Who  would have thought that one little baby boy could bring so much happiness into so many people’s lives! From the minute we knew of your existance we fell in love. Every heartbeat we listened to, every little face we saw, and every tiny kick we felt made us more excited to welcome you into our beautiful world. To finally hold you in our arms and hear you take your first breath was the most special and surreal moment, and every minute since we thank our angels for giving you to us.
From your acrobatic facials, to your tiny little cries, you make every day so much better than the last. We cannot wait until that first hug back so we know that you know just how much we love you!
Santino, you’ve started our own little family.. let the days of smiles laughter and love begin… You are one very special little man…

All our love today and always,
Mum n Dad
xoxoxo

friends, please meet Santino ~ 12 days new.

Santino’s newborn photos shoot by NFE design

click here to see full portfolio

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Aria may be just a quiet, sweet little girl who is happy just to sit and watch the world going on around her, but her name, Aria, embodies everything that is strong and brave and independent.  you see, Aria’s great grandmothers name was Maria and her great great grandmothers name was Daria,  so in a way her name is a tribute to two very strong Italian woman.  add to this  her gorgeous middle name, Della.  Della is Aria’s grandmothers name, yet another strong woman in the family.  three generations of grandmothers all coming together to be namesakes to this precious little girl.  that’s something pretty special right there.

so what does Aria mean?  In Italian it means air and in Latin… lioness.  now tell me, is there any doubt in your mind that this sweet little angel will grow up being a strong, independent woman.  i mean how could she not!  she’s surrounded with so much love and strength and inspirational woman.  her destiny is surely to follow in their footsteps.

Aria…strong.  a lioness.

photography nfe design

so perfectly depicting of the little being that visited my studio.

so much personality.

so much hope.

so much excitement for many more days to come, of his lucky parents staring at this face and watching it grow…

friends, please meet Santino…

photography NFE Design

Tobey did take a while to arrive though and Anna describes the lengths they went to in order to meet their little man.

“Given Tobey was engaged for 3 weeks before he finally decided to arrive, I tried everything to try & get him out…. Walking, yoga, pineapples, curries (and paid for it with terrible heartburn), baths – everything!!!”

i asked Anna and Kris what was the biggest lesson they had learnt since Tobey was born and their response rang so true…

“Biggest lesson learned is there is such thing as a “normal” baby. They are all very different & thinking there is a “norm” will only stress you out that something is wrong all the time! Common sense is a much better approach.”

and how did Anna, Kris and Tobey find the experience of a  session with me…

“Renee is fantastic at what she does. Tobey was unsettled during the shoot and she had so much patience with him. You can see she loves what she does and it shows in the beautiful photos she takes.”

Anna is right you know.  i do love what i do and i loved photographing Tobey.  here he is in all his cuteness…

Photography NFE Design

perfect, adorable, divine Perri…

photography NFE DESIGN

on facebook

First time mum, food challenged, pet-obsessed born and bred Newcastle TV journalist trying to find her feet in a whole new world.

learn more about Kate and her journey over the coming months here as part of our real life. real stories series…

Week 3
Embracing the inner-slob

I have a confession to make. I haven’t left the house in four days and it pains me to admit that in that time I have worn a total of two outfits, both of them mismatched tracksuits. I have two bulging wardrobes full of clothes, and yet the lure of the daggy tracksuit has just been too strong. Aria, on the the hand, has had more outfit changes than Suri Cruise. Partly because she has so many cute clothes and is like a real life dress up doll, and partly because she can’t keep her mess in her nappy. Unlike her parents, Aria is fortunate enough to have skinny thighs. This will be good when she is a teenager, but it’s not so good now, as even the smallest nappies provide little protection against the dreaded number three. You know, when the poop flows straight out of the confines of the nappy and all over the nice outfit I have put together (and usually the person holding her). Aria is also quite adept at what I’ll call the one and a half. It’s where the wee completely misses the nappy and flows straight out beside her teeny legs. It seems to happen more frequently in the dead of night when I’m trying very hard not to wake her up completely. We have failed at that quest many, many times already!

