FAQs About My Pregnancy

Yes, I have an unlimited supply of pregnancy photos taken at 24 weeks. ;) (Thanks to Samantha!)

I have been pretty intentional about not being a crazy pregnant lady on Facebook. I didn't really think 1,000 people were interested in how far along I was or what symptoms I've been having. But apparently some inquiring minds want to know a few things. :) So I thought I'd throw together a blog post answering the most common questions I am asked for those of you who are interested.

So here we go... FAQs About My Pregnancy:

How far along are you? 33 weeks and 3 days

When are you due? November 15th. But I like to say the whole month of November since that last month is totally up in the air.

Are you taking a maternity leave from photography? I am. I have one wedding scheduled shortly after the baby is due... but after that wedding I will be on official maternity leave through April 2012. When I return to work, I will be working only part time (exactly half of the jobs I worked this year).

What made you decide to not find out the sex of the baby? A lot of things... some of the big things were: I'm not a huge fan of pink or baby blue... so I wanted to avoid the influx of the colors as long as possible. ;) I also thought it would be wise to go with mostly gender-neutral items in the beginning so that we can use them for another baby in the future, regardless of the sex. There are some other private reasons that you can ask me through email if you feel so inclined!

Do you have mommy-intuition about the sex of the baby? I do not. I keep having dreams that it's a baby girl... and I keep imagining the name of the baby as a girl... but I keep also imagining dressing the baby in boy clothes and little boy hair cuts. So... I'm totally in the middle as far as what sex I think it may be. Our whole family is rooting for a boy so I do feel a little responsible for being ready to welcome a girl... since no one else seems to be. ;)

What are you craving? Ice cubes. Hah. (And before you mention it, I've had my iron checked and I am good to go.That and cereal, pasta, other high-carb sweets. The stuff that's good for me (not).

Do you have names picked out? We do have a few names picked out but we've decided that we want to meet this little person first before deciding on a final girl and boy name.

How are you feeling? Ahhh... I can't complain. Yes, it's uncomfortable... in ways I never thought possible. But I'm healthy and am having a healthy, normal pregnancy and the baby is healthy... so all in all, I am feeling good. I am also feeling swollen, and cranky, and pretty tired. And HOT. (I cannot cool off.) But... seriously. It's pregnancy... and this is what it all entails. And it's worth it. :)

Are you going to get an epidural or go all natural? At this point... I am planning to have a natural birth with the help and encouragement of my husband and our doula. I do not plan on having an epidural (or any medication) but I am open to whatever type of birth the Lord has in store for us... and you know, if that means a c-section, then that means an epi. :)

What made you decide to cloth diaper? First, the money we will save. Second, how stinkin cute the little diapers are! And third, because my husband is all about going against the norm. Tommy was surprisingly supportive of the idea and that was all I needed to make the final decision to just go for it! It'll be an adventure I am sure... and I'll be sure to report all my findings here on the blog.

I plan on writing about our birth experience and of course more about parenthood and the lessons we will be learning in the years to come. I'm kind of an open book (in case you haven't noticed)... so if you have any questions shoot me an email or leave a comment here and I'll respond!

my baby shower, pt 1

A week ago my sister threw me a beautiful baby shower across the state in Fredericksburg. I was so excited to have a shower in Fredericksburg because it enabled a lot of my lifelong friends to be able to attend that otherwise probably couldn't drive all the way to Lynchburg. It was so beautiful and I really felt honored during the whole shower. My sister also blogged about the shower. You can hop over there to read about her decor choices and planning process... she had a lot of fun planning the shower. (Which makes me feel SO good because sometimes I think people can get overwhelmed by planning parties so it was a relief to know she enjoyed the process. :))

Look at these adorable mini pancake stacks! Perfect for a brunch!

The beautiful cake:

 The dining room set up:She set up a mini candy bar for party favors. So sweet!

She went with a daisies & polka dots theme - very "Liz" if I do say so myself! 

The coffee bar, complete with a "how to" keurig tutorial (my sister kicked off the shower with an instructional piece. haha.)You can never have enough daisies!

Oh it was such a treat! Baby received LOTS of essentials and we are oh-so-grateful for the helpful gifts received! I came home immediately and spent the first day doing laundry and finding a place for everything in the nursery.

Today is my second shower here in Lynchburg. I am so excited! Have I mentioned how stinking grateful I feel that I am having TWO showers? Even just one is awesome. :D

While I am at the shower, my dad is actually going to be working around my house - helping put up some final touches in the nursery (as final as we're getting before we know the gender) and finish some other construction-type jobs around the house. It is so awesome seeing everything come together and working on the final baby preparations! Makes me so giddy!

third trimester thoughts

I am slowly but surely working on creating this blog to be a documenting blog... one that captures the important things happening in our lives as a family. I figure it's about time I chat a little more specifically about the pregnancy, with stats and experiences I'd like to remember. Yesterday I finally landed in the third trimester. The final stretch... the one in which it gets the heaviest (and most uncomfortable) and ends with the best gift in the world. Ahhh, here we go.

The weight gain: I was really anxious about gaining too much weight during this pregnancy. I have never been one to drop pounds easily nor have I ever been addicted to exercise (though I have come in and out of routines). However, now as the pounds are really adding up, I find myself no longer concerned about them. (Other than the fact that I need to be sure to remain healthy for the baby.) I am finding relief in the fact that this really is only temporary, that it's a part of the process, and I will have the opportunity to lose the weight once baby is here. And that is so good to know.

