When I purchased my Nikon D50 two years ago, the only other choice from Nikon was the D70. At the time the D70 was an older camera (little did I know the D80 would be out in a few months) but more expensive. The D70 did have a feature I was interested in, a commander mode for the flash system. The mode meant that the internal flash could trigger an off camera SB800 flash unit.
In the end the D50 won out because of (IMHO) the better picture quality right out of the camera. I later purchased the SB800 flash as it had a commander mode built in, meaning that I could mount it on the camera to control a 2nd off camera Nikon flash (SB600 or SB800). I've never bought that 2nd flash to do that though.
A while ago I read on Strobist that the SB800 would work wireless in a legacy mode with almost any camera, so I though I'd try it out with the D50.
To set up the D50 to control the SB800 wirelessly:
In the end the D50 won out because of (IMHO) the better picture quality right out of the camera. I later purchased the SB800 flash as it had a commander mode built in, meaning that I could mount it on the camera to control a 2nd off camera Nikon flash (SB600 or SB800). I've never bought that 2nd flash to do that though.
A while ago I read on Strobist that the SB800 would work wireless in a legacy mode with almost any camera, so I though I'd try it out with the D50.
To set up the D50 to control the SB800 wirelessly:
- Access the D50's menu system and select Flash Mode, Manual. Select the level of on-board flash you want. If you want the off camera flash to do most of the lighting then select 1/16 (the minimum).
- Turn on the flash (while off camera).
- Hold the "sel" button down for 2 secs to access the menu.
- Arrow right to select the wireless menu.
- Push the "sel" button to select.
- Arrow down to select the SU-4 option.
- Push the "sel" button to select.
- Hold down the "sel" button to exit the menu.
- The flash should now say remote.
- Access the D50 menu and select Flash Mode TTL.
- On the flash, hold the "sel" button down for 2 secs to access the menu.
- Arrow up to "off" and push the "sel" button to select.
- Hold down the "sel" button to exit the menu.
- The flash should now say TTL (or whatever mode it was in before setting to remote).
Today's thought isn't specifically craft related although applies to many of us "crafters". I was struck by an article over at MSN called "The High Price of Too Much Stuff" which talks about how the rise in credit card debt also coincides with the rise in the number of square feet of storage facilities available, even though the square footage of our homes has also increased during the same period. So it seems that not only are we buying more stuff, increasing our personal debt, and building bigger homes to store it in; we are also having to rent storage facilities because we still have too much.
This really hit home with me. I've only been scrapbooking for 4 years and have been through the cycle of consumption to out of control proportions and have now had to develop my own 3 step program (don't buy anything new, use what you love, purge what you don't love).
As a new scrapbooker/stamper, I quickly found that my need to own (but not necessarily use) craft products was out of control. I had never experienced anything like it before. The products were so beautiful and had so much creative potential and I needed a selection of everything just to get started (I'm not one of those "drive to the scrapbook store and pick out 2 sheets of paper for a specific project" type gals). Credit cards got used, making that great product or deal not so great once interest was factored in.
At first the products were pretty to look at, storing them was a form of home decor, and acted as an inspiration for what to create next. But once there was too much to fit on the shelf and I had to use utilitarian storage options, the products became a trigger for guilt (the guilt of how much was spent, and how much sat unused). Not only that, I was now having to spend money on storage and organization just for these supplies (and justify it). While I used some of the products to make scrapbook pages, cards, and other projects; after just a couple of years I had more product than I would use in a lifetime.
What opened my eyes to my "problem" were two things. The first was meeting a friend with probably 5 times more stuff than me, and more debt than me. I've often heard that it is easier to see your faults in someone else rather than yourself, and in this case it was. While she had all this stuff, she still wanted more. She thought that if she could purchase a house with a dedicated craft room and buy storage solutions, the problem would be solved. I could see that the problem wasn't storage/organization related, but a need to have it all and still want more. I've seen this in many crafters and often wondered why. Well I think it is because every product comes with so many new creative possibilities that to not purchase something, in some way, seems to be to put a creative ceiling on yourself which doesn't sit right with anyone who likes to be creative. The reality though, was that I was much more creative when I could see my stuff and knew what I had, and didn't feel guilty about it.
