And So I Don't Forget...

A Month from Bump to Baby: Days 24 and 25

Her cute little toes. As she lay on my chest after she was born I remember counting her toes, and then double counting, as it seemed her feet had more than enough toes. All good though. :)

I moved little miss Amelia in front of a window for this photo, selecting a very narrow depth of field on my 50mm lens. It was a fine photo in colour, but when I switched to this black and white editing your attention is immediately drawn to the sole of her tiny foot.

Playtime with Dad. She'll tolerate a few minutes of tummy time before getting grumpy and has managed to move her head from one side to the other, with considerable effort. We can already feel her getting stronger, and a little plumper. Mike notes she has a butt now, where previously she was dead flat.

The narrow depth of field wasn't so much an intentional choice with this photo, more dictated by the lack of light in this room. I set the shutter speed to 1/60, generally the slowest I aim for anything handheld, and let the camera do the rest.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 23

Another sweet, sleeping baby photo, taken this evening without natural light. I slowed the shutter speed down to 1/8 sec and used my tripod, aperture of f5.0 to maintain some depth of focus and amped the ISO to 1600. The shot is a little grainy but turning it black and white helped with that. Let's just call it an artistic intention!  

Time for bed now. The sleeping baby in this photo turned irritated, hungry baby very soon after but the house has just gone quiet and I think my wonderful husband has managed to put her down to bed. That or he'll be enjoying some snuggles.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Days 21 and 22

Yesterday's photo is a grainy quick shot taken with my phone, and I absolutely adore it! That is one happy, milk drunk little girl. :)

Today was a really positive day. We gave her a bath (there was a lot of pooping involved), we all had naps, we managed some household tasks and even went on a walk for icecream.

Mike and I wrote up a big list on butcher's paper called Achievement Unlocked of things we'd like to or need to accomplish now that we have a baby. From first nappy change out and about to going to the drive-in, we're all about celebrating the small victories here.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 20

It was actually at Mike's urging that little miss Amelia ended up in the Bear Chair on her first day home.  

We left hospital around midday and have had a very relaxed afternoon at home. She was more alert than previously, wanting some time snuggling after she feed before she was ready to be placed back in her bassinet to sleep. Currently her daytime naps are consistently at least 2-3 hours, so the three of us ventured out this evening on our first outing - to the pharmacy and pizza shop. Mike and I are feeling quite accomplished; achievement unlocked! Amelia took it wonderfully easy on us and slept the entire time, and in fact still naps on.

We'll do our best to enjoy these peaceful newborn moments while they last.

 

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 18

My world has shrunk down to the size of a hospital room these last few days, but as long as little miss Amelia and Mike are here I'm perfectly content.

Amelia needed a feed so at this point it's Mike taking over! Give it a week and Dee will be blogging one handed with a baby on the other arm!

Between feeds, newborn checkups, and baby visitors the last few days have disappeared.

We have noticed the changes as our little Amelia grows. Her nose and ears are more defined, she is learning to feed and her body feels stronger.

Miss Amelia has been handed around family and friend for many cuddles to the delight of the cuddlers. Some of the cuddlers were old hands and some held a newborn for the first time; all were delighted.

Yesterday Amelia had her first bath. She squawked as she entered the water but quickly relaxed.

Today she passed her 48hour check with flying colours. It's a bit difficult to watch the vaccination and blood blotches, but our little girl seemed to settle before we did! We watched as the midwives and pediatrician commented that she was a beautiful baby. I'm sure they say that to all their patient's parents, but they really looked genuine.

As we get prepared to go home to our family home, we are trying to extract as much wisdom from the midwives as we can for the road ahead. We are watching their tips and tricks with eagle eyes.

Amelia is now fed and tucked in for the night; time for Dee to write her bit. Oh wait, hang on, she needs more settling.

Life with a newborn; incredible and tiring.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 16

I wore the worst pants imaginable to take this photo - that visible waistband across my middle is such a great look! - and I really wish I was standing front on and not partially turned to the side. The framing could be better too; Mike's hand was at the edge of the shot so I cropped close into my arm for some balance but I think it makes the distance between us seem significant. Although I do have a limited number of shots before his patience wears out, I promise neither of us were grumpy. If I'd kept going to find the perfect shot, not sure that would still be the case! ;)

Ah well, I'll call this one a learning opportunity. 

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 15

Comparing bellies. I win! 

I knew I wanted to get Mike involved in at least one bump photo this month and today I made it happen. Thanks for cooperating my husband! With only a week and a day until Chip's due date, Mike is now off work for the next month. Some annual leave, some paternity leave, all with the intention of taking care of me and little Chippie. (Although I have a sneaking suspicious he'd like to manage some time in the shed too.) We're in a weird holding pattern right now, just waiting for our little someone to arrive. 

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 14

I decided to play with depth of field for this photo, taking advantage of the grass in our backyard that needs a mow. Ideally I would have included some space in the photo for my head, even if it couldn't be seen through the grass, but scrolling the photos this was still my favourite of the bunch.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 13

Awake early than intended this morning - Chip and maternity leave have turned me into somewhat of a night owl - I decided to take advantage of the beautiful light in our front room and try another version of a silhouette photo. I threw on a light, blousy top out of the dirty clothes basket and climbed onto a chair in front of the window.

After trying some darker shots, I over-exposed the image to create the stark white background while maintaining the details on me. I had hoped the light might show the line of my bump through my shirt, and that did work a little. While taking this series, I did shoot an alternative where I pulled up my shirt and put my hand under the bump. Although I don't plan on posting that one - I share a lot but even I have limits! ;) - it is another of my favourites from this month.

A Month from Bump to Baby: Day 12

I originally tried sitting with the tripod behind me but I ended up with photos that were pretty much entirely my scalp. It's only as I'm writing this I realise I could have moved the camera to the side and tried an angled shot over my shoulder. Anyway, I set the camera up in front of me and above with the remote control quickly shoved behind my back during each 2 second delay. :)