NJ Children Photographer Mom Spotlight
Corey
I think every mom is a superhero! We do it all not for ourselves, but for the little people we grew inside. As hard as it seems sometimes, we would not change one single moment of this amazing journey.
I wanted to honor some of the moms I know by putting them in the spotlight- “Mom Spotlight.”
This is Corey’s Story
Q: How did you meet your husband?
A. My husband and I were in different grades at the same high school, but connected while I was home from college on Thanksgiving break in 2006. The “cool” thing to do was to go to the local bars, which was always one big high school reunion. I had seen him out Thanksgiving night at a local restaurant and the next night we were at Havana’s in New Hope. I had my eye on him, so I introduced myself (apparently I was pretty forward back then)! We ended up talking the whole time and towards the end of the night I asked him if he was going to ask me for my number. I followed that up by asking him when he was taking me out to dinner! Dinner ended up being the next night and we’ve been together and inseparable ever since. From the start I would write him emails and love notes signed “your future wife”…when ya know, ya know 🙂
Q: Best part of being a mom?
A. 8 months later and I still have to remind myself that I can be called a “mommy,” that I can say “my daughter.” The best part of being a mom so far is just staring at this perfect little creature, while I try to wrap my mind around the fact that we actually made her, that she is a piece of me, a piece of both of us. It’s the most incredibly overwhelming fantastic feeling I have ever felt in my life. I have never felt so proud.
I love that on the hardest of days, I look at her and I am reminded that I have this gift, this newfound purpose, to love and protect her. That gives me a strength that I never knew existed and motivation to be the very best person, wife, and mommy I can be. I have discovered a new level of patience and calm, not because she’s difficult (we were blessed with a seriously EASY baby), but because I know she can feel my mood and my stress. With that always in my mind, I have become more relaxed and humbled. She has already made me a better person and for that I am so grateful.
Q: Most useful baby product you have?
A. The most useful baby product has definitely been the Fisher Price Auto Rock n’ Play. There are so many gadgets and swings to choose from, but trust me when I say this is the one! We started with the traditional RnP, which doesn’t rock itself. Our daughter loved it, but you have to manually rock it and that was really annoying, our
arms would go numb!. We discovered the AUTO Rock n’ Play…lifesaver! My daughter slept in that until we put her in the crib at 4 months and she still naps in it at 8 months. It connects to an app on your phone so you can control the music, rocking and vibration. It’s a MUST have!
Q: What do you do with your baby on a rainy day?
A. From the beginning, we have been sticklers about having a regimented routine. This has worked really well for us and our babe, so we would probably spend a rainy day like any other day – lots of play time and errands! This being our first babe, of course we have gone (and are still going) overboard with toys and presents. Before
yesterday’s snowstorm I ran out and bought her a sled and an indoor playhouse for us to set up for her on our family snow day. We also love running errands. She loves sitting in the shopping cart! She’s a regular at Walmart, Home Depot, Pier 1, Shoprite and Michael’s. A lot of the employees know her well now and get a kick out of seeing how big she is! We also like to look out the front door to watch the rain or snow.
Q: Favorite photo I took of your cutie and why?
A. I looked through the photos that Aneta took of our little sweetheart when she was 10 days old and it’s painful to try and pick a favorite. It would probably be the one of her in pink angel wings (forgive me while I go a little ham here). I had a perfect pregnancy, but delivery was very hard on me and I had a really long recovery, plus a surgery later on. A week after delivery I left the hospital and came home to a brand new house that I had never been in before It was anything but a happy feeling. The adjustment to mommy-hood was really hard on me. Having a husband that works really long hours, paired with the physical and mental aftermath of my delivery (she was face up and I insisted on pushing her out that way, ugh). I was faced with some seriously dark, isolated days. I didn’t talk to anyone, I cried for days, weeks really (honestly months), anytime I could find a minute to hide in the bathroom.
Trying to cope with the highs and lows, the physical pain, the body “suit” that I was stuck in, the stress of nursing…Am I doing this right? Is she eating enough? How do I find time to sleep?
Oh, and the newborn photos! The last care in the world I had was friggin’ photos (sorry Aneta lol). Oh but the pressures of social media…everyone does newborn photos, so I had to. I cancelled our first appointment because I mean really, I was just trying to survive by the minute. But I mustered up the strength to waddle to my car, donut pillow, sister-in-law and baby in tow, and somehow made it to Aneta’s house. Of course with all I had going on I still made sure I got myself BEYOND stressed about how my daughter was going to be during the photo shoot. What if she cried? What if she didn’t sleep? What if she got hungry? Well, she was a complete angel.
From the day she was conceived until this very minute, she has been my angel. She has made this experience as easy as she possibly could. She only cried just enough to let me know if she needed something, slept long stretches, nursed like a champ and mastered her schedule like a pro. I swear, she just knew how hard her mommy was trying to keep it together, to figure this whole thing out. It was like she was trying to tell me, “It’s okay mommy. I’m good, take care of yourself.” So, the photo of her dressed as an angel is of course beautiful, but it represents so much more than that to me. It truly encompasses how this amazing little human, my angel, got me through the most trying time of my life. And I have a feeling she will continue to do so as we move forward together in our adventures as mother and daughter.
<3