One major lesson I have learnt this week, is that the parents need just as much training as the baby. You only have to meet our other child, Lola the sausage dog, to gain some insight into our parenting skills up until now. You see, Lola gets all the attention she wants and does pretty much whatever her little doggy heart desires. We have only disciplined her to the very basic level, because she is just too cute! Translate that into raising a baby, and you can see some potential problems. Both my husband and I have fallen victim to every single noise Aria makes, and she makes a lot. A whine, grunt or sneeze and we’re at her cot side. Even worse, we have a monitor with a camera showing us live pictures of what she is doing (after all we both work in tv) When I’m not in her room staring at her, I’m staring at this little screen like it’s the most riveting tv show I’ve ever seen. What I’m just beginning to realise, is she is fine, I’m the one who needs training!

It is the steepest learning curve I will ever endure. Three weeks down and I’m only just now flying solo. My support network (my husband and mum) are both back at work, leaving me and my little doll to fend for ourselves. The first day I didn’t get out of my pjs and only just managed to brush my teeth. Aria had a fussy day (I choose to blame a growth spurt) and didn’t want to sleep. When my confinement nurse (my mum) arrived in the afternoon, she found a battle weary me laying on the lounge with little Aria fast asleep on my chest, because that’s the only place she would sleep. I didn’t think it through though. I felt like I was on Survivor. I hadn’t showered, had no water, didn’t eat lunch and could reach the tv remotes. Important lesson learned!

:) Kate

is this not the most adorable squished up face you have ever seen??

Aria at 10 days old.  Photography by Nfe design

so what was so different about these images?  well this was the first time i had taken the plunge and used blue as a feature colour while photographing a baby girl.  not a big deal in the grand scheme of things,  but i know that Charlottes’s mum and dad were a little apprehensive when they saw me drag out a blue hat and blanket.  the bow of course reasured them that yes, i hadn’t forgotten that little Charlotte was in fact a girl.  lucky for me (and them), my clients trust me and so i was left to continue on with the shoot.  as you can see from the images below, blue is totally Charlotte’s colour and her parents were so happy with the “blue” images that the first one has even been printed up in a HUGE canvas for their wall.  during their order session they told me that they loved this particular series of images so very much!

i guess this is all proof that sometimes it pays to think outside the box.  it also shows my clients that while you may think what i do during a shoot is sometimes a little odd, there is always a reason for my madness.  have faith in me and my knowledge in what colour combos will look good and which textures will photograph well and in return you’ll find yourself with stunning images for your collection.  and worst case, they will look awesome in black and white!!!

now, enjoy Charlotte wrapped in blue but still as girly as can be.

photography NFE DESIGN

First time mum-to-be, food challenged, pet-obsessed born and bred Newcastle TV journalist trying to find her feet in a whole new world.

learn more about Kate and her journey over the coming months here as part of our real life. real stories series…

Week 2

I can’t believe Aria is only 2 weeks old. In the haze of late night/early morning feeds, I struggle to remember what life was like without her. I do remember being able to watch a whole tv show without rewinding and replaying it 3 times and eating when I was hungry rather than when I had a brief opportunity, but only just!

What I have discovered during this last week, is all the books I read during my pregnancy lied or were heavily dusted in a sugar coating! They lead me to believe all babies do at this age is eat and sleep (in 3-4 hour blocks mind you). Aria obviously hasn’t read these books. Maybe she takes after her mother and likes to march to the beat of her own drum, or more likely, these parenting books are based on the exception not the rule. I am only just starting to realise that it’s not her that has to get into a routine at this early stage, it’s me! I have caught myself waiting for her to wake up, rather than quickly doing what needs to be done while I have the chance, because you don’t know how long that window of opportunity is going to be open for. The one book I am still searching for is Aria’s instruction manual. You’d think after all these years of evolution, babies would emerge from the womb with a personalised manual.

