My sweet Eleanor Grace

My second pregnancy…..I don't even know where to begin.

Alex and I were in a unfortunate situation where we ended up picking up and moving in with a relative while waiting on a different housing situation to come through. On July 4, 2014 after experiencing days of nausea I decided to take a pregnancy test. To my surprise it said POSITIVE! I can't even describe to you the mini anxiety attack that I had when I saw that little positive sign. It was by far the worst possible timing ever. Alex was in the middle of switching careers, we had just moved and would be moving again soon, and I had my little 10 month old Audrey.

I called my doctor and set up an appointment to go in and get an ultrasound and all that fun stuff. When I went in for my ultrasound the technician confirmed my pregnancy and told me that I was already 9 WEEKS along. I had no idea….but the good news was that I was almost done with my first trimester! Yay for me.

My second pregnancy was a lot worse than my first. Nauseated ALL the time, a lot more puking, and the worst heartburn I have ever experienced on a DAILY basis. I was convinced that Eleanor was going to come out looking like a monkey.

My due date was February 13, 2015 but I was praying Eleanor would maybe come a little sooner like her sister. Anyone who has been pregnant knows those last few weeks are AWFUL. You feel like a whale, walk like a penguin, and are just absolutely miserable. As my due date got closer and closer, I came to the conclusion that she wasn't going to come early. I was having Braxton Hicks contractions on a regular basis but nothing serious. I was hoping I would get lucky enough to have my water break again so there would be no guessing involved when labor was really happening.

I didn't get that lucky. On the night of February 6, I was laying in bed trying to sleep but was having contractions. I decided to start timing them and they were 5 minutes apart. They had been this way before so I wasn't really worried about it but called my doctor just to be on the safe side. My doctor decided since I was already dilated to 3 cm at my last appointment and my contractions were so close together that I should come to the hospital and be checked. She would rather be safe than sorry with how quickly everything happened with Audrey's birth.

I called my parents and made arrangements for Dad to come over and stay with Audrey and we loaded up the car. Alex, my Mom and I then headed to the hospital around 10 pm. Once arriving at the hospital they got me all checked in and took me up the maternity floor. At this point my contractions were barely noticeable and I was convinced that I was going to be sent home. The nurse came in my room and checked my cervix and told me that I was 5 cm dilated and to get comfortable because I wasn't going home. This definitely came as a shock. I was in labor but definitely didn't feel like it. It was much different than with Audrey's birth. We sat around the room and didn't do much of anything until my doctor came in. She told me that she could go ahead and break my water if I wanted to move things along. I decided I wanted to wait an hour or so and see if my contractions would progress on their own. I walked around the hospital and bounced on the birthing ball. After about two hours of the mildest contractions ever, I decided it was time to break my water. I couldn't even believe that I could be in labor with the contractions I was having.

Around 3:30 am my doctor came back in to break my water. Once she broke my water it was ON. I decided as soon as I found out I was pregnant again that I wanted to go natural again. My labor with Audrey was so insanely fast that I was praying I would get that lucky again. Unfortunately I had a lot more active laboring to do with Eleanor. Once the doctor broke my water the contractions really got intense. At first it was uncomfortable but bearable. They then started to get a lot harder and a lot closer together. I was in a lot of pain and laying in the hospital bed only made it worse. Luckily since I was going natural I had the ability to get up and walk around and to bounce on the birthing ball. It got to the point that even the birthing ball wasn't helping. I found myself on the floor trying my hardest to control my breathing. The pain was so intense though that I started hyperventilating. Luckily Alex was able to talk to me and get me to calm down some and remind me that by controlling my breathing, it would make the pain much more bearable. The second you tense up during a contraction, it makes it SO MUCH WORSE. So I calmed myself down but at this point I was super crazy and telling Alex that I couldn't do it and there was no way I was going to have this baby. Him and my mom both told me that there was no going back at this point. I was definitely questioning my decision for another natural birth at this point. Mom was keeping a cool rag on my neck and head while I tried to remain calm. I was praying like crazy. With each contraction I thanked God that this was my last pregnancy and that I wouldn't have to do this again. Lucky for me I knew I was close to the end. The pain had gotten so intense and I had gotten so loopy that I knew it had to be close to the end. I told Alex to go get a nurse because I felt like I needed to push. The nurse came in and laughed at me being on the floor and told me that I better get on the bed because I couldn't deliver a baby on the floor. At this point there was some blood and I remember telling Alex in my crazy state of mind to "take my socks off because I don't want them to get dirty." He thought I was absolutely crazy. That was the last thing I should have been worried about.  I managed to crawl up to the bed and when she checked me she told me that I was fully dilated and ready to push. I was so relieved to hear that. The nurse ran out and called my doctor in. I gave 4-6 good pushes and my sweet girl was out. The pushing only lasted maybe 10 minutes. They immediately put her on my chest and I was instantly in love.

