Belly Update!

It’s time for a belly update!   I know many have been eagerly waiting, and I’ve had clients I worked with earlier this year begging for photos of my preggo belly and curious to hear about my pregnancy.  I’ve tried to keep the pregnancy talk to a minimum on Facebook and here on the blog, and trust me, it’s for your own good!  There could have been SO many different things I could have shared, but I resisted.  Since I mostly photograph weddings and seniors, I figured not everyone would be enthusiastic about hearing stories about cravings or  stretch marks.  🙂  But the time has come, so be warned, this post will be a bit of a belly-overload, featuring some of my favorite photos from our maternity photo session back in October with my friend Sarah Nebel (I was about 28 weeks then), and some answers to a few questions I’ve had from friends, family, and my wonderful clients!  🙂

When are you due again?  Are you having a boy or girl?

These are always the first two questions any pregnant woman is asked, so I’ll clear these up right away!  My original due date is January 12th, though because of some fuzzy dating and weirdness of my body, I’ve measured a bit ahead and have been going by January 7th.  I like to think of it more as a due “zone” than a specific date, it lessons the pressure a bit!   My perspective is that this baby will arrive whenever it choose to and is good and ready, so why stress about it?  🙂

We didn’t find out if Baby W is a boy or girl, so it’s a big mystery to us!  People have asked if I have any hunches, and for most of the last 9 months, I didn’t.  Sometime around 32 weeks I started thinking maybe it’s a boy, but now I’m thinking it’s a girl.  *shrugs*

How has your pregnancy been?  How are you feeling?

Other than a brief bout of food poisoning on my 30th birthday – boy, will that be a memorable birthday- I’ve felt pretty great!  I feel a little guilty saying this since I know not everyone woman is as fortunate, but this pregnancy has been relatively easy for me.  I’ve been able to stay quite active, which has been wonderful!  Lots of camping and hiking early on, and I was able to photograph all of my fall weddings and sessions without any trouble, other than maybe just being a bit more awkward 🙂  As I’ve gotten further along in my pregnancy, and the belly has grown, my comfort level has gone down a bit, but that’s just because Baby W is quite the kicker!  Sometimes it is downright painful, but for the most part it’s hilarious and entertaining to see the ridiculous shapes my belly can be contorted into because of all of the kicking and movement.  I’m also super grateful that I haven’t suffered from severe morning sickness, but that seems to be true for most of the women in my family.  Thanks for the good genes, mom and dad!

Any strange cravings or weird pregnancy stories?

Honestly, not really.  I’m seriously the most boring pregnant girl ever!  No pickles and ice cream cravings or anything like that.  My food preferences have just been further accentuated beyond the norm, so while I typically don’t have a big sweet tooth even though I’m always raving about desserts at weddings, I have definitely preferred sweeter foods while pregnant.  Especially fruit!  During my first trimester, I made a lot of homemade fruit smoothies.  And now that it’s winter, I’m snacking on clementines all the time.  They are the best!

 

Do you have any names picked out?  

Oh my word, this has been so difficult!  Naming another human being is no small thing, and we are both quite picky.  Right now, we have a list of about half a dozen boy and girl names.  We haven’t settled on just one name.  I have a feeling we’ll be those parents who can’t decide until after we’ve met our little one  🙂

What are you excited or nervous about?

Um, everything?  LOL!  I think every first time parent has a mix of emotions when they are about to have a baby, and I’m definitely living it right now!  Some days, I absolutely can’t wait to meet this little baby that I’ve had growing in me for the past 9 months.  Other days I am completely terrified that we’re totally going to screw this kid up.  So you see, it goes back and forth, though I’d say generally we lean more towards the excited attitude 🙂

Are you taking time off?  Will you continue with photography?  Will you finally start photographing babies?

Yes, I’ll be taking a maternity leave to spend lots of time with Baby W.  I can’t wait!  I know those first few months are precious, and I am so grateful that I have the kind of flexibility to focus on being a mom.   I will try to respond to emails and inquiries the best I can, and I have a few special winter shoots in the works that are flexible, but I won’t be shooting any new sessions until probably April.

Yes, I also plan to continue with photography!  I’ve already booked 2013 weddings and I’ve been making plans for continued growth and change in my business, obviously with the added complexity of a growing family!   It will be a bit of trial and error to see what works best for me and our family, but I do plan to continue photographing weddings and high school seniors.

At this point, I don’t have any grand plans to expand my business to include newborn photography, even though I will have an available model to practice on for a few weeks!  I get asked to do newborn sessions quite often, and while I sometimes will do them if I have the time or it’s the right fit, it’s truly not my specialty.  I’m open to this changing, but at this point, my hope is to keep things simple and focus on weddings and high school seniors.  I appreciate all of your support during this big life transition!

Are you going to do your own newborn photos?  Will you share baby photos!?!

I’m sure that this baby will have lots of pictures, and yes, I’ll probably share some.  I’m not sure if it will be here on the blog, on Facebook, or someplace more personal.  It will probably depend on what is easiest!  My friend Sarah, who took these gorgeous maternity photos for my husband and I, will also be doing a newborn session for us!  I’m SO excited 🙂

 

That’s all for now!  We’re super excited for what is to come in 2013, and wish you a happy new year!  We’ll try to keep you posted on Baby W’s arrival!