// Maternity (+ Family) Photos - v.3 - Him and Honey

The last of the maternity photos Mike shot of me. These were taken in Big Lagoon State Park in Florida on our vacation. They're by far my favorite of the bunch. It's hard to believe this belly is no more, but what an experience! I'm going to cherish these photos forever.

And we really wanted to get a few family snaps, too, so our sweet friend Jenna offered to nab a few of us one (sweaty!) Saturday afternoon. We forgot to take into consideration the lens would be foggy after getting the camera out of a nice air conditioned car, so we only have a few, but they're so so special! My heart! (Toby's dirty little feet are my absolute favorite)... Now to work on getting photos of all four of us!

* You can see more of our film photography at Him + Honey. If you're interested in booking your own shoot, shoot us a message via our contact page! And thank you to Jenna for sharing her afternoon with us!

// Maternity Photos - v.2 - Him and Honey

And here's the second installment of the maternity photos Mike shot of me a couple of weeks ago. I know, I know! I should have pared it down to a less embarrassing amount of photos, but I wasn't even planning on sharing these. Then I realized that the actual second batch of materntiy photos we shot (in Florida) won't be back for a couple of weeks and I remembered I had these of me and Toby. You even get the ones where I'm making derp faces and looking cross-eyed. And check out my weird feet in several of them, too! haha! The one where I'm sitting on the rock and then the last one... what was I even doing?!

The random snaps of me in the grey dress were when Mike and I were taken right after we got finished photographing Sara and her family. We were trying to test out the lighting for the situation and I figured I'd toss those in, too. The photos with the chambray top were from the next day at our small family baby shower in Lawrenceburg. I had planned on shooting a handful of different outfits but I just couldn't hang. I was totally convinced these photos would be a total wash and I'd be out of luck. The ones with Toby are some of my absolute favorites. I definitely plan on getting one of them framed or something. He's just so precious! We planned on snapping a few more in Florida, just to take advantage of the different scenery and the fact we'd have some extra eyes to capture a few of us as a family, but that just didn't happen. We did get some solo ones of me while we were walking around the camp area, but sadly our big family session got bumped due to some very last minute changes in plans. I'm still crossing my fingers there's a slight chance a friend can help us out this weekend if possible, but I might just have to deal with the fact we won't have any film photos of all 3 of us. (I know we could hire someone else to take the photos, but we really dig the look and feel of our film work, and unfortunately the other photographers here in Nashville that shoot a similar look/feel are crazy expensive! I'd rather spend that cash on hiring someone to get photos of all four of us instead. Maybe we'll resort to the timer again... haha) Thanks for letting me spam your interwebs with photos of my huge bump. And yes, this means there will likely be a "round three" from Florida in a few weeks because apparently I don't know any better. :P xo

You can see more of our film photography at Him + Honey. If you're interested in booking your own shoot, shoot us a message via our contact page! I'd *love* to be on the other side of some maternity sessions!

P.S; I'm 37 weeks today! Full term, baby! My mind is blown.

// Labor Beds + Uncertainty

I've been getting comfortable in the Labor + Delivery ward at my hospital the past couple of weeks... and by comfortable I mean seeing far more of them than I'd like. (And being insanely uncomfortable to boot... Those labor beds are awful!)  I did a half-day stint at 34 weeks for fetal monitoring, and then spent another day in there yesterday. Y'all, this last stretch of pregnancy is wearing me out. 

One of the scariest things about pregnancy is that you just never know what to expect. Despite reading countless books, articles, forums, etc, I never really know what's "normal" and not. Last week in Florida I started experiencing some weird symptoms (for me) and just generally felt awful. False labor pains, nausea, etc. After calling my doctor on Monday we decided to play it cool until my appointment today (Wednesday). Unfortunately my body wasn't having it. Monday night I noticed that the baby had stopped moving entirely, and despite my best efforts to move him with orange juice, ice water and good old fashioned poking, he wasn't having it. I woke up to the same thing. Even the bathtub couldn't wrangle him into a wiggle. Then I had a crazy bad headache and nausea, so Mike took my blood pressure. And it was pretty sky high, which was weird. I had done a whole lot of nothing all day aside from tinker with some design work on the computer. My doctor had already closed for the day so we hopped in the car and headed to the hospital. 

