I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Shiloh says hi! : )
*Kori
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Good Morning!
We hope everyone has plans to enjoy this sunny Saturday! Jason is headed down to Mena to attend my cousin Darrell's wedding to his lovely and sweet fiancee Katy, and I am just hanging out here with Shiloh at the hospital pumping and cuddling my life away. I am trying to think of this time in the hospital as a much-needed period of rest (ha!) before we get released into the big, wide world all on our own with 3 big kids and a newborn to wrangle! Heaven help us! (seriously though) ; )
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Shiloh says hi! : )
*Kori
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Shiloh says hi! : )
*Kori
Friday, July 30, 2010
Got Milk?
Shiloh does! : )
My milk came in last night, and I am super excited... Even though I know it has appeared in copious amounts on day 3-ish with the other babies, I had still somehow worried that this time it wouldn't. I had this irrational concern with each baby, and every time, on day 3, I magically turn into Dolly Parton and the drops of colostrum multiply into bottles and bottles of milk! I think the human body is amazing. And also so is Dolly Parton. The woman doesn't age!
Sorry, clearly this lack of sleep is starting to get to me, you guys... I guess that comes with the territory! Now off to rest for a few minutes before the 6 p.m. nursing session. Yay for milk! : )
My milk came in last night, and I am super excited... Even though I know it has appeared in copious amounts on day 3-ish with the other babies, I had still somehow worried that this time it wouldn't. I had this irrational concern with each baby, and every time, on day 3, I magically turn into Dolly Parton and the drops of colostrum multiply into bottles and bottles of milk! I think the human body is amazing. And also so is Dolly Parton. The woman doesn't age!
Sorry, clearly this lack of sleep is starting to get to me, you guys... I guess that comes with the territory! Now off to rest for a few minutes before the 6 p.m. nursing session. Yay for milk! : )
Bahting Booty!
Shiloh spent yesterday under the "bili lights" working on his booty tan!
He's so cute!
Thankfully today his levels had already dropped from 11-ish to 8-ish. He is still a little jaundiced, but under the treatment level so he gets at least a one-day break from the goggles and creepy blue lights! They said not to be surprised if he backslides and ends up back under the lights tomorrow, but that it should probably be over after that! I just can't wait until he is home with us. They are saying hopefully once he is done with his antibiotics on Tuesday he can room in on Tuesday night and probably go home on Wednesday!
A lot of things have to go just right for that to happen, but we are very hopeful. I miss my big kids so much! In the meantime, we will just cuddle during his feedings every 3 hours and enjoy our twice-daily nursing sessions... I'll take what I can get! : )
He's so cute!
Thankfully today his levels had already dropped from 11-ish to 8-ish. He is still a little jaundiced, but under the treatment level so he gets at least a one-day break from the goggles and creepy blue lights! They said not to be surprised if he backslides and ends up back under the lights tomorrow, but that it should probably be over after that! I just can't wait until he is home with us. They are saying hopefully once he is done with his antibiotics on Tuesday he can room in on Tuesday night and probably go home on Wednesday!
A lot of things have to go just right for that to happen, but we are very hopeful. I miss my big kids so much! In the meantime, we will just cuddle during his feedings every 3 hours and enjoy our twice-daily nursing sessions... I'll take what I can get! : )
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
C-Sections Are Evil, But We Survived!
Well, despite our high hopes of a VBAC, it didn't end up working out that way! I am mostly okay with it, because I feel like we gave it a really good shot. We had started the Pitocin, and 11 hours into hard labor, I was at 5 cm. I feel like things were really picking up, but at about that same time, they took my temperature and determined that I had spiked a fever. They then became concerned that if I continued to labor for a few more hours, that Shiloh might be very sick when he got here, and we definitely did not want that!
So after about a million Pitocin-induced contractions (ouch!), we ended up with the c section anyway! I was TERRIFIED when they said they were going to go ahead and proceed with surgery. I didn't realize how truly scared I was about the possibility until it was actually happening. They had already started prepping me with hard-core spinal anesthesia and assorted antacids and anti-nausea meds when I really started panicking. At one point I even asked if they could go ahead and put me under for the procedure, because I was just pretty sure that I couldn't do it. They pretty much told me that yes, I in fact could, because I was doing it one way or the other right then! And it turns out they were right. I survived after all!
As they took me back, I just closed my eyes and tried very hard to pretend that I was somewhere else. I did not really open my eyes or acknowledge that I was there and that it was actually happening until Jason came in to sit with me right as they were about to start cutting. I did manage to come back to reality long enough to take his hand, but then I returned to my happy place of complete denial of the situation until all of a sudden, I heard the baby crying! I had expected the surgery to hurt much more than it did, or for there to at least be a lot of pressure or something, but it was actually not that bad at all!
