Delaney Grace has arrived...

I am happy to announce that our beautiful daughter, Delaney Grace, was born on January 25th. I know I'm a bit behind (only 8 weeks) in sharing this on my blog but let's just say I've been a bit busy. We have now settled into a routine and I'm recommitting myself to blogging now that life is getting back to some level of normalness. They say if you write down your goals you are more likely to meet them so here it is - I am going to write weekly/monthly updates and will play catch up over the next few weeks. They really do grow up fast and I have a lot to share with you.

Without further ado, here is her birth story!

Delaney's due date was February 20th so it was a bit of surprise that she arrived 4 weeks early. Well it was a surprise and then it wasn't. I spent my 35th birthday in December at 32 weeks in the hospital with pre-term labor. Very scary especially since my hubby was 6 hours north ice-fishing when my doctor sent me to labor and delivery at the hospital. We were able to keep her from coming into the world at 32 weeks and then was put on bedrest. We put little goals in place and met all of them from a timing standpoint. Just hold off baby girl until after the baby shower, hold off until after our breastfeeding class, hold off until after our childbirth class, hold off until 36 week, and then she arrived. I had a lot of braxton hicks contractions during this 4 week period of time and went to the hospital one other time because of intense contractions that lasted longer than 24 hours - we were sent home luckily. During this time I worked from home in my comfy bed with Tanner and Stella never leaving my side! It's like they knew and wanted to be there to protect me and the baby until her arrival. I went into work only 3 times during this period of time and 1 time was to find out I still had a job after announcing we were laying off 700 employees the very next day - talk about stress. It's no wonder she arrived early because I sure needed a break.

On January 24th I went into work all day and felt great. I worked late and got home around 8:00 and didn't feel like eating dinner so I didn't. I got into my pj's and read my childbirth book by Ina May Gaskin until about 11:00 and went to bed. At 12:00 midnight on the dot my water broke and I jumped up in bed very surprised that this was really happening. I woke up Dave and said "my water just broke" and he thought he was dreaming. Both of us jumped out of bed and began running around the house like 2 very excited but confused parents to be. We were giddy with excitement and tried to remember what they told us to do at our childbirth class when my water broke. I had been to my OB earlier that day and everything seemed fine, how quickly things change especially since he told me that day he was going on vacation the following week. What?!?!?! You can't leave town! I called the doctor, we frantically packed our bags, I ate some yogurt, and we headed out the door. Tanner and Stella were both very confused because we were leaving them in the middle of the night. I felt terrible abandoning them or at least that's how it felt at the time. I knew their world was going to change a lot very very soon.

We arrived at the hospital and I was still feeling great with no contractions yet. They brought us to our room and the preparation began after confirming that my water broke - there was no doubt in my mind because it was a lot of water! Then they wanted to put in an iv for when I would get the epidural I was most likely going to have and to have it there in case of any problems - the only problem was that I have the worst veins ever and they kept blowing. It took 1 1/2 hours to get the iv in along with 4 people attempting to get it in, and 7 sticks!!! Yup......7, SEVEN!!!! They had to bring in the big guns and have the rapid response team put in the iv. That was not fun but I was a trooper and knew the nurses felt terrible. Once that was over I got to relax a bit and chatted with David about the journey we were about to go through together that day. They checked my cervix when I got there and I was already between 2-3. I was thinking wow, no contractions yet and I'm already progressing nicely. I was feeling confident and very excited.

Around 3:00 a.m. my contractions began and were coming very regularly. We kept debating about when we should call my parents and our doula. My parents live 2 hours away and the plan was they would come in and watch the dogs for us. Around 5:00 a.m. the doctor came to check on me and my cervix was between 3-4 cm...progressing nicely. We then called my parents and our doula because the contractions had really picked up. Once our doula got there we began walking the halls and they encouraged me to walk for about 45 minutes or so. I barely lasted 20 minutes and had to get back to the room because I was beginning to struggle with the contractions and got very dizzy like I was going to pass out. I then tried relaxing on the exercise ball and absolutely hated it. I spent the next 30 minutes leaning over my bed in a lot of pain. The next couple of hours got increasingly difficult and I was grateful that I learned Lamaze breathing because it was the only thing that got me through.

