I am so excited to share Emily's bridals with you! Emily was a stunning bride and she chose a gorgeous location to take her pictures. We met at Millford Plantation in South Carolina on a much warmer, earlier fall day. :) We were able to get some great light and capture pictures at golden hour. Here are a few of my favorites from her session:
Dom is 3 months today! It's so fun to see his personality and likes and dislikes developing more and more. He is constantly changing and growing! We made a big change in the last week and instead of keeping Dom in the rock n'play in our bedroom, we started putting him in his crib in his room to sleep. He has done great and I am SO thankful that transition is over! I also transitioned him from the swaddle to the Merlin's Magic Sleepsuit because he was breaking out of the swaddle and I wanted something that would help him feel cozy in the crib. He sleeps the same amount in the sleepsuit as he does in the swaddle so it hasn't exactly been "magic" in getting him to sleep hours longer, but it did allow him transition with no problem to the crib and so, for that reason, it has been amazing!
Currently, Dom loves:
Currently Dom doesn't love:
Firsts this month:
I also thought it would be fun to share a current "day in the life" because I love reading these! Granted, we certainly don't have a strict schedule right now, I plan to start working on that this month. We currently have a loose routine and follow the eat, play, sleep routine. I hope implement some of the babywise methods and to have more of a set in stone schedule by the time he is four months.
Between 8-8:30- Dom wakes up and eats
8:30-9:30- Dom goes in his MamaRoo while I pump, eat breakfast, drink my coffee. And then he goes on his play mat for some tummy time. All this happens with the Today show and then Kelly & Ryan in the background, obviously.
9:30-10:15- Dom naps and I shower...for some reason, his first nap of the day is always only 45 minutes!
10:15-10:45- If I need to do my hair or put on makeup, I finish getting ready and put Dom in the boppy lounger on our bed and turn the fan on. Endless entertainment :)
11- Feed and then if we need to go out anywhere, this is usually when I do it and he'll nap in his car seat or baby carrier.
11:30-1 Nap (If I'm not running errands, I'm usually cleaning the house, doing laundry, etc. during this time)
1 or 1:30- Feed again and then have some play time, go on a walk, etc.
2:30-3:30- Nap (I usually respond to emails, edit pictures, and blog during this time)
3:30- Feed and play, read books, etc.
4:30-5:30- Nap (I usually make dinner during this time)
5:30- Feed and play (this is usually his fussiest time of the day so we typically put Dom in his bouncer beside us for dinner and then either me or Alex holds him most of the time)
6:45- Bathtime! (this is Dom's favorite time, he LOVES the bath and it always calms him down when he's fussy)
7:15- Feed and bedtime by around 7:45 or 8
Nighttime wakings- It still varies a little when Dom wakes up a night but he *usually* wakes up 2-3 times and goes right back to sleep. The longest stretch he's done so far is 6 hours and he'll often wake up at 2am, 5am, and then up for the day at 8am. But sometimes he still wakes up at 12 or 1, then 3, then 6, and then up for the day at 8am. I'm hoping he'll drop a feeding soon now that he's getting bigger and go down to waking 1-2 times a night rather than 2-3. :)
More pictures from our iPhones (click on images to see bigger pictures):
Ally and Andrew had the most beautiful Christmas wedding! I loved meeting them and I appreciated how laid back they were. It was clear that they wanted to enjoy their family and friends and celebrate their special day! I also loved their gold, red and green details. It was stunning!
The Vendors Who Made this Day Possible:
Venue/Catering- The Cotton Room
Photography- DiPrima Photography
Cake- Cinda's Creative Cakes
Dress- Carolina Bridal
Bridesmaids- David's Bridal
Ceremony music- Throwing Plates
DJ- Tony Mellon
Second Shooter- Sammi Evans Photography
I can hardly believe we've already had 2 months with Dom!!! It's cliche but it really is true that "the days are long but the years are short." Except with a newborn the days aren't even long, it's more like one quick chunk of time where each 24 hour day runs into the other and is broken up into 3 hour segments of feeding, sleeping (or more like...trying to get the baby to sleep!), and changing lot of diapers! Each day has truly flown by and even though we've had some good days and some more tiring ones, they've truly all been a blessing because Dom brings so much joy into our lives!
Weeks 3-6 had some tough moments with him. He would cry and scream inconsolably for several hours a day a few times a week. He would arch his back, clench his fists, and turn really red. It was so sad! When he turned 6 weeks I finally took him to the pediatrician. I assumed he just had colic and that there was nothing I could do about it. But after talking with several people I realized he actually may have Acid Reflux and that there might be some medicine that could help him. I told the doctor what was going on and got him a prescription for reflux medicine and I'm telling you, as soon as he started taking it he was a totally different baby. I was SO thankful! We haven't had a bout of inconsolable crying since he started the medicine! He also started to sleep much better at night and didn't have to be held 24/7. I think he was wanting to be held constantly before because he was usually in pain, poor baby.
At two months, Dom is:
10lbs (he basically doubled his birth weight!!) and 22"
Dom loves:
Dom doesn't love:
I regret not doing a better job documenting all of our visitors over the past 2 months but here's some of my favorite memories captured on my camera & on iPhones:
iPhone Pictures (some taken by me and some by Alex...click the image to view it larger):
I am THRILLED to be sharing Dom's newborn by my good friend Lauren Jolly Photography with you today! Lauren and I met through a local photography group when Alex and I moved to Winston about a year ago and she quickly became a wonderful friend! Lauren and her husband Vaughan and their sweet son Finn attend Emmanuel now and it has been such a joy to get to know Lauren and her family. Lauren is a very talented newborn/birth film photographer and I was overjoyed to have her capture such a special time in our lives! Here are some of my favorites:
