new equation

I made a full-size print of the taxidermy poster today. It looks amazing. Gabe designed what will be one of the greatest promo pieces out there this season! It has a single image on the front; the back is a delicate balance of pictures and extremely well set type. The toughest part was editing the more than 17,000 words down to something we could work with. I'm going to get it over the printer next week. Hopefully, we'll be shipping it out before the month is out.

I've edited down the beekeeping images to a select few (actually 26). You can take a look here. I'm really pleased with what I got.

We are weeks away from welcoming a baby boy into our family. Melody braved some time on her feet yesterday long enough for us to make some nice portraits of her. Our c-section is scheduled for August 24. I'm going to take two weeks off to help her recover and to enjoy my son's first few weeks.

The poster looks really impressive! I went to the press check for the front side yesterday, the back side this morning. The folks at Claxton Printing have really done a wonderful job. Next week they'll be folded and delivered to me and Terry. We should be shipping them out to clients early September.

Before 3 p.m. today, if everything goes as scheduled, I'll be holding my baby boy. From now until Sept. 10, I'll be spending my time at home. If anyone wants to talk about making pictures, call me and leave a voicemail or call Terry (919-772-1262).

You probably expected a lot more pictures during this time. It's not because I haven't been making them, they've just been made on film. I've been shooting about a roll of 35mm a day for the past two weeks. I'll be shooting digital today and for the next few days at the hospital while Melody recovers from the c-section. I'll pick back up with film when we return home for the next two weeks.

My goal is to put together a book for my son of his last two weeks in utero and his first two weeks of life. It should be a great book of little moments and great milestones. Iliana started kindergarten this week and she will be learning how different her life will be with a baby brother.

Last night, the grandparents-to-be, Melody, Iliana and I went to dinner at Agave, our favorite restaurant. After dinner, we came back to the house for some of my mom's amazing carrot cake and some photos.

sister

mother

father

maternal grandmother

maternal grandfather

paternal grandmother

paternal grandfather

I'll try and upload some pictures of baby Finn as soon as I get the opportunity. I don't know whether I'll have the opportunity at the hospital or not. I may not be able to upload images until we return home on Monday.

We woke this morning at 6 so Melody could have some breakfast. She went back to sleep while I ran over to the studio to finish up some things. We packed up and left the house around quarter to noon.

The socks she had to wear were super-treaded on both sides. Warranted by the calculated risk of injury from cotton socks on slippery hospital floors?

In pre-op, her belly was hooked up to a fetal heart monitor.

We were the last scheduled c-section of the day, which meant we were pushed back when unscheduled, emergency c-sections occurred.

The anesthesiologist is about to insert the epidural....

She's wheeled into the O.R. and moved to the table for final prep.

I had to wait outside. Looking around for a mirror, I found this security camera enclosure right over my head!

Melody looked so beautiful. That smile was on her face throughout the entire procedure.

Baby Finn had just been pulled into the world.

He weighed in at 7 pounds 8 ounces, 20 inches long.

He's a beautiful boy!

We're celebrating Finn's delayed arrival into our room. He was born with transient tachypnea, which affects 1-2% of newborns. Essentially, he was breathing about twice as fast as he should be, primarily because of the way he was born. Babies that pass through the birth canal have fluid in their lungs squeezed out naturally, or their bodies absorb the fluid when triggered by a hormone from the mother. C-section babies sometimes have trouble handling the fluid in the lungs and it takes a few days of monitoring and observation before they're breathing normally.

Finn is breathing normally now and should have no lingering effects from the transient tachypnea.

We're so happy he's here in the family centered care room with us now. Iliana is proving to be a very loving big sister.

We were released from the hospital last night around quarter past eight. Little Finnegan seemed pleased with his new surroundings. I gave him a tour of the house, stopping in front of Iliana's bedroom mirror for him to get a good look at himself. He did a double-take and then spent a good while looking into his own eyes.

He sleeps in an Amby, thanks to the generosity of our good friends Ryan and Casey whose son now sleeps in a big-kid bed. If Finn is fast asleep when we put him down, he does pretty well until he gets hungry. But, if he's a little restless, he just keeps it up. Today, I found out that if I just take him out and put him on my chest, he'll go to sleep pretty quickly. And I get to have some really special daddy time with him.

Little Finn is one week old today! Melody loves his little toes....

He's such a different baby from who he was when we met him seven short days ago. When he's not eating or sleeping, he uses his eyes and takes in everything around him.