The doctor checked me again at 9:00 and I was disappointed to hear that I was only 4 cm. This is the point I really started to doubt how long I could do this and whether or not I was going to maintain my positive outlook. Ask my hubby how I was during this time......he couldn't stop talking because he had a ton of nervous energy which wasn't a good mix with me - I wanted needed silence! The next hour was no fun and at 10:00 I caved and asked for an epidural while at only 4 cm, I felt defeated. They began my iv of fluids for hydration and called the anesthesiologist right away. It wasn't quick enough for me. I began losing my patience and keep asking the nurses how much longer. Finally around 10:30 the doctor arrived and my husband and doula had to leave the room. I was very nervous about the epidural and whether or not I could stay still while dealing with contractions and a HUGE needle in my back. I had the BEST nurse and she helped me through it but then it got ugly. I felt like I was losing control in the middle of the procedure and threw up all over the nurse. Talk about embarrassing but it came out of no where. I then heard the doctor say to the nurse - I think she's going through transition. Transition??? I learned about that in our childbirth class and couldn't believe it. After the procedure I was checked again and was a 9!!!! Yup, I went from a 4 to a 9 during the last hour and hit transition during the epidural. Not fun but I wish you could have seen the surprised look on my hubby's face when I told him I was a 9 and we would be pushing soon. I then rested and got a wonderful massage for the next hour and at 12:10 I started pushing. Being the competitive person I am, I actually enjoyed pushing and kept trying to better and better each time. My doula kept calling me Wonder Woman because of how I handled the delivery. At 2:08 pm, Delaney Grace was born and I instantly became so overwhelmed and knew I would love that girl to pieces forever!!!! She was born transverse but I was so motivated to meet her that it didn't stop me.

We elected to delay cord clamping and not have it cut right away so that she would get all of the blood from the placenta and during that time I got to start bonding with her right away as she laid on my chest. I was so overwhelmed with utter joy that I was balling.....yup tears of joy that made me look oh so pretty in those pictures. She was beautiful, healthy and my dream of becoming a mom had finally come true. It was the best moment of my life.

We were educated about "late pre-term babies" prior to delivery and thought to ourselves that as long as her lungs were mature she would be fine. We thought we were in the clear because the next 2 days in the hospital were wonderful and despite getting no sleep for 2 nights, we were in heaven. We were sent home 2 days later and unfortunately we were back in the hospital within 12 hours. Yup, my worst nightmare was beginning and I couldn't believe my baby girl was struggling with low body temperature, jaundice, and poor feedings. I have a lot to share about the next 12 days of Delaney's life but I'll save that for another blog post.

In the meantime here's a few pictures from the happiest day of our lives.

Delaney right after her arrival.

Weighed 6 lb 4 oz and 19 inches long - our little peanut

Bonding with her Mama after celebrating her birthday!

The best doctor and nurse I could have asked for.

Dr. Dan and Kris were phenomenal.

My doula Jen saw me during the toughest of times but helped David and I through it all.

I think her and nurse Kris became fast friends during it all.

After getting her bath, she was ready for her first nap. It's been an exhausting day for all.

So there you have it, the best day of our lives and my babies birthday.

Spending 2 days with my Photography Idol

This past May I was lucky enough to attend Me Ra Koh's confidence workshop in Chicago and it changed me in many ways. I got to spend 2 days up close and personal with one of my photography idols. The workshop is limited to 25 participants which makes the learning experience very personal and intimate. Me Ra isn't shy about sharing her secrets to success and how she got to be where she is today. I have been shooting in manual with confidence ever since the workshop, it seems I've forgotten even how to use aperture priority these days. In addition to being able to shoot manually now, I learned how to shoot in tough lighting situations and believe me - we were shooting in the worst light possible on day 2 thanks to a rainstorm that came through.

Me Ra blogged about the workshop a couple months later and I was ecstatic to see my work featured on her blog not once but twice. You can read all about our day 1 experience here and below are the 2 photos she shared that I took on day 1. I love all of the details and tend to really hone in these adorable little features.

Here's a photo of us hard at work trying to capture the beauty of this ADORABLE little girl. She was a big hit that day and everyone wanted to photograph her personality and beauty. I'm sitting on the windowsill on the left just waiting for the perfect shot and she didn't disappoint!



The first day we shot babies under 1 year of age and then day was family shots. Oh boy, we had the worst lighting ever because right when it was time to shoot it started storming and raining like you wouldn't believe. So stuck inside of hotel we were and needed to find a way to still get some amazing shots for these families. It's a whole lot more challenging to get 4 people looking great in a shot than just 1 or 2.....maybe that's why I prefer shooting little one's and just waiting for that magical moment.

Me Ra blogged about day 2 as well and shared a couple more of my shots from this very challenging afternoon. Read more about it here. I love how comfortable mom looks in this first photo and you can really sense her love for her little one. I then got a good shot with dad as well while they were laughing and having a good old time.

Me Ra and her husband Brian took these photos below as we enjoyed the afternoon challenge. I am in the first photo below where the dark shirt and was ecstatic to put my flash to use that day. I learned during the workshop how to use it and make it look like natural light - it was a god sent that day for me and I am no longer afraid to use flash when necessary.

