October 2017

Another month has come and gone. I'm not even really sure what we did this month besides buy an excessive number of Halloween costumes, eat way too much candy and not get enough sleep. 

Yes, each boy had two costumes. We weren't going to let Landon be a Stormtrooper, so he picked Mickey. In a moment of weakness, Trip took Landon back to Target to grab a (way too big) Stormtrooper costume. He was Mickey and the Roadster Racer for our neighborhood Fall Fest and a Stormtrooper on Halloween night. 

Rhett is in a weird phase for costumes. He's still pretty little so he needed an infant size costume. However, most infant costumes are the sleep sacks - and he's too old for that. Landon and I picked out a Narwhal costume which was really cute... however with that tail, there was no way to transport him while trick-or-treating. So, I sewed some ears on a hat and he was the mouse from If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. 

Charleston Babymoon | Charleston Maternity Photographer

This mom-to-be emailed me months ago to book a session during their babymoon to Charleston. I cannot wait to share more from this sweet session and show you why they were beyond excited to be doing a maternity session! 

Three month milestone session | West Ashley Baby Photographer

It feels like only yesterday I was in the hospital with him, but in reality it's been three whole months. He has brought so much joy to our family and his big personality is fitting in perfectly to our circus! Last month he found his tongue, but this month (really in the past few days) he's learned how to make spit bubbles. He's starting to work his hands and catch a hold of anything in their path. During this quick little session he actually laughed for the first time! 

Happy Birthday, Rhett | A Charleston Birth Story

At 5:30am on June 27, my alarm went off. It was baby day (at least I really hoped everything would happen in the same day). I showered, did my hair, got dressed and kissed Landon goodbye. The drive to the hospital felt so surreal. I had imagined frantically driving through the neighborhood racing to the hospital, but our morning was slow and relaxed. 

We arrived at the hospital where I was welcomed by my nurse.  As we got settled into our room, I mentioned I wanted a natural birth (after the pitocin) and was going to do Hypnobabies as my pain management. I was a little embarrassed to tell her I was doing it because it's sort of out there, but she was so excited. She said she was game for anything, but I couldn't push on the floor - she didn't want to have to catch a baby on the floor.  We instantly knew we were going to love her. I even asked her when the shift change was because I needed her to be my nurse the whole time. 

About 9:30am they started my pitocin and my doctor came in to break my water. I remember nervously saying, "Well, there's no turning back now!" I was worried that I was going to go into instant labor because after my water broke with Landon, I was pushing him out a few minutes later. When nothing happened, I was a little bummed but also relieved. 

Trip took pictures (per my request) and I watched Southern Charm on my phone. Towards the end of the episode, my nurse asked me what my pain level was. When I told her no pain, she said "I'm not doing my job then!" and turned the pitocin up. Every time I heard her turn up the pitocin, I got a little nervous. I finally started to feel something, but it wasn't much. The next time my nurse came in to check on us, I told her she could turn it up more and she said no. My contractions, while not painful, where happening every 3-4 minutes. I laughed and said, "Okay, but I can take it." Famous last words. 

At this point, we were a few hours in and Trip and I were bored. I asked to sit on the birthing ball (a yoga ball) to see if I could work Rhett down. My nurse bumped up my pitcoin a little more and it didn't take long before I needed to stop talking and breath through the contractions. 

Within a few more minutes I went from joking with Trip about our nurse's face if we set up a kiddie pool in the room to telling him "Goodbye, I'm checking out." I put in my headphones and started listening to the Hypnobabies track "Your birthing time begins." My doctor came in to check on me. I heard her telling Trip she would check me after her C-section was over. After about 45 minutes of my contractions getting more intense, and moving into my lower back, I got in bed for them to check me. I was at 5.5 cm. I don't remember being disappointed because I knew I went fast after 6cm with Landon, but I also remember thinking that I was only half way there. 

One thing that was sort of funny this time around was that I kept having to go to the bathroom. I would tell Trip that I needed to go, we would wait for the next contraction to pass and then he would unhook all of my cords as fast as he could so I could potty. I kept getting stuck in the bathroom with a contraction. Afterwards my nurse told me she told Trip I couldn't go in there anymore because she was worried Rhett was going to be born in the bathroom! 

