We’re all tied up this Holiday Season!

After a whirlwind of a busy season at the studio, it’s about time we let you all in on our little secret.  Looking back over the last few months, I wonder at how we survived.  Now that we’ve finally made it to the excitement of sharing our news, it all seems worth it.

For the past 3 years, every time I’ve had an announcement, I’ve had to preface it with “no, I’m not pregnant.”  Now I can finally give an emphatic “YES”, Shaun and I are expecting baby #2!

This may not come as a big surprise to many of you, given the fact that I’m 5 feet tall and somehow begin looking 3 months pregnant before I even see a plus sign on the stick.   I’ve gotten “the look” more often than I can count in the past 14 weeks.  My sweet clients, especially those who have known me for years, would nervously eye my tummy, too polite to ask me if I’m pregnant (just in-case I had put on a few pounds, mainly in my uterus).  Also, because the last 5 pounds I put on before becoming pregnant made zippering my jeans almost impossible, I started wearing maternity pants almost immediately, their unmistakable bands peeking out from under my shirts as I ran around the studio.  No sooner than I saw a plus sign was I was unloading boxes of elastic waistband pants from my garage in a deep sigh of relief.  “Praise the Lord of elastic-bands!”  At least I have a good excuse, right?  Honestly, I think elastic waistbands should be socially acceptable for everyone… especially around the Holidays… and I write this as I polish off an entire bag of Cape Cod Salt and Vinegar potato chips…   but I digress…

Other than our 4 sets of parents and a few girlfriends who knew as soon as, in their words “Heidi didn’t have her wine”, our two employees were the first to know.  We let them in around week 6, after a series of afternoons when I mysteriously disappeared from the studio, too sick to do anything but close my eyes and hope my lunch didn’t come back up.  I felt so bad taking off without an explanation that after our first doctors appointment, we decided to fill them in.  We figured if anything bad should happen, we would have to tell them at that point anyways.  Plus, I feared they thought I was becoming really lazy and high-maintenance every time I made them lug the heavy chairs up and down the studio stairs for me.  I wouldn’t have made it through the last 3 months without them and Meredith even photographed the three of us for this post.  I kind of thought they were going to leave us tied up after dealing with me for the past few months!

Thankfully, my nausea didn’t last too long and I was back to my long days chasing around toddlers, scaling furniture, and rolling around on my tummy to get the perfect shot!  (Just don’t tell my doctor.)  For a while, I forgot I was even pregnant… that is until I returned home and found myself drooling on the couch by 7pm.  So no more late night catching-up on the blog for me, but other than that, I can’t complain.  I was extremely sick for my entire first pregnancy, but this time around, I’m feeling much better.  They say that each pregnancy gets easier, but I’m thinking that after your first, laying around sick is just not an option.  I remember being pregnant with Giuliana, returing home after teaching all day, throwing on Oprah and falling asleep on the couch until Shaun came home.  We ordered pizza almost every night.  I was too sick to cook, too sick to pick up the house, too sick to blow dry my hair.  I was creating human life after all.  Of course, that could never happen now.  We’re juggling running a business with having a normal family life and there isn’t a whole heck of a lot of time to put my feet up.  I look at women who are business owners and have 3 or 4 kids and wonder how they do it want to know what drug they are taking.  “Can I have some and is it safe for pregnancy?!”  After surviving the first trimester, I realize the key to making it through pregnancy while juggling it all: “NEVER SIT DOWN!”   Trust me, the second you sit down, you’re a goner.  So I’m up at 5am, doing my yoga, checking my email, starting my day.  When I finally sit down around 8pm, I better have everything done, because I’ve got approximately 5 minutes until unconsciousness.

Giuliana is privy to our impending arrival and so far, she’s thrilled.  She’s even let a few people in on our secret.  I’m guessing this will be old news for her entire preschool class.  She’s already drawing pictures for her baby, which she lovingly refers to as “my baby in your belly.”  Of course she is 3, so I see this lasting for about 1 week after the baby is born until she starts asking us when the baby goes back to where it came from.  But for now, I’m enjoying all of the adorable, loving, big-sister cuteness.

So now you know why things have been extra crazy around the studio.  As we wrap up our busy season, I’m happy to have the first trimester behind me and look forward to the quiet that comes during the winter months.  We’re keeping our normal schedule through April if you’re thinking of a session with us, but will sadly have to turn away newborns due in May and June as I’ll be on a limited shooting schedule and then a brief maternity leave.  I anticipate May to be a little baby boom after Hurricane Irene left us all without power around here!  We have lots of recommendations we can make for some very talented photographers throughout New England who we know will take good care of you and we’ll be offering a special promotion to all families who are due during those months that we can not accept time sensitive sessions such as newborns, so certainly still give the studio a call if you are due in May or June.

Best wishes for a wonderful Thanksgiving and start to the Holiday season.  I know I have a lot to be thankful for this year!  xoxo