The second thing was wanting to try digital scrapbooking. I'd always been a computer geek and had used Photoshop to edit my digital photos. I liked the idea of digital scrapbooking because of the techniques you could achieve digitally and the fact that I didn't have to worry about my kids getting into my stuff when I left a layout only half done. The problem was that I couldn't continue to purchase more paper product if I was going to be creating layouts digitally. So I knew that I would have to clamp down on my buying habits.
Going "cold turkey" is not only difficult but is likely to result in a relapse :) so to contain my spending, I joined a stampers 10 club and restricted new purchases to that only. While $250 over 10 months sounds a lot, it really isn't for a stamper/scrapbooker (I have spent more than that in one month!). While it is a stamping club, I still have patterned paper, cardstock, consumables (like glue, glitter, ink, brads, ribbons) available. This is a great way to budget purchases if you have a "problem".
This really hit home with me. I've only been scrapbooking for 4 years and have been through the cycle of consumption to out of control proportions and have now had to develop my own 3 step program (don't buy anything new, use what you love, purge what you don't love).
As a new scrapbooker/stamper, I quickly found that my need to own (but not necessarily use) craft products was out of control. I had never experienced anything like it before. The products were so beautiful and had so much creative potential and I needed a selection of everything just to get started (I'm not one of those "drive to the scrapbook store and pick out 2 sheets of paper for a specific project" type gals). Credit cards got used, making that great product or deal not so great once interest was factored in.
At first the products were pretty to look at, storing them was a form of home decor, and acted as an inspiration for what to create next. But once there was too much to fit on the shelf and I had to use utilitarian storage options, the products became a trigger for guilt (the guilt of how much was spent, and how much sat unused). Not only that, I was now having to spend money on storage and organization just for these supplies (and justify it). While I used some of the products to make scrapbook pages, cards, and other projects; after just a couple of years I had more product than I would use in a lifetime.
What opened my eyes to my "problem" were two things. The first was meeting a friend with probably 5 times more stuff than me, and more debt than me. I've often heard that it is easier to see your faults in someone else rather than yourself, and in this case it was. While she had all this stuff, she still wanted more. She thought that if she could purchase a house with a dedicated craft room and buy storage solutions, the problem would be solved. I could see that the problem wasn't storage/organization related, but a need to have it all and still want more. I've seen this in many crafters and often wondered why. Well I think it is because every product comes with so many new creative possibilities that to not purchase something, in some way, seems to be to put a creative ceiling on yourself which doesn't sit right with anyone who likes to be creative. The reality though, was that I was much more creative when I could see my stuff and knew what I had, and didn't feel guilty about it.
The second thing was wanting to try digital scrapbooking. I'd always been a computer geek and had used Photoshop to edit my digital photos. I liked the idea of digital scrapbooking because of the techniques you could achieve digitally and the fact that I didn't have to worry about my kids getting into my stuff when I left a layout only half done. The problem was that I couldn't continue to purchase more paper product if I was going to be creating layouts digitally. So I knew that I would have to clamp down on my buying habits.
Going "cold turkey" is not only difficult but is likely to result in a relapse :) so to contain my spending, I joined a stampers 10 club and restricted new purchases to that only. While $250 over 10 months sounds a lot, it really isn't for a stamper/scrapbooker (I have spent more than that in one month!). While it is a stamping club, I still have patterned paper, cardstock, consumables (like glue, glitter, ink, brads, ribbons) available. This is a great way to budget purchases if you have a "problem".
Today I notice with interest that Nikon has released the world's first DSLR with video capabilities. This new camera comes hot on the heels of the new Canon 50D which was just announced, but appears to blow it out of the water and for $400 less too. The new camera is called the D90 and is an upgrade to the D80 model. This model features video in up to 1280x720 resolution (i.e. HD720p), has live view mode, usable ISO3200 and 12 megapixels.
While I won't be ditching my D50 just yet (it's still got lots of life in it), it follows that these features will start appearing in other new Nikon models coming in the future. For those of you that don't have a DSLR but want one, there's never been a better time to buy a DSLR.
While I won't be ditching my D50 just yet (it's still got lots of life in it), it follows that these features will start appearing in other new Nikon models coming in the future. For those of you that don't have a DSLR but want one, there's never been a better time to buy a DSLR.
I'm pretty excited to have signed up for Cathy Zielske's "Design Your Life" scrapbooking course through BigPictureScrapbooking.com. The course is designed to teach basic design principles for scrapbooking. This is the first scrapbooking course I've taken that isn't to learn digital.
