Isaiah's Newborn Shoots

Hello!
It is a beautiful Monday and I hope you're able to enjoy it. Isaiah, Honey, and I went for a walk in the park and now I'm baking may favorite cookies.. Pumpkin Spiced and Iced... it's fall time- yay!
I feel like I'm coming out of the 'newborn fog' (although he's still keeping me on my toes and up at times during the night). But speaking of newborn, it's time I showed off all of Isaiah's newborn pics! Before he was born, I told photolife group to feel free to come shoot him, and shot him they did! We had about 4 different sessions and 5 different photographers (6 including me), which may be a bit intense for a newborn, but now he's prepared for the future of being a photographers son :c)

First up, here's Isaiah's birth announcement (or close to, the actual paper was rounded in 2 corners and the back contained a horizontal picture of Isaiah).


My friend Belinda was one of the first to come shoot Isaiah. She also came back a second time to use a few more props. Here's some of her lovely pics!








The next 2 are Deshawna's, who shot along with Belinda.




These are from round 2 with Belinda






Next up are Cheryl's. Isaiah acted up more during this session and I ended up crying (I now appreciate what the mom's are going through when I go shoot a newborn session.. it's a crazy time!). But Cheryl came away with some beautiful images :c)









me shooting my son..




Last up are Gay's photos. Isaiah was over 2 weeks old for this shoot and I realize the big difference in shooting within the first 10 days vs. after. He would not sleep nearly as well, which I thought was terrible, but I ended up really liking these images with his eyes open, they are so beautiful!







My friend Jaycette also shot, I just don't have any of her images yet and thought I'd go ahead and share anyway. I hope you enjoyed the overload of pics of my son ( I sure did!) and a big THANKS to my fabulous friends and photographers!

Sleeping baby

My baby is sleeping on my chest.

This is my favorite position for him, and beginning yesterday, his only way to sleep good.
He has been a great and easy baby since he started sleeping at night, but yesterday he has become more inconsolable. His mom is not very happy about this. We went to the doc and will see how things go. But instead of trying to be up, doing too many things and going to many places, I am relaxing and spending time with my baby. God, thank you for this time, let me treasure it.

In more baby news.. my friend Ashley had her baby, Grayden last night! Isaiah and I plan on visiting them later today, I'll try to come back and post a pic.

*Update: Meet Grayden! Born on 9/14 at 9 pounds and 9 ounces and 22 inches!

Due 9 days apart, Grayden was actually born 19 days after Isaiah, but Isaiah's 3 weeks only gave him 1 extra ounce on his buddy (Isaiah weighed 9.13 today-clothed-which I put at 9.10)!

Welcome Grayden!

Also, we found out that my friend Beth is going in to have her son tonight, so hopefully I'll get to visit and share some pictures tomorrow!

2 Week Warning-

Hello!
Isaiah is 2 weeks old today, and I thought I'd use him to announce that my pricing on weddings will go up in 2 weeks.

The new pricing will be:

Wedding and 2 sessions (engagement, bridal, or day after): $1800
All day wedding: $1500

I will no longer offer a 4 hour wedding.

Each wedding still comes with all the goods- a second shooter, DVD of edited images with reprint release, all day coverage in multiple locations, reception cards, and images posted on my photocart site for 3 months!

Email me at ashleyo.photo@gmail.com if your interested in booking a wedding before the price increases- thank you!

Blessed

I want to take a moment to thank all those who have helped me survive the last 2 weeks :c)

Tonight I cooked my first meal in over 2 weeks! Thanks to our lovely lifegroups, we had food prepared and delivered to us each night from the night we got home from the hospital to last night. It was such a blessing to have yummy food for lunch and dinner and I am so grateful for those who took time out of their busy schedules to take care of us. If you're a lifechurcher... this is what the last 2 sermons at church have been about.. lifegroups is where the church becomes family :c) Muchos gracias to all!

Also, thanks to some fabulous friends in photolife group, I will have plenty of of pics of my precious son. We've done 3 newborn sessions already, with 2 more to go. I will share pics when I get them all together (the below is one that I snapped during Belinda's shoot, isn't he beautiful?)

As I discussed in my last post, a big shout out goes to Christy, who gave me a good nights rest at a much needed time! It really hit me when Ray told me later 'See, God sends help when we need it'. Thank you Father, for taking care of me. I am happy to say that Isaiah has slept great the last 2 nights, waking only to eat every 3-4 hours. Yay!! (now I'm afraid that I've typed that.. tonight will be a different story..)