I was admitted for several hours of monitoring, fluids and tests, and I was having regular contractions every 5 minutes or so. Oh joy! The baby's heartbeat was quickly picked up (thank goodness!), but it was bounding like crazy. From his general baseline of ~160, he was accelerating to 202 and then crashing down to 97 in seconds. Of course I didn't (don't?) really know what any of that meant, but luckily my blood pressure stabilized (and then got really low?!) and his variables were very short in duration. After hours and hours of being hooked up to continuous fetal monitoring and vitals, my butt and back were killing me! Seriously those beds are the single most uncomfortable piece of furniture I've ever laid on haha Luckily all of my tests came back clear and the doctor thinks maybe the baby's variables are due to him rolling around on the cord or grabbing it. Not to mention I seem to be continuously dehydrated no matter what. I should hopefully know more today. This whole thing is so nerve wracking. Never knowing what is what, or why it is. 

I'm just really grateful I had Mike with me yesterday because he really proved himself to be an advocate for both me and the baby. I always knew it was important to have that support system there, but I didn't realize just how invaluable it was. He knew what questions to ask, when to elaborate on answers that I was short with, and he stayed on top of everything in the time that I was there. It certainly wasn't the most fun way to spend an evening/night, but I know I would have been far more scared had he not been with me (like the first time when it was just me, Toby and my Nana!) And I'm so grateful that we had family we could leave Toby with for the day because that kid likes to tinker with hospital equipment ha.

Being admitted, even if only for a short time, made me realize just how much we have to do before this baby comes. He could be here any minute! And of course that doesn't help when you've been told to take it easy. From here on out, I'm letting my body just do it's thing. If I want to rest, I'll rest. Work will be there when I'm done. If I want to sleep in, I'm going to sleep in. After a solid week and a half or more of pushing my body to perform, I'm starting to pay for it. I have to try and remember that I'm on this baby's schedule... he's not on mine. (But seriously, Baby Flynn, please bake a little while longer! I'm really not ready!) Now that I'm officially 36 weeks, I'm just hoping my doctor won't be all "Okay! You're having a baby next week!" when I go in for my appointment today... Cross your fingers for us! My very best friend is getting married in 2 days and I'm supposed to stand next to her, but I'm so worried that my doctor is going to nix the whole thing. Traveling by car to Chicago at 9+ months probably sounds absolutely insane, but I really hope we're able to be there! Pregnancy is such a crazy, eye opening experience. I think he's making me pay for the smooth sailing in this last little stretch because holy moly I've reached that point of being uncomfortable 24/7 haha! xo

// Maternity Photos - v.1 - Him and Honey

Mike snapped some film maternity photos of me a couple of weeks ago after we wrapped up a client shoot. They actually almost didn't happen at all because goodness gracious you would not believe the amount of heat and humidity we were battling that day! My friend Sara did my makeup before we photographed her family and seriously, not even 5 minutes into the shoot I was drenched in sweat. It was not a good look! haha Luckily she's quite the pro and she worked her magic with my makeup because it surprisingly didn't sweat off! Granted every bit of curl fell out of my hair and I was a walking frizz ball, but I'm so in love with the pictures regardless.

I know it's a bit self-indulgent to post so many photos of myself (I should edit tighter!), but every time I look at these photos I get butterflies. Even with the big ol' belly and the sweat that just won't stop, I am cherishing each and every moment of this pregnancy. I'm turning into one of those people... You know, the ones who wax poetic about everything. I can't help it. 

Someone on Instagram commented that I looked like "Mother Nature" in these photos, and ever since then I've just been so in love with that thought. A huge part of me is so sad that this experience is almost over, but I know what's waiting on the other side is even better... I'll be sharing the second round of photos soon! xo

You can see more of our film photography at Him + Honey. If you're interested in booking your own shoot, shoot us a message via our contact page! -- A huge thank you to my amazing husband for making me feel like a million bucks, even when dripping in sweat.

// Pregnancy Diaries - v.3

The third trimester is a beast. There's no other way to say it. I was not really prepared for the emotional rollercoaster that came with these last few weeks. Up until this point this pregnancy has been pretty much a breeze. It's easy to look past the occasional "uncomfortable" moment when you compare it to just how awesome it is to experience this journey. But holy moly, y'all! The hormones! I can seriously just be sitting here doing nothing and break out into tears. If it makes me laugh, I'll cry. If it makes me sad, I'll cry. I've just been in a very heightened emotional state and I feel like I need to wear a big ol' disclaimer or warning on my belly so people just know to take me with a grain of salt as of late.

I know it can be a little "awkward" to publicly talk about crying and all that jazz, but you know what? It's real life. And right now it's a really big part of real life haha! Luckily after talking to several of my mama friends I've been reassured that the crazy hormonal fluctuations are totally normal and it's okay to take a bath mid-day just to sort of allow yourself a private and peaceful moment to cry. (Yep, those have been a staple lately...) And the real kicker? I have nothing to be upset over! I'm not sad or depressed or anything like that. I think it's just a mix of anxiety, fear, fatigue, etc. Everything is hitting my body all at once. It all feels so real but I'm trying to convince myself that I've got it all under control. Even some of my favorite songs from high school make me tear up uncontrollably. Unfortunately some short-temperedness has also come along. I'm trying to practice a lot of patience and not get too worked up over anything. Oh, mood swings! Gotta love 'em.

