when I could move.

Once the 2 hours were up, I got up because I felt like I needed to use the restroom. In fact, I felt that way every 20-30 minutes for the next several hours. So uncomfortable, in pain, restless. I even asked the nurse if I could lay in the whirlpool tub they have there just so I wouldn’t have to lay back down on the hospital bed. I wasn’t allowed to because that would mess with the Cervidil, but she did offer pain medication. The first medicine she gave me didnt do anything, so she gave me a pill to take…I don’t even remember what it was. It helped a little, but it was such a long and uncomfortable night.

Since it was nighttime, I don’t have many photos. There wasn’t much to take photos of anyway.

Early in the morning, I happily received my Epidural and felt so much better afterward. I wish I could have gotten it sooner, but they aren’t typically given until you are around 4-6 cm dilated.

I don’t really remember the timing of everything exactly, but not long after the Epidural, the nurse came in and gave me an oxygen mask to wear because she said that the Cervidil was causing constant contractions and not giving Aubrey a break, causing her heart rate to change. Not long after that, my doctor came in and took out the Cervidil and ordered that they give me a shot to STOP contractions (what they give moms in preterm labor).

I’m not sure how much time passed, but it wasn’t long before I started feeling sever pain and pressure down there. My first reaction was “WTF! I have an Epidural for a reason!” So I paged the nurse and just said “Can I have a nurse please?”

Then, I felt the weirdest thing…I felt like I peed myself…which to me, must have meant my catheter came out since I had one because you aren’t allowed to get up and move around with the Epidural. My main nurse was with another patient, so her assistant came in. While she was in there, I felt even more like I peed myself and then Brett told me my water must have broken! I would have laughed at myself if I wasn’t in so much pain. That nurse ended up calling in the main nurse asap, and in that short time period, I was holding onto the bed rails and almost screaming. The nurse said “It’s time - tell the Doctor to hurry!”

They actually told me to STOP pushing…but I had never started to begin with. Aubrey was coming and there was nothing I could do. In fact, the doctor was rushing to put his gloves and everything on as quickly as he could and nurses were rushing with tables and equipment. The nurse even had to put her hand down there to make sure Aubrey didn’t come out before the doctor was ready. Once he was ready and after barely a push, Aubrey made her arrival at 9:40am.

After all that worry of how long it would take, she came faster than I could have ever imagined. Surely that meant I had a bad tear right? NOPE! No tear…hallelujah!

With Trent, I started the skin to skin time immediately, but had to have him taken by someone because I started to get dizzy with blurred vision because of the blood pressure issues. This time, I had her for so long, I started to wonder when they were going to bathe her! But I wasn’t complaining. I was so happy with everything. I was able to have MY doctor. It happened quickly with no lacerations. And of course, she was beautiful.

Almost a pound bigger than Trent when he was born!

After her bath and some follow-up necessities, I was able to stand up, so they could get me in the wheelchair and transfer us to my recovery room. We pushed the button to play a lullaby and let everyone know that she was born!

She looks so cute with her little bow hat.

After a couple of hours, Nana & Poppa brought Trent to see us. It was a moment I was looking forward to for so long. First, I got a hug from my little man in his big brother shirt.

Then he met his sister.

He just looked at her and even though he didn’t say much, you could tell he was trying to process what it all meant.

We gave him a present from Aubrey, which was something I read was a good idea to get him excited.

Of course, the toy (which Brett picked out), was the loudest toy ever. But he loved it and played with it the entire rest of the time he was there.

Everyone took turns loving on Aubrey.

We even had a beautiful rainbow outside of our window!

Brett couldn’t resist taking a photo of our princess…he did this right on the hospital bed. He can make a studio anywhere!

That night, Brett went home around 9pm. Since I didn’t have a tear, I was able to get up and walk around without any pain, so I was ok with being alone with Aubrey. Plus, I know the nurses there would help if I needed anything. Brett brought Trent by the next day, but didn’t stay for long since Trent wanted to press every button and pull every wire in the room…that place is like Chuck E Cheese for a toddler!

Brett came back a few hours that night and then slept at home with Trent.

I was able to leave the next day, so Brett brought Trent to the hospital for when I would be able to leave, then we left the hospital as a family of 4.

This was us waiting in the parking lot while Daddy picked up lunch at Jersey Mike’s, so her straps were loosened a bit for comfort, so please don’t leave comments about how I’m a bad mother for not having the straps tight enough. :-/

It definitely was a much different experience than with Trent, but I am so glad to have been able to have two normal deliveries and two happy, healthy babies.