So there you have it - my 2 days with Me Ra that I will treasure forever. This year I am hoping that Me Ra will come back to Chicago once again so that I can bring our Baby Girl to the workshop as a model. It would be great to see her again and have 25 talented women taking shots of our precious girl, what more could a girl ask for.

Maternity Pictures at 34 weeks

This pregnancy hasn't been how I would have expected and one positive is that I really haven't gained any weight until recently - thanks to 1st and 3rd trimester morning sickness. Being 5' 10" means Baby Girl has lots of room in the torso to grow and unfortunately I don't have that cute little basketball belly that I wanted.

My super talented friend Brooke has been wanting to take some maternity pictures for months but the belly just wasn't big enough. Well at 32 weeks I ended up in the hospital with pre-term labor, on my 35th birthday of all days, and was sad to think that I didn't have a single picture of me pregnant. Knowing this may be our one and only, I knew that I wanted some pictures to remember this extraordinary time even if I wasn't the most beautiful pregnant woman around.

Finally I got out of the hospital and my bed rest was lifted so at 34 weeks we finally got together for a maternity photography session. Here's a few to show off the baby bump that is contracting as we speak.....I think she's coming sooner than her February 20th due date!

Brooke has an awesome blog called My Boysterous Life and also has a photography blog - check out my talented friend, you won't regret it!

Lots and Lots of Change

I have been "MIA" from my blog for the last few months and that's because there has been a lot of change in our house. Mostly good change but it's definately thrown me out of my routine and I haven't been spending as much time as I usually do enjoying my hobbies such as blogging, reading, photography, and scrapbooking. In fact for about 2 months I didn't do these at all. Why you ask? Well I'm happy to say that we are expecting our first child in February!!! I will be at the 35 week mark on Monday.

Now that I'm past those lovely 2 months of constant nausea and vomitting, I decided it's time to get back to what I love and start documenting and enjoying this journey - I know I won't have much time after the baby arrives but let's do it while I can! (Note: I wrote this months and months ago but couldn't hit the publish button....sad I know).

So here's the short version of the story. We began seeing an infertility specialist earlier this year and on June 17th after flying the red eye home from a business trip in Las Vegas, I went to the specialist to find out why we haven't been successful getting pregnant on our own. My husband couldn't join me because he was in St. Louis for the weekend watching the Cardinals play with a friend of his. The doctor explained the medical reason behind why we were having trouble conceiving and we came up with a plan to address the issue. I commented to him that I expected my period that week and it said that travel, jet lag, etc could be the reason. I decided that night to take a test just to put my mind at rest and what a surprise it was when I saw the test read "POSITIVE". I completely flipped out and ran around the house in utter shock yelling and scared the dogs a bit unfortunately.

I then decided that I couldn't tell this to David over the phone so I spent the next day planning a big surprise for him since I would tell him on Sunday which was also Father's Day. I spent the day buying baby items with a fatherly twist and finally fell asleep Saturday night. I got a call at 3 am from the friend that my husband was away with to find out that the taxi they were in to take them back to their hotel was in an accident and David was taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital. He said he would be fine but was complaining of neck pains but it didn't make it any easier. I wanted to scream on the phone "he needs to be ok, he doesn't know yet he's going to be a father" but I didn't. A few hours later I got to talk with him and felt much better. He was a little banged up and had a sore neck that would keep him in a brace and physical therapy for a few weeks.

Finally when he got home on Sunday, the dogs greeted David at the door with bibs around their necks that said "daddy's princess" and "daddy's rock star". I then gave him a gift bag with a card for him
to open. He was clearly in a lot of pain and wasn't very coherant when he opened the card that was signed from "Tanner, Stella, and Baby A" and didn't even flinch. I asked him if he read the card and he said yes but clearly he hadn't so asked him  again. He read it again and looked at me and said "are you pregnant" and I of course had tears streaming down my face and said yes. He looked very confused which I'd understood because I told him on the phone on Friday what the doctor had said.It finally hit him and he was very happy.

It was until the next day until it fully hit him thanks to prescription paid meds but when it did it brought tears to my eyes. Here is where the fun really begins.....

12 week ultrasound

It's a Girl!!!!!!!

(picture taken at 34 weeks)

Written August 2011, Posted Janaury 2012

Sunsets and Fireworks

I know I have been MIA but I have a really good reason, honestly I do. I'll share more with you later once I start feeling a bit better. Major milestone today though, I downloaded pictures from my camera that go all the way back to th 4th of July. I even did a bit of editting, major accomplishment for me! I know you may be sick of fireworks but I think you'll like these. ENJOY!