And once he was out, I was just soooooo glad that he was breathing on his own and crying that I almost stopped caring that I was on an operating table while awake. (which still seems totally unnatural, may I say!) He was doing so well after he was born that Jason even got to carry him over to me for me to peek at his precious little face and give him a kiss while I was still on the table. I was very thankful for that.
Then Jason went with the baby to the nursery and I was left there to be sewn up. The only part that really hurt was when they were putting everything back inside me. Apparently the local anesthesia had started to wear off a little, so I could feel a lot of pain and pressure as they were trying to get everything to fit again. Not a good memory, but thankfully the anesthesia guy was nearby with Versed and other assorted drugs to dull my experience of it a little and to dull my memory of that particular time. Probably a good thing! They also put a long-acting painkiller into the spinal space called Duramorph that worked wonders for my pain control over the first 24 hours.
After that, NOT SO MUCH. The Duramorph wore off about the same time as they stopped doing the IV painkillers, which left me in a pretty miserable state today. At various points, I have had to have Jason help me up to even get to the bathroom. I just feel so red and swollen and overwhelmed with pain that at times I kind of want to just give up. But then I realize that it is time to pump, so I prop myself up on pillows, think about the baby while I spend 15 minutes or so with my good friend Medela, and then make the not-so-long-but-very-slow walk down to the NICU to get to see Shiloh!
The pain is a little better now that they have it regulated with a combination of pain pills and ibuprofen. Still not great, but a lot better. And I guess you're not supposed to feel like Super Woman the day after major abdominal surgery! What has helped today more than anything is that Shiloh is doing so very, very well! He has been breathing perfectly with no outside support since birth, and he has also been tolerating his feeds perfectly!
He got to nurse for the first time this morning around 5:30, and it was such a sweet, special time. I think it was what he had been wanting all along. He latched on like a pro on literally his first try, and he managed to stay awake and alert enough to continue his nice, strong, rhythmic sucks for the whole time they let him nurse. I cannot tell you how thankful I was for this! It is such a blessing. The nurses all marvelled at his amazing talents. ; )
After that, they switched him to where he is on all bottle feeds now instead of any tube feedings, with 2 nursing sessions per day. They will add in more nursing sessions as he continues to do well and as my milk comes in. (Which I hope will be really soon! Please!)
It is so nice now that he is on all feedings by mouth, because we get to go in for each feeding and hold him and cuddle him while he heats and for 30 minutes afterwards. This time with him is probably the very best medicine I could get! It is still so odd not to have him be inside of me, and it is even more strange to not have him just right here with me all the time. I feel biologically driven to cuddle him, so the time we have with him now is priceless to me. I just can't wait until we're all safe and sound (and hopefully pain-free!) at home! Hopefully it won't be too long.
Thank you so much, everyone, for all of your prayers, support, gifts, well wishes and kind words while we get through all this. I don't know what we would do without our family and friends right now. I appreciate every one of you!
More pictures to follow soon, I'm sure, but for now, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat and get ready to go feed our sweet baby boy at 6:00. I can't wait to see him again!
So after about a million Pitocin-induced contractions (ouch!), we ended up with the c section anyway! I was TERRIFIED when they said they were going to go ahead and proceed with surgery. I didn't realize how truly scared I was about the possibility until it was actually happening. They had already started prepping me with hard-core spinal anesthesia and assorted antacids and anti-nausea meds when I really started panicking. At one point I even asked if they could go ahead and put me under for the procedure, because I was just pretty sure that I couldn't do it. They pretty much told me that yes, I in fact could, because I was doing it one way or the other right then! And it turns out they were right. I survived after all!
As they took me back, I just closed my eyes and tried very hard to pretend that I was somewhere else. I did not really open my eyes or acknowledge that I was there and that it was actually happening until Jason came in to sit with me right as they were about to start cutting. I did manage to come back to reality long enough to take his hand, but then I returned to my happy place of complete denial of the situation until all of a sudden, I heard the baby crying! I had expected the surgery to hurt much more than it did, or for there to at least be a lot of pressure or something, but it was actually not that bad at all!
And once he was out, I was just soooooo glad that he was breathing on his own and crying that I almost stopped caring that I was on an operating table while awake. (which still seems totally unnatural, may I say!) He was doing so well after he was born that Jason even got to carry him over to me for me to peek at his precious little face and give him a kiss while I was still on the table. I was very thankful for that.
Then Jason went with the baby to the nursery and I was left there to be sewn up. The only part that really hurt was when they were putting everything back inside me. Apparently the local anesthesia had started to wear off a little, so I could feel a lot of pain and pressure as they were trying to get everything to fit again. Not a good memory, but thankfully the anesthesia guy was nearby with Versed and other assorted drugs to dull my experience of it a little and to dull my memory of that particular time. Probably a good thing! They also put a long-acting painkiller into the spinal space called Duramorph that worked wonders for my pain control over the first 24 hours.