You can also read Trent’s birth story here and watch his arrival video here.

 

 

With a photographer in the house, it’s no secret that we take a lot of photos. I’ve also said before that the majority of those photos remain in the computer or hard drive. However, when we do print them, we prefer to do more with them than just printing a regular photo. We prefer unique methods of printing, like on canvas, metal or acrylic. Plus, sometimes we just don’t feel like buying frames!

There are many photo-printing companies out there, so we do love trying new-to-us companies to see the quality that is delivered. When we needed a very large photo for Aubrey’s nursery (we had a very blank wall to fill), we turned to Posterjack!

We had never tried Posterjack before, and after being introduced to them, we chose to get one of our favorite Cinderella Castle photos from Brett as a metal print. We initially wanted it to be an acrylic print, to give it a more glossy and vibrant look, but chose to get a bigger size in the metal print for 2 reasons: 1) it’s a little cheaper and 2) it offered a unique look that we thought would be great in her room.

I will admit, we had an issue with our initial print. Mr. Photographer noticed something that needed correcting, so I contacted the company and they rushed a brand new print out to us. I was pleased with how they handled it.

Once we got the 2nd print, we were very pleased with how it came out and how it looks in her room.

Printing on metal has several benefits:

- The colors are extraordinarily vibrant and the depth of the coating gives photos a luminous quality that no paper print can achieve.

- Less costly than having to buy a frame and matting. Also, no glare from being covered in glass.

- Provides a modern look and several hanging options.

- Lightweight, but rigid.

We chose one of their hanging kits to come with the print (stand-off kit). It looks ultra flat and almost like it is floating off the wall.

Depending on how you look at the photo, the image seems to have a 3D effect, with various things in the picture “popping” out at you.

We really like how the deep purples and blues are displayed…perfect for her purple and gray room! A large print like this is a great focal point for any room!

All prints are available in a variety of sizes, from 8×12 to 36×48 to panorama to fit your decor style.

Ordering from Posterjack is easy! Simply go to Posterjack.co, upload a photo, choose your print and size, then sit back as it gets delivered straight to your door!

If you can’t find a photo, you can visit Posterjack’s art shop and choose from 1 million photos to create a piece that’s perfect for your home.

Which ever you choose, the end result will always be the same: a stunning piece of photo art that’s unique to your home.

 

To learn more and buy, visit the Posterjack website.

Get social with Posterjack:

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I received a credit to go towards this purchase, but I paid a portion of the total. All opinions are my own and honest. Thanks for reading!

 

 

Newborn photo sessions can be tough. You want the baby to be asleep because that’s when you can pose them however you want and they won’t be crying/eating/pooping. The benefit to having a live-in photographer is that of instead of trying to get all the photos in one session, we can just try to get one or two photos during random naps over the course of a few days.

Of course, us being the Disney fans we are, we had to get a photo of her in a Minnie Outfit! (Crocheted Minnie Mouse outfit from Etsy)

The little mouse tail kills me!

And don’t even get me started on those booties….adorable!

We also couldn’t resist a newborn princess crown (newborn princess crown on Amazon!)

I love the contrast of the bright yellow on the gray in these next photos. We also gave up on keeping her asleep for these photos, since she was wrapped up and couldn’t move around anyway!

We also started her weekly progress photos. (Baby Age Blocks from Pretty in Polka Dots)

We also got monthly progress stickers just like we did for Trent! (Disney Princess Monthly Progress Stickers from Etsy)

We originally thought her hair was brown (we even asked her doctor and my boss what they thought because we were unsure!) but these photos and how it’s looked in recent days make us think she will have blonde hair! Wouldn’t it be funny if it turned red like Trent’s hair?!

I started a “See Aubrey Grow Page” to keep all of her milestone posts on one page, just like we have for our “See Trent Grow” page.

Stay tuned for posts/photos of her birth story and nursery…coming soon!

 

I’ve been waiting to finish a craft for the nursery in order to make our little girl’s name announcement. Our nursery is finished for the most part, but we are waiting for the baby shower for the last few things to put in there and then we will share some photos, of course! But, I did finish her name over the crib, and since I’m about 36 weeks along, it’s about time I share her name with you…

And along with that fun announcement, I also want to share our maternity photos we took while in Disney in May (Trip report will be starting next week!!). We kind of almost forgot about doing them, but were lucky enough to snag an early reservation at Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom in order for us to enter the park early and get some empty park photos in front of the castle.

