Behind the Scenes: Newborn Pictures

I could finally see the bones in my feet again the day before our newborn photo session (post D-day 12), so I got brave enough to try on my wedding rings again, and alas, they finally fit!! They were a little more snug than normal, but getting them over my knuckle, in general, was a giant step in the right direction.

Before this experience, I'd never looked down and thought, "Damn, my legs look skinny." But this day was different; I couldn't take my eyes off of my newly "slender" extremities. It's crazy what we take for granted about our bodies before we know different. 

The morning of our pictures started out a little rough.

I woke up 2 hours early (not that you could tell by the way my hair looked after the wind shredded my curls), and still barely had time to get dressed, since Dillon decided this was the day he'd start being extra hungry with the sunrise.......thank goodness I planned ahead and took a shower the night before!

Not wanting to venture too far from home, we took Leisha (our photographer with Unbridled Dreams Photography whom all these photo credits go to) to the nearest Nature Preserve to work her magic. 

Contrary to what most of our pictures portray, Dillon was wide awake and ready to rumble.

He'd already pooped twice before we left the house, peed on me after I stripped him down to put him in the first prop (thank goodness I was wearing black), and then pooped twice on the blanket of the first prop while spending the remainder of his time trying to crawl out of it. 

Still wide awake, we gave up and I walked him around in the sling (which usually puts him right to sleep), before putting him the in the next prop where he'd be determined to eat the furry blanket.

 I fed him two more times before we were able to get him in a semi sleepy state (I think being naked in the wind kept him pretty frisky). 

3 hours later, we were done! Patrick was dying of a heat stroke and dehydration, I couldn't go another minute without food, and Dillon was finally a limp noodle (although he still refused to let us position his extremities the way we wanted.....that boy has had a mind of his own since conception).

All of that, and Leisha said he was the best cooperating baby she'd ever taken picture of. 

 I don't know about that, but I do know Leisha did an amazing job at capturing some great images for our family to cherish forever while staying very patient and upbeat during the process!

 On a side note, lots of people have asked where Dillon Allen's name came from, and the answer is pretty simple.

Since "Patrick" was a traditional irish name, when we finally agreed on a boy name, we decided to use the traditional irish spelling for it, "Dillon", which nobly stands for "loyal and true".  His middle name, "Allen", is not only Patrick's middle name, but Patrick's grandfather's middle name, so we decided to keep it in the family.

And I think we all know where "Carruth" comes from.......not to be confused with the very wealthy "Caruth's" of Dallas. Unfortunately, the extra "R" does not imply extra money in this case, but what we lack in riches, we make up for with overflowing amounts of love.