After that, NOT SO MUCH. The Duramorph wore off about the same time as they stopped doing the IV painkillers, which left me in a pretty miserable state today. At various points, I have had to have Jason help me up to even get to the bathroom. I just feel so red and swollen and overwhelmed with pain that at times I kind of want to just give up. But then I realize that it is time to pump, so I prop myself up on pillows, think about the baby while I spend 15 minutes or so with my good friend Medela, and then make the not-so-long-but-very-slow walk down to the NICU to get to see Shiloh!
The pain is a little better now that they have it regulated with a combination of pain pills and ibuprofen. Still not great, but a lot better. And I guess you're not supposed to feel like Super Woman the day after major abdominal surgery! What has helped today more than anything is that Shiloh is doing so very, very well! He has been breathing perfectly with no outside support since birth, and he has also been tolerating his feeds perfectly!
He got to nurse for the first time this morning around 5:30, and it was such a sweet, special time. I think it was what he had been wanting all along. He latched on like a pro on literally his first try, and he managed to stay awake and alert enough to continue his nice, strong, rhythmic sucks for the whole time they let him nurse. I cannot tell you how thankful I was for this! It is such a blessing. The nurses all marvelled at his amazing talents. ; )
After that, they switched him to where he is on all bottle feeds now instead of any tube feedings, with 2 nursing sessions per day. They will add in more nursing sessions as he continues to do well and as my milk comes in. (Which I hope will be really soon! Please!)
It is so nice now that he is on all feedings by mouth, because we get to go in for each feeding and hold him and cuddle him while he heats and for 30 minutes afterwards. This time with him is probably the very best medicine I could get! It is still so odd not to have him be inside of me, and it is even more strange to not have him just right here with me all the time. I feel biologically driven to cuddle him, so the time we have with him now is priceless to me. I just can't wait until we're all safe and sound (and hopefully pain-free!) at home! Hopefully it won't be too long.
Thank you so much, everyone, for all of your prayers, support, gifts, well wishes and kind words while we get through all this. I don't know what we would do without our family and friends right now. I appreciate every one of you!
More pictures to follow soon, I'm sure, but for now, I'm going to go grab a bite to eat and get ready to go feed our sweet baby boy at 6:00. I can't wait to see him again!
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Shiloh is here!!
From Jason:
We are very excited to announce the birth of our new baby, Shiloh Bruff Hudson! He was born on July 27, 2010 at 12:04 a.m. after a very LONG eight days in the hospital with painful contractions, then ending up with a very LONG day concluded with a C-Section to get Shiloh out. He weighed 4 pounds and 13 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long. Welcome to the world Shiloh!
We are very excited to announce the birth of our new baby, Shiloh Bruff Hudson! He was born on July 27, 2010 at 12:04 a.m. after a very LONG eight days in the hospital with painful contractions, then ending up with a very LONG day concluded with a C-Section to get Shiloh out. He weighed 4 pounds and 13 ounces and is 18 1/2 inches long. Welcome to the world Shiloh!
Monday, July 26, 2010
BABY TODAY!!
Well so much for Tuesday. My white count apparently skyrocketed, which means that I am probably getting an infection (which explains the RIDICULOUS amount of contractions I've been having since yesterday afternoon), so instead of waiting until tomorrow, they are going to go ahead and augment my labor with Pitocin today.
If it doesn't work or if the baby doesn't tolerate it, then it will be off for a C-section.
It's all happening so fast that it seems a little surreal. Please say a prayer for us that we will have a safe delivery and a healthy baby!
Thank you, and we will post updates as we are able.
Time to meet this baby boy!
If it doesn't work or if the baby doesn't tolerate it, then it will be off for a C-section.
It's all happening so fast that it seems a little surreal. Please say a prayer for us that we will have a safe delivery and a healthy baby!
Thank you, and we will post updates as we are able.
Time to meet this baby boy!
Last day to be pregnant!
I realized this morning that it is my last full day to be pregnant. You would think that since this is my fourth time around, I would just be saying, "Thank goodness!" In reality, despite the fact that I have, in fact, been pregnant quite a lot in my 28 years of life, realizing that this is the last day that I will get to have a precious little baby growing and moving inside me is very bittersweet. In fact, it's making me cry to type this, and I'm not even totally sure why.
There is just something magical about having a child inside of you. It is something I will definitely never forget. If it weren't for the fact that my pregnancies have all involved complications, I would probably end up with 8 kids or something because I love being pregnant so much... Jason (and my mom the uber-babysitter!) had better be thankful! ; )
Okay, I'm going to try to pull it together now and stop all this boo-hooing. I think it is making the contractions worse!
I just can't believe he's going to be here tomorrow. Wow.
