Another Rainbow on the Way

When I first started this journey, it was because I was in need of a MAJOR creative outlet after the devestating loss of my first born daughter, Rosalynn. I needed something that made me happy, and encouraged me to get out of the house. Work was work, and unfortunately, there were days I was constantly reminded of my loss with the frequent visits from pregnant ladies, miscarriages, and the occasional woman in labor. I worked in an ER. I was also becoming bitter, because there would be 7+ month pregnant women coming through the doors drunk and high on who knows what. I needed something that took me away from that and made me happy again. This is why I picked up the camera.

I was blessed to have an amazing support from women all over the country who had experienced losses such as myself. Holly was one of the first women I came in contact with. She was well know amongst the community, and luckily for me, she lived less than 2 hours away.

We had met up once or twice, and when she gave birth to her first rainbow baby, I begged her to let me take a few pictures. I needed the practice. I know, you are probably wondering what a "rainbow baby" is....well, you can find the explination here: http://journeyoflifeandluv.blogspot.com/2011/03/post-everyone-has-been-praying-for.html (about 3/4 of the way down is the definition).

She agreed, and I made my way to her to take a few photos of her daughter, Lainey, you can see those pictures here: http://journeyoflifeandluv.blogspot.com/2010/11/another-beautiful-family-shoot.html

I still LOVE these photos, but I can definitely tell I have come a LONG way!!

Well, Holly is officially expecting her second raibow baby, Evanee!! And I am soooo blessed that she chose ME for her maternity session. She is absolutely stunning, and her girsl are soooo cute!! All 4 girls were present through this shoot, including her angel Carleigh.

Holly was also VERY brave!! Not only did she want nudes, but she wanted me to post them. She claimed they were beautiful and needed to be shared:-) Of course when you are as beautiful as she is, it is easy to get great "nude" shots (as she points out, she is more covered in these shots then in a bakini!! LOL

Thank You Holly, and I cannot WAIT for Evanee's Newborn Photos!!!!

Mothers Day...and Becoming a Different Type of Mother

Sorry, once again life has taken over, and I have fallen behind on the blog posts. I still haven't written about Rosie's 2nd Birthday, but I promise I will write that post soon.

Mothers Day....

I have been a mother for 2 years now. I have celebrated Mother's Day twice so far. However, until this year, I have yet to celebrate it with a living child here on Earth. It has always been overshadowed with this heavy cloud of grief. I would stand up in church for the blessing of the mothers, and I am sure people would wonder where my child was. I would see families taking their moms out for lunch and I would try to avoid eye contact with the "new moms", because that should have been me.

This year was different. As I sat in church with Foster by my side, and Ava in my arms, I was smiling ear to ear. Ava was being her oh-so-cute self and distracting everyone around us with smiles and those big blue eyes, and I just held her and hugged her the entire time. I am so proud to have her as my daughter.

Someone was missing though.....

No matter how many Mother's Days go by, I will always remember and grieve the daughter that made me a mother for the first time....the daughter that taught me the meaning of a mother's love....my Rosalynn. She should have been there with us. I miss her EVERY day. There is not a day that goes by that I don't think of her, but days like Mother's Day make it that much harder.

I thank God for giving me the opportunity to practice what Rosalynn taught me. To show Avaleen every day how much she is loved and wanted. I am so blessed.

On Mother's Day, I became another kind of mother......I became a God Mother!!!

My Godson!! :-)

Foster and I stood beside Mr. JJ and JJ as baby Cole received the sacrament of Baptism!! We are both TRULY honored. Baptism is a big deal in the Catholic church, and being chosen as the God Parents is looked at as a huge responsibility. It is our job to help JJ and Mr. JJ raise Cole in the faith, to lead him and teach him the ways of the church. We are to be his spiritual role models. I will take this job very seriously! I will do everything I can to help Cole understand God's never ending love for us. I cannot thank JJ and Mr. JJ enough for choosing Foster and I:-)

It was an amazing Mother's Day!! How many people can say they became a "Mother" on Mother's Day?  I can!! A God-Mother:-)

My Baby Is BACK! :-)

Yesterday I finally broke down and called the doctor.

The problem with working in the  medical field for so long, is I tend to brush things off. I tend to second guess whether I am overreacting or not. This is one of the reasons I blame myself for Rosalynn's death. I KNEW something didn't feel right that morning, but REFUSED to go into get checked b/c I couldn't come up with a "chief complaint".

Being a mother to Avaleen, I KNOW I need to get over this "She is fine, it is not bad, I am just overreacting" and accept that the doctors are there to help...it is their job.

