Welcome!

Welcome to our new & improved FOUR SCHNEIDERS blog!  

We are so happy you are here.  

This new blog will pick up where Three Schneiders left off and kick it up a notch from there.  The biggest change is the list of tabs just below our header.  I get asked a lot of questions from friends and family about a number of topics and this seemed like a great place to collect and hold all those great links, books, products, etc. Take a look around and feel free to make suggestions for things we can add. 

You will also find Josephine's birth story and the new baby's birth story ("to be determined") as well as old favorites like the "Things We've Learned So Far" list.  We have also honored our journey from a family of three to a family four in the "On Hope and Loss: Our Road to Four" tab.  This page will link you back to the posts from Three Schneiders about our struggles with infertility and loss.  One of the hardest parts of miscarriage is feeling alone, and I hope this page will be a place that brings some solace and peace to anyone else who unfortunately has to experience the loss of a child.

So...welcome aboard!

We'd love to hear your feedback, comments & suggestions.

Thanks for taking the next step of this exciting journey with us.

Four Schneiders Photo Shoot

After Josie's birth, I really regretted not having professional maternity photos taken. After all of our problems with infertility and miscarriage, I grew to regret this decision even more because I was sure I would never be pregnant again. I vowed to get pro photos taken if we did miraculously ever get pregnant, but once we did I still kept dragging my feet. I guess, like so much else over the last 9 months, I was afraid to book the shoot because it felt too risky. It's been so hard to let ourselves get excited and nothing about this pregnancy has been normal or uncomplicated. We are just very guarded and getting these photos taken was a big step toward acceptance and letting go. Finally, I did it. I purchased a "bump and first year" photography package from Krysia Photography and I started to get really excited. And then the bedrest happened.  I seriously wanted to scream out to the universe - Come On! Really?! - and the vision for the family photo shoot started to slip away.  Luckily, the photographer we hired had experienced pre-term birth of her twin sons and completed sympathized with our situation. She willingly came here - to our house - complete with backdrops, camera bags and lighting - to help make my dream of capturing the miracle of this pregnancy come true. And honestly, we could not be happier with the results!  (If you are looking for a family photographer, definitely check out Krysia Photography. I will be keeping a link to this working-mom's business here on my blog and under the "Things We Love" tab.)

Like most great photographs, I think these images speak for themselves. Enjoy.