My sweet Eleanor Grace Todd was born at 4:57 am on February 7, 2015 weighing 7 pounds even. She was 19 inches long.

Although there was some pain involved, I can't complain. I had a very easy and amazing childbirth. I was so proud of myself that I was able to do it. I attribute my success to my praying, Alex's coaching and my sweet Mom being there to take care of me.

I was so extrememly excited for Audrey to get to the hospital and to meet her baby sister. She was a little timid at first but now 2 months later she thinks Eleanor is her baby. She takes such good care of her. She helps burp her, change diapers and helps calm her down when she's crying. I am so extremely blessed to have these two amamzingly beautiful girls in my life. I cannot thank God enough for my sweet family.

www.catietoddphotography.com

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Photographer

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Rebekah and Matthew

On Tuesday I had the pleasure of photographing Rebekah and Matthew. Rebekah is only a few short weeks away from welcoming their son Levi into the world. These two were so much fun and are so excited about their little blessing. I cannot WAIT to meet Levi!

www.catietoddphotography.com

Myrtle Beach, SC 

Photographer

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My Sweet Audrey Elizabeth

Let me start off by saying I am not a writer. I am not one to sit down and write about anything; however, after giving birth to my daughter Audrey, I feel compelled to sit down and write her birth story.

When I found out I was pregnant with Audrey I was ecstatic. I had a fairly easy pregnancy with no real problems minus the awful heartburn I had everyday. As I got further and further along in my pregnancy reality started to sink in that I in fact was going to have to give birth to this child. That thought alone was terrifying to me. Audrey is my first child and I was really becoming fearful of the thought of childbirth simply because I did not know what to expect. At the beginning of my pregnancy I thought for SURE I wanted an epidural. I thought I wanted this to be as easy and pain free as possible. As I went through my child birthing class and did some researching and reading of my own, I decided maybe natural childbirth was the way to go. Now of course that was a terrifying thought but I prayed about it and made up my mind that I wanted to give birth to Audrey naturally and that's what I was going to do!

As my due date got closer and closer I started trying to prepare myself mentally and spiritually to give natural child birth. I knew a lot of it was in my head of course and that the more I feared this the worse it would be. I prayed for God to give me the strength to do this because of course this is what he made my body to be able to do. I discussed my decision with my parents and of course Alex. My mom wrote down some verses on note cards for me to read while in labor to comfort me and assure me that I could do it. I even had all my breathing techniques, laboring positions and music on my ipad ready to go so when I went to the hospital I would be prepared!