The doctor was able to see Ava within 2 hours of me calling....how is THAT for service?!?! So we headed in. She just seemed so miserable the three nights prior, and I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something major I was missing. There was no signs of an ear infection, but who knows...there was no fever, but then she had been on Tylenol for 3 days, so it could be covering it up.

Well, my initial instincts were right. She is fine. She is teething and just a little congested (which started the day before yesterday). The doctor said that there was a small amount of fluid behind one eardrum, but nothing to be concerned about, and there was no sign of infection. She said to switch to Motrin to help with the swelling along with the pain, and that rest and cuddles were in order.

WHEW! I can do that!! I was relieved, because the last thing I wanted to do was have to put her on antibiotics. I know they help, and there is no other way to cure ear infections, but starting antibiotics at this young of an age is just too early...I don't want her body building up resistance to antibiotics this young.

So after hanging out w/ aunt Bug, and after I returned from a photo shoot, we got home and prepared for another rough night.

Foster fed her and I gave her the Motrin. Then it was time for bed. We laid her down, and she started playing in her crib. Then she started whining and crying...but never hit that "I am in pain cry". I would peak my head in, and she would start smiling....MY BABY IS BACK. She was just trying to play her little game of "get into bed with mom and dad". Sure enough after about 10 mins of whining and light crying, she fell asleep and slept through the night again!! THANK YOU LORD! Either the Motrin worked, or that darn second tooth finally cut through making her feel sooo much better!

Glad this smile is back all the time:-) 

Ava and Her Nasty little Teeth Update

After all of the advice last night, Foster and I set out on the quest to soothe Ava and beat those nasty little teeth at their own game.

First I started out feeding her cold baby food and formula. Then Foster gave her a Bath while I attempted to get some photos edited. When she came down she seemed really happy and content. I thought for a moment that this night would go easier. NOPE. About 1 hour after her bath, right around bedtime she started crying, rubbing her eyes, screaming, and fighting us. I decided that she WAS exhausted, and WANTED to go to sleep, but these teeth, and whatever else is bothering her was preventing her from falling asleep. I gave her her nightly dose of Tylenol, 2 teething tablets and we waited to see if those would kick in. After about an hour she was still fussy, so I took Chantal's advice and put a little bit of scotch (she told me whiskey, but scotch was the only liquor we have in the house) on my finger and rubbed it on her gums...should I be worried she acted like she enjoyed the taste?!? LOL....that seemed to work for about 5 mins. So we decided to take her upstairs. Foster read to her, rocked her, and it seemed like she was going to go to sleep. She was playing in her crib but every so often moaning and whining. Well, sure enough the moaning and whining got louder and louder and more frequent. I took her out, rocked her, put an ice cube in a plastic bag and held it against her tooth (Note: I never left her alone with the plastic bag, I just didn't want the ice cube getting her and I wet). I also gave her a cold, freezer washcloth. While all of this seemed to help soothe while we were holding her, she would still scream the second we would put her down. I felt like all she wanted was to cuddle because she was in pain:-(  My poor baby girl!

The night before, if you remember from yesterday's post, she slept next to me on her belly while I patted her butt. Well, I hate sleeping in the bed with her when Foster is gone, so when he is home, it is out of the question...scares me too much. So I had an idea. I wanted to bring her bassinet back into the room. Her bassinet has a side that folds down so I can see her and reach her without getting up. Foster was TOTALLY against it.

He wanted to fight me tooth and nail. He said he was willing to stay in her nursery with her, rocking her till she fell asleep. I tried to tell him I tried that the night before with no avail. Remember, he was out of town. "We can let her cry it out," he said. Once again, I reminded him I was the only one home the two nights previous, I had tried all of this, and the ONLY thing that worked was her on her belly getting her butt patted. So he gave in.

A SOON as I placed her in the bassinet on her belly and started patting her butt, she was out! Literally, in less than 30 seconds!

Now, all night she proceeded to wake up slightly, whine, and I would pat her butt lightly and she would pass back out within seconds!! We slept (with just a few interruptions) for 8 hours!!!! Needless to say, we are ALL happier this morning. I have called the doctor to see if I can get in to get her ears checked, but if everything checks out OK, we at least know how to handle the rest of this teething!!

Oh, and don't worry...I got the 3 most amazing words leave Foster's mouth this morning..."You were right." ;-)

Nasty Little Teeth!! HELP!!!

Oh you nasty nasty teeth! What have you done with my poor sweet, content baby girl? I once had a happy baby who slept through the night, cried very little, and any crying she did was consoled by a gentle pat on the butt, or snuggles from mommy.