There is just something magical about having a child inside of you. It is something I will definitely never forget. If it weren't for the fact that my pregnancies have all involved complications, I would probably end up with 8 kids or something because I love being pregnant so much... Jason (and my mom the uber-babysitter!) had better be thankful! ; )
Okay, I'm going to try to pull it together now and stop all this boo-hooing. I think it is making the contractions worse!
I just can't believe he's going to be here tomorrow. Wow.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
More Maternity Photos!
Jason took a few more maternity photos of me the other day. Here are some of his favorites:
It is awfully handy to have such a talented photographer around. : )
Oh, and in case you were wondering...
Just 2 days to go until we get to meet Shiloh! It'll be here before we know it!!
It is awfully handy to have such a talented photographer around. : )
Oh, and in case you were wondering...
Just 2 days to go until we get to meet Shiloh! It'll be here before we know it!!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Friday, July 23, 2010
33 Weeks, 3 days
Well, we're making it... One day (and sometimes just one hour) at a time! It is nice that visitors usually come by in the evenings to keep us entertained. That kind of breaks up the monotony a little!
Yesterday, Miles and Melissa Boyer came by to say hi and brought us some yummy goodies from Shelby Lynn's cake shoppe. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite... And so did Norah!
Then Kris and Kara, who have been awesome enough to come by every day since we've been in here, brought their hysterical little baby Noah in to entertain us for a bit. I also want to thank them for treating us to dinner from Abuelo's a couple of days ago. I branched out from my usual fajita order and tried their Enchiladas Cozumel, and it was awesome!
Today is going to be fun because Mom is bringing Bear and Norah by here in a bit to visit, and that is always entertaining! Other highlights of the day: plans for fresh sheets and a new IV. This one is starting to get pretty sore...
I guess it's kind of sad that clean sheets and getting stuck with a needle are the top of the day's exciting plans, but other than having 2-4 contractions an hour and getting started on the next book in the series I'm reading, that's pretty much it. Not for long though! Just 4 days until we get to meet our precious little guy! Almost there!
Yesterday, Miles and Melissa Boyer came by to say hi and brought us some yummy goodies from Shelby Lynn's cake shoppe. I thoroughly enjoyed every bite... And so did Norah!
Then Kris and Kara, who have been awesome enough to come by every day since we've been in here, brought their hysterical little baby Noah in to entertain us for a bit. I also want to thank them for treating us to dinner from Abuelo's a couple of days ago. I branched out from my usual fajita order and tried their Enchiladas Cozumel, and it was awesome!
Today is going to be fun because Mom is bringing Bear and Norah by here in a bit to visit, and that is always entertaining! Other highlights of the day: plans for fresh sheets and a new IV. This one is starting to get pretty sore...
I guess it's kind of sad that clean sheets and getting stuck with a needle are the top of the day's exciting plans, but other than having 2-4 contractions an hour and getting started on the next book in the series I'm reading, that's pretty much it. Not for long though! Just 4 days until we get to meet our precious little guy! Almost there!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Making it Work!
Jason has been very, very sweet helping me through all this. He has been here pretty much all day, every day just hanging out with me and keeping me company even though it's quite boring in here!
Today he went by the house to pick up his computer so that he can get a little work done from right here in our room!
If he had warned me he was taking that, I would have probably made a better face and moved the can of hair spray, but oh well! I'm just glad he's here or I'm pretty sure I would be losing my mind. It is nice that just when I feel like I can't take it another second, I get a nice long hug and a reminder that it's all going to be okay. That helps tremendously!
Anyway, they just brought my dinner tray, and meals are pretty much the highlight of my day now, so I guesss I'll go see what delicious hospital meal is in store for this evening (looks like salisbury steak... yum???) and keep watching these episodes from Season 2 of Friends...
5 days to go. We can do this!!!
Today he went by the house to pick up his computer so that he can get a little work done from right here in our room!
If he had warned me he was taking that, I would have probably made a better face and moved the can of hair spray, but oh well! I'm just glad he's here or I'm pretty sure I would be losing my mind. It is nice that just when I feel like I can't take it another second, I get a nice long hug and a reminder that it's all going to be okay. That helps tremendously!
Anyway, they just brought my dinner tray, and meals are pretty much the highlight of my day now, so I guesss I'll go see what delicious hospital meal is in store for this evening (looks like salisbury steak... yum???) and keep watching these episodes from Season 2 of Friends...
5 days to go. We can do this!!!
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Still Waiting for Shiloh!
Well, here we sit! I am 33 weeks, 1 day today, so we are making good progress. I am still cleared for VBAC if my body ever decides to go into labor, but unless I spontaneously go into labor, get an infection or the baby is having distress, they think it is still safer for him to be in me than out of me until 34 weeks. While I am not very physically comfortable, I am happy to sit here for 6 more days if it means that his lungs have a better chance when he comes out. In the grand scheme of things, 6 days is not very long!