As part of the pre-work, we created a page with 9 equal squares that explains who we are as scrapbookers. Here's mine:
Credits:
J Baechtold, Woodland Berry, BG4 (green solid)
AWP, Vinegar and Brown paper, Paper1 (kraft)
Jessica Sprague, Home Away From Home, RedExotic (red pattern)
Jessica Sprague, Home Away From Home, brownsolid (brown solid)
Krista Ring, Autumn Beauty, paper7 (green pattern)
Michelle Coleman, Wonderful, paper 2 (red dot)
Princess Pamela, Abby, Brownfloral (brown floral)
DesignsByShelle, My Guy, BG1 (green dot)
Jessica Sprague, Stapled Heart
Rhonner Farrer, 2 Peas September 2005 kit, wordart
Cafe Digi, Life's Journey, lgwords
Angie Briggs, Doodles 5, Family
Raspberry Road, Endless Ephermera, Item30
Katie Pertiet, Stamped Moments, Photos
Katie Pertiet, Stitched Journaling Strips 3
Amy Martin, StandUp207, PaintStrokes4
VT Portable Remington and 28 days later fonts
As part of the pre-work, we created a page with 9 equal squares that explains who we are as scrapbookers. Here's mine:
To elaborate a bit more, I've created squares that represent:
- family heritage - to leave a legacy for our family
- me as a photographer
- the joy I feel from looking at the results
- scrapbooking as art, a creative outlet
- the design your life logo for the course
- life's story - what I scrapbook
- why I scrapbook, to record life's moments
- love, for my family
- my family (at least my children, sorry C!)
Credits:
Meredith Fenwick, Everyday, Forever (brown pattern)
Meredith Fenwick, Everyday, Fruitpunch (red solid)J Baechtold, Woodland Berry, BG4 (green solid)
AWP, Vinegar and Brown paper, Paper1 (kraft)
Jessica Sprague, Home Away From Home, RedExotic (red pattern)
Jessica Sprague, Home Away From Home, brownsolid (brown solid)
Krista Ring, Autumn Beauty, paper7 (green pattern)
Michelle Coleman, Wonderful, paper 2 (red dot)
Princess Pamela, Abby, Brownfloral (brown floral)
DesignsByShelle, My Guy, BG1 (green dot)
Jessica Sprague, Stapled Heart
Rhonner Farrer, 2 Peas September 2005 kit, wordart
Cafe Digi, Life's Journey, lgwords
Angie Briggs, Doodles 5, Family
Raspberry Road, Endless Ephermera, Item30
Katie Pertiet, Stamped Moments, Photos
Katie Pertiet, Stitched Journaling Strips 3
Amy Martin, StandUp207, PaintStrokes4
VT Portable Remington and 28 days later fonts
I'm really excited today to see that Adobe has announced the new version of Photoshop Elements 7 which will be released at the end of September. While it doesn't have a ton of new features, it includes:
Photoshop Elements 7
- an Actions player (available on the Guided Edit tab)
- a blur filter designed to smooth skin
- a scenecleaner function to element unwanted elements from your photo
- a text search in the organizer
- a brightness control for the grey interface (to make it easier to see)
- a smart brush tool which allows you to select an area, apply a mask and adjustment layer, all in one step
and with the Photoshop.com membership version ($40 more)
- new integration with Photoshop.com (previously Photoshop Express) an online editing and sharing site
You can read more or pre-order an upgrade copy (with free shipping to Canada) at the Photoshop Elements for Windows web site.
Photoshop Elements 7
- an Actions player (available on the Guided Edit tab)
- a blur filter designed to smooth skin
- a scenecleaner function to element unwanted elements from your photo
- a text search in the organizer
- a brightness control for the grey interface (to make it easier to see)
- a smart brush tool which allows you to select an area, apply a mask and adjustment layer, all in one step
and with the Photoshop.com membership version ($40 more)
- new integration with Photoshop.com (previously Photoshop Express) an online editing and sharing site
You can read more or pre-order an upgrade copy (with free shipping to Canada) at the Photoshop Elements for Windows web site.
C got back from the Ear Nose Throat specialist today. The good news is that he only has a swollen epiglottis (the flap of tissue that stops your food going down the wrong way into your windpipe). He will not require any biopsy unless the PET scan shows otherwise. Now we just sit and wait for the PET scan (in Vancouver) to be scheduled.
