Why in the world has it taken me so long to start showing off these photos? When you get the RAW files from a photo shoot featuring yourself you tend to be rather nitpicky about how they look. I want my blemishes gone, can’t deny using the liquify filter every once in awhile, etc. I’ve been making my way through them slowly and I’ve decided to post them in parts as I finish them instead of waiting until I finish them all (will that every happen?).

We took the photos at a park right next to my house, a spot that would have been much better if the snow a few days before hadn’t caused the water levels to rise drastically since I had spent time scouting it out. Oh well, amazing Bethany Jackman (who is now in Boston for 8 months, hire her!) somehow made my poor location choice look amazing. I had two different photographers there that day (one personal reason why networking is so important!) and I’ll be showing you watermark free shots that were taken by someone else and edited myself. Visit their respective blogs to really see what they can do, please don’t judge their skills by my editing!

My favorite headshot:

My hair and makeup were done by Emily Hudspeth, who I’m now using as my regular stylist for cut/color as well. This was my first time experiencing airbrush foundation. It feels so cool and lovely when it’s being applied! I went in with the idea that I might like to have my hair all down and curly, but Emily wisely suggested I put it half up due to the wind that day. I’m very glad I trusted her because it would have been completely flat within minutes.

When it comes to photo shoots, fake eyelashes are a must for me.

I came really close to framing this one for our wall. I love the blue sky contrasted with the dead foliage, and the teeny pop of red from my ring.

5 photos above captured by Bethany Jackman, edited by me.

I’m a bit insecure about my weight gain and resulting shape, so photos that are composed in creative ways like this one (you’ll see several more in future posts) are my favorites.

2 photos above captured by lynn in love photo, edited by me.

One thing I was really passionate about in coming up with the ideas for this session, is I wanted to help more pregnant women see that you don’t have to wrap your naked belly in a colored ribbon tied in a bow or stack blocks on your stomach spelling out the name of your little one at your maternity session. In fact, my naked belly won’t make a single appearance in these photos and I’m perfectly happy with that! (Although I’m planning a day frolicking around with big belly exposed in a field of Texas bluebonnets within the next few weeks, as I’m lucky enough to have the equipment I need to do a photo shoot pretty much any time. I just have to convince That Husband to act as the photographer.) If you’re considering a maternity session for yourself, but you feel like you only see sessions filled with watermelon bump ultra skinny ladies, just take a look at me in my 200+ lb glory after gaining 50 lbs in about 35 weeks and tell yourself you won’t regret it in the end. Because you won’t! You’ll be so glad to have these photos celebrating your pregnancy, I know I am.

Next post features some time spent nuzzling with TH!

Still an innie. Good thing my modesty standards mean I don’t wear bikinis or other types of clothing that show off my midriff, otherwise this could be really depressing.

You were wrong.

I’m thinking my belly button won’t be popping at all. Good because I think outies are a little freaky.

I hit the 9 month/36 week mark on Saturday, and last week was a frenzy of shopping and errands in an attempt to cross some baby prep items off of my to-do list. I showed you my apartment just a few weeks ago, and already it’s looking very different!

I finally made my way up to Ikea, and then stopped by a resale shop called Kid to Kid, TJMaxx + Ross, and Walmart. All of my shopping was done over a period of two days, and I came home absolutely exhausted each time. Why did I put all of this off until I hit 9 months? This is not something I would recommend to others.

My very favorite purchase is the chair I found in the as-is section of Ikea for $45. It rocks just the tiniest bit and looks so cute in our bedroom (I really wanted to avoid buying something hideous off of Craigslist if I could help it, as I like having a clean, well-decorated bedroom). The blue stuffed giraffe is going to be used for T1’s month by month pictures, and the super soft mini rug thrown over the back of the chair was a splurge I couldn’t resist after my friend Bethany wrote about how much she loves hers. I’ve already spent a lot of time in this corner and I’m in love with the setup.

After some serious nudging from That Husband I finally sat down and put my birth plans together. I’m approaching the point where I could go into labor any day and he knows how important it is to me that I have him there helping to control and be a part of what is happening as much as possible. It took several hours, but after reading through a variety of birth plans from different sources around the web I was able to put together comprehensive plans for a few different scenarios we might encounter.

I think every woman should research and write out a birth plan, even if it’s just for herself to look over. Websites like this one walk mother’s through common scenarios and preferences and help you pick and choose what works best for you. If you read a term or phrase you don’t understand, look it up! It’s important to know what providers are talking about when they speak of pitocin/episiotomy/rooming-in/etc, and knowledge will only help you get the care that makes you feel the most satisfied.

