These have been growing on me lately to the point of obsession. Aren’t they gorgeous?
Want to see more? Go check out my Pinterest account and pin to my garden board if you care to share your favorite succulents.
WHAT DO I WEAR ?
Often clients want to know what to wear to their maternity photography session so I wrote this post in an effort to help the process. Here are some things to consider when picking your outfit:
1. What is your style? Your maternity session should be a reflection of you, just a pregnant you. Try and stay away from the overly done maternity gowns that you see in maternity pictures over and over again. If you are traditional, be traditional; if you are boho chic, then be just that.
2. Stay away from logos. Huge designer brand logos don’t look great in pictures. Keep in mind that you will be looking at these pictures yearsdown the road and I’m sure you wouldn’t like the first thing to stand out be the designer that you were wearing.
3. Stay away from busy patterns and prints. Let the focus be on you.
4. Bring with you at least two outfits. Most clients pick both a casual and dressy attire. This will provide for a great variety in your pictures.
5. Girls, try to have your hair and makeup done. I know that when I get my hair and makeup done I feel like I can conquer the world! That is how I want you to feel during your session. STUNNING!
6. Be prepare to show your love. I think this is harder for guys than for girls, as guys tend to be more shy in front of the camera. I’m there to capture genuine emotions between you. Hug, kiss, dance! It might be easier to show your guy other engagement or maternity sessions so they know what to expect and feel more at ease.
7. Props. This can be anything from including your fury baby in your session to bringing a basket of flowers. If there is something that is important to you that you want to bring to your session tell your photographer about it. He or she will take that into consideration when choosing a location for your session.
Above all, the most important part of your maternity photography session, which also happens to be the photographer’s job, is to make you feel comfortable. When you are comfortable it shows!
A BIRTH STORY: UNPLANNED C-SECTION
In a previous week I wrote a post called It’s Magic where I shared with you a birth I was invited to attend. My hope was that in sharing, I would encourage other women to document their birth. Now I want to share with you the details of that birth. To follow is a recollection of the events as recalled by the mama herself:
My daughter’s birth didn’t go as planned…
I had a midwife so I could have a more holistic, personal approach to my overall care. I chose a midwife so that when I say, “I want my child to only breastfeed, co-sleep with me, and wait on anesthesia or narcotics she will back me up. Luckily, my OB group used CNMs interchangeably with the regular doctors for all routine care, which I loved.
Around 11 p.m. I went into labor. At about 4 a.m. after walking around my neighborhood under the moonlit sky and bathing in a warm tub in order to speed up my labor and help with my contractions I decided to head on to the hospital. On the way there, I remember thinking, “This is painful but I can handle it…I am going to go natural.”
I had chosen my support system during labor and delivery beforehand…which entailed my Mom, my sister-in-law, and my cousin. These are women whom I trust and love. After being admitted to the hospital I texted them to let them know it was show time.
After being in labor for over 12 hours, and the fact that I was still 2cm, wasn’t encouraging. The contractions were so painful that I was shaking uncontrollably. That’s when the tears started flowing. I knew I couldn’t take the pain of the contractions any longer. I looked at my midwife and she gave me a look of compassion and understanding…but I felt like a failure. I wanted no intervention, no meds, no anesthesia…I wanted a “natural” birth. With my luck the epidural only took on the right side of my body…it had to happen to me of course.
Three hours went by and I was still at 2cm when I agreed on getting Pitocin. That’s when the “party” started; I went from 2cm to 9cm. My midwife decided that I [should start] pushing. I couldn’t wait to meet my daughter. After pushing for about an hour and finding out my daughter was in a sunny side up position, my midwife looked at me and said, “Your doctor and I have decided you need c-section.”
A c-section wasn’t in the plans…it wasn’t in my mindset. I was terrified. I felt like my world was caving in on me. I had so many emotions at once. At that point I had been in labor for about 18 hours. When my OB/GYN walked into my room he gave me the absolute confidence that I had done everything I could and there was no other choice.
