The Arrival

I have been absent...here is my excuse.

We delivered William Michael by scheduled c-section on Tuesday, June 8th at 0700. He weighed in at a lovely 8 pounds, 7 ounces, and stretched  20.25 inches.

My parents were kind enough to keep Bailey the night before and take him to daycare that morning. Then they joined Randy's parents in the waiting room.

My procedure went well. We were surrounded by my fantastic Dr and some really great nurses, they helped me feel comfortable for the duration. I remember at some point of the surgery thinking, wow, this nurse standing behind me stroking mt hair is really going above and beyond...it was so soothing at the time. Turns out, that was my wonderful husband. I have said it before and I am sure I will say it again, he is my rock. He comforts me, sometimes even when I am not aware that I need it.

Everything moved pretty quick after William was born, and before I knew it, he and Randy were off to the nursery, and they finished sewing me up and took me to recovery. The hospital has a new way of doing things, so Randy and William rejoined me in the recovery room for what they call "Bonding Time" I guess some study shows that its better for baby to spend 30-60 minutes with Mom skin to skin before rushing off to be bathed, medicated, have blood drawn and whatever else they do. It lowers the stress level of the baby...really? They had to do a study for that?

So there is a reason for that freaked out expression. This is Bailey meeting William for the first time & he just grabbed him to plant a big kiss on his new little brother. Bailey is so affectionate with William, he is forever giving him hugs and kisses.

Look at those fat rolls!

Maternity Photos

I had an opportunity to have some maternity photos taken by the very talented Jeanette Monplaisir of JM Photography. She is just starting out in the world of photography and let me tell you, this young lady has some seious talent.

We went to have belly shots taken when I as 36 weeks pregnant with Bailey and we were disappointed. We went to Portrait Innovations and out of the 60 shots that were taken there were only 6 or so that we liked. My husband is not a big fan of having his picture taken anyway...so needless to say, none were purchased and we did not return to have more pictures taken.

This time I didn't tell my husband. These are going to be a suprise present for Father's Day. So I kept Bailey out of daycare for a morning and we met Jeanette at  Blount Cultural Park right there at the Alabama Shakesphere Festival. My friend Shannon and her mom came by to help out with Bailey so we could do pictures of just me and pictures of the two of us.  (Thank you Shannon & Mrs Susan! This would not have been possible without your help!)

We started out by the pond, chasing geese.

Then headed over to the stone wall...

I really loved the way she edited these, some have that great shadowy quality and then to have them in black and white is such a great contrast.

 After the wall, we headed over to ASF to the gardens, but they were closed, so we took advantage of this great area, there was lots of greenery and some shade!

Look at that big belly! I am telling you, there is a 10 pound baby in there!

I saw a similar shot like this on someone's blog a while back, and I mentioned it to Jeanette and she was happy to help me create something similar.

 More shots of the big belly  :0) I did manage to fit my wedding rings on for these pictures, and it only took a small miracle to get them off. Swollen fingers are the greatest!

See those flushed cheeks! That sweet boy was playing hard!

So overall I am THRILLED with the way these pictures turned out. Jeanette did an amazing job. I will have to call her and sweet talk her into doing some newborn pictures of William once he arrives. Hiring a photographer to do family pictures like this is always a challenge. I really think that it is important to have that perfect blend of skill and chemistry, and Jeanette has this lovely personality, and she was SO very patient with Bailey, who is a bundle of energy.

And in the meantime...don't tell my husband these pictures are on the blog...you'll ruin the suprise!