I am currently on maternity leave to spend time with my family. Although I was already caught up on most things, all work is on temporary hold. Once I settle into my new role as mommy and am getting more sleep then I will be finishing up any outstanding orders.

Although I am not shooting weddings for the rest of 2009, I am accepting wedding contracts for the 2010 season as well as limited portrait sessions for the fall/winter.

I am really looking forward to getting back to work full time next year, but in the meantime I am going to enjoy every minute that I can with my new little boy. Since I don't have separate personal and business blogs, this may appear to be the Hayden baby blog for a few months, but I intend to take full advantage of having my own personal baby model and hope that everyone else will enjoy the photo updates as he grows.

Hayden Alexander Hellsten was delivered at Baptist West Hospital by Dr Emily Evitt on Monday August 31. He weighed 8lb 15oz (4.1kg) and was 22.5" (57cm) long.

Although he wasn't officially due until today, I had an induction because he and I were both more than ready. After we arrived at Baptist at 6am, everything went smoothly, and I progressed very quickly. His heartbeat was great, and he never showed any distress, but eventually it was time to push. The pushing phase went on for about 2.5 hours. Unfortunately, his head was 15.5" (39cm) or a whole two inches (5cm) larger than the average head circumference at birth. His poor little head was squished into a cone, but it just wasn't going to fit through the birth canal. We went in for a Cesarean section, and little Hayden was born at exactly 6pm. He is just so precious, and I am filled with love for him and Marcus who is such an amazing husband and father.

We have been doing a sort of video journal since Marcus gave me an HD video camera for my upcoming birthday, but trying to take care of a newborn and recover from surgery has me beat so I haven't had much time for photos yet. Happily, my friend and fellow photographer Erin Browne came by the hospital to snap some pictures of Hayden, and I am so thankful that she was there to get those first photos for us. Even with the best intentions to take lots of pictures, having a newborn is overwhelming. I highly recommend arranging in advance to have someone come and do newborn photos at some point in the first week. Everything is just so chaotic, and it is impossible to have any sort of schedule. Trust me, if you don't arrange it in advance then it is just too easy to let time slip by, and you don't want to miss out on getting those very important photos when they are at their smallest.

Here are a few photographs of chubby baby Hayden that Erin took for us.











This photo below shows the security alarm that the hospital uses to keep the babies safe.









ETA: Olga, our day nurse at the hospital, took a few photos as well. You can find them on the hospital's site if you list babies born on August 31, click on my name, and then "view full detail".

Yay! Marcus finally hooked up a scanner last night and scanned in baby Hellsten's ultrasound pictures so that I can share a few.


12 weeks pregnant; approximately 2.5" crown to rump; approximate weight .8 ounce


28 weeks pregnant; approximately 15" head to heel; approximate weight 2.5 lb


32 weeks pregnant; approximately 17" long; approximate weight 5 lb

I had an ultrasound yesterday (38 weeks pregnant), but he is approximately 8.5 lb now and very cramped for space so it was difficult to get a good photo. He should be out very soon though, and then we can share some "real" photographs.

While we are anxiously awaiting our own baby, I managed to fit in a session with my friend Leah and her son James. I photographed Leah and John's wedding at Bleak House way back in 2005, and it is always fun to get together and catch up with my brides. With all the feeding and consoling that goes on, baby sessions leave lots of time to catch up. Unfortunately, John is busy being a marine out in California so he couldn't be in the photos, but I'm sure he'll be super excited to see new pictures of his adorable little boy.

I think that this is my favorite because it almost looks like a smile.

Marcus and I had our baby shower at Brixx Pizza Sunday and had a great time. I owe a big thank you to my friend Christa for organizing and hosting. We really appreciate all of our friends who were able to come out and celebrate with us including Matt Browne who was nice enough to take a few photos for the baby book. After pizza, we enjoyed a very delicious carrot cake from Magpies, and we didn't have to play any embarrassing shower games!

Even though I am a photographer and know that it is best to do maternity photos much earlier than the 35th week, I somehow managed to keep putting it off. Although I'm now feeling very huge with the lovely stretch marks and swollen ankles that go along with late pregnancy, we did snap a few maternity shots after the shower. For our out-of-town friends and family who have been asking about the bump, here you go. Keep in mind that the official due date isn't until September 6, more than a month away.