It just goes to show you, that no matter how much you plan, you can’t predict how your childbirth will go.  I was so lucky to have an amazing pregnancy. It was smooth sailing from day one. I even shot an engagement session at 39 weeks! My labor and delivery were not as flawlessly executed. We went to classes, hired a doula, made a birth plan, and felt absolutely ready for a natural childbirth. I started having contractions at 4am on Thursday March 26th. I labored at home for 11 hours until my water broke at 3pm. We decided that it was finally time to go to the hospital. J.D. packed all the bags in the car, and we were off! At this time, I felt confident in the ability to give birth naturally and excited to meet baby James.  Those feelings of confidence started to disappear as the contractions continued, but my body wasn’t dilating.  We tried everything…We walked, changed positions, sat on the birth ball, and finally we agreed to do pitocin. (without an epidural)

Pitocin contractions were an animal I wasn’t prepared for. The contractions were long and 10x’s harder than natural labor contractions. I was sure that we had to be making good progress with so many hours of intense contractions. I was wrong.At my last check, we had NO CHANGE! I couldn’t believe it. At this point, I had been in labor 53 hours….That’s right 53.

At this point, it had been too long since my water had broken and it was time for a C-Section. The one thing about childbirth I hadn’t really done any research on. The nurses got me ready and J.D. put on his scrubs. We were on our way to surgery. I felt short lived relief when i heard him cry for the first time. He was perfect. But he had to be taken out of the O.R. without letting me hold him. I sent J.D. with the baby and almost immediately after they left the room, I had complications. The Dr. started ordering more drugs to be administered and the nurses suddenly stopped talking about their weekend plans.  It turned out that due to the prolonged labor, my body was just tired and I lost too much blood. In the end, we have so much to be thankful for. The complications during my surgery made for a longer recovery, but no long term issues. But most of all, we are thankful for our healthy and happy baby boy.

James Daniel Harris born March 28th 2015

9lbs 1.7 ounces 19.5 inches long

Going into Surgery

After 6 long days in the hospital I learned that My husband is absolutely the strong one in our relationship.  I couldn’t have made it through this experience without his constant support.
I never knew how much I needed his encouragement to push myself and that holding his hand is the only thing that helps when I’m scared. He is absolutely my better half and baby James is so lucky to have him as a father.

Every diaper change, every feeding, every screaming refusal to sleep in the first days of our babies life were handled by his super hero dad

Okay guys…it’s the final countdown until baby James arrives! I can’t believe we’re so close to welcoming him home.  In preparation for his arrival, we’ve put the finishing touches on his nursery.  Walking through the doorway feels like the cozy, relaxing spot that I wanted  – hopefully providing a sense of calm that helps him sleep through the nights right away!…yeah right 😉 I’m not gonna lie, this nursery has been pretty much finished for months.. I’m a bit over the top when it comes to planning.

Our hospital bags are packed, The house is baby proofed, & his clothes are washed and put away.

OH!… and his shoe collection is almost as cool as dads.

J.D. and I had been looking for the perfect dresser for months. We wanted something waist high so I wouldn’t have to bend over to change James, but something that had 6 deep drawers.  We ended up finding this one at a local antique shop in our town. I sanded it down, painted it, and finished it with some brushed silver hardware. 

I still have burn marks on my fingers from my first experience ever using a glue gun to attach the peat moss. Never Again.

To make this frame, we found a huge picture at Goodwill and knocked the center out. Did some sanding, painting and then bought paper mache letters and painted them white.  J.D. Drilled around 6,000 screws to secure it to the wall. He may have went overboard. The wall will fall down before that frame is going anywhere.

www.luximagesphotography.com