This weeks 25 cent item is yet another photo mask set from Katie Pertiet. I think this is the 3rd week in a row I've bought a 25 cent photo mask set but I'm thinking you can never have enough....
Buy yours for 25 cents at http://www.designerdigitals.com/ before Tuesday when they go back to $3.99.
Buy yours for 25 cents at http://www.designerdigitals.com/ before Tuesday when they go back to $3.99.
All supplies by Marina Garrison at Studio M
(Click on image for larger version)
I recently posted about where to find free digital scrapbooking kits, but wanted to tell you about a digital scrapbooking kit club that is very inexpensive and a great deal for people wanting "cheap" kits. The company is called Scrapwow (http://www.scrapwow.com/).
For $19.95 per year you get a monthly digital scrapbook kit, 6 free kits on joining, and unannounced bonus kits throughout the year. Just as an illustration, I already have 26 kits since joining on National Scrapbooking Day at the beginning of May. But that's not all, in addition you get access to some basic tutorials, layout sketch e-books and a scrapbook website (that I am not using right now).
With the average cost of a single scrapbook kit in the range of $6-10, you can see what a great deal Scrapwow is. Check out this link for a full list of membership benefits.
Finally, Scrapwow offers specials deals to everyone (not just members) - check out this deal for $7.
http://www.scrapwow.com/superkit-71508v2_openx.asp
For $19.95 per year you get a monthly digital scrapbook kit, 6 free kits on joining, and unannounced bonus kits throughout the year. Just as an illustration, I already have 26 kits since joining on National Scrapbooking Day at the beginning of May. But that's not all, in addition you get access to some basic tutorials, layout sketch e-books and a scrapbook website (that I am not using right now).
With the average cost of a single scrapbook kit in the range of $6-10, you can see what a great deal Scrapwow is. Check out this link for a full list of membership benefits.
Finally, Scrapwow offers specials deals to everyone (not just members) - check out this deal for $7.
http://www.scrapwow.com/superkit-71508v2_openx.asp
I've been tagged by Stay At Home in Surburbia to post 6 random things about me. So here goes:
- I love to play clarinet/bass clarinet in band/orchestra. I haven't done this for a few years (since we moved from Vancouver) where I played in the BC Regiment Marching Band. I gave up clarinet on the birth of baby #1 as the noise made her cry :(
- I am a gadget geek. I love electronic gadgets! Palm handhelds, digital cameras, ipods, and now my new digital camcorder. But yet I still don't know how to work the TV, VCR, DVD player or Satellite Receiver? Something to do with boring or uncool?
- I subscribe to the following magazines: The Pastel Journal, Creating Keepsakes, Digital Scrapbooking, Simple Scrapbook, Interweave Knitting, Project Management Network, Rangefinder, Photoshop Elements Techniques, National Geographic. I'm not sure when I get time to read them all!
- I don't buy a lot of clothes or shoes. While my sister and mum are clothes-horses (my sister has a degree in fashion design and is also a buyer for a larger clothing retailer and designs clothes too), I generally go clothes shopping twice a year and buy a ton of stuff so I don't have to go back again for another 6 months or so. I'm not sure why I'm so adverse to clothes shopping. Maybe because I don't have any girlfriends to shop with for a second opinion? Or maybe because nothing fits in this country where 0 is actually a size (yes, in Britain sizes start at 6 or 8)?
- I have had more than my 15 minutes of fame. I was in the newspaper as a kid when our dog one two firsts at Crufts, on the radio at 16 whining about the new high school exams that we were guinea-pigged to take and published last year in Internet Genealogy magazine.
- I am a great organizer when it comes to other peoples stuff. I love to watch "Neat" and surf the internet for organizing tips, and love helping people get organized. But when it comes to my own stuff, it's a mess. If you need help organizing let me know, but you'll have to come over to my place and help me organize!
Another 25 cent purchase from http://www.designerdigitals.com/. Available Saturday thru Monday. These frames are great for using as a mask over a photo. The ones with the curly edges going past the block will show part of the photo in those curly edges. The two with the white inside the block will show the layer beneath in those white parts and the photo in the curly edges protruding past the block.
Once you've got your scrapbooking software, you will want to acquire some digital scrapbook papers and other elements. While there are plenty of online stores to purchase kits from, there are also lots of free kits available online.