Sunday Scavenger Hunt [06-19-2011]

It's Sunday and that means it's time to share your shots from this week's Scavenger Hunt.

Let's hop right to it. Enjoy.

Emotion

From a Flower's Point of View

Natural Form

Letters

Bliss

I hope you enjoyed the hunt. Let's see what Ashley comes up with for next week!

My Macro Photography Excursion

On Saturday I went to a state park along Lake Michigan for a macro photography excursion with my local camera club. My favorite macro instructor Lou was there to guide us and I was eager to soak up even more of his macro wisdom. It was unseasonably cool on Saturday morning and it was overcast which actually made for the perfect conditions to shoot macro in. The dew stayed on the plants the entire time we were there which made for some great shooting. As you can probably tell, I was stoked about shooting macro but then the evil camera shake thanks to my hunk of junk tripod ruined my day. I took about 250 pictures and only a handful are something I would share with you. While showing my husband my downloads, he said "did you get any that turned out?!" - thanks honey, that's going to cost you a new tripod and ballhead! Seriously, if you don't have a good tripod you are fighting a losing battle and let's just say that I lost. The shoot wasn't a complete loss, I learned a lot and got a few good shots. Here's a few that I haven't already shared with you. Be gentle with me, remember I went to battle with my tripod....

The photo above is out of focus (thanks camera shake) but I like the composition so I decided to share it anyways.  

 In addition to the beautiful wildflowers, we had two deer that decided to pay us visit.

This one I honestly heard growl at me...yes a deer, I honestly heard a growl.

I also couldn't resist the opportunity to take a photo of the group while they were working their magic.

There is a whole lot of kneeling going on and next time someone says "bring knee pads", I'm going to listen to them and throw fashion out the window for the time being. I thought I wasn't ever going to feel my poor knee caps again. I am heading to the Home Depot this weekend to get a pair and while my hubby is away for the weekend, I'm going to order that new tripod and ballhead. He'll never say "did you get any good shots" again...LOL

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-12-2011]

Life has been very busy but I've managed to spend some time with my best buddy - my camera! While I didn't hit these prompts "out of the ballpark", I did take them all this week - baby steps....

I did on the other hand go to the Cardinals vs. Brewers baseball game in Milwaukee and unfortunately the wrong team won! Boo who.....my hubby is still pouting, he really is. I enjoyed snapping pictures.

Without further ado, let's start the hunt.

Long Exposure

I went on a macro photo excursion at a state Beach Park this morning and afterwards decided to get creative with exposure at the beach. Yes, it's overexposed but I love the look.

Shapes

I had a million ideas for shapes but decided I liked the squares and triangles that you see here from the dome roof at Brewer Stadium.  

Green

Gosh, I couldn't pick just one since I took about 300 green pictures this weekend.

I demonstrated constraint and am showing you only 2.



Fruit

This is a bit of a stretch but I think these wildflowers are "fruit" to all of the animals.

I know LAME, but give me a pass on this one. [thanks]

I did however have 2 deer run right in front me while on the trails. One started snorting at me, really it honestly sounded like snort. I just snapped away and they eventually started eating and ignored me.

Childhood Memory

We didn't travel a lot as kids but I do have fond memories of going to Brewer and Cubs games as a kid. Too bad I couldn't dare cheer for either team anymore given I married a die-hard Cardinals fan.

This picture is our friend's son, Ryan, he takes his baseball and the national anthem very seriously.

Despite the loss, it was a great game, and a fun evening at the stadium. No cotton candy but it brings back fond memories indeed.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday [06-05-2011]

I've been a bit of a scavenger hunt slacker but trust me, I've been taking lots of pictures!!! I am still recovering from my Me Ra Koh photography workshop and editing the beautiful pictures that I was forced able to take in the worst lighting conditions possible. Despite my lack of time this week I was determined to participate....with the help of my pictures taken in the last month! Cheating maybe, but this is all about enhancing our photography skills and pulling our cameras which I've done. So here we go on another hunt.

Hot, Hot, Hot

my futures so bright that I gotta wear shades.

Finding Form

even in places you are not "technically" allowed to shoot.

Front Page of the News

or a Magazine Cover. This is a headshot I took of my friend Erica from my workshop. She was beautiful to photograph which made it so very easy. I even learned how to use my external flash which I used here. I'm in LOVE with my flash now. Wanna know the secret, send me a comment and I'll share. It works every time!

Chore

My dad is retired but always seems to be working or doing chores for others. Here he is filling up the backhoe so that he could help to dig out the foundation for my brothers new garage.

Beads

or sprinkles, they are oh so beautiful and delicious. This was my first cake pops attempt and I was surprised by how delicious they were. However they are a labor of love!