new appreciation for newborn photogs

I have a good deal of photography friends and that many more acquaintances! I even know my fair share about the industry and had been told before that newborn photography was difficult! In no way did I not believe this notion I just really had no idea how difficult!

I used the same amazing photog {sweet memory gardens} for this shoot as my maternity shoot. I have so much fun with angie and can really relate to her on a personal level and I adore her newborn and baby work, it really is her niche. But i pushed her and therefor my own experience out of the box. At angie's studio the conditions are prime for newborn shoots, its warm and all the props are there and angie has this experience down to a science. I really wanted shots here at my home though and thought that it would still be ideal and all because it was home right? Not so much! Here are the shots I just couldn't live without ...




I really wanted to snug the little bug into one of our bookcase cubbies. I love to read and I just have been thinking about this shot for months now. We waited a bit until he was a few weeks old because of the whole oxygen/monitor thing and even here he is still on the stuff we just had to sneak him on and off to get shots without it. He barely fit in the cubbie, they just grow so darn fast! Just in the nick of time.



angie was so darn sweet that she made a itty bitty wrestling singlet for us knowing that nate was really into wrestling and we got these shots just for him. She simply is the very best!




I personally love these two and this one as well ...


It had been a very difficult and challenging day for me personally and i was frankly nothing shy of a big mess so our original plan to have a whole family session was shot done by my down trodden looks and nates lack of good scheduling. It worked out to get a shot of all the kiddos though, an especially charming one!



angie was with us for 5 or 6 hours and was so patient as we juggled a fussy ornery baby, nursing, 3 other kids, changing bums, oxygen, and monitors. I wanted to cry eventually! I had no idea that getting just a few shots would be so traumatic and difficult and take so much time!!! I marveled however at angies patience and her ability to calm a baby that wasnt even hers, she has a serious magic touch and really knows what to do positionally and how to make it all doable and comfortable. Newborn photogs really work for the money! holy moly!




because we are friends angie also let me know that this was especially difficult and though most newborn shoots are a challenge that she found nox to be a bit more fussy then the fussiest of kids she has shot. kind of made me feel bad, and good at the same time! it wasnt just me after all thinking he was so challenging. i love that she can be honest with me too!



We also got this shot below our Anthony Robles quote on our wall. It was important to me for emotional reasons. I have blogged about this quote before but really it meant a great deal to me during the pregnancy. deciding to endeavor on this journey to bring nox here was a difficult decision and then a blessed surprise. But it was really hard and anthony's words reminded me a great deal of the pleas to my Father in heaven that i uttered so frequently. "make it hard, just make it possible ...."

and last but not least a little gem to send you off for the holidays! a photoshoped work of genius.


Nox is healthy and doing quiet well considering the rough start we got. I really feel like he is settling into our little fam delightfully. He is now just over 2 months and is weighing in over 10lbs and 21 inch long. He is eating well and breathing well too! what a relief. We still have to be so cautious with him in the coming months but we are so grateful for all the love, support, prayers, amazing pediatrician and the blessings that have come.

and to you my friend angie ... you are so truly sweet and charitable. I simply adore you and can think of no other friend in your industry i would have rather have gone through that day with!

Photography credit: sweet memory garden

House arrest

This post is long overdo, i fully intended to write about these things before now, our lives are so full of things to write about and share, i cannot keep up! so here it goes ... though its a little dated!





As you might assume from the previous post coming home with accessories initially did not feel overwhelming, and let me just say up front even though it became overwhelming i of course would still have rather of come home, i would take any sweet child of mine at home over the hospital any day regardless of the situation.

It took some serious adjustment to deal with all the tanks, tubing, and monitors. Not anything like having a healthy newborn at home. We have experienced a good deal of fun accessories of this type at home but believe it or not, not this particular kind! I soon realized that the baby was not at all mobile. I couldn't carry him from room to room to get anything done or check on other children. In fact moving him was quiet the endeavor. The face stickers were torment and the tubing up his nose was too. constant pulling and replacing of numerous facets of equipment accompanied by even more constant beeping. I think we might also be completely incompatible with monitor sensors, we seemed to burn through those at a rate that was alarming to our home health care company!

it didnt take long for me to come down off my high of being home and crash into the new arrest that i had found myself in. In the mornings it was so difficult to get baby and car seat and all his equipment out the door along with 3 other kids, all their homework and school needs, a wheelchair and crutches and myself ... just for 5 min to take them to school. fun times. repeat again at the end of the day! if i ever was any kind of a recluse it did not compare to what i became over the month of O2 at home!

We spent a lot of apts at dr laurets office as he patiently worked through some serious reflux issues, weight gain and growth issues, and the obvious respiratory issues. days still felt long like they do in the hospital, i wondered {even though i knew better} if we would get to a "normal" place in time. I even felt guilty about my anxiousness and impatience, i know many families go through much more then we do and deal with these very same things much longer then we do! heck in some respects i had been through much more then this, i dare say i was struggling for my usual strength and patience.



our time did come to an end and though he seemed to be starting at a snail pace he sped up and we got on our way. He came off O2 and monitors the second week of October, freeing us all! It felt {feels} so good! we still have respiratory concerns, especially as we head into RSV and cold weather season and he still is very much in a cautionary state but all seems to be headed in the right direction.

Whats to come ... well the most darling ever newborn pics from the craziest newborn shoot ever & 2 month old stats!

On a side note: our sweet saylor has also been dealing with some serious health challenges as of late. Our period of rest and stabilization with her has ended. She gets admitted to PCMC tomorrow and will have surgery on tue the 22nd. should be a fun thanksgiving in the hospital. a first for our little family. I can think of no better way to spend at least one gratitude day in my life, i have so much to be thankful for! i will update fb with her condition and eventually the blog.

much love.