Xavier Week 1, a set on Flickr.A few shots of Xavier from his first week.
Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
An Early Christmas Present
Our little bundle of joy arrived earlier than expected. Xavier James Doudt was born on 12/24/12, at 10:46am. He weighed 7 pounds 5 ounces and was 20.5 inches long.
The night before Xavier's birth, Mom started to feel some pain but wasn't sure if it was cramping or early labor. Dad was already asleep at this point, so Mom drank water and started to walk around to see if it was truly labor pains. The pains diminished while Mom was walking around but as soon as she sat down they would start again. At about 5am on the 24th, the pains started again so Mom decided to walk around again, but as soon as she stood up her water broke. It was at this point Mom was sure labor was here. Dad remembers it was exactly 5:23am when Mom woke him. Dad then called the doctor to see what our next step should be while Mom took a shower. The doctor confirmed Mom should come into the hospital. By 6:30am Mom was checked into Northwestern Prentice Women's Hospital in downtown Chicago.
Immediately, the nurses hooked Mom up to the monitors so all the vital information could be tracked: Xavier's and Mom's heart rates. At first Mom was laying on her right side which Xavier did not seem to like as his heart rate quickly dropped. The nurses moved Mom into different positions, finally having her lay on her left side which was not a surprise to Mom and Dad as this was the position she had slept in for the entire pregnancy. This is probably as good a time as any to note that our delivery nurse, Catherine, was an Iowa Hawkeye just like Mom. We felt this was a good omen. Dr Bolger soon arrived and was concerned with Xavier's heart rate dropping because Mom was still in the early stages of labor and she was still not dilated. Dr Bolger recommended Mom get an epidural soon just in case something quick had to happen later on (like a c-section). Getting an epidural was not high on Mom's wish list but she went with the doctor's recommendation. Since the epidural is a "procedure", Dad had to step out of the room while it was done. Dad paced in the adjacent general waiting room anxiously.
After the epidural, Mom felt more relaxed for sure. Dr Bolger said we would wait now to see if Mom's contractions would intensify and if Xavier's heart rate would stabilize. It was at this point that Dad asked if he could run down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Everyone said it was a waiting game right then so sure, go for it. Big mistake!! As soon as Dad got down to the cafeteria he noticed a new voice message. It was Mom telling me to get his butt back upstairs because in those few minutes Xavier's heart rate had dropped a couple more times and Dr Bolger said she needed a c-section as soon as possible.
When Dad got back to the room, Mom was already being prepped and wheeled to the operating room. Dad could here Mom say, "Let's do this" to the doctors and the doctors laughing as she was wheeled out the door. Dad quickly made calls to family to bring them up to speed on what was happening and then changed into the scrubs he was given. A few minutes later, Dad was brought into the operating room and sat near Mom's head. There was a large sheet that blocked us from seeing the operation. As this was Mom's first operation in her life, it was a little scary. Dad tried to soothe Mom by telling her she was doing great, that everything was going to be alright, and that we were just a few minutes away from meeting Xavier. About a half hour later, the doctor said we were getting close to "baby time." Mom and Dad anxiously waited. After a few minutes more, we then heard a tiny squeak, a pause, then a louder cry. It was the most beautiful thing we had ever heard...tears were in our eyes. Dad was then taken to a small side room to finally meet Xavier while he was being checked out and cleaned up. Xavier looked long, skinny, and beautiful. Dad was then given Xavier to hold for the first time and bring to Mom so she could see him.
After recovery, Mom, Dad, and Xavier were brought to our postpartum room (1368) on the 13th floor. This was more than your typical room though...this was a suite with a view! It was a corner room lined with windows and a view of Lake Michigan and the surrounding skyscrapers including the Hancock building. We were recovering in style.
With his birth date, his favorite number has got to be 12, right? Which would be the inverse of his Mom's favorite number (21) and one more than his Dad's (11).
Here are photos of the first few hours and days of Xavier's life:
The night before Xavier's birth, Mom started to feel some pain but wasn't sure if it was cramping or early labor. Dad was already asleep at this point, so Mom drank water and started to walk around to see if it was truly labor pains. The pains diminished while Mom was walking around but as soon as she sat down they would start again. At about 5am on the 24th, the pains started again so Mom decided to walk around again, but as soon as she stood up her water broke. It was at this point Mom was sure labor was here. Dad remembers it was exactly 5:23am when Mom woke him. Dad then called the doctor to see what our next step should be while Mom took a shower. The doctor confirmed Mom should come into the hospital. By 6:30am Mom was checked into Northwestern Prentice Women's Hospital in downtown Chicago.