Another shoutout to my sisters, who make fabulous aunts for my son. Kacey came over Tuesday, Ray's first day back to work, and Judy has been here Wednesday and Thursday. Thanks to their help, I have been able to nap, shower, and even clean! I think Isaiah's enjoyed them as well..


And of course my hubby. I'm blessed that Isaiah has a great dad :c) Even though he had to go back to work at the most difficult time (close), he comes home ready to hold and love his son.

Humbled

Well here we are, 10 days into this parenting bit- and we are all 3 still alive!
I have to say, there is just really no way to prepare for a newborn. It is sweet, precious, tiring, and at times frustrating. I do have to say that we have been blessed by all those around us, providing support, food, advice, and encouragement. Isaiah has been a wonderful baby, but at times I've struggled with feeding and fatigue. Last night Ray's best friend's mom Christy (more like extended family to us) was coming through town and stopped by to meet our little man. I hadn't had my pre-night nap, had just done a ton of feeding, and was a bit on the emotional side. After she left to head back to Tulsa, I broke down to Ray. Then he received a phone call from Miss Christy to see if she could come stay the night and watch Isaiah for us. My first instinct was no, because I have issues with burdening other people to help me, but I decided to be realistic and agreed to accept the help. Let me tell you how beautiful it was. Pre-baby, family offered to stay and help, but I really didn't know how much help they could be at night sine I'd have to be up breast feeding anyways. But now I realize how much more sleep I can get and feel much better. I've also been humbled in the process (thank you Lord, I could always use a dose of humility). Ray returns to work tomorrow, Art comes home, and I'll continue to learn. Right now I'm holding my little man as I type one-handed while sitting on a bouncy ball- the ways of a mom.

Here's a shot I captured this morning.. one of my favorite images is my husband cuddling my son :c)

Here's his head in Rays hands (I know these pics are dark- but they are moments captured)

Here is Isaiah in his sling for the first time!

We used it on our first family walk yesterday (he didn't like the stroller..)


Happy Labor Day!

My Birth Story: Isaiah

My Birth Story

I want to share the story of Isaiah's entrance into this world! I was blessed to have a good friend and photographer at the hospital for his birth, so at the end is a slideshow of the event :c)

First I'll start with my goals for labor and delivery:
- To have a natural and unmedicated delivery (for this we took Bradley classes).
-To bake homemade cupcakes for my son's official 'birth day' (it's a tradition in my family to make homemade birthday cakes each year, so I though why not start now!)
-To labor at home as long as possible before going to the hospital (making the above statement possible).

Now that you know my plan, here's the story...