Now, these nasty two little teeth have changed my little princess into the "red headed step child". She has been cranky at night, and ornery during the day. No snuggles, patting, or singing works to calm her down.

The last two nights have been the worst so far. 2 nights ago she was up every 20-30 mins crying. It was 30mins sleep, 15 mins cry, 30mins sleep, 15 mins cry...over and over. About 5 am I gave up, brought her down stairs, fed her a little more and put her in the swing. For some reason, she sleeps well in the swing. Luckily, it worked...for about 2 hours. JUST enough time for me to be refreshed and ready for the day. I may try to grab a nap during her nap time, but I am soooo grateful for those 2 hours of straight sleep.

Last night was a different story. We left JJ and Mr. JJ's house and headed home. She fell asleep in the car seat, and I figured I would have a good night, and catch up on some sleep. BOY WAS I WRONG! As soon as I got thee car seat in the house, she woke up and started crying. I took her up to bed, gave her some Tylenol, some teething tablets, and patted her but. She fell back asleep and I celebrated.....WAY TOO SOON. About 15 mins later, she started crying, and crying, and screaming. It was as if someone was torturing her. I held her, rocked her, brought her into bed with me, and then decided to drive around the block. Once again, she fell asleep. Once again, just as I came in the door, she woke up screaming. I figured if I tried to feed her a little more and put her in the swing, she would sleep like she did the previous morning. NOPE. She screamed and screamed. It had been almost 2 hours of constant crying/screaming. I called David crying. I didn't know what to do. She didn't have a fever, she had been pooping, so she wasn't constipated, she was full, dry, and I had already given her the teething tablets that seemed to help during the day. I was soooo upset.

I gave her another 10 mins, and then finally picked her back up, and she started to doze. I took her into my bed....i know, i know, but at this point I was DESPERATE. She fell asleep on her belly (I know, I know!!) while I patted her butt. Finally @ 1230AM. She proceeded to wake up once and hour until 5:30 crying. I would pat her butt again, and she would go back to sleep. At 7:00 am she was WIDE awake and ready to start the day.


The first tooth popped through a few days ago, and there was momentary reprieve...about 1-2 days she slept great, and had no pain. But then the second little bugger started to come in, and my "little monster", as she has been so lovingly called by her aunt JJ since she was born, lived up to her nickname again. I just hope it breaks through quick so I can have my sweetie back:-)

I truly am hoping it is her teeth and it will stop after they have come all the way through the gums, because if it is a power struggle that can sometimes start at this age, I am in for a REAL challenge...especially if she is even half as stubborn as Foster and I are.

What do you think? Any tricks to help me out!?!?! HELP!!

My Little Sister is Getting Married!!!

 My sister, Kate, and her boyfriend, Kyle, have been dating for nearly 7 years. They met when they were freshmen in college, and although they never "officially" dated until about 4 years ago, they were what my best friend and I like to call "might-as-well-bes".

This past February Kyle finally popped the question, and I was THRILLED! Once they set a date, we waited for the weather to start getting nicer and more predictable, and set aside an afternoon for photos.

In March, I went on vacation with my husband and dad. When we were driving home, I started paying attention to my surroundings as we neared my parent's farm. My sister and Kyle had already decided they were getting married on the farm, so I figured their engagement session should have a few setting near their venue spot.

One thing about being a photographer, is you are always looking for that next "best place" to photograph clients. You pay more attention while you are a passenger, and MAN did I find some AMAZING settings!! All of them within 6-8 miles of my parents home. I wanted that personal feel to the photos, so we incorporated their pup Cleatus. He was SUCH a ham for the camera! I had sooo much fun and captured some great photos.

Also, these photos are the perfect example of why I get excited for overcast days when my clients seem disappointed. Overcast is a photographer's best friend....the colors just POP!! :-)

I also Have to give props to Katie and Kyle...it was 45 degrees and windy....and yet they make it look like it was warm and comfortable!!

I am sooo honored to be chosen as the matron of honor, and also, she had me design her invitations that came out AMAZING (I will post them after she sends them out). Here are a few photos for your viewing enjoyment:-) (I may have gone a little overboard, but I just love them all and it is hard to choose favorites! If you would like to see more of my photos, visit my blog www.irisheyesphotography.blogspot.com or "like" me on facebook www.facebook.com/irisheyesphoto .

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LOVE this one in B&W too!!!

 

All images Copyrighted by Erin Foster:: Columbus, Ohio Wedding Photographer