TRAVIS HAYDEN IS HERE!

Jill and I have been best friends ever since we were awkward tweens in our first year of junior high school. She and I have shared so many wonderful experiences together, but we would have never imagined we would share the pregnancy experience! It was late one Sunday night when she called me shrieking that she was pregnant. It was no secret that she and Ryan had been having some trouble getting pregnant, so I couldn't have been more thrilled for her. I took the next day off work and spent it celebrating the good news with her. I also complained to her about my recent fatigue and aching back, and she insisted that I take her leftover pregnancy test. Hours later I finally gave in, and we cried together when the test read that I was indeed pregnant too.

Yesterday was Jill's d-day - exactly 2 months after mine. I recieved the call from Ryan at around 9:00 last night. "She's dialated to nine and a half!"

"What? Already?! I'm on my way!!"

Jill had called me just a little over an hour earlier and told me she was dialated to five centimeters! Everyone was shocked to hear that she had progressed so quickly. I arrived at the hospital in record time and headed back to room 446. She and Ryan wanted me to capture the birth of their son in pictures, and I was more than happy to do it for them.

Travis arrived at around 11:45 PM weighing in at 8 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches long. He is such a cutie pie and looks just like his momma!








All the proud grandparents...


Jill and Ryan, I am so happy for you guys! You were amazing last night, Jill, and you should be so proud. You two are going to be amazing parents!! I can't wait to watch our two boys grow up together!! I love you guys!

~ Crystal

MY FIRST MOTHER'S DAY

When Jeremy took these pictures of me and my belly while we were in the Dominican I NEVER would have thought that just one week later I would be lying in a hospital bed hooked up to wires and machines trying to postpone labor. I would have never thought I would actually BE a mother on Mother's Day this year! But I am, and I am so happy!!!





On my first Mother's Day I must say that I truly felt blessed for so many reasons. I have family and friends who love, encourage, and support me. So many wonderful people have helped us out in so many ways over the past few weeks. Friends have cooked and entertained for us. My mother and my mother-in-law have come to the house and cleaned, organized, brought gifts, and cooked meals for us to get us through the weeks Brayson was in the hospital. Jeremy's Nanny has also cooked us many wonderful meals topped off with her fantastic desserts! We know that so many wonderful people have prayed for us and for Brayson over the last couple of months. I am blessed because I have a beautiful baby boy who is now at home with us sleeping in his craddle making the sweetest little baby sounds. Every time he looks at me my heart melts! He immediately lifts my spirits with his sweet grin. I am blessed because I have a truly wonderful husband whose love I never doubt! I referred to him yesterday as a diamond in the rough! I have to brag on him because he is so great. He is so loving and helpful and encouraging. From massaging my tense muscles to changing dirty diapers (really dirty ones!), getting bottles ready, doing laundry and dishes, running errands, doing yardwork and everything in between - he has simply blown me away! He is what is keeping our lives somewhat in order right now. I love him so much and am so thankful to have him in my life. He is going to be the best dad Brayson could ever wish for!

I can't stop taking pictures of Brayson. He seems to change a little bit every day, and I don't want to miss a thing! Here are a few a took a couple of days ago. Brayson is lying in a cradle that has been in our family for over 24 years! A friend of the family built this craddle when I was born. I slept in it, my sister slept in it, and now Brayson rests in it! How special!



Jeremy was holding Brayson in our living room, and I noticed the beautiful light pouring through the window. I had to grab my camera! I love this shot!




Happy Mother's Day to all of the wonderful moms out there!

~ Crystal

MICHELLE'S BRIDALS

I have been looking forward to Michelle's wedding since she booked me to shoot it last year. She is such a fun and sweet person, and she is going to be a gorgeous bride!! She has been planning the perfect wedding. She is working with some of the best vendors around, so I know it will be fabulous! We went out to shoot her bridals while Brayson was still in the hospital. My great uncle was so kind and opened up his home for us to shoot in. We were definitely not lacking in great spots to shoot, and we had a blast with the leopard print walls!

A few favorites....







~ Crystal

Things are going great! Brayson had his first bath at home tonight. It was a little stressful for all involved. We are still getting the whole bathtime routine down. :) Isn't he so cute!

HOME AT LAST

Wow! It seemed this day would never come! It has been seven weeks since we have spent a day outside of the hospital. It has been a long, tiring, and emotional road, but "Peanut" finally came home yesterday!!! Our night "rooming in" at the hospital went well, and last night was even better. Everyone had told me to enjoy my sleep while I could before he came home, but to be honest, the past two nights have been some of the best rest I have gotten since I went into labor. Brayson sleeps great day and night, and we have to wake him up for almost every feed. He came home on an apnea monitor that he will have to be hooked up to for probably a month or two. It is a bit of a hassle, but it will let us know if he ever stops breathing or if his heart rate drops too low.

