Ayden's Newborn Pictures - September 2008

On September 27th we had Ayden's newborn pictures taken with Stephanie Winger, the same photographer that did my maternity photos. They turned out so completely adorable that I couldn't be happier we decided to get this done. Babies lose their newborn look so quickly that it was really important to me that we get it captured on film.





He wasn't very fond of being undressed which is why his blanket ended up being featured in a few of his pictures. Thank heaven for flannel blankies. :)

These next two pictures were candid shots she took while we were calming him down. This one actually turned out pretty good and its one of the only shots we have of the three of us together, so its kind of a wonderful accident in a way.

Taking a break for some lunch...at least for him anyway. I love his little belly button. His umbilical cord had just fallen off the day before these were taken so it still stuck out quite a bit. Too cute.

So small in his daddy's hands.

I am so glad that we got to be a part of this photo shoot because it ended up capturing some really tender moments between Ayden and Jonathan. The funny thing was that a lot of the times I was trying to get pictures with him we couldn't get him to stop fussing, but as soon as daddy would take him it was like flipping an off switch. Figures :)

We ended up with so many perfect shots of him that its always hard to decide which ones to choose to show people. I guess what could we expect with such a beautiful little baby boy?

Daddy's favorite

Mommy's favorite

He has such precious little hands and feet! Its hard to believe that anything could be so tiny and perfect.

By the end of the photo shoot he was so worn out from crying that when we put him back in his onesie he fell asleep right away. It made for some pretty adorable shots though I must say :)

Ayden's first few weeks

Ayden unfortunately got Jaundice within his first few days so we had to give him sun baths as well as put him on his billi-blanket when he was sleeping. He had to get his heels pricked five different times to check his blood and see if his levels were safe. Poor little guy :(



Spending some fun time with daddy.



He is a total snuggle bug and loves his soothie binkies. We never leave the house without them! He is also a pretty good sleeper and doesn't cry much except when he's hungry. At his three week appointment we found out that he had already gained 2 pounds! What a piggy!

The Big Day - September 14th, 2008

My labor was a little longer than I had originally hoped for. My contractions started early Friday morning and to make a long story short I made three trips to the hospital over the next 36 hours and wasn't admitted until about 6 or 7 pm on Saturday the 13th of September. Jonathan had missed work Friday to take me to the hospital so we had decided he should go to work Saturday just in case it didn't happen that day either...and his shift wasn't over until 11pm so luckily the nurses waited to break my water until he arrived.




Once Jonathan got to the hospital everything went really quickly. Jonathan, my mom, and both of my sisters were all present for Ayden's birth and both my mom and Jonathan ended up being volunteered by the nurse to help be my pushing coaches so they were right in the action! After about 45 minutes of hard pushing Ayden was born at 1:22 am on Sunday, September 14th.




He came out with a really good set of lungs on him that he put to work right away. It didn't take long to get him calmed down...but with so many bodies in the room it was a while before I got a really good chance to hold him. Its so funny how in about one minute it goes from everyone focusing on you, to everyone focusing on the baby - the mommies almost seem to disappear after that :)



It was nice to have my loved ones there with us, but it was also nice to have some quiet alone time as a little family once they all went home. One of my favorite things to do was to watch Jonathan in his new role as a daddy. From that first moment he has been the best dad ever to our little Ayden. He even changes the poopy diapers without complaining!

Baby Shower

My mom and sisters held a baby shower for me at my Grandma Scherbel's house in Idaho over the Labor Day weekend. It was loads of fun to get to see so many of my family members and to get to play games and spend time with them. They are all such wonderful ladies and I am so thankful that so many of them came to support me.




We played a game that had them use yarn to guess how big around my tummy measured. My Aunt Lauri won - she was only a few inches off!

We also played a really fun game that gave samples of nursery rhymes and you had to guess what animal was associated with that rhyme. For example...these little animals lost their mittens - and the answer would be the three little kittens. It was a blast to hear people singing or reciting the nursery rhymes to themselves trying to figure out the answers! The best part was that my Great Grandma won! Woo hoo!

Maternity Pics by Steph

In the first week of August I went and got maternity photos taken by Stephanie Winger who is an AMAZING photographer! She did such a great job and they turned out fantastic! Well...at least I think so :) These are just a few of my fav's since there were a ton that I really liked but I can't fit them all on here!

This one is a personal favorite of mine since it actually makes me look as pregnant as I felt...and it was taken before the stretch marks showed up!



I got to have Jonathan in the photo shoot which was really important to me since he was such a big part of this whole process. This one I love because it shows just how much he loves his little boy already :)

To anyone who is contemplating doing something like this I would say go for it! Although I won't do it again (my body probably won't be worthy of it next time around) it was totally worth it to have these great memories to keep for the rest of our lives. My pregnancy was such a special time for me and I am glad that I have something to help me remember the best parts of it.

Ultrasound - May 2008

Getting our ultrasound done was one of the most wonderful experiences of our lives. To give an image to this little life I had growing inside me was truly breathtaking.....I will never forget what a feeling of sheer amazement I felt that day while watching him move on the computer monitor.

This picture is great because you can see all of his little fingers :)

This is my favorite picture because he is looking right at us! I also love it because you can see so much detail in his little body - including his heart!

We were so excited when the doctor told us it was a boy! We immediately called all of our family and texted all of our friends! (All of the guys of course congratulated Jonathan on putting the stem on the apple if you catch my drift...)

The Preggo Months: March - August 2008

This is me at 11 weeks pregnant in March of 2008. I wish I could look that good now (though at the time I thought I had the biggest baby bump ever).

June of 2008 - I am at 22 weeks...this was the fun stage of being pregnant. You're not too big yet but obviously pregnant and you feel the baby move much more frequently. We also got to find out that I was having a boy at 17 weeks along!

July of 2008 - I'm at 27 weeks in these pictures. This was a nice day so Jonathan decided to play photographer and snap some fun outdoor shots which was nice because I was really grumpy that day and he cheered me up! Somehow he can always do that :)