Well, she did it! On March 30, 2007 at 11:25 PM central time, Crystal gave birth to Brayson Cade Goss. He weighs 3 lbs 14 oz. He and Crystal are doing great. Brayson is naturally in the NICU at the moment, but other than a little oxygen help (which is completely normal), he is doing great. He even came out screaming his little conehead off!! We're both beat at the moment, so I'm making this short; but we want to genuinely thank everyone for your prayers and concerns. We love you all and will be posting pictures soon!!

Crystal had a good day yesterday. She was off the monitors most of the day, and the contractions had slowed down quite a bit. At noon yesterday, she had dilated to 4cm.

We woke up this morning around 5:30 am with her first contraction. (They gave her a sleep aid last night, and she slept through most of the contractions.) From the time she woke up to around 8:30, the contractions were around 10-15 minutes apart. Since they were getting more frequent, they put her back on the monitors and gave her Demerol and Phenegren to try to calm her body and delay delivery for a few more days. At this point, they will not give her the magnesium sulfate, which stops the contractions altogether. The doctor said this morning that she would need to stay here until she delivers. There really is no timeline, so it could be today, a week from now, or longer depending on what her body does. We believe the most likely scenario is that she will deliver within the next few days to a week.

Both Crystal and Brayson are doing well as far as vitals go. Crystal is in and out of sleep right now and probably will be for most of the day. She is a trooper and is handling everything well. She has said more than once that she has a peace about everything. Thank you all for your prayers; they mean so much to us.

Crystal went into preterm labor (2 months early) Tuesday night around 11:00. She was in Magnolia visiting her parents. She was taken to UAMS Wednesday morning around 9:30, where we are currently. They gave her medication to slow the contractions, but once the medicine wore off (around 4pm), she started having them again. At this point she was 3cm dilated. They continued the medication last night, and when they checked this morning at 5am, she was up to 4cm dilated. From what I can gather, they are just delaying the delivery as long as possible, but it will likely be in the next week (if the contractions do not stop on their own).

The good news is, since Crystal is 31-32 weeks along, Brayson is plenty developed to be healthy in the likely case we have to deliver in the coming days. If this happens, Brayson will likely need to stay in the NICU for up to 4 weeks, until he is developed enough to breath, feed, etc. on his own. He is currently 3.5 - 4 lbs.

Crystal is doing fine and is in good spirits. The medication makes her have hot/cold flashes and nausea.

Crystal will be trying to keep up with email and voicemail as much as possible, but this will all depend on how she's feeling from day to day. We appreciate everyone's prayers and understanding during this time.

jeremy

GET READY!!

Well, I am back from the Dominican and trying to recover from 2 1/2 weeks of nonstop craziness! :) I have shot 3 beautiful weddings in 3 fantastic locations in 2 1/2 weeks! I am preparing a MONSTER of a post right now, but here is just a little peek! :) LOTS more coming very soon! (including a few maternity shots of me on the beach!! :) )




Check back real soon for more!

~ Crystal

A SENIOR AND A COUPLE OF CUTIES

Suzanne and I met up last week for her senior session. She is such a sweet girl! We got some great shots, but some of the very last shots of the day were my favorites from the entire session. She has played the violin for years and wanted some pictures with it. Too bad she didn't have her bow with her. I would have loved to have heard her play a little bit!!





One of my friends from high school recently had her second baby, and she was ready to give up her maternity clothes. She and I made a trade - her clothes for some pictures of her two cute kiddos! I had a wonderful time catching up with Ashley over lunch and then playing with and photographing her cuties. And I have certainly been enjoying her maternity wardrobe!! :) Thanks, Ashley!

A few favorites......




I felt so lucky to have a chance to catch one her rare sweet smiles!



Favorites from Tabitha's wedding are coming soon! :)

~ Crystal

LINDSEY & JOHN

Do you remember the last time you laughed so hard for so long that your cheeks ached even hours later....? I do - and it was with this couple! Lindsey and John are such a cute, fun couple to be around. They were up for anything at their engagement session, and we had a total blast together! I absolutely cannot wait to shoot their wedding!! Just a few of my favorite shots....







A little catch up post from a couple of other shoots I had last week is coming up next! :)

~ Crystal

LAST LOOK.....

Well, we had a great ultrasound appointment yesterday afternoon. It was what will probably be our last look at our little boy before he is born. Shea Foster at Baby Views in Little Rock is absolutely amazing! She walks us step by step through everything and explains what every little part is and what each measurement means. The experience is emotional, bonding, and educational all in one! Both sets of grandparents joined us yesterday, and everyone left already feeling so attached to the little boy moving around inside me!

He rested the ENTIRE time......I'm so glad he was comfortable, but I really wanted him to wake up and move around a bit. We only saw a few kicks and slight movements along with a quick yawn. I guess he's still a tired little guy after shooting that wedding with me on Saturday!! haha! He has turned, so he is no longer breech. He actually appears to be locked in and ready to go! haha! Shea told us that he is very low. So low, in fact, that we couldn't even see the top of his head. She said I could not be carrying him ANY lower! She said that this would explain why I have been experiencing some of the discomforts that most women don't experience for another month or so. Fun for me, huh?! :(

Here are a few favorite images Shea captured for us.

He's definitely still a boy! :) This was a great shot of his little man parts next to his hand that was wrapped around his thigh.


He was definitely resting comfortably. :) I love this sweet picture. He was resting on his left side with both arms up under his little head and his legs all tucked up to his chest. Absolutely adorable!


A great 2D image of his foot. All five toes are there!


He's already a cheeky little boy!


Look at those big lips and that big, flat "pig" nose! Poor guy looks like he got MY nose. :( My brother-in-law Brad so lovingly refers to my nose as a "Whoo" nose....like the whoo people in the movie The Grinch. :) haha!


His sweet little foot and muscular leg! :)


A little yawn....


This one is a great shot of his little hand....


I just can't wait to meet this little guy!!

Have a great day!

~ Crystal

QUICKIE!

I am so excited! I am on my way to Little Rock to have my second 4-D ultrasound. Both mine and Jeremy's parents are coming into town to experience it with us! We will get to see our little boy's features so much better this time around, and we are just thrilled! I can't wait to see how much he has grown! I'll be posting pictures of him later on!

Before I leave I wanted to post a quickie from Lindsey and John's engagements from last week. They were such a fun couple, and I love so many of their pictures. There are more to come on here! But this is all I have time for now. :)

Enjoy!

SARAH CAUGHT ME!

I was looking through some pictures Sarah took during Jenna's bridals last week, and I ran across these beauties...... :P

If you happened to wonder what I might look like working at 6 1/2 months pregnant - here ya go! I can't believe I'm posting these on here, but they gave me a good laugh.

Here's the round pregnant girl showing the beautiful bride how to pose....


And the round pregnant girl holding up the round reflector trying to find a little light to make the beautiful bride glisten. :)


Hope you had a laugh at my expense today. :) And now I'm scared of the pictures my husband might catch of me shooting in the Dominican! YIPE!

Enjoy your day!

~ Crystal

JENNA'S BRIDALS

I had an amazing time shooting Jenna's bridals Friday evening. Sarah came and did some shooting and helped me out a lot. The weather was perfect.....until the sun set! Jenna was a trooper in her gown out in the cold, and it paid off. I think we got some great shots! I can't wait for Jenna and Kevin's wedding in two weeks. The Dominican Republic will be MUCH warmer! haha!!

Jenna said Kevin was very trustworthy, and she asked me to post a few favorites....











~ Crystal