It’s also taken me two weeks to realise I’m not pregnant anymore! It’s only just occurred to me that I can sleep how I want, on my back, on my stomach, however I please. I still haven’t completely removed the pillow fortress from the bed yet, it’s just too comfortable. I can eat soft cheeses, runny eggs and deli meats. It’s liberating! I also thought it would be liberating to wear my old clothes again. I was wrong about that too. Bottoms are fine but tops are a whole new problem. I was dragged against my will (that’s the story I’m telling) to buy new clothes that I can safely breastfeed in. I’ve gone from accommodating one giant bump on my mid section to two other bumps on my chest! I did learn something valuable from that shopping trip though, Aria is going to be a great shopper. Two and and a half hours in the pram without a peep. This is where you may find me over the next 12 months, wandering around the shops with a content baby.

Did I mention Aria smiles? I know what you must be thinking. It’s not possible at two weeks of age and Kate clearly needs more sleep. I must admit when mum thought she spotted a smile I had the same reaction, but it’s true, the community nurse even saw it when she was here. No, it’s not your regular smile, it’s like the face you get when you let out a hearty laugh, just without the noise. But I’ll take it and it will be forever marked in the baby book as her first smile. That’s the only record that counts right?!

“It’s both everything I expected and nothing like I expected at the same time. It’s a joy and a steep learning curve! ”

~ KATE H. Mum to Aria, 10 days old.

here’s a tiny preview of a tiny boy.

Noah…

First time mum-to-be, food challenged, pet-obsessed born and bred Newcastle TV journalist trying to find her feet in a whole new world.

learn more about Kate and her journey over the coming months here as part of our real life. real stories series…

One week old

Who am I?

I last wrote about how I’ve lost the plot, I now know I didn’t know what that truly meant. I do now. If someone could please remind me what my name is, what day it is and what I was supposed to do today, that would be great!

I am proud, and a little surprised to say, I survived the first week of motherhood…just! Little Aria was born last Monday, two days early. I found labour to be a really positive experience. I won’t go into any of the nasty details, but I will offer a small piece of advice. Trust your instincts. Doctors stress that the contractions have to be regular for it to be considered “real labour”. My contractions were never regular, and let me assure you my labour was very real! 14 hours, a tiny bit gas and lots of ‘maternal effort’ as someone once put it, and the apple of my eye was thrust onto my chest. My first question was “is she a girl?!” In my haze I was a little confused as to whether the umbilical cord was boy bits or not!

My stay in the hospital was a rocky one. Mum was right when she said you don’t go to hospital for a rest. An endless stream of midwives, doctors and visitors ensured that I got quickly accustomed to life with very little sleep. That and the fact poor little Aria developed some jaundice and had to be treated in the special care nursery for a few days. That coincided with my milk coming in, so to say I was an emotional wreck would be an understatement. That is all behind us now, and I am quickly realising what my life has become. I am now a slave to a tiny, very cute, but very demanding little girl.

It’s also an example of the circle of life. I now need my own mum just as much as my daughter needs me. My mum is my hero. She is living with us for 6 weeks acting as my confinement nurse (like they do in China) and my rock. I can honestly say I don’t know what I would do without her, especially at 2am. Last night she was sitting on the floor of Aria’s room while I fed her, then I laid on the ground (asking if i was ever going to sleep again) while mum tried to settle her.

Now as I write this, Aria is crying out for more milk. And the one valuable thing I have learnt in this whirlwind week, is little miss doesn’t like to wait. She really is a chip off the old block!

:) Kate

Charlotte, mum and dad’s everything….

Ben is more perfect than we could have imagined.

Every tiny feature is gorgeous and we love just watching his every little expression and movement.

 

welcome, sweet baby boy. it was a pleasure to meet you!

First time mum-to-be, food challenged, pet-obsessed born and bred Newcastle TV journalist trying to find her feet in a whole new world.

learn more about Kate and her journey over the coming months here as part of our real life. real stories series…

2 days.

