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

click here to follow NFE Design on facebook

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

the most important of course, would be that it is my birthday

Cinco de Mayo (Spanish for “fifth of May”) is a celebration held on May 5 as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride and Childrens Day is celebrated in Japan and South Korea on this day also.

both Chris Brown and Adele were born on this day [maybe i should have a go at singing?]

really though, after about 10 mins of googling i couldn’t find much else exciting about the 5th of may – so i think the decision has been made – the day is all about me :)

i did have a lovely day, and here are a few pics…

so, i was thinking, and since the 5th of May is a pretty special day, i have an offer to make!!!  i have a little space in my schedule early next week, so i would love to meet a special little baby who was born on the 5th of may 2012 to come into my Belmont NFE Design studio for a newborn photo session.  i have a few ideas i want to try out, so the session booking fee [baby photos only] will be complimentary (save $175) and i will also offer one 8×10 matted print as a gift (total value $270)  additional prints can be purchased if wished…

if you or someone you know had a baby on this date then please contact me asap, i look forward to hearing from you…

my newborn photography portfolio can be viewed here

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….

which is kinda weird, but i’m game if you are :) i figure that i write about so many other people, and my bio pic on my website is a year or so old, so unless you are friends with me on facebook, you might not even know what i look like…  and therefore you wouldn’t know that i “got my hair did” this week.  and i am loving it.  very Astro Boy!  does anyone remember Astro Boy?

anyways… the hair.  i do love it.  but anyone that says short hair must be so easy has clearly never had short hair.  waking up looking like you just put your finger in a power point.  not sexy. the poor courier drivers doing the early run that come ringing my doorbell at ungodly hours… especially in winter, when my fluffy brown dressing gown also makes an appearance.  and you cant tie short hair in a ponytail if you are having a bad hair day.  not if you are 32 anyways. when you are 2, those cute little sticky up ponytail bits on the top of your head are cool.  not so much now…. i do have quite a few hats though!

but, i digress.  so, today i decided i shall share a pic or two of me. and my cool new hair.  cool is all relative of course.  i think it is cool, so that’s all that matters!  what else can i tell you about me? well i like to keep up to date with politics and take long romantic walks on the beach. actually, nope. neither of those things are true. and i think this is the wrong place for that kind of bio?  politics?? bleh. vomit!!

how about i just share the pics?

ok, three words to describe myself?  stubborn. busy. messy

stubborn, because, well i am! busy, because i always have a very long list of things to do. but also i love to be that way.  i bore easily.  i can’t sit still.  i can’t actually sit through a whole dvd without pausing at least once.  lol.  messy, though i sometimes wish i was a bit more pedantic about tidying. i am very good at tuning out things i don’t want to be reminded of.  in my head, my house is perfect and clutter free. it is beautiful.  and i always say that messy and dirty are different things.  the house isn’t dirty, just messy :)  but i do love cleaner day!!! oh the joy of clean mopped floors. and fresh sheets.  i sometimes leave the dining chairs on the table for a few days, just to maintain the feeling of “just cleaned house”  that is not weird at all. or lazy.

i asked Liana and she said beautiful, photographer, loving… isn’t she a treasure!!! and i like that beautiful came before photographer.

a few things not many people know about me… my hair is actually blonde… hence the frequent trips to hairdresser.  keeping this look maintained is hard work!  i don’t know why i prefer dark, i just do.  proof that you always want what you don’t have.. to all those brunettes out there who spend a fortune to make their hair blonde.. want to trade?

i don’t like hot drinks. or any hot liquid actually. and the smell of coffee makes me want to hurl.  so when i say “lets do coffee”, really i mean you have coffee and i will have a glass of water. and i will usually bring my own because tap water makes me very ill.  i do like cake though.  even though i shouldn’t eat it on account of lactose and gluten and all those nasties i shouldn’t have…

i am bad with actually following through with tasks.  i have ideas.  lots of them.  too many for one brain to handle and they just spew out of me at random intervals.  we moved here nearly 2 years ago and i still have boxes to unpack.  clearly we don’t need those things. whatever they are.  there is a large framed print sitting against the wall in my bedroom. on the floor.  has been there since the day we moved in.  it just needs a simple hook to hang from which i am quite capable of doing.  i even have a large box of picture hooks in the next room. and a hammer.  i will do it one day.  i also collect photo frames.  i buy them all.the.time.  i clearly have no shortage of photos to display.  i just never actually hang them on the walls.  one time i did hang a whole photo wall of frames on the assumption that the hanging was the hard bit and once i had them up i could easily decide what pics to put in each frame and get.it.done.finally.  that was before christmas.  a few months before christmas, actually.  the frames are still empty.

anyways that is enough rambling for now… happy friday evening my friends!!

if you have a question you want me to answer for you then write it below. and i shall answer in a blog post soon!

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…

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…

39 weeks
Are you still here?

I have learnt a very valuable lesson this week. Never ask a pregnant woman nearing her due date if she’s had the baby yet. Similarly questions such as “are you still here” and “haven’t you popped yet” will be equally met with disdain. They are questions I am getting multiple times a day via phone calls, text, Facebook (probably via carrier pigeon soon) and to quote from Shrek, “I’m a donkey on the edge!” Do my well meaning friends and family honestly think I will secretly birth the baby in the dead of night and squirrel him/her away for all of eternity? Rest assured when this baby decides to make its arrival, everyone will know. But it probably won’t even be me spreading the word. I have hordes of people around me watching my every move…waiting. Since the rest of my family arrived back from Singapore to wait for the new arrival, the house is literally overflowing – 6, sometimes 7 people and 2 dogs. I’m fairly sure I read in one of my many pregnancy books that this would be classed as a what NOT to do in the 9th month of pregnancy! I feel like they are standing around watching the goose that’s about to lay the golden egg.

I am in fact a little worried that the baby will come out looking like an egg, or at least be swaddled in a shiny metallic wrapper. I have been on a solid Easter egg diet for going on two weeks now. My normally steely willpower has completely dissolved and I am now in a loving (read: irrational) relationship with chocolate. Not any ordinary chocolate, it has to be in the shape of an egg or a bunny. Thankfully Easter is only once a year because I am rather possessive of my chocolate, a bit like a magpie during breeding season. Come near my eggs and prepare to be pecked!

It’s without a doubt that something happens in the final week of pregnancy that causes a woman to completely lose the plot. I have been pretty lucky throughout this 9 months. I’ve experienced the normal ups and down, the morning sickness to the nesting, but I’ve had a good run. Just don’t tell me that now. If you ask me now, I’ve had a hell of a time and I want to get off this ride! And I’ll do whatever it takes to do that. Sensing this growing frustration, my husband booked me in for a pregnancy massage, which was pure bliss. I got to lay face down in one of those giant pillows with a whole cut out for the bump. I forgot how much I missed laying on my stomach. I did, however, get a little worried at one point that I was squashing the baby, until I felt tiny hands scratching the insides of my belly like a rabbit (there’s the Easter theme again!) What does one do after a relaxing massage? The sensible thing to do would be go home and relax, maybe take a bath. Not me. I insisted o taking the dogs for a walk. Not a leisurely walk either. I decided to run (probably more like a fast shuffle) up a steep hill to try to speed this pregnancy along. Even Lola (the sausage dog), who would normally love a running partner, looked at me as if to say “Really woman?! You’ve lost it”
Yes, yes I have!

:) Kate

evidence!