My doctor will even be on call on Tuesday (the big 34 weeks day!), and he came by today to let me know that if I remain undelivered then, that they plan to try augmenting my labor with a low dose of pitocin to see if things will get moving. If that doesn't work, or if he doesn't tolerate labor well, then they will go ahead and just get him out because at that point the risk/benefit balance changes.
Mostly I just don't really care how he gets out, I just wish that I could magically fast-forward to some time in the future when he is out and healthy. This waiting and worrying is a little hard. Especially the worrying.
Thankfully, I have lots of distractions to keep my mind occupied or I'm pretty sure I would be driving my nurses even more insane than I already am! I am on book 5 of the Redemption Series I had mentioned earlier, and my friend Kara and her husband Kris brought over a lock-box with 500 or so alphabetized movies in it.
Also, I got to see my sweet Norah and Bear this afternoon. Bear brought in some type of science project thing that involved a volcano that erupts and turns into a dinosaur.
Now that it is done erupting and has been left to sit on the counter in my hospital room, it mostly just looks like the world's most terrifying urine specimine. Yuck!
I also got to cuddle with my sweet girl while she took a little nap with me.
Tonight my mom and sis are bringing over some board games to help us pass the evening. Scattergories and Balderdash are two of my favorites. I can't wait!
My doctor will even be on call on Tuesday (the big 34 weeks day!), and he came by today to let me know that if I remain undelivered then, that they plan to try augmenting my labor with a low dose of pitocin to see if things will get moving. If that doesn't work, or if he doesn't tolerate labor well, then they will go ahead and just get him out because at that point the risk/benefit balance changes.
Mostly I just don't really care how he gets out, I just wish that I could magically fast-forward to some time in the future when he is out and healthy. This waiting and worrying is a little hard. Especially the worrying.
Thankfully, I have lots of distractions to keep my mind occupied or I'm pretty sure I would be driving my nurses even more insane than I already am! I am on book 5 of the Redemption Series I had mentioned earlier, and my friend Kara and her husband Kris brought over a lock-box with 500 or so alphabetized movies in it.
Also, I got to see my sweet Norah and Bear this afternoon. Bear brought in some type of science project thing that involved a volcano that erupts and turns into a dinosaur.
Now that it is done erupting and has been left to sit on the counter in my hospital room, it mostly just looks like the world's most terrifying urine specimine. Yuck!
I also got to cuddle with my sweet girl while she took a little nap with me.
Tonight my mom and sis are bringing over some board games to help us pass the evening. Scattergories and Balderdash are two of my favorites. I can't wait!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
We're having a baby!
Well, it looks like we're having a baby! Not sure when exactly, but we're at the hospital, and we won't be leaving until he gets here, so it looks like SOON.
I'm feeling pretty anxious/nervous, but I am excited that after they examined the operative report from Norah's birth at Willow Creek, they have determined that I am a good candidate for VBAC after all, so we'll be giving it our best shot for a "normal" delivery. I'll be pretty happy with any delivery that ends with a healthy baby, but I would much rather do the VBAC than another c section. Really praying that everything will go smoothly today.
They are about to take me for an ultrasound to make sure the baby is able to tolerate labor well. So far so good.
I can't believe he's going to be here soon. It doesn't seem real.
Updates to follow as I am able to post them!
I'm feeling pretty anxious/nervous, but I am excited that after they examined the operative report from Norah's birth at Willow Creek, they have determined that I am a good candidate for VBAC after all, so we'll be giving it our best shot for a "normal" delivery. I'll be pretty happy with any delivery that ends with a healthy baby, but I would much rather do the VBAC than another c section. Really praying that everything will go smoothly today.
They are about to take me for an ultrasound to make sure the baby is able to tolerate labor well. So far so good.
I can't believe he's going to be here soon. It doesn't seem real.
Updates to follow as I am able to post them!
Monday, July 19, 2010
An Homage
We are pretty big on originality around here, and we don't usually make an effort to imitate the work of other artists, but with me being 8 months pregnant with what will in all likelihood be our last child, we decided to make an exception and stage a photo session as an homage to the infamous Demi Moore maternity photo that was shot by Annie Leibovitz for the cover of the August, 1991, issue of Vanity Fair.
The image, which featured a 28-year-old Moore in the nude while 7 months pregnant with her second daughter, Scout, was a sort of turning point in the field of maternity photography. Prior to this, it was rare for the pregnant female form to be on such bold display. The cover image featured Demi in the nude, and the images featured inside the magazine caused further controversy by depicting Demi's pregnant form in a lacy black bra and panties. This was a big departure from the mostly chaste and covered-up maternity photography that was taking place at the time. To have a pregnant woman displayed in such an openly "sexy" way caused a huge controversy at the time, but ended up affecting a wave of change within the field.