Two Peas In a Bucket offers traditional and digital scrapbooking supplies. They also offer a free kit each month. Currently there are 59 free kits online for download.
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/list/?f=c_336&c=24 (59 free digital kits)
Shabby Princess offers digital kits in a "shabby" style. There are lots of kits available for purchase but there are also 22 free kits online for download.
http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp (22 free digital kits)
Each month RAKscraps offers a free kit. You can download the free kit at http://www.rakscraps.com/. You will need to sign up for a free account first.
You can also find free kits, templates and other digital elements by reviewing the daily posts at both:
http://ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/
and
http://digifree.blogspot.com/
Both of these sites monitor several other sites and announce freebies that they find.
Two Peas In a Bucket offers traditional and digital scrapbooking supplies. They also offer a free kit each month. Currently there are 59 free kits online for download.
http://www.twopeasinabucket.com/shop/list/?f=c_336&c=24 (59 free digital kits)
Shabby Princess offers digital kits in a "shabby" style. There are lots of kits available for purchase but there are also 22 free kits online for download.
http://www.shabbyprincess.com/downloads.asp (22 free digital kits)
Each month RAKscraps offers a free kit. You can download the free kit at http://www.rakscraps.com/. You will need to sign up for a free account first.
You can also find free kits, templates and other digital elements by reviewing the daily posts at both:
http://ikeagoddess.blogspot.com/
and
http://digifree.blogspot.com/
Both of these sites monitor several other sites and announce freebies that they find.
A couple of my friends have expressed interest in getting started with digital scrapbooking. I have three solutions for getting started in digital scrapbooking depending on your computer literacy and how much you want to spend.
Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 2 ($59.95)
- This is a great solution for someone who isn't very computer literate or who already scrapbooks using Creative Memories products. This software enables you to build a page simply by dragging and dropping elements onto a blank page. You can rearrange them, add drop shadows, add fonts, change colors of elements etc. You can even import papers and some other elements you find into Storybook Creator. You can also purchase kits through Creative Memories. You can then print the pages to a printer, order prints or complete books through CM, or export pages to a .jpg file for uploading to Costco (or another printer) to get your pages printed.
You can download a free trial of Storybook Creator (not Plus 2) from the CM website, but you will need to upgrade to get the full features of the Plus 2 version.
Scrapbook Max! ($39.95 or $27.96 School version limited time offer Aug 31/08 coupon code SCHOOL)
- This is a great solution for the not so computer literate and is a similar solution to CM Storybook Creator Plus 2 above with the same features except that you can't order prints and books directly from the software vendor. There are two main advantages over the CM software, first that you can create a two page layout i.e. 12x24 inches (CM only allows a 12x12, so you'd have to create two pages but they wouldn't be on screen at the same time). Second that whatever version of Scrapbook Max! you purchase (Classic, Wedding, Baby, School) comes with 1000s of digital elements to get you started. You can download a free trial here. You can read my more detailed review of Scrapbook Max! here.
Photoshop Elements ($99 full or $79 upgrade for previous version & Wacom tablet owners)
- This solution is going to require a much steeper learning curve that the previous two digital scrapbook solutions. Elements is not specifically designed to be a scrapbooking tool (although it does a fantastic job) but has many more features aimed at graphic designers as well as photographers. I strongly suggest that you invest in at least the first Jessica Sprague digital scrapbooking course "Up & Running" or purchase a membership to Photoshop Elements User. Elements has a few advantages over the other two solutions. Specifically I like the fact it also organizes all my photos, and that I can use digital brushes (which work like rubber stamps) on my layouts. It also gives you much more control over special effects and photograph editing. You can also use Photoshop .psd template files that you find online.
Conclusion
Whichever of the above solutions you choose will allow you to use free or purchased digital elements that you might find on the Internet. They will also allow you to save your finished pages into .jpg format for uploading to Costco or another printer, or print to a local printer (you can print 12x12 pages to a wide format printer or resize them to 8.5x8.5, 8x8 or 6x6 and print them on a standard letter size printer).
So what you choose really has more to do with how much time you want to invest learning the tool, how much money you want to spend, and how computer savvy you are.
Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 2 ($59.95)
- This is a great solution for someone who isn't very computer literate or who already scrapbooks using Creative Memories products. This software enables you to build a page simply by dragging and dropping elements onto a blank page. You can rearrange them, add drop shadows, add fonts, change colors of elements etc. You can even import papers and some other elements you find into Storybook Creator. You can also purchase kits through Creative Memories. You can then print the pages to a printer, order prints or complete books through CM, or export pages to a .jpg file for uploading to Costco (or another printer) to get your pages printed.
You can download a free trial of Storybook Creator (not Plus 2) from the CM website, but you will need to upgrade to get the full features of the Plus 2 version.
Scrapbook Max! ($39.95 or $27.96 School version limited time offer Aug 31/08 coupon code SCHOOL)
- This is a great solution for the not so computer literate and is a similar solution to CM Storybook Creator Plus 2 above with the same features except that you can't order prints and books directly from the software vendor. There are two main advantages over the CM software, first that you can create a two page layout i.e. 12x24 inches (CM only allows a 12x12, so you'd have to create two pages but they wouldn't be on screen at the same time). Second that whatever version of Scrapbook Max! you purchase (Classic, Wedding, Baby, School) comes with 1000s of digital elements to get you started. You can download a free trial here. You can read my more detailed review of Scrapbook Max! here.
Photoshop Elements ($99 full or $79 upgrade for previous version & Wacom tablet owners)
- This solution is going to require a much steeper learning curve that the previous two digital scrapbook solutions. Elements is not specifically designed to be a scrapbooking tool (although it does a fantastic job) but has many more features aimed at graphic designers as well as photographers. I strongly suggest that you invest in at least the first Jessica Sprague digital scrapbooking course "Up & Running" or purchase a membership to Photoshop Elements User. Elements has a few advantages over the other two solutions. Specifically I like the fact it also organizes all my photos, and that I can use digital brushes (which work like rubber stamps) on my layouts. It also gives you much more control over special effects and photograph editing. You can also use Photoshop .psd template files that you find online.
Conclusion
Whichever of the above solutions you choose will allow you to use free or purchased digital elements that you might find on the Internet. They will also allow you to save your finished pages into .jpg format for uploading to Costco or another printer, or print to a local printer (you can print 12x12 pages to a wide format printer or resize them to 8.5x8.5, 8x8 or 6x6 and print them on a standard letter size printer).
So what you choose really has more to do with how much time you want to invest learning the tool, how much money you want to spend, and how computer savvy you are.
This is the first layout of the new baby in my favourite colour combination of green and pink.
Credits:
Journal Tags and Paisley paper from Sweet Pea by Krista Ring
Frame 4b from On The Inside Frames No. 2 by Katie Pertiet
Orange Flower from Journey from the Heart by Shabby Princess
DB Sweet Baby Words, DB Baby Girl, Century Gothic fonts
(Click on image for larger version)
Just picked these up for 25 cents over at http://www.designerdigitals.com/. Get yours before Tuesday when they go back to the regular price of $3.99.
Credits:
Yin Designs, Template #36
Cori Gammon, Teacups and Tiaras
Decadentia and Poor Richard fonts
A couple of people have asked me how we came up with the name for the baby. Easy, C picked it out of a name book (just like he did with K's name). I only get to choose the middle names ;)
Imara is a Swahili girl's name meaning strong or resolute.
Elizabeth means God's oath.
I chose Elizabeth for two reasons, first it is my sister's middle name (unfortunately she doesn't like her first name and has already changed it to a variant so that wasn't an option). Second, my sister was named after my grandmother, again Elizabeth being her middle name (Norah being her first and not a popular choice in the 70's as a name for my sister).
So now you know.
Imara is a Swahili girl's name meaning strong or resolute.
Elizabeth means God's oath.
I chose Elizabeth for two reasons, first it is my sister's middle name (unfortunately she doesn't like her first name and has already changed it to a variant so that wasn't an option). Second, my sister was named after my grandmother, again Elizabeth being her middle name (Norah being her first and not a popular choice in the 70's as a name for my sister).
So now you know.
Here's Imara's birth story.
"At 6am I woke up and got ready to go to the hospital. After phoning at 6.30am to confirm I could come in for induction, we arrived at around 7.45am. At 8:15am the doctor confirmed there was still no dilation (1 week overdue) and that my cervix wasn't effaced. She applied "gel" and left the hospital. I was to be monitored for 1 hour and then released to come back at 3pm to see how the gel was working.