Introducing Aria Della

what is your favourite part of your bubba and why?  is it the soft downy hair, the 10 wrinkly little toes,  that soft roll of skin at the back of their neck that always smells like baby, or their chubby cheeks (and yep, that’s my favourite part).

if your bubba has all grown up, then what teeny tiny part of that newborn stage do you remember the most…

ABOVE: Joel ~ 10 days

ABOVE: Beau ~ 3 weeks

and my all time favorite chubby cheek photo from 2011…

ABOVE: Ruby ~ 7 days

i would love to hear your favorite newborn memory in the comments below!!!

now, with a 1 week old baby boy, Anna talks about the 5 lessons she has learnt the last week!

part of our real life. real stories series

Well persistence must pay off!

On Tuesday 27.03.2012 at 9.21pm we welcomed a beautiful, healthy, baby boy into our world. Tobey Dominic Bail was 3.68kg and 52cm with hair like a sheepskin rug.

On Tuesday morning I walked the dog up to the general store as usual & chatted to the owner – yes, still no baby, I had said. Not long after returning home my contractions started. I let them go as long as possible – did a few loads of washing – then called my husband to let him know we were on. We waited it out at home until the contractions were 4 mins apart & I thought the car trip to the hospital might start to get uncomfortable. It was the best thing we did. Those birthing suites aren’t the nicest place to spend hours pacing the floor! Things moved very quickly once we arrived – so fast that drugs weren’t an option. This was actually a saving grace in a way as I’d always wanted a natural, drug free birth but, as happens, things get rather painful especially when they move quickly & I distinctly remember yelling at Kris to make the nurse give me something!

Tobey was born 3 hours after we arrived at the hospital. I got the natural, drug free birth I had wanted, albeit not a heroic one I’ll admit – I’d have taken anything I could get my hands on!

Lesson number 1: Birth plans are a waste of time – know your options but you’ve just got to go with the flow on the day.

For those wondering, my wonderfully stomach-challenged husband was fantastic. Never faulted. Talked me through the actual birth like a professional. Seriously, I never really doubted him(!).

And so our world of 2 became 3. Tobey was a dream in the hospital. I was getting 10 hours sleep a day!!! This is easy, I thought.

Lesson number 2: It’s never easy.

We headed home after 3 days as Tobey was feeding really well & was only 180g down on his birth weight. He is a fierce little feeder! That’s when reality hit – at the same time my full milk came in. The first night he screamed from 2am to 6am. Not crying. Screaming, twisting, scratching at us, arching his back in pain. We were at a loss as to what to do. Through the day he slept like an angel in his bouncer. The next night will be better, we told ourselves. That night he again screamed the house down & would only sleep reclined on our upright knees. I think I cried as much as him. Kris was brilliant again, taking him & going to another room & trying to settle him.

We started to worry. This wasn’t normal. We spoke to friends & family. I rang the hospital & asked for advice. Our suspicions grew that he might have silent reflux – only evident now that my milk was fully in.

We moved him into a bassinet instead of the cot & inclined it to about 15 degrees & set it up next to our bed – something we had said we’d never do. We changed his feeding patterns. Smaller, more frequent feeds with lots of breaks during the feeds to burp him. We often resorted to pitting him in the bouncer to sleep – it was the only place he (and us) would get a few hours of sleep.

Lesson number 3: You do whatever it takes when you have to- the rule book goes out the window.

Another 2 horrible nights, an exhausted, teary call from me to Tresillian and us noticing Tobey was now gagging and regurgitating when we tried to put him down sealed our thinking. I took him to our family gp who confirmed it was silent reflux and prescribed some medication. It is slowly working, though it can take 10 days for the full effect.

Lesson number 4: Always go with your instinct. Don’t question it.

We are completely smitten with what we’ve created and thankful every day for having him in our lives. He makes us laugh with his facials and his smiles. But there have been some tough times too when both Kris and I have been at a loss as to what to do. Its ok to cry. Reach out to friends and family. And we’re not even 2 weeks into this crazy, exciting journey called parenthood…..

