I’m as guilty as anyone else of hopping onto Amazon for an hour or two on Black Friday, but I still prefer the feeling of gratitude and contentment that was with me all day on Thanksgiving Day. I loved the food we ate and I loved taking a day off from work, but the best part is spending every waking hour with my family reflecting on what’s really important to me in my life and telling myself - and others - how thankful I am.
In our family we try our best to eat a healthy breakfast - the first thing you put into your body each day ought to be something you can be proud of. Starting this month (It’s getting cold in Florida) I’ve added a warm and cozy morning Goji Berry tea to hydrate myself before breakfast. This is especially important because hungry Lisa did her best to dehydrate me all night!
The first set of the Aden & Anais muslin swaddle blanket was received as a gift along with several pairs of regular newborn receiving blankets. Luckily I had no idea what would work so I packed both sets for my after the labor hospital stay. turns out from day 1 my little one (at 8 lbs birth weight) was too big for the standard receiving blankets and the muslin swaddle blankets were a lifesaver, they’re like 4 times bigger than the industry standard swaddle blankets, so you don’t have to have good swaddling technique because you can just roll baby up in enough revolutions that it does the trick. During the 1st day of my post labor hospital stay we had figured out how useless are receiving blankets (at least for our baby) and how awesome are these Aden & Anais muslin blankets, we even asked Jake’s parents to pick up an emergency set so we can have it ready by the time we get discharged.
Our little one is one-month-old! Jake helped me to remember this special day by shooting a mother baby photography session! I loved all the beautiful natural photos that came out. Lisa has been such a lovely little girl we are very lucky to have her in our lives. Last night, she even switched over to crib sleeping without much fuss, but we are still keeping her in our room because she is too little to be on her own.
While I was pregnant I told Jake that I’d be happy if I got two months “maternity leave” from our business to take care of Lisa and do some bonding. So Jake made sure he could handle the workload by taking on fewer photo shoots and sharpening his photoshop skills. I was never worried that he would pressure me into returning to work, but it turns out he wasn’t the one I should have been worried about. When you’re self-employed you are your own boss, and it turns out I’m a real slave driver. Even though my time with Lisa is precious I couldn’t help but worry about our business, our family income, and the huge gap between posts on the blog. It’s only been three weeks and I’ve already been sneaking to the computer to work when Jake isn’t looking 🙁
Elizabeth Summer Littlefield was born on September 1st, 2015! She was a beautiful healthy 8lbs and 9oz at birth, and we can’t wait to watch her grow up. Expect to see a lot of photos on the blog (especially since her parents happen to professional photographers).
We hope that we have what it takes to raise her to be strong, healthy, clever and kind. If anyone has any words of wisdom for little Lisa, let us know.
Well, today is my expected due date, and as of eight in the morning… no baby yet. Not that I’m getting impatient 🙂
I took the last few days off from blogging as I made final preparations and edited the last photos on my list for the studio. Later this morning I have an appointment with my OB, and I’m going to have an ultrasound and some time with the heart rate monitor just to make sure my amniotic fluid levels are ok and the baby isn’t in distress. I got nervous when they told me that this is the stage of the pregnancy when they consider recommending that I induce labor. I know it’s a safe procedure, but I still hope that Lisa decides to come out before it comes to that.
I’ve got very little to complain about though. Throughout my pregnancy, I’ve had good checkups and mild symptoms. Even though I’m getting uncomfortable now, all I really want is for her to come out healthy, whenever it happens (soon would be nice though). I’ll keep you updated. I’ve done everything I can think of to get ready for the baby to arrive. The nursery is ready. We have all the clothing and diapers we’ll need for the first few weeks. Jake and I have taken our classes and read our books, and the family is on standby. If you don’t hear from me in a few days, there’s a good chance I’ll have a little girl the next time you do. Thanks to everyone I know for all the good wishes and support I’ve received.
Dannie
We were relieved recently when the weeks of rain finally let up and gave us a good opportunity to get outside and take some maternity photos. You might have noticed some photos in previous posts that might have qualified as maternity, but I really wanted some with Jake by my side. I was 38 weeks pregnant and determined to get a last photo of just Jake and me.
It’s exciting to get your portraits taken by a professional photographer. Hiring a professional makes a big difference in the quality of your photos, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do anything else to help make your shoot great. Here are 10 Photography tips to help you get the most out of your photo session.
1. Make Some Plans
Jake didn’t want to miss a chance at capturing my Maternity Photography, but as a nervous first time mom I didn’t want to “show-off” my baby bump too soon, so we waited til towards the ends of my 1st trimester to start capturing those special moments. Here are some photos of me at different stages … I know my belly looked huge, but I carried it with pride!
1st trimester: I photographed two full 10 hour weddings during my first trimester, oh can’t say I wasn’t a bit worried.
