I am so lucky to have such great friends. Friends that will drive all the way out to visit me while I’m on lock down (cant drive for 2 weeks postpartum with a c section) and who bring me tried and true baby items and equally valuable parenting advice…friends that I can ask the hard questions to and get honest answers back, and friends that make my days bright by spending some time with me and Heath during these first few days.

Two friends in particular I want to mention here because they are also insanely talented local photographers who not only came to say hello but also were generous enough to spend time taking some of Heath’s first photos. Yesterday I had a visit from my friend Kelly of http://kelphoto.com/blog who took beautiful images of me right after nursing Heath, and then some of his milk coma smiles afterwards. She has such a natural style and warm heart and I’m so thankful for her! Kelly’s photos can be seen if you’re a fan on facebook – they are beautiful!!!

Today I had a visit from my friend Amber of Little Moon Photography and I cannot express my gratitude and love for her time spent here and the images she captured. Heath was NOT a good newborn model today – he peed and pooped perhaps 9 million times, all over me, all over Dave, and all over Amber and most of her blankets. He wouldnt sleep, he wouldnt nurse, he wouldnt really do anything other than squirm and fidget and pee. From the looks of her images though Heath was the perfect baby, peaceful and sweet. The photos she captured literally take my breath away – seeing him through her eyes is a gift I cant put into words. Take a look at her blog post of my baby Heath (and a beautiful one of me and him!)
http://littlemoonphotography.com/blog/

Thank you guys again so much!

We ventured outside for a bit to take Heath on a little walk around our farm and enjoy the sunshine for the minute that it was there over the past few days. I cant believe how cold it is for May! Heath has his second doctor visit tomorrow so we’ll see if he’s up to his birth weight now – by the looks of his new chunky little thighs I’m assuming yes! The nights around here are LOOOOONG and you’ve got to appreciate the humor in the insane amount of diaper changes that must happen before, during and after feedings at 3am. I’m taking the idea of ‘nap when your baby naps’ to a whole new level.

My sweet baby boy:

It’s amazing what a week can bring. Pain and love, a baby boy, sweet dreams and long nights, family and friends, knowledge that you never knew you had…you can learn a lot in a week! Today our amazing son turned one week old and here is what we’ve learned about our little sweetpea and our new life as a family of three.

Heath is the sweetest baby I’ve ever met. Sure he’s mine, so I’m biased I know…but all he does is sleep and smile and when he’s awake he stares at us with these big eyes (which I think are turning brown already) and look about with this peaceful wonderment. He loves to sleep on our chests, is great at nursing, lets us wake him up to eat, and is gaining weight and looking chunky already. He likes to be sung to sleep by his great grandmother, rocked to sleep by his grandmothers, and is his daddy’s best friend. He likes the carriers we’ve bought for him, is hanging with us while we learn the ropes of cloth diapering, and has peed on his aunt Shannon twice. I have nicknamed him peanut, his dad calls him blinkie…we both call him squeaky, and he looks hilarious when we burp him. Being his mom is incredible, and I feel so lucky every day that I was blessed with such a proud job.

Here are some shots I managed to take during our first week together as we take a ton of naps and figure out life with a newborn one hour at a time. Little moments that I never want to forget.

Milk comas are great:

The quiet moments after nursing:

The deep sleep that follows:

Some mommy time:

And daddy time:

So we made it home from the hospital and through our very first night at home (without nurses – scary!) and I cant get over how great of a baby Heath is! He sleeps and nurses fabulously and rarely cries. We all slept great and I’m amazed at how in love I am with this little dude.

I’m hoping that I can capture a few images each day with him during this newborn phase that I know goes by so quickly. Little bits of every day life that I dont want to ever forget!

He’s only 4 days old today and I’m totally out of control in love with him. After his 6am feeding I gave him to his dad to cuddle and when I got back into the room I found them curled up like this – which is how they’ve basically been together since his birth. They are two peas in a pod and have bonded like no other. Enjoy Dave’s impressive beard here…he hasnt shaved since before I went into labor.

My heart is full!

And finally my other boy – our poor kitties have no idea what hit ‘em. Mellow slept on the dresser all night not knowing what to think – he’s just staring right at Heath wondering who is this little dude.

Our sweet baby boy blessed us with his amazing presence this past Saturday May 1st. Weighing in at 7 pounds, 10 ounces and measuring 20 inches tall – a total tow head with blue eyes…he’s stolen our heart. It may take me a couple of days to get back to client inquiries and current galleries – so just a little FYI if you’re waiting to hear back from me on anything. My time is being consumed with this little dude:

Official newborn photos to come eventually, if I can gather the motivation and energy to pick up my camera!