All About Emily Black

Firstly, before I get onto the wonderful Emily Black, a little update about the babies.

They are doing FANTASTIC! There are murmurs that we may be going home Friday or Saturday.....!!!
They are not having formula top ups anymore, my milk has come in with a vengeance. After feeding all 3 I am still easily able to pump 120mLs. I am blessed with good milk supply. Dylan got a touch of jaundice and was on a Billi-Bed for 24 hours, which is the blue phototherapy light but instead of just lying under it he was wrapped in it. His next SBR level check showed up under the treatment line so he finished his blue light disco and came back into the cot with his brother and sister. Dylan is the quiet one. He doesn't mind that Ailah and Isaac fuss a bit next to him, even when Isaac lets loose his very high pitched squeals. Ailah is fairly chilled too, she always comes back for dessert, she likes to have her dinner, then a few minutes of snoozing and then dessert after that. She hates being bathed. The second time was a little better. Isaac is Mummies boy. He loves his cuddles and is generally the first to wake for a feed.

They all lost a little of their birth weight and have since put some back on. As long as they continue to have suck feeds only and gain weight, they will come home. Soon. Isaac must have heard the nurse and I talking last night about taking the nasal gastric tubes out in the next 2 days. I walked in this morning and he had pulled the entire tube out. Clever boy!

Now, on to Emily. Words cannot describe the full force of what I feel about her and her work. It is a job she loves doing and a job that she does amazingly well. She has a blog, where she blogs all of her shoots. She has blogged about my birth, and her words bring tears to my eyes.

You can find Emily's blog here. On the blog you will also find the amazing slide show she put together for us. Truly heartwarming. I held it together until the images of Jordan and Amali meeting the babies came up. I became a bit of a mess after that. Daniel was far worse. He became a blubbering mess - my husband- crying! I laughed when he told me, but it also touched my heart.

Here are two images of Emily's that I love. The maternity shoot collage really made me realise how big I was! I love the fact that they were taken the day the babies were born. Forever special.

No, we didn't plant the chickens. That is Friendly and Goldie. They follow you everywhere!

This next image is one of my favourites of me that I've seen. I am glowing, emitting a radiance that only a mother that has just birthed her baby/babies can feel. I felt proud, elated, blessed and blissed out. I'm sure you can tell though!

I am holding Isaac, who is having his first feed, in birth suite, only about half an hour after the birth. And you know what? My hair looks bloody good! The wonderful woman on the right of me is my homebirth midwife, who with just a look kept me calm, reassured me and supported me.

But back to Emily. I'd never met her before the birthing day. I'd emailed her, back and forth and made a fantastic connection. I never once hesitated in the knowledge that this 'stranger' would be filming one of the most intimate moments of my life. And not just the 'artistic shots', oh no, there will be another slide show, but it certainly won't be G rated!

She made herself like a fly on the wall. I don't remember seeing her. But one of the best parts - I remember her, and my best friend Taryn - cheering me on. Literally. In a room full of staff that were a tad 'frazzled' as Emily put it, they cheered me on like I was climbing a mountain. And I loved it.

If you are a mother wanting newborn shots, or a mother wanting a birth photographer and you live in Melbourne or want Emily to travel to you, I cannot highly recommend her enough.

Anyway, I must go, there are 3 hungry mouths waiting for me. x