Images of pregnant women have since evolved to include a wide range of depictions, from the more traditional poses common in the earlier days of the field to the less covered-up and more evocative images reminiscent of the Demi Moore/Annie Leibovitz photo session that sparked the change. Now it is very common in the field of maternity photography for women to proudly display their forms in celebration of what is one of the most special and beautiful times in a woman's life.
As an homage to the pivotal shoot, Jason brought a backdrop from the studio here to our house, and we set up a couple of shots in the same spirit. Here is the image that was used for the Vanity Fair cover in 1991, shot by Annie Leibovitz:
...And here is the shot that Jason captured of me. I am the same age that Demi was at the time of the shoot and one month further along in my pregnancy.
Below is an image from the inside spread of the Vanity Fair article.
...And finally, a similar image of me taken by Jason:
Kudos to Annie Leibovitz for her excellent work on the images, and for her ever-growing body of amazing work that continues to be an inspiration to me as an artist. And long live materntiy photography that helps pregnant women to feel beautiful in their bodies. There is nothing lovelier than a big pregnant belly, if I do say so myself! ; )
The image, which featured a 28-year-old Moore in the nude while 7 months pregnant with her second daughter, Scout, was a sort of turning point in the field of maternity photography. Prior to this, it was rare for the pregnant female form to be on such bold display. The cover image featured Demi in the nude, and the images featured inside the magazine caused further controversy by depicting Demi's pregnant form in a lacy black bra and panties. This was a big departure from the mostly chaste and covered-up maternity photography that was taking place at the time. To have a pregnant woman displayed in such an openly "sexy" way caused a huge controversy at the time, but ended up affecting a wave of change within the field.
Images of pregnant women have since evolved to include a wide range of depictions, from the more traditional poses common in the earlier days of the field to the less covered-up and more evocative images reminiscent of the Demi Moore/Annie Leibovitz photo session that sparked the change. Now it is very common in the field of maternity photography for women to proudly display their forms in celebration of what is one of the most special and beautiful times in a woman's life.
As an homage to the pivotal shoot, Jason brought a backdrop from the studio here to our house, and we set up a couple of shots in the same spirit. Here is the image that was used for the Vanity Fair cover in 1991, shot by Annie Leibovitz:
...And here is the shot that Jason captured of me. I am the same age that Demi was at the time of the shoot and one month further along in my pregnancy.
Below is an image from the inside spread of the Vanity Fair article.
...And finally, a similar image of me taken by Jason:
Kudos to Annie Leibovitz for her excellent work on the images, and for her ever-growing body of amazing work that continues to be an inspiration to me as an artist. And long live materntiy photography that helps pregnant women to feel beautiful in their bodies. There is nothing lovelier than a big pregnant belly, if I do say so myself! ; )
Things to Do!
Okay, so now I only have 8 days of bedrest to go! Woo-hoo! To help pass the time, I'm trying to come up with projects that I can do from here on the couch. Projects that don't involve watching hours on end of bad shows on TLC.
I'm 3 books into the Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury, which is helping keep me busy... Once I get my hands on book 4, I will have plenty to do, because my dear friend Jennifer, who introduced me to the series, has graciously loaned me the next ELEVEN books in the series after that! That ought to keep me busy enough for the 8 days, but to give my eyes an occasional break, I'm trying to come up with a few good projects to work on right here on the couch.
Yesterday pretty much all I did was watch TV, read and frost a German chocolate cake. After which I ate a fair portion of said German chocolate cake. But we don't have to focus on that part right now! : )
Today, I am working on organizing old pictures into new albums, which is making me very very happy. I love looking through old pictures! Some day maybe I'll get very industious and scan some of them in and post them here... But today is not that day. Today is the day to watch "Revenge of the Bridesmaids" (which is surprisingly cute, by the way), separate these pictures by year and probably eat some more German chocolate cake!
Hope everyone is having a good week!
I'm 3 books into the Redemption Series by Karen Kingsbury, which is helping keep me busy... Once I get my hands on book 4, I will have plenty to do, because my dear friend Jennifer, who introduced me to the series, has graciously loaned me the next ELEVEN books in the series after that! That ought to keep me busy enough for the 8 days, but to give my eyes an occasional break, I'm trying to come up with a few good projects to work on right here on the couch.
Yesterday pretty much all I did was watch TV, read and frost a German chocolate cake. After which I ate a fair portion of said German chocolate cake. But we don't have to focus on that part right now! : )
Today, I am working on organizing old pictures into new albums, which is making me very very happy. I love looking through old pictures! Some day maybe I'll get very industious and scan some of them in and post them here... But today is not that day. Today is the day to watch "Revenge of the Bridesmaids" (which is surprisingly cute, by the way), separate these pictures by year and probably eat some more German chocolate cake!