I got back on the ball and rocked back and forth through some pretty intense contractions while Trip pushed on my lower back. He asked the nurse to check me again even though it had been less than 30 minutes since my last check.  I was already at an 8. They wouldn't let me out of the bed this time because my doctor was getting nervous about Rhett's heart rate. My blood pressure also started to rise so they had me constantly changing positions. This part was super annoying to me because I just wanted to be left alone and I really wanted to get out of that bed! 

I guess I should explain that with Hypnobabies, the point is to be super relaxed. I describe it as "checking out." It almost felt like I was in a light sleep or super groggy - I could hear everything going on, but I didn't want to respond. Most of what happened after 6cm I was told later because I was so focused on breathing and staying relaxed through the contractions that I didn't even realize what was happening in the room. The nurse mentioned to Trip that my doctor was getting nervous about the baby and since my groans had changed she wanted to check me again. I think my nurse was worried that my doctor was going to start pushing a C-section.  She checked me and said I was at a 9. My doctor came in and I remember her telling me I could start bearing down if I wanted to. I remember thinking "Good because I already am" and "How am I already pushing?" What seemed like a minute later, my legs were being put up and I was told to start pushing as I wanted. Eight minutes and three pushes later my doctor said, "Open your eyes, Ashleigh!" and my baby was being lifted to my chest. I just laid there and sobbed. The pregnancy with so many scares was finally over and he was here! 

The day before, my ultrasound tech estimated Rhett weighed about 5 pounds, 12 ounces. We were all shocked when that is what he weighed at birth. While doing his measurements, they determined he was "small for gestational age" which meant that we had to do blood sugar checks before every feed. Luckily, his levels stayed up and it ended up not being a big deal. He was a tiny, but healthy little guy. 

The next day Landon came to the hospital to meet his brother. As soon as he walked in the room, he asked where the baby was and said he wanted to give him a hug. Before Rhett was born, we talked about throwing him a birthday party. We even went to the store to pick out a present and Landon wrapped it all by himself.  I was so happy Landon remembered and was excited for it. You can see the present in his hand and my mom said he picked out all the balloons by himself (notice the one polka dot one). 

Landon was born in Washington so we didn't have family in town. It was a treat for the Grandparents to start heading our way the morning of my induction so they could meet Rhett the same day he was born. 

And the poor baby wasn't going to escape without some First 48 pictures. I am so thankful I was feeling great after delivery and was able to take these. 

First 48 Session Welcome Guide

Being invited into a hospital room to meet a baby that is just hours old is one of my greatest honors. My goal is to make this First 48 session effortless for you. Among the hustle and bustle of the hospital, I hope that this is a moment where we can slow time and document your family as you welcome your newborn.  Thank you for trusting me and allowing me to be a part of this sweet time.

Session length

The session will last about 45 minutes. Time can fluctuate based on hospital schedules.

Preparing for your session

You don’t need to lift a finger! When I arrive, I’ll take a second to tidy up and set up the room to capture the best photographs of your family.  If you’d like to incorporate family members or any family heirlooms into your session, please have them ready to go when I arrive.

What baby could wear

Again, my goal is to create authentic photographs. However, I do love babies that are naked (diaper only) or wearing a simple (white is my favorite) onesie. I love to use the hospital blanket and hat.

What to expect

My goal for First 48 sessions is to create authentic images. You do not need to wear anything special or have anything special planned for siblings. I will simply photograph moments as they are. I will provide some guided interactions, but I simply want you to focus on enjoying your baby. I truly believe it’s the images of pure, uninterrupted moments that you will treasure years from now. 

June 2017 - Part 2

I finally got around to editing Landon's birthday pictures. Landon - at the beach - by myself- while trying to take pictures of him proved to be very difficult. You can see we had an outfit change mid-session. As we were getting dressed in the car I told Landon how we weren't going to get wet until after mommy took pictures and he promised to stay dry. Well, that lasted all of 10 minutes, but it wouldn't be pictures of Landon if he wasn't in the ocean fully clothed! You'll also see that sand throwing was a thing. While I don't think this is some of my best work, I think it does capture his wild personality. 

Because waiting for your milk post-nap is just so difficult. Well, I guess when mom stops to take some pictures it is :) 

My time with this bump is coming to an end so I set up the tripod, got out the remote and took a few self-portraits. 

After taking a few bump pictures, Landon saw me working on a thank you gift for our nurses at the hospital (a bucket full of junk food). He found a "special treat" and asked if he could have it. It's amazing what this baby will do for a Nutty Bar... 