Maternity clothes: Oh I can't wear anything but maternity clothes right now. I'd say, so far, that has been THE most expensive part of pregnancy and expecting a baby. Being comfortable is important to me, but feeling cute AND comfortable? The best ever. I love maternity clothes and am enjoying the comfort of them, just not the price tag. :)

Stretch marks: So far, so good! But I know they are coming and I am not worried about them.

Sleep: While I AM getting enough sleep, it's just not really happening through the night. I am usually awake from 3am - 6am nightly. Luckily I fall back to sleep and have a job that allows me to sleep as late as necessary in the morning to make up for it. I honestly think the only reason I am suffering from interrupted sleep is due to the fact that I am getting too hot every night. Our thermostat resets itself at midnight and noon daily, so there's really nothing I can do about the temperature. We already have two fans blowing in the room, one directly pointed at my face. But I am not complaining, I get good sleep later in the morning and even more excellent nap times. :)

Best moment of pregnancy: I absolutely LOVE feeling baby move inside of me and I love it even more when I catch it with my eyes! It's weird, I constantly forget that the movements are totally unpredictable. Unlike other grumbles in your stomach, just because I feel something small and weird, does not necessarily mean a big movement is coming next. (Okay that just sounds gross, but I think you mamas out there know what I'm saying?) It's kind of a fun little reminder that the baby moves (and arrives and develops and everything else) on his/her own time! :)

Worst moment of pregnancy: I am not trying to remember or dwell on any of the bad things about pregnancy... but I'll go ahead and say that the changes and pains in my chest have been absolutely horrible. It feels like there are little men in there stabbing me with knives from the inside out. Hands down the worst pain so far... which I like to coach myself through to practice for coaching myself through the pain of childbirth. (Tell me that's not laughable!)

Food cravings: SWEETS. Like crazy. For a while I couldn't swallow the thought (or even the food) of meat. Any meat. Then I got a little okay with red meat again. But poultry is still not as appetizing as it used to be - we used to eat it at least 3x/week before the pregnancy. I crave a lot of pasta now, but luckily Tommy is not feeling the pasta thing so that helps keep my cravings at bay.

Some other regular cravings I have experienced throughout this pregnancy are:

• cereal (Tommy will make the "omg you have got to be kidding me" face every time I pour another bowl of this stuff)
• kraft macaroni & cheese
• lemonade and other fresh/fruity tastes

The public's reaction: Some of the things that come out of people's mouths when they find out I am pregnant really are so, so entertaining. I try to think gracefully as I have been known to stick my foot in my mouth on numerous occasions. I just smile and giggle a little when I think back to the things that have been said. My favorite comments, though, are from other moms and couples that also waited to find out the gender until the birthday. The encouragement is neverending and it has us even so much more excited for that moment!

Baby thoughts: Oh baby, baby. It is challenging to feel connected to you when we don't know who you are... but I try my best to enjoy your little movements and look forward to the moment when we will finally find out! I am so grateful to God that you are strong, healthy, and that we are enjoying a normal pregnancy together. Your little developing life has brought your dad and I closer than ever and I am looking forward to the day of your birth more than you can imagine. We are both so very excited.

on being inspired

I came across this blog post the other day during my internet wanderings. I was SO inspired. I am a little bit nervous about shooting my last wedding at 38 weeks of pregnancy. In fact, I have weddings booked at 35 weeks, 37 weeks, and 38 weeks. And then 4 weeks post-partum. (I'm not insane, friends. They were all booked before I knew of the pregnancy.) I was feeling hopeless about the pre-baby weddings, thinking there was no way I was going to have the strength to do them. Until I saw the amazing Chenin Boutwell in her 37 weeks of pregnancy glory. SHE did it!

So I decided... I am going to do whatever I can to assure my presence at these weddings. I will build my strength every day... walking, mentally preparing, and pumping myself with good nutrition so that I can handle the work of these weddings. I know I can do it. It has been done before, and if my body is capable, then it will happen.

Thanks to Chenin for totally inspiring me... I have heard a few times that I am crazy to think I can do it, but I know there are lots of mama's out there who have done the same thing!

P.S. I had my official maternity session on Friday with my friend Samantha. Here's my favorite pic from her sneak peek!

the big ultrasound | baby talk

So we had our big ultrasound yesterday! If you have not had this experience before... this is the one where they take measurements of your baby in every possible way, they check for any complications, and most excitingly... they can usually tell you the sex of the baby. Can you tell in this picture?

Hah... just kidding. :) We decided we wanted the sex to be a surprise for us, so our ultrasound was just a lot of measuring. And a lot of watching baby cover his/her face for the camera! Too cute... but I hope not indicative of what is to come. :)

I am feeling baby move regularly now and have seen a couple of movements from the outside. I love all these new stages! I have to say, though, after yesterday's ultrasound, I'm about ready to hold this little baby in my arms. Tommy joked and said "that's like saying at mile 25 in a 50 mile race 'alright I'm ready to be done.'" Hah... so I've never been 40 weeks preggo nor have I run in a 50 mile race... but I do kind of feel like another 25 miles to run would be absolute torture (maybe another 17 weeks of pregnancy isn't as bad?). Luckily, we still have quite a few things to get done before baby arrives... so hopefully I'll stay busy enough to want baby to take his/her time!

We went to our midwife appointment after the ultrasound and the ultrasound results actually came in during the appointment. All's clear! Everything is good and normal and I could not thank God more for this healthy pregnancy.