Immediately, the nurses hooked Mom up to the monitors so all the vital information could be tracked: Xavier's and Mom's heart rates. At first Mom was laying on her right side which Xavier did not seem to like as his heart rate quickly dropped. The nurses moved Mom into different positions, finally having her lay on her left side which was not a surprise to Mom and Dad as this was the position she had slept in for the entire pregnancy. This is probably as good a time as any to note that our delivery nurse, Catherine, was an Iowa Hawkeye just like Mom. We felt this was a good omen. Dr Bolger soon arrived and was concerned with Xavier's heart rate dropping because Mom was still in the early stages of labor and she was still not dilated. Dr Bolger recommended Mom get an epidural soon just in case something quick had to happen later on (like a c-section). Getting an epidural was not high on Mom's wish list but she went with the doctor's recommendation. Since the epidural is a "procedure", Dad had to step out of the room while it was done. Dad paced in the adjacent general waiting room anxiously.
After the epidural, Mom felt more relaxed for sure. Dr Bolger said we would wait now to see if Mom's contractions would intensify and if Xavier's heart rate would stabilize. It was at this point that Dad asked if he could run down to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Everyone said it was a waiting game right then so sure, go for it. Big mistake!! As soon as Dad got down to the cafeteria he noticed a new voice message. It was Mom telling me to get his butt back upstairs because in those few minutes Xavier's heart rate had dropped a couple more times and Dr Bolger said she needed a c-section as soon as possible.
When Dad got back to the room, Mom was already being prepped and wheeled to the operating room. Dad could here Mom say, "Let's do this" to the doctors and the doctors laughing as she was wheeled out the door. Dad quickly made calls to family to bring them up to speed on what was happening and then changed into the scrubs he was given. A few minutes later, Dad was brought into the operating room and sat near Mom's head. There was a large sheet that blocked us from seeing the operation. As this was Mom's first operation in her life, it was a little scary. Dad tried to soothe Mom by telling her she was doing great, that everything was going to be alright, and that we were just a few minutes away from meeting Xavier. About a half hour later, the doctor said we were getting close to "baby time." Mom and Dad anxiously waited. After a few minutes more, we then heard a tiny squeak, a pause, then a louder cry. It was the most beautiful thing we had ever heard...tears were in our eyes. Dad was then taken to a small side room to finally meet Xavier while he was being checked out and cleaned up. Xavier looked long, skinny, and beautiful. Dad was then given Xavier to hold for the first time and bring to Mom so she could see him.
After recovery, Mom, Dad, and Xavier were brought to our postpartum room (1368) on the 13th floor. This was more than your typical room though...this was a suite with a view! It was a corner room lined with windows and a view of Lake Michigan and the surrounding skyscrapers including the Hancock building. We were recovering in style.
With his birth date, his favorite number has got to be 12, right? Which would be the inverse of his Mom's favorite number (21) and one more than his Dad's (11).
Here are photos of the first few hours and days of Xavier's life:
Thursday, December 20, 2012
As We Wait...
As we wait for our little Christmas present to arrive, I've been uploading a lot of "old" photos to Fine Art America making them available for sale. When I first started using the site I only uploaded a few photos, but I've since gone back into my archives and found more that I feel are worth making available. Please share with friends if you think anything would peak their interest.
I've also updated a few more on my Flickr site as well just for fun. I've tried my hand at some Tilt-Shift editing to make it seem like the photo is of miniatures. Here is one of the St. Louis streets and cars taken from the Arch as an example:
I've also updated a few more on my Flickr site as well just for fun. I've tried my hand at some Tilt-Shift editing to make it seem like the photo is of miniatures. Here is one of the St. Louis streets and cars taken from the Arch as an example:
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
On a Roll
I had another one sell yesterday - a greeting card this time! Hopefully this is just a start of what's to come.
I also bought a cheap macro/fisheye lens attachment recently. I'm not sure I want to spend the large amounts of money on these types of specific lenses so I bought an inexpensive attachment to play around with. Here is the set of macro (extreme close up) shots of a raspberry in water. One of the shots below:
I also bought a cheap macro/fisheye lens attachment recently. I'm not sure I want to spend the large amounts of money on these types of specific lenses so I bought an inexpensive attachment to play around with. Here is the set of macro (extreme close up) shots of a raspberry in water. One of the shots below:
Thursday, December 6, 2012
First Print Sold!!
I got an email last night letting me know that I sold my first print off the Fine Art America site. I am so excited! Here is the photo and more info on what sold: Stairs to the Chicago L
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