Monday, January 16, 2017

Birth Photos



Brooke and Mom arrived!




We stared at these screens a lot.



Brooke was great at keeping me distracted with funny stories.



Chris trying to sleep.


The camera that would allow me to watch Henrik's birth on TV. I opted out. 


My dad used to work for Hill-Rom so of course we had to take a photo of my hospital bed. 


The best labor coach.



Chris staring at a spot on the back wall haha he never looked anywhere else and I respect that.








Henrik arrived!



Lots of screaming.


Lots of pouting.


Lots of love.








30 seconds into the world and he peed on our nurse. Sorry, Kayla...



Cold stethoscope.



They told me he'd be well under 8 pounds.






Baby toes <3



Soooo squishy.


And sooooo cute.










Picking lunch.






First bath!


 Not a fan.


Chris holding a pile of blankets. Jk it's our kid.


Seeeeeestah



Grandma holding her first grandbaby!



Auntie Brellis



The birth team! It should be noted that the only reason my dad wasn't there was because he was watching Eiger the dog at home. He came by later that day :)


Family of three and never happier. 

One of the main reasons I decided to have a birth photographer was because not only was this my first baby, but the first grandbaby on my side of the family as well. I wanted photos of my parents holding their first grandson and my sister with her nephew as well as other moments in the hospital. I didn't want to have to worry about capturing every single photo nor did I want my family to have that burden either. Enter, my friend Victoria from Luminant Photography! I mentioned this in Henrik's birth story post, but she was absolutely perfect for the job. She remained calm, cool, and collected throughout the entire (long) process and kept me laughing. And I only had to convince her once that a stain on my gown was ketchup and not something else! She is a wonderful friend and I am so grateful I got to know her while I was working at Treefrog. She was a great mentor and taught me a ton. She helped me improve as a writer tremendously and was always incredibly supportive. She is easily one of the best people I know and I am beyond grateful that it worked out to have her as our birth photographer. Whenever I am feeling sad or stressed, I just look through these beautiful photos and I am instantly uplifted. They are exactly what I wanted. If you want to read her side of the birth story, check out her blog here. It made me tear up haha. I could go on for about 50 more pages about how incredible Victoria is, but suffice it to say that she is amazing and that if you ever need a birth photographer, she is your girl. 

Our stay at the hospital was really great. I thought I would go totally stir crazy, but that wasn't the case. It was so peaceful, quiet (minus a few screaming episodes courtesy of HMS), and special to have those few days to get to know Henrik and bond with him as a family. He sneezed a few times while we were there and it just about killed me with cuteness. He was also super snuggly, which definitely melted my heart, and it was adorable to see how much he looooved laying on my feather pillow I brought from home (he still loves to hang out there). 

The nurses and lactation specialists who took care of us were likewise amazing. They helped us figure out nursing and aided in my own recovery a ton. All of them were so nice, patient, and helpful as I asked a zillion and one questions about how on earth I keep this baby alive. We were really blessed to have such great caregivers while we were there. They helped make the transition into motherhood muuuuch less scary.

We also had several friends and family members come visit us at the hospital which was soooooo nice. It helped to pass the time and we really enjoyed getting to introduce Henrik to some of our favorite people. The best part was that the timing worked out perfectly for my grandma, who had been in town for Christmas, to get to meet Henrik on her way to the airport. I was really worried that she would have to leave before he was born so it was such a blessing that she was able to stop by and meet him, even if it was just for a few minutes. 

The last thing I wanted to touch on in this post is the meaning behind Henrik's name. Before I was even pregnant, Chris and I had discussed baby names at length. We had agreed upon several girl names, but really struggled with boy names for some reason. We wanted names that were a bit unique, but not sooo weird that our kids would be made fun of or people wouldn't know how to pronounce it. Once we found out I was pregnant, we were quite sure I was having a girl so we were all set with a first and middle name. But of course, we found out I was having a boy so we had to reevaluate the name situation. Chris really liked the name Henry, but I wanted something a bit more unique so we settled on the German version of Henry, Henrik, since we both have German heritage and our last name is German. We chose Marshall as his middle name after my maternal grandpa, whom both Chris and I are very close to. And rest assured, we plan to use our girl names (assuming we someday have a daughter or two) as well as one additional boy name, just in case :)

As always, thank you for stopping by! Stay tuned for more posts on our new life as a family of three as well as some outfit posts. That is, once I feel like putting on real clothes again and the weather is nice enough to do photos haha.

Just: Ate several granola bars in bed. 
With: A snoozing baby on my chest. 
Plan: To go to Target today! This is big. 
Days Until Christmas: 343!


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