Lesson number 5: That’s why they make bubs so cute – so you always forgive them in the morning.

updated with a pic from Tobey’s photo shoot at 13 days old…

with wit, humour, honesty and a little sarcasm, 28 year old ReneeH shares her take on ‘what do expect when you have no idea what to expect’ as a nervous and excited first time mum…. all while putting the finishing touches on her dream wedding.  follow ReneeH as she shares with us her excitement, nervousness, uncertainty and joy about what lies ahead.

part of our real life. real stories series

see all of ReneeH’s posts here

 

PART 2 – FINALLY SHARING THE NEWS AND STARTING TO GET OURSELVES ORGANISED

“WE’RE HAVING A BABY!”
I’ve found pregnancy really easy to adjust to and starting a family has been such a natural next step for Dean and I. We are both introverts and keep much of our lives together fairly close to the heart, so in a sense, getting to keep the knowledge to ourselves for such a long time, was really special. Special but difficult… When you’ve spent the night getting up to go to the bathroom and the morning with your head over a toilet bowl, you are not the most sunny personality at work for 9+ hours a day. Luckily, I am pretty good at glazing on a happy demeanor.

One of the most interesting experiences so far has been getting to share our news with the world. It truly was difficult to hide the most important thing in your life from your friends and family for nearly four months and it has been such a relief to finally open up. We had fun thinking up different ways to randomly throw it into the conversation.

Our families have been really supportive and are extremely excited for us. I’m so thankful that my children will have such a fantastic family environment to grow up in. While everyone else had to wait until over 16 weeks to hear our news, I have to come clean about the fact that I had to tell my mum and dad on Christmas Day. Aside from the fact that it was an incredible opportunity for celebration, the lack of champagne in my glass would’ve given it away eventually. I am not known for sobriety at family events. Whatever gets you through, right?

When we first found out we were having a baby, I did expect my sister, who has four ‘energetic’ children of her own, to be my biggest source of support. Until now though she has been largely unavailable, due to her own family challenges. My mum, who has just had really painful foot surgery, is also out of action at the moment, but she has managed to send my brother out to get whatever baby items she’s had her eye on or discovered in catalogues. Thanks ma!

My closest girlfriends are so happy for us and bump is going to have an extended family full of excited aunties. If it’s a girl, Amy has put dibs on buying the first tutu – a boy and it’s high tops.

My colleagues have also been wonderful. They were amongst the fist to hear the news as they were the hardest to keep it from – morning sickness in a small office is very hard to hide and I get pretty stealth at it all. I think they all thought I was dying there for a while and the news was more of a relief for some (sorry Katie). I think I’ve said before that I really love my job and the office full of people in it and I’m finding it difficult to decide what my professional life looks like after baby – I’ll leave it for another post perhaps.

The most challenging part for me personally has been that none of my closest friends are married, close to getting married and are certainly not planning a family – so sometimes I feel like a slightly chubby outcast sitting at the Junction Hotel with my lemonade. I should make it clear that this is no fault of anyone else’s… it’s just how I feel. Having to leave parties  before they really get started because my back is aching, I can’t possibly stand up for a second longer and I can’t handle the smell of cigarettes – it’s certainly a massive change for me! Don’t get me wrong, I am completely accepting of the fact that life is going to change. Some things have already changed for the better.

I also feel like I’m missing out on sharing the experience with other pregnant women or mothers sometimes. I’m really looking forward to finding a mothers group. If anyone has any hints on where to go and meet other mums, or is pregnant for the first time, I’d love to hear
from you!

NOW TO GET ORGANISED…
We are now 23 weeks and I feel fantastic. The main challenge is getting ourselves organised, while pulling together a wedding, saving for our honeymoon and debating whether we really NEED that new car.

HEALTH AND FITNESS
I lost some weight in my first trimester thanks to the morning sickness, but am steadily putting it on again (working with a chocoholic is not helping!). I’ve come to terms with the whole weight gain thing, but to make sure it really is ‘baby weight’ I’m trying hard to eat healthily and exercise regularly.  At this point I want to include a quick side note to anyone with a pregnant woman in your life. Think carefully before you open your mouth. Yes, your fat jokes/comments may seem innocent and light hearted, but they can be hurtful nonetheless.

I’m doing 2 different antenatal pilates classes and love them both. One is the Fit-4-2 class at Pilates for Life in The Junction (Newcastle area), which is taught by an obstetric physiotherapist. The other is the ‘yummy mummies’ class at Fleur Pilates taught by a great girl I met at a FAB charity event a few weeks ago. Both are very different classes and formats, but highly recommended. I’m also trying to walk in the mornings, but with the queasiness of the 7 – 18 week period still lingering for the first few hours of each morning, it has been difficult to drag myself out of the house. Maybe this week…

BOOKING IN
Despite our many trips to the hospital, I am yet to have my initial antenatal/booking visit and am starting to feel slightly panicked. ‘Why don’t you get your shit together and organise it’ you ask? Trust me – I’m trying. I’ve requested 3 separate referrals to be faxed to the hospital – however my details are yet to make their way into the JHH system. The level of bureaucracy and disorganisation within Newcastle hospitals has been mind boggling and if the referral doesn’t make it’s way to their in-tray by this Friday afternoon, I’ll be hand delivering it on Monday.

Also, due to the requirement that we continue our care through the specialist fetal medical unit, at this later stage in the pregnancy we are yet to find an OB who can support us with a transfer from the JHH birthing centre to the private hospital 500m up the road. Everyone
seems to be booked for August, so if you have any recommendations – PLEASE let me know. I know myself well enough to know that spending four days in a shared room would drive me INSANE. Nothing against the quality of care – the midwives I have had the pleasure of
meeting are wonderful and the facilities are fantastic.

SHOPPING!!
Dean and I are steadily making up for not really buying anything in the first 18 or so weeks. We have now secured a beautiful set of drawers, Boori cot and mattress, Baby Jogger pram and bassinet (with the softest lambs wool insert), Safe-n-Sound Platinum car seat, maternity pillow, digital thermometer, snuggle bed, a dozen or so books, nappy bin, swaddle wrap, bassinet blanket – we’ve also welcomed Lolly the elephant and Dudley the dinosaur. Did I say steadily?? What I meant was rapidly.

We spent plenty of time researching hundreds of products online, but surprisingly found most of what we were after at ‘Bubs’ at the homemaker centre in Rutherford. I say surprisingly, because I am pretty particular about what I’m looking for and didn’t expect to find most things in the Newcastle area. I’m also finding lots of cute stuff online, but haven’t made it to decorating the nursery yet. My plan is to wait till we have all the furniture in There.

In my next post, I want to share the experience of planning our incredible wedding. It’s challenging having to split myself between planning for a baby and planning a wedding, but it’s also a really fun and exciting time for us! Stay tuned…

Q.  How did you come up with your babies name?

A.Maclyn was the main character of a book I read about 8-10 years ago and I loved the name so much I decided then that it would be the name of my first daughter.
We had another girls name picked (in case Gav still wouldn’t let me call her Maclyn) and 1 boys name as we didn’t know what sex the baby was until she was born, but I caught Gav at a weak moment and he let me call her the name I’ve always wanted for her.

Q.  What advice were you given before welcoming a new baby into your life?

A.Be prepared for EVERYTHING to change.

Q.  Tell us a little about your birthing experience.

A.I was 7 days overdue and was booked in for the Cervidil tape to start contractions. This did the job and about 12 hours after the tape was put in, we made our way to the hospital. The tape was taken out and contraction slowed, but not for long.
Waters broke around 11am (after I was told that they would manually break them at 12pm if it hadn’t happened naturally) and then Maclyn made her entrance into the world at 12:52pm. For a first baby, I’m told that this was a very fast birth (and warned not to stay home for long for the next baby). As much pain as I was in during labour, I was not put off having more babies in the future.

Q.  How is Maclyn’s personality developing?

A.  At 4 weeks old, Maclyn is now a lot more aware of things that are happening around her. She is also now aware that if she cries, Daddy will more often than not come running! And Mummy is nearly as bad.
She loves her rocker, cuddles, sucking on her hand (and now occasionally she gets just her thumb in there). No matter how tight she’s swaddled she can always manage to get a hand free.