In the end, it wasn’t the birth I had plan, but I did amazing. I trusted my midwife and my Ob/Gyn to make choices with my interests in mind [while] encouraging me about doing what was best for my baby and I…regardless of what that meant. I had my best birth, and felt proud of what I did. It was in fact, the longest shortest time. I was happy with the outcome…a healthy baby girl and Mom.
Now I focus on the really hard part…Motherhood.
I love to hear birth stories because each is so profoundly different and meaningful. They are stories about brave women who face fear and pain head-on.
I would love to hear your birth story and document your birth with a birth photography sesion. If you would like to share, please email me at may@thecrunchynest.com and your story could be featured in upcoming posts.
NOW BOOKING: MATERNITY & NEWBORN SESSIONS!
“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.” – Theordore Roosevelt
I have this quote in my office and read it every time I feel overwhelmed with fear and insecurity about starting over. Lately this is happening more and more. Most of you might not know that in 2009 I started a business because I loved (and still do!) photography. Unfortunately, there is more to a photography business than loving what you do and taking pretty pictures. The day that my doors closed I was conflicted with a myriad of emotions. I felt like a failure, happy, sad, relieved, disappointed, and the list goes on. But deep down I always knew that photography would not disappear from my life and that the things that matter, just like love, always find a way.
Today, I have really exciting news. I will be opening my doors again! What would I do differently this time I hear you asking? I will give you more of me. I will be as clear and transparent as I can be with you because if there is one thing I learned is that you grow by connecting with people and bringing them along in your journey. That is the number one reason why I started The Crunchy Nest blog. I want to create a platform where I can share my experience about motherhood and life and the learning curve along the way. Not because I know all the answers, but because I’m searching for them. So if you are a former client, I hope you give me another chance to create new memories for you. If we have never met, well, I can’t wait to meet you!
For now the number of engagement, maternity, and newborn sessions I can book each month will be limited. So if you are pregnant and looking to book a maternity or newborn session in Miami-Dade or Broward County, make sure you contact me soon to reserve your appointment. If you have any questions whatsoever, please call me @ 786-797-2477, or email me at may@thecrunchynest.com, or send me a message through Facebook. Or you can simply leave a comment on this post. I can’t wait for us to work together!
COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY
The most delicious coconut chicken curry I have ever had!!
I tell my husband all the time how much he should really own his own restaurant. He is incredible in the kitchen and can blend spices like it’s nobody’s business. See for yourself:
Does this not look amazing? I asked him to give me the recipe to post for your guys, but he was a bit shy. He said if anyone was interested he will put one together, so please make sure to comment or email us.
SLEEP TRAINING
This morning Gavin, my youngest, woke up earlier than usual. At 5:45a.m. to be exact. We had been hearing him complaining from his crib for a while, but the real crying didn’t begin until 5:45 came around. The horrifying part is that my alarm clock is set to go off at 5:55a.m. He robbed me of ten whole minutes which are oh-so-precious to me.
This got me thinking of how different all of my kids have been when it comes to sleep training. Trying to get Gavin to sleep through the night in his crib is not a faraway memory. In fact, he didn’t sleep on his own through the night until he was about 8 months old, he is now 15 months. Now I’m convinced that sleep training has very little to do with the techniques used or parenting skills and more to do with the baby’s personality.
See, Joshua is my oldest, and when he was born he simply refused to sleep in his crib. Refused! I would rock him and feed him until he was fast asleep. Then moving slowly and in my tippy toes I’d walk over to his crib and gently lay him down while holding my breath so as to not cause any movement. The moment his little back touched the sheets he would open his eyes. If left there awake, he would scream in a matter of minutes. So what did we do? We carried him to our bed and he slept with us until he was three years old.
Khloe, my middle child and the princess of the house was independent from the day she was born. She slept in a bassinet next to our bed from the day we brought her home from the hospital. Every three to four hours I would hear her whimper so I’d get up, change her, feed her, swaddle her in her blanky and place her awake back in her bassinet. She would sooth herself back to sleep (without a sound). This little trooper was sleeping through the night at four months and alone in her room by five.
When I was preparing for Gavin’s arrival I would say every time the topic came up that I wouldn’t have a hard time with this, I would just follow everything I did with Khloe. I was so confident, that it is embarrassing to admit. It’s funny how life has a way to humble you. Gavin was a screamer! He cried ALL THE TIME. Day and night. Just like the picture you see above. In part, I’m sure this had something to do with his milk allergies, but the crying was non-stop.
See for yourself:
As he got older he would sleep longer stretches from 10:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. – sometimes 3 – and would wake up screaming. After changing him and feeding him, it would take almost an hour to soothe him back to sleep. It was exhausting and we did this every night for 8 months. To tell you that I don’t know how my marriage survived this is an understatement. The night that he slept through I was so scared thinking something had happened that I snuck into his room to make sure he was breathing.
This confirms my believe that sleep training is more about the baby than techniques. I did everything to try to get Joshua and Gavin to sleep. I read books, blogs, followed tips from other parent, I even put cereal in Joshua milk bottle (gasp!). I bathed them late at night with chamomile soap, with lavender soap, I warmed up their milk, I swaddled them, I un-swaddled then, I let them cry-it-out, I rocked them to sleep, I did everything within my power and nothing worked until they were ready.
I am by far not knocking any technique out there. And if you are going through a rough time with sleep training yourself, please know that I’m 100% behind you in trying to find a solution because I have been that mom in the corner soothing her baby while crying herself. And if it works for you great (honestly), but if it doesn’t I want you to know that you are not alone. I have been in your shoes, and it does get better and you will be able to sleep again. Only with time.
If you have a sleeping technique that has worked for you, write to me at may@thecrunchynest.com and tell me about it.
PRODUCT HIGHLIGHT
Last week I reached out to all the mamas I know asking them about what was the one product that they couldn’t live without. I received a wide range of answers but there was one in particular that is very important to most, if not all, new moms and it goes hand-in-hand with what I wrote about last Tuesday. This is what this mama had to say:
“A product that I couldn’t live without has to be the Medela Freestyle Breastpump. I had to debate on purchasing this product being it runs for around $399 and back when I had my daughter in 2010 it wasn’t covered by insurance. But I must admit it was worth the investment. I did exclusive “breastfeeding” and I would pump an average of 10 times a day…yes I was a milk Mama.”
Pumping was very time-consuming for me. This pump is completely hands-free, and it comes with everything you need to multitask…do chores, cook, laundry, etc. I would even fly and pump. I couldn’t imagine being tied to an outlet while I was pumping. I could carry my pump around with me or set it next to me if I wasn’t multitasking. It comes with a belt attachment that can be used if you don’t want to carry it. It is a strong pump with enough suction. I was able to maintain my milk supply for over 18 months. By far, one of the best products I’ve ever owned.”
Thankfully most insurance companies now cover the cost of a breastpump. When I had my youngest, a year ago, my insurance company covered mine. I actually bought the Medela In Style Advanced because I figured that I wouldn’t want to be walking around and doing anything while I was pumping. Boy was I wrong. Because I was pumping every two hours to try to boost up my milk supply I was chained to this pump and had to sit on the couch connected to the electrical outlet for the entire 15 minutes I was pumping. I know 15 minutes doesn’t seem like a lot, but when you are doing it every two hours, it seems like you are spending your entire day there. If I had a do-over , I think the Freestyle would have been the best option for me.
Before you make the decision as to which breastpump to purchase, try to picture what you want to be doing while pumping. Do you prefer to be sitting and making the best out of this time with your baby, or do you see yourself (like I was) with chores that need to get done? Fortunately there are no right answers and it comes down to your preference and lifestyle.
Happy pumping!