Please note that these birth plans I created are not for TH and Sarah, not the hospital. I think birth plans in a hospital setting are most effective when you are working with a specific care provider the you have the ability to sit down and overview your preferences with. It wouldn’t do me any good to show up at a hospital several hours into my labor waving my sheet of paper around and declaring that anyone who approaches me should read it first. I believe that hospitals are an environment where routines are established and followed in order to maximize efficiency and effectiveness and thus not always excited about birth plans, especially from home birth mamas. The plans you see below are written out for That Husband and intended for him to read through and remember as much as possible so that he knows how to best respond in many of the common situations that happen during a birthing situation. I’ll of course be running through them with Sarah as well to make sure we are on the same page in various areas.

I’m sharing these  in hopes they help others who are attempting to write up their own plans, as I found many other personal birth plans sprinkled throughout the sites and forums I visited to be immensely helpful in ensuring I didn’t leave anything important off of the list. I’d love to have any women who’ve given birth previously comment and let me know if they think I’m leaving anything off that was important to them!

The Home Birth Plan

The Non-Emergency Hospital Transfer Plan

The Cesarean Plan

I moved to bi-weekly appointments a few weeks ago, and they’re coming so close together that I didn’t get my act together and write about appointment 5 before appointment 6 had come and gone!  Personally I miss only going in once a month, but I tend to be very chill when it comes to my healthcare and so I have to keep reminding myself that it’s important for me to visit with Sarah and have her check up on my swelling, weight gain, and measure my belly to make sure baby and I are where we need to be.

I’m making my way through my maternity photos slowly but surely. I love having the RAW files to process, but it means it’s going to take a bit more time to get through all of it. Photo by Bethany Jackman, editing by me.

Appointment 5

This was one of my shortest visits so far. I was up 6 pounds from my last visit, with a total weight gain of about 45 lbs at 31.5 weeks. My blood pressure rocked at 102/67 and baby’s heart was pumping away at 140 bpm.

I had attended the breastfeeding class offered by the birth center only two days before, so I had breastfeeding on the brain. Sarah had taught the class and mentioned the importance of showing your nipples to the midwife so I lifted my shirt and gave Sarah a little peek to make sure I don’t have flat or inverted nipples that would make breastfeeding difficult. She said everything looks great! We talked more about my breast reduction surgery and the plan regarding breastfeeding. I asked if I should purchase a supply of bottles and other formula related paraphernalia but Sarah said we wouldn’t worry about it until we had to. One of my favorite things about Sarah is her passion for helping every single mom to breastfeed and be comfortable doing so.

I told her that TH still hadn’t had a chance to get his blood tested and she gave me a test we could use to figure it out ourselves. Alright!

The last thing we talked about was Group-B Strep. She gave me a sheet that talked about the test, why it is done, etc, and told me to make a decision regarding my preference for having it done by our next appointment.

Appointment 6

Three weeks after appointment 5, I went in for appointment 6. It should have been two weeks but Sarah had a birth to attend on the day of my appointment so we pushed things back a bit. I frowned at the scale as I saw I had gained close to 8 pounds in three weeks, but my belly measured about a week behind so it looks like baby isn’t growing into a monster. Awesome blood pressure results once again, 102/58, and baby’s heart pumping away at 139 bpm.

At 34.5 weeks during this appointment it was time for Sarah to hand me the sheet containing all of the items I would need to gather for the home birth. I ordered a personalized birth kit from www.inhishands.com and put together a shopping list for things like towels/trash bags/sanitary napkins, etc. She asked that I have all of these items assembled by 36 weeks, which happens to be this coming Saturday. Crazy!

Over time Sarah has realized how strong willed I am regarding my own treatment and my desire to research things out for myself before doing them, and I really loved how she phrased her advice at this last appointment, urging me to look things up on my own and decide if I wanted to use them. She recommended Mountain Meadows Herbs Gentle Birth Formula, Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, and 2000 mg of evening primrose oil inserted vaginally each night beginning at 36 weeks. Primrose Oil is full of prostaglandins, thought to help ripen the cervix, and a method I’m definitely going to employ.

We talked about perineal massage, a method proven to help reduce tearing of the perineum during delivery and decrease the need for instrument assisted delivery. I believe in perineal massage because when TH does it, it forces me to relax and work on focusing through an uncomfortable event.

My calves and feet are swelling up to monster sizes lately but my blood pressure is still looking good and I don’t have swelling anywhere else so no need to transfer or worry aboutpreeclampsia yet. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s somewhat related to the large number of hours I spend sitting in front of the computer each day!

The last thing we discussed at this visit was Appointment 7, which will be a home visit! Sarah comes out to see her mom’s at 36 weeks to familiarize herself with the drive, know how to get in, talk to me about preparing the house, etc. Wouldn’t it be nice if every appointment was a home one?