His big personality is so exhausting at times (mostly just because I'm 100 months pregnant and would rather just sleep all day), but, gosh, I love it.  I can't imagine life without my silly boy.

June 2017 - Part 1

June is the month that I need to go slow and go fast all at the same time. It's the last month before Rhett joins our family, but it's the last month before Rhett joins our family - know what I mean?! 

The month started off with some typical nesting... planting flowers and putting down new mulch. I'm pretty sure I also did major yard work when I was super pregnant with Landon. At least one boy had fun :) Landon is really into watering the yard and likes to announce that he's being a "biggggg helper!" 

Did you notice his shirt tucked into his undies? When I saw that I ran inside to grab my camera because it just doesn't get cuter than that! 

I finally finished the baby's nursery and I LOVE IT! I am thrilled with how it turned out even thought it took me 35 weeks and a few meltdowns to figure out. I purchased an entire airplane blueprint set that I obsessed over for weeks. When it finally arrived, I hated it and ended up switching back to 'ol faithful - nautical/sailboats. It's probably for the best anyway, the boys will probably share a room at some point (Landon's room is also nautical/whales). 

I also almost changed the baby's name, but "Rhett" survived (and so did his already monogramed homecoming outfit!)

Landon is still obsessed with airshows, airplanes (which he calls "the Air Force") and helicopters. 

We did even more testing on Rhett. This pregnancy has been much tougher than Landon's. This time around I had morning sickness and then got really sick with a fever, which apparently is bad while pregnant, the same week Trip was working nights. Thank the Lord my mom drove up to keep Landon. Then Rhett tested at increased risk for Trisomy 18, which was terrifying. That required additional blood work, an echo ultrasound to check his heart and now weekly non-stress tests. AND because Landon was thought to have IUGR, I've done two extra ultrasounds to check Rhett's size (those were just fine with me though!). Anyways, we will be happy when a healthy baby is placed on my chest and this will all be behind us. 

We also had maternity pictures taken by my friend and fellow photographer, Alisha at Hampton Park (downtown Charleston). It's one of my favorite spots.

Despite how cute Landon looked he was SO bad. Landon is always hyper- but this was next level. 

I have such a love-hate relationship with the lovely age of three. He is already asking a million questions and there are moments when I just want a few minutes of silence. But then he does sweet things like tuck Catboy and "Monkey George" in for his nap and my heart explodes and I want him to be three forever. 

Hopefully the last half of the month is just as fun. I could use some rest, but honestly, I'm enjoying how fast time is moving at the moment... until Rhett comes. Then it needs to go slow because babies just don't keep! 

What to do with your kids art work?

Years ago, before I was a mom, I was horrified when I watched a friend throw away some art project her son had made at school. I got the "mom look" and was told I would understand one day. 

Flash forward a few years later and now I get it. My son goes to school 2-3 days a week and there is so much art! I couldn't just throw this stuff away, but I quickly realized I needed another way to preserve his art or we'd be up to our ears in paint and paper. So, thanks to Pinterest, I came across some tips. I started a Chatbooks album just for Landon's artwork and I thought I would pass this amazing idea along to you. So, here you go... 

A tidy, 5 step solution to the piles of paper your kids bring home.

1. Make a stack of art and photograph it all at once. My pile lives in the dining room. It takes the pressure off of photographing the papers as they come home because you know you'll carve out 15-20 minutes once a month (or whatever frequency works for you). 

2. Photograph the art work. I am doing mine with my iPhone because this is my 3 year old's art work and I'm not spending too much time on this. I have my stack next to me and I take a picture of his art on a solid white background. 

3. Next, I quickly edit my pictures within my iPhone. Again, we are not going to over-think this (repeat it with me)!  I basically just increase the exposure to get my whites- white. You can access some basic edits by clicking the little arrow across from "Light". 

4. Then I go into the Chatbooks App. I already created a book called Landon's Art. I upload the pictures I just took. 

5. When my book is full, I'll order it. Done and done.
I've decided to only keep art that is really stinking cute and/or if it has his handprint on it. Everything else can go because now I have a picture in a sweet little book to enjoy for years to come! 

Seriously though, how easy is that? 

Session Preview: Mount Pleasant, SC Family Session

I spent the evening with these two silly kids on a private slice of Mount Pleasant.