I don't think anything could have prepared me for the way Audrey's birth actually happened. Tuesday night, September 17, I started having some contractions around 9 o clock. I didn't think much of the contractions because I had been having irregular contractions on and off for over a week. That being said I did have a weird feeling about that night. I wasn't feeling quite myself so I ended up trying to go to sleep around 9:30. Alex checked on me around 10 and asked if I was still having contractions and I was. The contractions were very mild and still seemed random so I kept trying to sleep through them. Before falling asleep I remember praying and asking God to prepare me if I was going to have this baby tonight. At 2 o clock I woke up to use the bathroom. As I laid back down to try and go back to sleep I felt a slight pop and a gush of water. My water had broken. I woke up Alex and told him that my water broke to which he was a little panicky and asked a few times if I was sure. I told him to go ahead and start getting our stuff together to go to the hospital. I got up and did my hair and put on a little make up. I was feeling really calm to have had my water just break. Alex was more worried about me calling my doctor and getting to the hospital. I could tell he was having some anxiety about it all as I looked in the bedroom to see him with his head down on the bed trying to take it all in. As I was getting ready to go to the hospital I started to time my contractions. They started about 8 minutes apart and with every contraction they were getting closer and closer together. Around 2:30 we left the house to head to the hospital. The contractions were strong on the way but I was still feeling pretty calm about everything. I would breathe through the bad contractions and then keep talking to Alex in between. I remember talking to him about how his Grandma Barbara was right about Audrey being born around the full moon. Thursday night would have been the full moon. Around 2:50 we arrived at the ER. Alex parked the car and I got out to begin walking into the ER. I had two very painful contractions that stopped me in my place while walking in. The last one was so intense I had to grab onto the side of the building and I felt the need to vomit. I walked into the ER and told them I was going to vomit and they handed me a bag to do so. Then they put me into a wheel chair and took me into the office to begin trying to admit me. As the lady was talking to me and trying to get all my information, I started to slightly freak out. I told her I couldn't sit and I needed to stand up and walk around to try and relieve some of the pain of my contractions. I suppose this girl was curious about child birth because she started asking me what my contractions felt like and where the pain was because "she had never had a baby before". At this point I was in NO shape to be carrying on a casual conversation about child birth. I stood up and started pacing the floor when I started gushing more fluids. They knew at this point, I  was pretty far along and that they needed to get me upstairs. Without even admitting me, they put me back in the wheelchair and rushed me to the labor and delivery wing. When we got to the delivery room they got me stripped down and in my hospital gown. I was still pacing the floor when I asked the nurses if I could please use the bathroom. They told me that I could go to the bathroom but then decided they better ask what I needed to do. I told them I really, really needed to poop! The nurse then flipped out on me and told me absolutely not and to lay down on the bed immediately where she could check me and see how far I was dilated. I explained to her that I was having a strong contraction and I couldn't lay down that I needed to walk it off. She then proceeded to scream at me that I needed to lay down and be checked NOW! After her and Alex both yelling at me and telling me I needed to lay down, I finally did. The nurse proceeded to check me only to say "Alright we are having a baby!" as she ran out of the room to get a doctor. Apparently that strong feeling of me needing to "poop" was really just the pressure of Audrey about to come out! Next thing I knew there were about 4 nurses in my room and then Dr. Markley (thank GOD!) walked in. Dr. Markley has been my OBGYN for almost 7 years and I had prayed that she would be on call when it came time for me to deliver Audrey. Prayer answered! As soon as Dr. Markley walked in everyone started grabbing my legs and telling me when I was ready to push. Next thing I knew Alex was letting go of my leg and walking away. I heard him off to the side throwing up. Apparently all the excitement and his sinuses were all too much for him. He made it back to my side though. At this point I was so overwhelmed by how fast things had happened. The nurses and Dr. Markley kept telling me I was doing so good but I surely didn't feel like it. I pushed 5-6 good times and the next thing I knew the nurses were screaming with excitement as Dr. Markley handed me my beautiful little girl. So at 3:20 AM only 30 minutes after pulling into the ER parking lot I was holding my daughter. Alex and I were filled with so much joy. All the pain I had felt was immediately relieved. Alex cut the umbilical cord and the nurses took Audrey to weigh her and clean her off.

We named our daughter Audrey Elizabeth Todd. She was born at 3:20 AM and weighed 7 lbs 2 ozs. She was 20 1/2 inches long! Neither set of grandparents were even able to make it to the hospital before she was born. Alex called to let them know that Audrey was born but Alex said "she's here" and they were assuming he was saying that I was there at the hospital. He then told them he meant their granddaughter was here. For the rest of our hospital stay every nurse that came into our room called Audrey the "drive by baby". She was kinda famous! Everyone had heard her story and thought it was just the craziest thing!

I don't know how I got lucky enough to only have suffered through labor for roughly an hour and 20 minutes but I thank the good Lord that it happened that way. I believe it was an answered prayer for me. I knew I wanted a natural child birth and prayed that I would be able to do it. By the time I arrived at the hospital not only did I not have a choice but it happened so fast that I didn't suffer too much. I am so thankful for that. I could not have asked for a better child birthing experience.

Audrey is such a blessing to us and already brings us so much joy. I cannot wait to see what a beautiful girl she will become.

The Ward Family!

The Ward family was definitely a fun shoot! With a very active two year old, we had our work cut out for us. We had a lot of fun chasing Addison around and trying to get a smile out of her! I am so glad I was able to photograph this family. They were such a joy to work with.

www.catietoddphotography.com

Myrtle Beach Photographer

Myrtle Beach, SC

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The Anderson Family!

I can't begin to say how much I love this family! I have known them for about 6 years now. They have been dear family friends. We have spent a lot of time together and through the years they have become family. I get so excited when it comes time to photograph them. They are such a beautiful and loving family.  Walt, Caroline and girls, thank you for giving me the opportunity to capture your family and these beautiful moments!

www.catietoddphotography.com

Myrtle Beach Photographer

Myrtle Beach, SC

www.facebook.com/catietoddphotography

Emilee's shoot!

Every year I get the opportunity to shoot pictures of my lovely cousin Emilee. She prefers me to do her "school pictures" instead of the ordinary school year book pictures. We always have a fun and adventurous time on our shoots. It's so strange to look back over the past few years and see how much Emilee has gone from a little girl to a beautiful young lady! I am so proud of the person she is becoming. Love you Emilee!

www.catietoddphotography.com

www.facebook.com/catietoddphotography

Myrtle Beach, SC photographer