This session was much different than the ones we took when I was pregnant with Trent. This time, we had a crazy toddler running around and it was super humid already….at 8am!! We quickly took what we could and then ran for the wonderful air-conditioning in the Crystal Palace. I am glad we got some photos, since I’ve been really bad about taking progress photos this time around!

Brett wasn’t really expecting to get into any of the photos, but a security guard cast member kept insisting she take a photo of all of us. At first, we thought she was just being nice like most cast members, but then we had wondered if she was trying to determine whether Brett was actually part of the family, or if I was paying him to take my professional photos…which isn’t technically allowed. So…here is our one family maternity photo with a bunch of people in the background and Brett wearing a backwards baseball hat. Oh, and Trent looking the other way. I guess I’ll take what I can get.

This next photo wasn’t meant to be artistic or anything, we just said to hell with it and let Trent run while we took some more photos. Notice that he’s looking at us…he wants us to chase him. I think it captures the moment perfectly, crazy toddler running around and mommy ignoring him because she’s tired of running after him.

You can see our last set of Disney maternity photos (and others) in this post, and the trip report from that trip in this post.

You might also like: Tips for Going to Disney World While Pregnant

Just 4 weeks left!

 

With the availability of inexpensive, quality cameras on the market, more and more people have taken on the role as self-appointed family photographer. Of course, as a wife to a photographer that loses money when you take your own photos, my wallet would tell you not to do that.

But I just can’t deny the importance of taking as many photos of your kids and your life as possible. I am so extremely grateful that we have so many photos to look back on.

However, with that being said, there are times when taking your own photos may not work best to your advantage. One of those is family photos, where unless you have a remote, you will be missing from most of the photos. Along the same line is another scenario when you should put down the camera and let someone else do the work…like your child’s birthday party or special event.

 

Here are some pros and cons to hiring a photographer for your child’s party or event:

Pros

-You don’t have to view the event through the camera lens and you get to experience it uninterrupted - Sometimes I take a second to think about how I might look back on times when I watched something through a video recorder instead of actually watching it. I actually think about this a lot for Brett, since he ALWAYS has a camera. Will we regret it? Should we just put the cameras down? Luckily, I get more freedom than he does (the one day he purposefully didn’t bring his camera to a Disney park, he regretted it within 5 minutes of arriving and vowed never to do that again). There’s something nice about being completely in the moment and seeing it with your eyes, as opposed to worrying about how it looks through the lens.

-You can concentrate on your child, the party and the guests - You’re not going around getting photos of everyone or telling the kids to do something again because you missed it. Enjoy the day and let the photographer capture the memories.

-You can look at the photos and see things you may have missed - You can’t be everywhere at all times, so unless the party is in one single room and no one moves, the photographer can venture around to take photos of various things that you can enjoy later, as opposed to you just taking photos of what’s happening where you’re at that very moment.

-They can get great photos of all the details you worked so hard on.

-You may even try to let the photographer coordinate the party by telling people when and where to do things, since they will know how long it takes to do things and where the light is best, etc. - Photographers tend to be the unofficial event coordinators, especially at weddings, because they’ve done enough to know what works best and how to keep the party going. Not that I’m saying to set out to do this, but you can be sure a GOOD photographer will keep things moving so they can get all the events before the end of the party.

-You can be in the photos too!

 

Cons

-There may be a stranger at your party, unless you hire someone you know - This may make some parents or party-goers feel weird. Many photographers are very personable and interactive with guests, so if you have a good photographer in this sense, then I see no problem.

-Making sure they get the photos you want - this can be solved by talking with the photographer before the party about your wants, and the schedule of events.

-Cost - Of course it will cost money to have the photographer there, but you have to decide whether it’s worth it for the pros mentioned above. Perhaps you can even work out a deal for them to distribute their business cards or sell prints to the parents of the children at the party…the photographer can set up a website page with all the photos from the party for parents to order from!

Brett has done several birthday parties, ranging from a 1 year old to an 8 year old, and even graduation parties. The parents got all of their edited photos to share however they wanted, and they didn’t have to edit anything themselves. Another good thing about what he offered was that all the photos were available on his website for other family members, friends and party-goers to see and purchase photos. Parents of other kids really liked this, as they can get professional photos of their kids without paying for a photographer!

I don’t think this idea is wildly popular yet, perhaps because it may have been viewed as an unnecessary extravagance back in the day, but with the popularity of unique (sometimes over the top!) parties that people want to share on Pinterest, I think it will definitely become more popular.