The dogs are doing well around him. I don't think they know what to think of him. They sniff at him, but they never get too close. Our maltese has already gotten a bit protective of him. It will be fun to see how they are around him over the next few weeks. Jeremy has the week off so that we can all spend time together as a family. The doctors and nurses told us to really relax and bond with Brayson over the next few days. We plan on doing just that! We also have to limit the number of visitors he has for a little while. His white blood cell count is still low, so it would be very easy for him to get really sick right now. His pediatrician will be checking his count again in a few days to see if it has gone up any. We will keep you all posted. Well, I am off to get his next bottle ready. Hopefully he will start breastfeeding soon, and I won't have to mess with bottles anymore! :) Enjoy these photos!!!






~ Crystal

I'm excited to say that I'm sitting back watching Crystal hold Brayson, not under the harsh florescent lights of the special care nursery, but in our own dimly lit, cozy hospital room, where we are rooming in tonight! As many of you know, Crystal stayed at the hospital last night to give Brayson his feeds so that we might prevent any episodes that may have occurred due to someone not familiar with him giving him his bottle. Well, he came through like a champ, and Crystal even got about 3 hours of sleep today. Since we are having to take Brayson home on an apnea monitor and all of the rooms being reserved, we were going to have to wait a few days for a monitor to be ordered and delivered and for a room to free up; however, God delivered (as always) with a room opening up at the last minute, a monitor being able to be delivered tomorrow afternoon and our awesome nurse Shannon swinging it where we could use one of the hospital's monitors tonight! With the roller coaster ride the last 5 weeks have been, we're doing our best to live in the moment. Right now we're just thankful to have this night alone with him. Regardless of what happens from here on, God is good. All we can do is trust Him.

Please say a prayer that Brayson will continue to do well and that Crystal and I will know how to care for him like he needs.

jeremy & crystal

DISAPPOINTED AGAIN.....

Alright, so we decided that we will no longer get excited about the possibilities of Brayson coming home. We will get excited once he IS home. Last night he started having episodes with desatting AGAIN, and so AGAIN we are not getting to bring him home. I, however, have decided that I will be staying day and night at the hospital so that I can feed him every feed myself since he has not desatted on any of his feeds with me. (knock on wood) So far so good. I just have to see for myself what is going on with him. I will be camping out in the waiting room making sure to be in the nursery every three hours day and night. I wish they would just let me sleep in one of the many spare rooms they have around here, but no such luck. Please continue to keep us all in your prayers. This is not easy for me or Jeremy or our families. Please pray for Brayson. His red blood cell count is low and he may end up getting a blood transfusion if it doesn't come up. It came up a little today, but it still needs to come up more tomorrow. The doctor seems to think that his desatting episodes are due to a possible infection, so they are looking for all signs of an infection. If he has one he will be on antibiotics and may end up being here for 7 to 10 more days. I don't really think an infection is what was causing his desats last night since he has not desatted all day with me, but please pray.

Thank you. We will be keeping you all updated.

~ Crystal

Well, I think the doctors and nurses are beginning to see us as two kids in the back seat of the car asking every 5 miles, "Are we there yet?" But we can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel (forgive the transportation-type metaphors... we've been on the road a lot lately). The good news is that Brayson will likely be coming home in the next few days. We're crossing our fingers for Sunday or Monday. He's done really well the last few days and has taken all his feeds by bottle for almost 48 hours (which is the "come home" threshold). We also just found out tonight that he just hit six lbs!

Here are some more pics. Thanks once again for all the thoughts and prayers!

TYLER AND AMANDA

So after my stressful day yesterday with Brayson I decided to take a little time to myself this morning. I am hoping to catch the blog up very soon with the three fabulous weddings I shot before I went into labor and a great bridal session I shot over the weekend, but right now it is Tyler and Amanda's fun and sexy engagement shoot. This couple is GREAT. We shared so many laughs that I really needed on a day a couple of weeks ago when Brayson wasn't doing so great. They are getting married on 7/7/07.....the biggest day for weddings this year! :) Enjoy a few of my favorites!

ROLLERCOASTER

I guess this is how it goes......up and down.....up and down. Brayson has been doing so well. He has been taking his bottles like a champ, sleeping well, and making plenty of dirty diapers for us! He passed his carseat angle tolerance test a couple of days ago, and we were being told that he would be coming home with us today. But then he started desating on all of his bottles last night....he has desated on every bottle since 6:00 pm yesterday. For those who don't know - a desat is when his heart rate drops and his oxygen saturation goes down. His face starts changing colors from a nice pink color to a dusky kind of bluish color. It takes stimulation to bring everything back up again. He is doing this because he is getting choked up on his bottles. We don't know now how long it will take for him to be ready to come home. I believe the doctors may do a swallow test later on. Today will be a long day....he is getting an eye exam, another head ultrasound, and possibly a swallow exam. And my guess is that the feeding tube is going back in his nose. All of this is making me super emotional. It's difficult to focus on anything right now besides him. Please keep us in your prayers. I am so ready for him to come home, but I don't want him to come home before he is ready. I am so glad this all happened before he came home with us. Please pray for a positive outlook and patience for myself and for Jeremy. Pray for Brayson to get eveything together in his own time, and pray for any exams he will have to undergo to have good results.

Thank you, and we love you all.

Crystal