In the 1 hour I was there, I started having contractions that were about 3 minutes apart. The hospital decided that I wasn't going to be released unless the contractions stopped or slowed down to outside of 5 minutes apart. Well that didn't happen and at 1.00pm I was still there having contractions about 2-3 mins apart. They decided to start setting up a birthing room for me. By the time we got in there (about 2.00pm) the contractions were much stronger and I was 3cm dilated.
After another hour the contractions started to get much stronger to the point where I requested something for the pain. That got them a bit worried so they called in the resident doctor to take a look (now 5cm). They phoned my doctor to ask what I could take for the pain (I didn't have an IV yet) and an IV was approved. When they got back the contractions were pretty strong and I told them I was starting to feel the need to push. They decided to check my dilation and were shocked to discover that I was fully dilated.
They phoned for my doctor to come immediately and started preparing the room for delivery. Luckily one of the other doctors I know from our clinic walked in at that moment (she had just delivery her patient) and took charge with the resident assisting. 4 contractions later (seriously) we had a baby girl. About 5 minutes later my own doctor walked in (oops!). All in all, we were lucky to have a quick delivery (only 2 hrs 15 mins spent in the birthing room - thank goodness).
Unfortunately (as with delivery #1) there were no waters and there was meconium so Imara was whisked away to the nursery for the first 5 hours leaving me babyless until 9.15pm."
"At 6am I woke up and got ready to go to the hospital. After phoning at 6.30am to confirm I could come in for induction, we arrived at around 7.45am. At 8:15am the doctor confirmed there was still no dilation (1 week overdue) and that my cervix wasn't effaced. She applied "gel" and left the hospital. I was to be monitored for 1 hour and then released to come back at 3pm to see how the gel was working.
In the 1 hour I was there, I started having contractions that were about 3 minutes apart. The hospital decided that I wasn't going to be released unless the contractions stopped or slowed down to outside of 5 minutes apart. Well that didn't happen and at 1.00pm I was still there having contractions about 2-3 mins apart. They decided to start setting up a birthing room for me. By the time we got in there (about 2.00pm) the contractions were much stronger and I was 3cm dilated.
After another hour the contractions started to get much stronger to the point where I requested something for the pain. That got them a bit worried so they called in the resident doctor to take a look (now 5cm). They phoned my doctor to ask what I could take for the pain (I didn't have an IV yet) and an IV was approved. When they got back the contractions were pretty strong and I told them I was starting to feel the need to push. They decided to check my dilation and were shocked to discover that I was fully dilated.
They phoned for my doctor to come immediately and started preparing the room for delivery. Luckily one of the other doctors I know from our clinic walked in at that moment (she had just delivery her patient) and took charge with the resident assisting. 4 contractions later (seriously) we had a baby girl. About 5 minutes later my own doctor walked in (oops!). All in all, we were lucky to have a quick delivery (only 2 hrs 15 mins spent in the birthing room - thank goodness).
Unfortunately (as with delivery #1) there were no waters and there was meconium so Imara was whisked away to the nursery for the first 5 hours leaving me babyless until 9.15pm."
A while ago I reported that the Family Records Center in Islington were removing the birth, marriage and death record books as they were to be put online. Unfortunately the project between the Family Records Center and the contractor has now been cancelled by "mutual consent". There have been no comments as to whether a new project will be launched or a new contractor found.
It should be noted that most of these records (1837 to 1983) are already online at FreeBMD or Ancestry. However, these are both private projects and (in theory) could be removed, and in the case of Ancestry become fee based, at any time leaving people without free access to these resources.
It should be noted that most of these records (1837 to 1983) are already online at FreeBMD or Ancestry. However, these are both private projects and (in theory) could be removed, and in the case of Ancestry become fee based, at any time leaving people without free access to these resources.
Imara Elizabeth was born on 1st August 2008 at 4:13pm PST, weighed in at 9lbs 11oz and was 57.5cm long.
Today I'll be at the hospital most of the day, hopefully delivering this baby. In the meantime here's a little something I whipped up last evening for my "All About Me" album.
Credits:
Jackie Eckles - Stand Up 2 & 3 papers
D Mogstad - Carnival Felt Stars
Century Gothic font
Atomic Cupcake Bottom Tear Action
BlaBla Template 9
Jackie Eckles - Stand Up 2 & 3 papers
D Mogstad - Carnival Felt Stars
Century Gothic font
Atomic Cupcake Bottom Tear Action
BlaBla Template 9