On Thursday, August 25, I covered for a friend at Deaconess for a few hours, then went to OU while the precious Mia had surgery, then headed straight to the church for a women's event. Up to this point I had not had a single contraction (that I could feel), but I did have 'the show', indicating labor in 2 days (although at the time I wasn't positive that's what it was). I was dilated to a 2 and 75% effaced 2 weeks in a row at the docs office. Ray and I went for a walk around the neighborhood that night, then went to bed.
I woke up 3 times that night (my usual was once a night) and realized I was having some back pain. The first couple times I thought it might just be carrying around that big 'ol belly. By the 3rd time of waking up, I decided that these were indeed contractions and that I did, in fact, see 'the show' yesterday. I timed my first contractions at 11.5 minutes apart. The next one didn't come for over 20 minutes, so I decided to go back to bed and give it some time.
When Ray woke up that morning, I told him that I had been having some contractions and that labor should be sometime in the next 2 days (but I probably didn't say this with the most confidence, and Ray just took it as this baby will hopefully come this week!). He took our 1 vehicle (his was broke down at work) and headed to Chesapeake. I spent the morning cleaning the closet, vacuuming, looking up verses for labor, and getting little things caught up (I even designed Isaiah's birth announcement during the night). I was putting off on making the cupcakes because the contractions weren't regular or stopping me in my tracks. I was also spending time rocking on my hands and knees, trying to get Isaiah to turn so that I wouldn't have back labor (I was afraid that back labor would be too much for me to handle without meds).
I called Ray before noon to see if I could try one more time to talk him into letting Deshawna shoot the birth. At first I conceded to his desire not to have a photographer, but as things got closer, I really wanted her there. He told me he'd call me back (before I got to mention it) and that he would be going to the gym with Owen. I had already called my mom and my friend Summer to tell them that the process had started, and we should be days away. I decided to time a contraction to see if I should let Deshawna know (even though I was waiting on Ray) and to start my cupcakes. The first contractions I timed were 6 min apart, the next 7. With the next contraction, I stopped mixing the ingredients and held on to the counter then GUSH- It felt like a watermelon sized water balloon just busted (thankfully it was the tile in the kitchen floor :c) Alright- no more denial.. Isaiah was coming! It was right around noon.
I called Ray's cell phone, no answer. I figure he's at the gym, so I call the front desk and get a little choked up as I tell them I'm in labor and ask if they can find my husband. She said she could 'try to ask around'. Did you hear me woman.. LABOR?! Anyways, my mom and stepdad were in town helping redo my sisters bathroom (she lives in Edmond as well) so I call my mom. They said they will be right over and I tell them I'm going to jump in the shower. (They decided also to jump in the shower since they were covered in sawdust.. but I didn't know this). So I shower and spend some more time on my hands and knees (the contractions were much more painful at this point and I was worried that since my water broke in a gush, that there might be cord entanglement). I gathered the last few things (Ray had the 'go bag' in the Highlander at Chesapeake, so I wasn't able to check everything there). I decided that since my ride wasn't here yet, I could finish my cupcakes. I called my dad in Texas to let him know, then hurried off the phone to turn on the mixer. I sloppily get 12 chocolate cupcakes in the oven. Then I call Ray's sister Judy, my friend Summer and decide to try Ray again. I called his friend Owen that he was working out with, then another friend of ours that I though might be with him (no answer from either, but I'm sure Mike kinda flipped when I left a message that I was in labor on his phone). I call the gym back and talk to the same girl, she said she had gone upstairs and couldn't find him, that they were shortstaffed and she couldn't leave the desk for long, blah, blah, blah... then oh! She spots Ray walking out. She hands him the phone, I tell him that my water broke, my mom and sister are coming to pick me up, and to meet me at Deaconess. He calmly says okay and hangs up the phone.
Kacey and mom show up shortly thereafter and start loading things up. I have mom take one last pic of me and my belly (since the last one I took was at 38 weeks almost 2 weeks prior). Kacey packs up the cupcakes with 8 min to go on the oven and I climb in the back seat of her car (she said that was the scariest drive she's made!). I stay on my hands and knees in the backseat, working through contractions and giving Kacey the fastest route there. Ray called to check on me, then asked if anyone wanted him to pick up some food. Once I heard the word 'food', I got really nauseous. I asked for something, just in case, and mom unloaded the cupcakes from the Tupperware. I threw down the phone in the seat (with Ray saying "hello, hello?") and promptly threw up (thankfully my water broke before I got my omelet made!). Mom picked up the phone to explain, then put in her order.
We called the hospital to let them know we were coming. Thankfully I had preregistered since the one thing I forgot at home was my wallet (you know I had to forget something!). They get me in a wheelchair (it was weird wheeling through the place I work) and take me straight to a room on the labor and delivery unit (no triage for me!). I make sure to ask for a nurse who is comfortable with unmedicated deliveries (one of my fears was having the staff not cooperate with this). They get me in a gown, then I just sit there and wait. I'm anxious to make sure that Isaiah is doing alright (I did feel him kick after my water broke, so that made me feel a little better). They came in, hooked me up to monitors, and checked me. She had a little trouble at first, but then said I was 8-9 (!!) cm dilated but a plus 1, so he needed to work his way down. I asked if I could move around some (I was really uncomfortable on my back) but she said she would have to check with the doctor first (Dr. Shanbour is my OB and I had to reassure the staff that he had privileges at Deaconess, he hadn't been there in a while..). At some point a new nurse comes in (a true angel) and starts working with me. She tells me I can reposition my self, so I turn over onto hands and knees in bed, connected to the monitor still, with the birthball at the head of the bed for me to lean on. I signed all the consents (I think each signature looked different..) and got my IV started all in that position (I had a hard time keeping the IV in my hand in place). The whole time I felt a strong urge to push with each contraction. When I asked if I could, my nurse told me to do what my body said. So without much rest in between, I beardown with each contraction. Ray was putting some counterpressure on my back, which helped some (I kinda flew past all the steps he learned in Bradley). My nurse said to let her know when I felt the urge to push between contractions. I had to ask a couple time if I was in the transition phase, because I didn't want to think it would get harder than this. Both Ray and Deshawna (I had called her to come shoot without Ray's consent.. I figured he couldn't say much at that point!) reassured me that yes, this was transition. My mom, sister, and Ray's sister were in the room with us the entire time (except for when they left to eat lunch).
Dr. Shanbour called to check in on me, and the nurse decided to check me for the 2nd time to give him an update. 10 and fully engaged- it's go time! It's about 3pm at this time (my water broke at 12 and we got to the hosp around 1:15). I start panting through the next couple contractions so that I don't push, which was difficult. I was now on my side with Ray sitting next to me, being super sweet and supportive. Dr. Shanbour came in, along with a ton of carts and equipment, and asked how I wanted to deliver. I didn't really have any preference on positioning, but just whatever was needed to get this done! He said back would be easiest, and sat down on the bed next to me. With the next contraction (which seemed to take waaay longer once the doc showed up, I felt like that wait was the most peaceful time in the room since we had arrived) I pulled back my legs and began to push. Ray was at my left, my nurse on my right, and my mom and sisters at then end of the bed (I wasn't planning on them being in that location exactly, but I understood then what I was told in birth class about not caring a thing about privacy when it's that time). They all started hollering "PUSH PUSH PUSH" (my stepdad was outside the door and said it got pretty loud!). I rested between the contraction, then pushed again with the next. Their encouragement really did help me push as they said they could see the head. I really wanted to breathe longer between pushes, but they kept on me. My next thought was that I really just wanted to get him out so I could stop! Pushing only through 2 contractions (about 10 min of pushing), little precious sweet Isaiah was born at 3:25 pm. They placed him on my belly and all I could really see was a head full of curly hair! Ray cut the cord, then the nurses took him to do their thing. All the family followed him as I finished labor and got stitched up.
By the time it was over, I was kinda amazed. It all went much quicker than I had anticipated (but I was grateful for).

