The Frog Blog has Moved!

The Frog Blog has moved over to my website! 

Visit www.LittleLeapling.com/Blog to get caught up!

Returning Clients

Oh how they have grown!

I absolutely love getting that call from a client who moved out of state saying, 

"Tammy, we're going to be in town for a few days and would love some pictures taken!"

Sweet Sibling Mini

Short and Sweet

Ain't she, though?

Little Brother

Little Brother

Henley's Home

Lifestyle newborn sessions are quickly becoming one of my very favorite genres.

If You Can't Take the Heat...

Get out of the oven!

Evie

Evelyn Faith

As much as I love getting those adorable smiles out of babies and toddlers,
it is such a welcome relief to take on a multi-talented, young lady like Miss Evelyn Faith.

Bring on the heat!

Ready to have some fun? Meet Braden and Colden, 5 year old twins. We knew it was going to be super hot even first thing in the morning. Fortunately, these two awesome dudes did a great job hustling through some posed shots so we could get to the H2O!

My Favorite Age

Oh the sweetness of a 6 month old baby! The irresistible and often toothless smiles. If you're lucky, you might be rewarded with a giggle or my favorite sound in the world, an all out baby belly laugh.  They can kill you with cuteness! 

Happy Little Hunter

Hunter showed up for his 6 month photos with a whole crew of helping hands. 

Zoom Zoom Zoo!

July 3, 2015 at Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE

Sky Art

Sky Art

by Tammy Schmit

Tuttle Creek Magic!

I just took these down from my website, but wanted to keep some of the pictures up. I am in awe of the overwhelming force and beauty spewing from the Tuttle Creek Dam tubes.

Believe in Magic

This never gets old for me. Sometimes I feel badly that I don't have the same patience when taking pictures of my own kids, but I have to say they've done much better since I've gotten so busy taking pictures of other kids. Even my 3 year old has asked if she can have her own little photo session!

I guess I should enjoy that while it lasts!

Christy's Cuties

We have gotten so lucky with the weather so far this Summer! As thankful as I am for the rain keeping everything green and beautiful, I could really do without the extra bugs!

Double Down

My favorite little Go-Go girls are going to be big sisters soon!

Who Let the Dog Out!

I admit it. I was raised in a pack of dogs. Six Miniature Schnauzers and a Newfoundland were my furry siblings (along with two human sisters and a brother). Princess, Reggie, Lucky, Benji, Prissy, Gizmo, and Brandy.

Gage Yourself

These sweet cheeks gave me a run for my money. He wasn't in a BAD mood,

but he certainly didn't come to party. I think we all worked up a sweat! 

All About You

I just loved this awesome, little family! Sweet Ellis is one lucky girl!

The More the Merrier!

On June 13th, I had the pleasure of capturing this beautiful family!

Six Secrets for Awesome Pictures of your Kids!

A few weeks ago, right after I got home from the second day of the Mommy & Me Micro Sessions, my 10 year old son approached me complaining about how warm it was outside. I agreed with him and he responded,

"Not like you'd know, you were just sitting around taking pictures all day."

Summer's Blessing

I've decided to try blogging some of my sessions to help you more fully experience the love I am invited in to capture. And with this one, I was welcomed into the beautiful home of Summer and Lincoln to artfully record a glimpse of life with their new son, Colby.

Baby Bat Rescue! UPDATED!

I know you all love babies, but what about baby bats?!? Get ready for an awesome story and some super cool pictures!

Photographer vs. Birth Photographer

Nobody wants to forget their baby's birthday and in this day and age when everyone has a decent digital camera at their fingertips, it's fairly easy to designate someone to snap pictures.

Good enough, right?

Is it, though?

More Micros already?!?

One month ago today, I was sharing images from the Spring Micro Sessions in my studio and now I have a bunch of beautiful pictures from the Mommy & Me Micros!  Whew!  Mama needs some sleep!

For the Love of Micros!

The Spring Micro Sessions were a complete whirlwind of success!