Hope everyone is having a good week!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Maternity Photos
We took a few quick maternity photos the other day... Here is the first one I have had a chance to play with. It was taken at 32 weeks. More to come!
Sleeping Beauty!
Apparently all those contractions and beeping monitors in the hospital wore me out, because I went to bed relatively early last night and didn't wake up until almost 1 this afternoon! Also, all of the not eating must have added up, because despite my pizza binge last night, I still weighed a pound less this morning than I did last week.
Not to worry, though... Jason is making a lunch run to Flying Burrito to try to remedy this! My impressive 38 pounds of pregnancy weight gain thus far will live on! : )
Not to worry, though... Jason is making a lunch run to Flying Burrito to try to remedy this! My impressive 38 pounds of pregnancy weight gain thus far will live on! : )
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Hello from the Hospital. (But not for long!)
Well, I'm back in the hospital at the moment, but hopefully not for long. On Thursday, the contractions started to ramp up and got to where they were 6-8 minutes apart and starting to hurt pretty bad. We went in to get it checked on, just in case, and they found that I had gone from a fingertip dilated and 30% to almost 2cm and 50%. FRUSTRATING.
They tried Procardia and that didn't do anything, so they ended up doing that horrible, horrible magnesium again along with the Nubain and eventually things slowed back down again. Now they have weaned me off the magnesium and as of this moment, the contractions are back to being just weak and sporadic.
I was so upset and frustrated on Thursday that I spent the better part of that night and the next morning just crying and feeling sorry for myself while trying to survive the magnesium. I feel much better physically and emotionally today. 32 weeks and 4 days is starting to sound pretty good, in that it is over halfway through the week to 33 weeks, which is almost 34 weeks. I just feel so very, very frustrated with my body right now, but I am trying to relax and not worry too much because I'm sure that doesn't help.
I want to be home in my own bed and eating my own food (or really ANY FOOD for that matter) so bad I can't stand it, but at the same time I am very nervous to go home because I am afraid that something will happen... I can't decide whether getting to watch him on the monitor all the time is reassuring or nerve wracking when I'm here. It's nice to always know that he's doing good, and to know that if the contractions were to ramp back up and start being productive, that I'm in a place where they are prepared to deal with it immediately, but at the same time, the monitors make me constantly aware and kind of paranoid feeling because I have literally NOTHING else to do but sit and stare at them and worry about whether or not I'm having contractions and whether or not the baby is okay! I desperately need to be distracted.
He has the hiccups right now. : )
With any luck, the contractions will continue to behave themselves for the next 6 hours or so off of the magnesium and then if my cervix still looks the same, I will get to be discharged this evening. Oh my goodness my cozy bed with no needles or IV's or monitors sounds SO GOOD RIGHT NOW. Really praying I get to be there this evening.
Also, one of the docotrs said that at this point, for every day that Shiloh is still inside me, it will save him 2 days in the NICU. I remember somebody saying that with Norah at some point as well, and that is amazing to me. Literally every day at this point is so much better than the day before, and will mean so much less work for his little body once he's out. Plus, if the ultrasounds are right, he's over 5 pounds now, which to me means that it only makes sense for us to start to aim for at least 6pounds! With a little luck and another couple of weeks, I think it could happen.
I'm keeping my fingers (and my legs) crossed. ; )
***UPDATE***
Literally as I was still typing, trying to finish off this post, the doctor came in to check on me. He said things have not progressed any further, and that I am being discharged!!! SO THANKFUL!!!
So just please if you think of it pray for a peaceful next couple of weeks for all of us. We could sure use it!
They tried Procardia and that didn't do anything, so they ended up doing that horrible, horrible magnesium again along with the Nubain and eventually things slowed back down again. Now they have weaned me off the magnesium and as of this moment, the contractions are back to being just weak and sporadic.
I was so upset and frustrated on Thursday that I spent the better part of that night and the next morning just crying and feeling sorry for myself while trying to survive the magnesium. I feel much better physically and emotionally today. 32 weeks and 4 days is starting to sound pretty good, in that it is over halfway through the week to 33 weeks, which is almost 34 weeks. I just feel so very, very frustrated with my body right now, but I am trying to relax and not worry too much because I'm sure that doesn't help.
I want to be home in my own bed and eating my own food (or really ANY FOOD for that matter) so bad I can't stand it, but at the same time I am very nervous to go home because I am afraid that something will happen... I can't decide whether getting to watch him on the monitor all the time is reassuring or nerve wracking when I'm here. It's nice to always know that he's doing good, and to know that if the contractions were to ramp back up and start being productive, that I'm in a place where they are prepared to deal with it immediately, but at the same time, the monitors make me constantly aware and kind of paranoid feeling because I have literally NOTHING else to do but sit and stare at them and worry about whether or not I'm having contractions and whether or not the baby is okay! I desperately need to be distracted.