Lately I've been watching my blood pressure and being mindful of my general health. At my 32-week appointment I had a spike in my blood pressure and was then ordered to do some blood tests and a fun little thing they call the "24 hour urine." Yep... And it's exactly what it sounds like. You get to pee in a jug for 24 full hours! And keep it in your fridge! (I know, this post just got way too TMI. But again, it comes with the territory!) Despite being totally inconvenient and slightly embarrassing (I was convinced I was going to trip with it in my bag and spill it all over the place when I went back to the doctor... ha! Can you imagine?!), everything has checked out so far. I go back on Wednesday when I hit 34 weeks (!!!) so my doctor can say yay or nay on our Florida trip coming up on Friday. After we get back from Florida I'll go for a 36 week visit and get the news on whether or not I'm okay to go to Chicago for Susannah's wedding. Fingers crossed! I've been so stressed out and worried about the (terrifying) possibility of pre-eclampsia that I've totally made myself experience some phantom symptoms. I think I just need to remind myself that my body was meant to do this and that I don't have any reason to worry about the next 6 weeks. Y'all, this baby is going to be here any day now! Obviously I'm still working on the "calming down" part of it all...

In addition to the tidal wave of emotions taking over my body, I've also developed another fun little pregnancy symptom: The waddle. Oh the waddle! I can actually feel myself shift my entire body weight from one hip to the next as I walk. At this point I'm wondering when I'll just start rolling places haha And yes, random stranger in passing, I *am* sure there's only one in there... *eyeroll* haha

Everything at home has been smooth sailing though because luckily Toby is in hog heaven knowing that he gets to go to the beach for almost 2 weeks and that shortly after his baby brother will be here. It's basically all he can talk about at this point. We just have to make it through this work-week and we can unwind for a week and a half in the sun and sand. Bring it on!

Here's to hoping this little dude stays put until his due date, our vacation goes well, and I get to stand beside my best friend as she marries her long-time love. We've got a lot to look forward to in the coming weeks and I'm going to try and enjoy every single second of it. Sounds like a plan, right? Happy Monday! xo

// How To Make A Pregnant Lady's Day

I don't care who you are or how comfortable you are in your own skin... sometimes pregnancy is hard. Not only is it physically demanding, but it also really taxing on your mental state. Nothing fits, you're hot all the time, you feel like you're waddling everywhere you walk, etc. Not to mention the occasional not-trying-to-be-rude-but-still-totally-is comments from strangers about being "Ready to pop!" when you've got 2 full months left... Ahem. Pregnancy is draining physically, mentally and emotionally.

But sometimes a perfect stranger can be what turns your whole day around, just by saying the right thing. For instance, last weekend Mike and I were in Target and I was getting ready to go into the fitting room with (what do you think?) some maxi dresses. I was waiting for the attendant to hand me a number and a girl next to me exclaimed "You are just the cutest pregnant gal I've ever seen!" Then 5 minutes later I waddled out wearing a sunset-colored dress and asked Mike if I looked ridiculous when a woman ran over from about 25 feet away and said "Honey, you look absolutely fabulous!" - I know they're silly comments to get worked up about, but I really needed those kind words that day. I felt like I was sweating from every part of my body (TMI, sorry!), I was overly emotional, and my back was starting to hurt. Hearing 2 random strangers share such sweet words made all the difference. My mood improved, I felt more confident throughout the day, and I just enjoyed being pregnant... with my own zip code and all!

Don't get me wrong, I love the kind comments I get when I share outfits on here and Instagram, etc (Seriously, y'all make my day!), but hearing something so nice from someone you've never crossed paths with can totally put some extra pep in your step. Sure, it might wear off a bit when your feet start hurting again, but it makes a huge difference in the moment. So next time you see a pregnant lady and you want to make her day, tell her she looks adorable/great/fabulous! (Maybe don't say "glowing" since we tend to associate that with "sweaty"... and maybe don't comment on the size of her bump, whether big or small!) But just offer a genuine compliment! Because it feels really really awesome to be on the receiving end of them! xo

PS; I know pregnant gals aren't special snowflakes or anything haha! I do think most of us struggle with a sense of "self" in the final weeks though. But a random, genuine compliment can make anyone's day! Try making someone smile today!