Three days of cute kids, fluffy bunnies, noisy chickies, and lots of pictures culminating in a big smile on my face as I got to deliver a nice, big donation to the Riley County Humane Society.  Thank you to everyone who dolled up those little ones for portraits and thank you to Jamie and David, the two RCHS reps who volunteered their time and energy to bring and care for the animals while also being amazing photographer's assistants!

Whether live animals were used or not,

the kids all did awesome!

The Cost of Birth Photography

"Shooting a birth is like getting an inquiry from a bride saying that she wants you to come photograph her wedding, but isn't going to set a date.  She'll just call you whenever, and when you ask her how many hours of coverage she would like, she says she's not sure, probably around 24, but maybe only 2.
And you ask her when she'd like for you to start coverage and she says she won't know, but probably around 2am.  And also, that she doesn't want any use of flash.  So when you ask her if there will be bountiful natural light, she says that she'll be getting married in a dark closet with no light whatsoever.  And, she's going to want the images right away to send out announcements....We'd all be quoting this bride $50,000.00."
--Lexia Frank, birth and wedding photographer in Portland, OR.

Introducing Kaiser!

I just posted some teasers on Facebook and look forward to sharing more pictures once I create her birth story page over at www.LittleLeapling.com.

You can find the teasers HERE!

I tried!

Things went FAST!  Tia and her baby boy are doing great.  Mama was so AMAZING!!!  All naturale and such a trooper when she got sent home from the hospital just to return within an hour.  I've got some wonderful pictures to share!

What is in a Due Date?

Today is Tia's "official" due date and you guessed it, folks, no baby yet.  This is the day that has been calculated as the approximate length of gestation for an average women's body, typically based on an average women's cycle that assumes implantation of an embryo on a given day, upon which is centered the acceptable window of 37-42 weeks when an average baby is fully developed, but not overcooked.  The due date can be confirmed fairly reliably with an ultrasound done early in pregnancy (4-6 weeks), but doctors prefer to go with due dates calculated based on last menstrual cycle unless there is a significant difference between the two estimations.  Later ultrasounds should not be used to determine the EDD (estimated due date).  Anyone who has struggled with infertility knows that women's cycles can vary greatly and, not only does the average day of ovulation vary from women to women, but stress can put ovulation off by more than a week during any given cycle (in other words, even our last menstrual cycle can be misleading since a 28 day cycle is a guesstimate as well).  The point is, your EDD is just a guess and whenever possible, it's best not to rush your baby's birthday.  The lungs are the last thing to develop for your baby and even a day or two can make a difference for those final touches of perfection.  According to my theoretical physicist husband, "the Central Limit Theorem says that the convolution of multiple uncertainties will result in a Gaussian distribution (bell curve) of expected labor onset dates that may or may not be centered around the suspiciously round gestation time of 40.0 weeks." 

So, knowing all of that and also realizing that stress can negatively affect your ability to go into labor and for that labor to progress at a reasonable rate, circling a date on a calendar and getting excited about that date for most of a year can be both subjective and frustrating.  We spend the first 36 weeks doing everything we can to keep our babies baking so that she will be as healthy as possible and then the minute we hit 37 weeks, we can only think about ways to hurry things up.  That magical number when a baby becomes full-term changes everything.  Never mind that our due date could actually be off by a week or more or the fact that the safe window goes to 42 weeks unless your pregnancy is high risk.  We look for information to support our need to meet our baby and our need to end all of the pains and discomforts typical of late pregnancy.  We find things to worry about should our pregnancy go "post term".  We stop trusting our body...the same body that has magically created this perfect little being.  We start doubting our body's ability to get the job done in a timely fashion.  Nobody stays pregnant forever and few people actually grow babies too big to birth naturally if the baby is well-positioned.  As long as mama and baby are both healthy, it's best to let that magic continue.  While it can be a frustrating dance waiting for active labor to start, it really is incredibly cool to just follow your body's lead.  At the very least, give your body the benefit of the doubt until your doctor thinks speeding things up is medically necessary.  Try to stay positive and be glad that you and baby are healthy and have the opportunity to play things out the safest way possible.

