This year is the year of two photo sessions! Josh and I usually do an anniversary photo shoot once a year around our wedding anniversary. But, this year, we are expecting our first babe and thought a 9 month maternity shoot was in order! Mandy Henry has photographed so much of the important moments in our life, we were so excited to share this one with her as well!
I expected to get uncomfortable in the last trimester of pregnancy. Instead, I’m feeling better! This baby belly dropped several weeks ago and I finally could breath and bend over again! I also finally fell in love with the pregnancy look and clothes were easier to navigate with the dawn of warm weather gifting me racks of maxi dresses at any given store. Today is my due date so perhaps I will start feeling uncomfortable if I go much longer but for now I’m loving this! I even still love to walk my dogs at the dog park and spoon my husband (though my big belly prevents any real proximity so all I can manage is a mimicked “spooning” shape behind his curled form with one arm barely dangling over his waist and both legs fighting to reach the beginning of his).
The one downside: frequent urination.
Sometimes I find this comical. At night, especially if I’m sleeping well, I find it painful. For the first week or so after I “dropped” I experienced almost hourly trips to the toilet. Then I started sleeping through the first inklings of a tinkle need and, instead, would awake 2-4 hours later with a painfully urgent need to pee. I now awkwardly roll my heavy body off the bed and experience a sort of thunk as the baby descends onto my bladder that is followed immediately by a pinching sensation that is my potty muscles fighting to keep the urine back. I kind of laugh at the hilarity of my urgency as I awkwardly crash into the end of the bed and the bedroom door and various walls as I limp/waddle my way to the bathroom with hands outstretched and gripping anything that will help hold me up and get me safely through the darkness. I’m usually thinking, “oh if anyone could see this they would pee themselves at the look of me.” And then I think, “oh my goodness, if I don’t waddle faster I am going to pee myself.” And then I remember that the heavy weight on my bladder and needed clenching actually hurt fiercely. By the time I reach the toilet I am of sober mind and desperate intentions. My reward is only sometimes a significant gush once I reach the porcelain throne; instead I, more often than not, experience a pathetic trickle of urine that hardly merits the treacherous journey to the toilet and the pain endured in transit. In those lack luster tinkle experiences I sink crestfallen on the toilet, defeated by my need for relief and disappointed in the fruits of my labor.
Needless to say, though I love my pregnant belly, I am stoked to be getting rid of these nightly episodes of desperate urination soon!
Photo 1: We had a poll at our baby shower from a few weeks ago. Now it’s your turn!
Photo 2: Tuesday morning I did devos with a full lap! Josh, Sam, Haley and baby belly all together 🙂
Photo 3: Sleeping cutie!
Photo 4: They smile really big when it’s time to go to the dog park!
Photo 5: I had a brunch date with this pretty lady!
Photo 6: Adorable and yummy bridal shower party treat!
Photo 1: Sam is ruining the pillows on our couch… but he does look adorable while doing it at least!
Photo 2: When Josh is gone I end up taking “selfies” per his request. This one, after hunting through all of my clothes (because it is never easy to find something that covers my belly anymore) I was ready to head to Mama and Papa-in-laws to finish planting the garden! This year I have tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, zucchini, green beans, carrots, beets, and lettuce growing so far! In this photo I am 34 weeks pregnant.
Photo 3: I just love this wedding invite! Can’t wait to stand up in Hannah and Austin’s wedding! P.S. Did their engagement shoot a week ago and y’all are in for a visual treat that’s for sure!
Photo 4: I got to do an interior design shoot for the Home and Garden issue BRAVA Magazine is doing for June. Since I cannot technically reveal photos before publication I snuck this little photo while I was there!
Photo 5: I did an incredible boudoir shoot at the studio last week! Can’t wait to work on these images and to hear all about how much her husband-to-be loves them!
Photo 6: Since Josh couldn’t make it to the MN baby shower we had to send him a photo 🙂 In this photo I am 35 weeks pregnant.
Photo 7: Haley hunted a big fly all day. Even into the night here she is waiting for the assailant to come back out of the lamp.
– 32 weeks pregnant
Just as it is important to eat right and eat well while pregnant it is important to not get lazy. Let me tell you why…
Sure, there will be times when you feel downright terrible and it is acceptable to be a little lazy. However, form too much of a habit with this and you’re not doing yourself or your baby any favors. If you’re not taking care of yourself you will get heavier than you need to be which will make everything less comfortable and may make labor more difficult. I tend to think of the 9+ months I’m pregnant as my time to train for the marathon of birth.
Since decided to start a family, note this is even before I found out I was actually pregnant, I have never been so motivated to intentionally “work out.” I have never trained for a marathon nor do I have any desire to run in a race like that, but I am partaking in the marathon of birth; I intend to be as strong and conditioned for the big event as I can for the safety of me and my baby and for as speedy of a recovery postpartum as I can manage. Here is what I’ve been working at…
This has changed forms throughout the pregnancy. I started out with running and eventually that got frustrating because baby bounced on my bladder. I would tinkle before my run and still feel the urge to pee throughout the entire trip. So I switched to the elliptical machines at the gym and now that it’s getting warmer out I take my dogs for long walks outside. The elliptical is great because it’s easier on my knees and the bouncing is less jarring so my bladder can rest in peace. Walks are ideal because I get fresh air, the dogs get some exercise, and its nice and easy on all my ligaments and joints.
Besides stretching for a while after I work on cardio I go to a yoga class at least once a week. Yoga is incredible because I am getting body weight strength training (see below) and a good long stretch at the same time. This stretching will not only aid me in delivery but it has significantly helped me move around without pregnancy aches and pains. Before I started the class my back pain sat consistently at an 8 out of 10. I felt like an old person with all my muscles and bones shifting uncomfortably around trying to figure out how to carry the concentrated weight gain building at my midsection.
Up until recently I was able to do sit ups with every work out. But now I am officially at a stage of pregnancy when my abdominal muscles have migrated too far from their regular location to actually aid me in siting up at all. I could still do sit ups, but they were no longer good for me because in order to achieve that movement it was other muscles that had to compensate for my out-of-place abs. So now I stick to the body weight strength training I get with my yoga. Body weight training is awesome because it tones your body according to your body’s needs. If you’re into lifting weights, that’s always an option too. I highly recommend yoga because you’re doing body weight strength training and stretching at the same time, two very important things for labor and delivery, but it’s not for everybody and something like Pilates or Zumba will do you good this way too.
So this isn’t exactly exercising but it is a great addition to my pregnancy wellness plan. Back pain is very common and a big bummer in pregnancy. With a once a week adjustment I move around still as if I’m not pregnant. Before I started seeing my chiropractor by lower back pain almost knocked the breath out of me every time I changed positions and my hip joints were sliding in and out of place. It is also said that since chiropractic work aligns the body as it should be, baby’s passage and orientation should be much more natural – if mom’s body is out of place it’s bound to be harder for baby to navigate through it. If you think about it this way, it is much easier to sip out of a straight straw than one with a kink in it!
I highly recommend all pregnant women follow these four wellness tips. I promise you’ll be glad you did!
Musings of a Musician's Wife 