He has the hiccups right now. : )
With any luck, the contractions will continue to behave themselves for the next 6 hours or so off of the magnesium and then if my cervix still looks the same, I will get to be discharged this evening. Oh my goodness my cozy bed with no needles or IV's or monitors sounds SO GOOD RIGHT NOW. Really praying I get to be there this evening.
Also, one of the docotrs said that at this point, for every day that Shiloh is still inside me, it will save him 2 days in the NICU. I remember somebody saying that with Norah at some point as well, and that is amazing to me. Literally every day at this point is so much better than the day before, and will mean so much less work for his little body once he's out. Plus, if the ultrasounds are right, he's over 5 pounds now, which to me means that it only makes sense for us to start to aim for at least 6pounds! With a little luck and another couple of weeks, I think it could happen.
I'm keeping my fingers (and my legs) crossed. ; )
***UPDATE***
Literally as I was still typing, trying to finish off this post, the doctor came in to check on me. He said things have not progressed any further, and that I am being discharged!!! SO THANKFUL!!!
So just please if you think of it pray for a peaceful next couple of weeks for all of us. We could sure use it!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Contractions.
Suck.
That is all I have to say about that.
ps: A note to my mother and father: NO I AM NOT IN LABOR, just having sporadic contractions that aren't any fun. In the event that I have 4 or more in an hour or if anything else out of the ordinary happens, I PROMISE to go to the hospital! Love you guys!
That is all I have to say about that.
ps: A note to my mother and father: NO I AM NOT IN LABOR, just having sporadic contractions that aren't any fun. In the event that I have 4 or more in an hour or if anything else out of the ordinary happens, I PROMISE to go to the hospital! Love you guys!
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Nursery Bedding... Finally!
Okay, including today, I have 13 days left of this bedrest business. I think that's totally do-able! Tomorrow my dear friend Jennifer is coming to visit, which will make that day practically not even count, and after that, I think I am just going to do my best to come up with projects that can be accomplished from right here on the couch. So far I have been ridiculously un-productive, with the notable exception of the fact that I did manage to order crib bedding today!
I kept finding sets that I loved, but they were all in the $600-700 price range, which is just INSANE to me, especially given our new-found commitment to family frugality. So after looking longingly at the more expensive sets for several days, I stumbled across a website that offered a set with the same simple all-white look I was going for, but without the outrageous pricetag! It's from a company called Carousel Baby Bedding that lets you design your own custom bedding sets, but claims to ship them out within just a few days... I guess we'll see about that part, but I'm hopeful! And it was only $170 (including shipping) for the dust ruffle, the crib bumper and the sheet. I can't wait to see it all together in Shiloh's little nursery nook!
Here is a picture of the set I ordered from the company's website:
I kept finding sets that I loved, but they were all in the $600-700 price range, which is just INSANE to me, especially given our new-found commitment to family frugality. So after looking longingly at the more expensive sets for several days, I stumbled across a website that offered a set with the same simple all-white look I was going for, but without the outrageous pricetag! It's from a company called Carousel Baby Bedding that lets you design your own custom bedding sets, but claims to ship them out within just a few days... I guess we'll see about that part, but I'm hopeful! And it was only $170 (including shipping) for the dust ruffle, the crib bumper and the sheet. I can't wait to see it all together in Shiloh's little nursery nook!
Here is a picture of the set I ordered from the company's website:
The crib is white and is set up in a little alcove in our room in front of a window (which will eventually have white sheers hanging over it!). There is a screen separating the nursery area from our sleeping area, and as soon as we get it moved in there, he will have a dresser with a changing pad on top of it as well. This same Midsummer Pendant Light by Tord Boontje that hung over Norahs' crib will hang over Shiloh's crib as well:
I will post pictures of all of it as soon as we get it all put together!
In the meantime, I am going to go enjoy one of my allowed times off the couch eating the dinner that Jason has graciously prepared! Granted, the dining room table is only about 10 feet away from the couch, but it's better than nothing! : ) Have a good night everybody!
Almond Joy!
For some crazy reason, I had my mom pick me up a bag of Almond Joy miniatures when she was grocery shopping for us. Now all I do all day long is sit around and eat them while watching back-to-back episodes of A Baby Story. No good can come of this!
*sigh
At least it's something to do I guess!
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Boom Boom Pow!
First things first... I'm 32 weeks today, and still no baby! Yay! We even got a good report at the doctor today. He said that Shiloh's head still isn't engaged, and that my cervix has not changed any since this weekend. We will take good news wherever we can get it, so we are pretty happy with where things stand. Mostly we're just glad I'm still pregnant!
On another note, here are a few pictures from the 4th of July. Ah, the good old days when I was allowed to roam free... ; )
On another note, here are a few pictures from the 4th of July. Ah, the good old days when I was allowed to roam free... ; )
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