So, what now?  The name of the game is distraction.  It's a pretty complicated game when you are surrounded by all things baby and you have a full grown one using you as a punching bag.  The thing I found that helped me the most was to create projects that I really wanted to finish before my baby arrived.  With my third, I bought a canvas and some acrylic paints and created birth art that I could focus on during contractions.  I painted a passion flower blooming and then when Kaia arrived, I had the nurse use her inked up feet to "sign" the back of the canvas.  I did a painting with Annika, too, but there are all kinds of things you can do whether you are working on the nursery, writing a story, preparing a baby book, etc.  On top of that, go pamper yourself.  Get a pedicure (foot massage is a great natural induction method!), get your hair done, indulge in your favorite treat, go on a date night with your hubby...just relax.  I know how much it sucks to hear people tell you to relax over and over, but by the end, we're just a big ball of tension and that can actually delay labor.  So, go do some meditation or yoga and let all of the stress go!

What did you do during those final very long days leading up to birth?  How did you relax and what did you do to distract yourself so you wouldn't go crazy?

When to Induce?

I went to 41.5 weeks with my first baby and little ol' me made with an 8lb 11oz chunker. I know what that long, painful wait feels like.

"Birth" Photography

What comes to mind when you hear the words "birth" and "photography" put together?  Does your mind immediately go to some graphic imagery of a baby crowning or a screaming, delirious mother desperate for relief? 

We are Worriers

The hardest part about my last labor had nothing to do with pain or fear. 

Time for Some Rest

Sounds like Tia had a nice, relaxing day with her family!  I'll be ready if she needs me, but so far all is quiet.  I actually felt wonderful the day before Kaia was born.  I remember telling everyone I thought it was the calm before the storm, but I didn't really believe I could have two babies come on their due dates, especially with Kaia's due date falling on Leap Day!

The Real Deal

How did you know when you were in labor?  Were you having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions? Did they change to be more intense and crampy?  Did your water break bringing on a wave of contractions?  Did you feel strong back pain?  Were you woken up out of your sleep?

Happy Valentine's Day!

No word from the love birds last night, but I just got an update to share.  

False Labor?

8:45pm
After a short and chilly walk, contractions did not pick up or regulate.

Kaden is fast asleep and Mommy and Daddy are going to relax in front of a movie before heading for bed.  Is this false labor?  Hard to say--I don't like that term because it makes it sound like these weren't real contractions when they very well could be and she is just ready for a rest.  No doubt that her body is working and moving in the right direction.  Tia is playing things smart and after giving some solid effort at getting contractions to pick up, she's going to focus on getting some rest in case tonight gets interesting.

7:15pm and time for an after dinner walk!

Some of the stronger pains have slacked off and there is still no rhythm to the contractions, but symptoms still seem promising.  Enjoy the fresh air!

Is it time?

Tia's husband got back from the field today and someone seems excited to meet Daddy!  A lot of times, just being nervous or stressed can keep labor from starting.  Between getting over a cold and not having to worry about her husband making it home in time to get her to the hospital, I was thinking Tia might have a big sigh of relief and was a bit optimistic about a Valentine's Day baby! Nothing consistent, but the contractions have changed to be more crampy and she seems to be experiencing a bit of a mood shift.  The first signs of labor started around 4:30pm.  I'll keep you up-to-date whether things continue or slack off.  Please don't contact Tia.  The point of the blog is to keep you in the loop while not creating any extra stress for her.  Let's leave her to relax and deal with this adorable pouty face.

Ready to pop!

Tia can't wait to meet her little guy. 
You look gorgeous, Mama!  You're going to be snuggling with your itty bitty so soon!

Testing

Hi from Tammy and Kaia!  I'm just testing out the different ways to get pictures to everyone once Tia's labor starts!
For those who don't know, Kaia is my Little Leapling.  She was born at 11:24pm on her due date, Wednesday, February 29, 2012.  Interested in reading about the births of my kiddos? Click Here!

Introducing the Live Birth Blog

Whether you are as much of a birth enthusiast as I am or not, get ready for something new and exciting at Little Leapling Photography!