I’ve finally figured out the secret to staying sane during the busy season …. not letting myself get bogged down and behind on sessions!   Seems like a no-brainer, right?    Although it sounds counter-intuitive, truly the game-changer for staying afloat the last year has been to immediately tackle the editing I need to do.   For example, the wedding I photographed on Saturday, just 3 days ago?   My favorites are already edited and blogged and the rest of the gallery will be done within a couple of days.   All of the mini-sessions I did last week and this weekend?   Galleries are done and sent to the clients.   Normally, by this point in November, I’m drowning and stressed, but staying focused and on top of things has really made things so much easier for me!

Blogging, however, is not something I have stayed on top of, but something has to give, right?

Hadley’s at-home newborn session was back at the end of September.  Taylor and Alexis live in Metairie, so I did these at my parents’ house in Gretna to make it a little easier for them to travel.  I photographed their wedding almost one year ago (happy early anniversary!!)  Their precious baby girl, Hadley Ann, was so much fun to photograph.   Just check out those cheeks – she’s the sweetest, squishiest thing!   I also had to keep my mom at bay for a bit when she got home from work.  Alexis teaches at the same school as my mom, so mom couldn’t wait to get her hands on Hadley!

Taylor was so sweet with Hadley.   He dressed and changed her and was very comfortable doing so.   I know lots of dads do this, but a lot of them also do not.   Many dads feel like they will break or hurt such a tiny little baby!    This reminded me of when Hayden was born, how Wade had to do everything for him the first several days.

When I had my epidural for Hayden, the anesthesiologist hit a nerve which caused a spinal fluid leak.   When I tried to sit up after Hayden was born, I had a rush of pain up to my head and wasn’t able to sit up without a horrible headache for several days.  Because I couldn’t sit up without being in excruciating pain, Wade had to take over all of the care duties for Hayden.   He changed his first diapers and did all of the feedings.  I wasn’t able to nurse Hayden because not only could I not sit up long enough to try, but the hospital gave me pain medication to try and help the headaches.  I wound up getting a blood patch for what we finally figured out were spinal headaches caused by the epidural.  And if anyone ever experiences this, the blood patch did not work right away.  The headaches didn’t go away completely until I drank caffeine – it was so strange!  When I was in labor with Emelyn, I told every nurse that walked into the room about my experience.  I was terrified to get another epidural but thankfully, the experience the second time couldn’t have been easier!