Isaiah Beck Ofosu entered this world on Friday, August 26th at 3:25 pm.
He weighed 8 pounds and 1 ounce and was 21.5 inches long.

I was 39 weeks and 6 days when I delivered (he beat his due date by 1 day!)

In Ghana, the tradition is to have a 'family name' (as I understand it) that is given to you depending on what day you are born. Since Isaiah is a boy born on Friday, his name is Kofi.

One more cool thing about the day he was born: Our roommate Art has had a 10 day trip planned to Colorado (first time he'll be gone for that long in the 2 years he's lived here). He was bummed when he realized he would be leaving on Isaiah's due date. Friday morning I told him he might get a chance to meet Isaiah before he leaves, but who knows. Well, sure enough, Isaiah came in enough time that Art could see him before he left, and now Ray and I have the house to ourselves for the first 10 days of Isaiah's life (Ray will also be off for those entire 10 days, which is awesome). I know people were a little concerned about bringing home a newborn with a roommate at home (and I understand why), but Ray and I both felt that God did not want us to ask Art to leave, so we obeyed. I find it so awesome that God had Isaiah come in His perfect timing. God is good :c)

So now we are home and we are super happy with this little guy. He is almost a week old now and doing great. We are still working on sleeping at night, but Ray has been a lot of help. We have been blessed to be surrounded by so many helpful family and friends (and life groups supplying food!). Isaiah has had his first doctors appointment (he made the doctor laugh by all the weight he's gained since birth), first bath, first spit up, first sing-along with dad, and first poop on mom's photo session to end it before it even started (Ray's personal favorite :c)

There will be more to come of our little man, but for now, enjoy the video my good friend Deshawna of Echo Photo Works, made of the delivery day. (Seriously, she is fabulous, very unobtrusive in the room, and creates beautiful memories that will be treasured for a lifetime! I think even Ray is happy with the product!!)



I don't think the above video is playing all the way through. If you encounter problems, it can also be viewed at here

We would like to introduce...

ISAIAH BECK OFOSU!!



That's right, our little man made it here!
Isaiah was born on Friday, August 26, 2011 at 3:25 pm
He was 8.1 pounds and 21.5 inches and very healthy :c)

We are home adjusting to life with a newborn (as you can see by the time of this post).
I will be sharing more as I can ;c)