Photo Shoot

Engagements and weddings are the kinds of moments you want to capture and hold on to forever, but more recently, the adventure of pregnancy has become a popular moment on that list as well, with countless couples opting for professional photo shoots to immortalize their baby while it's still easy to get it to pose for a camera.

I'm not going to lie, I think most maternity photos are weird.  When I think about them, images like this one come to mind:

No offense to this lovely couple or to anyone who chooses to do them, I'm sure you all look fabulous, but there's something about taking photos with my husband as we stare wistfully at my stomach that just seems a bit forced. Maybe it's because I'm used to a person's face being the focal point of photos.  Maybe it's because it's just not completely our style. Maybe it's because on my wedding day I felt so beautiful I wanted visual proof of it for the future, and right now not so much. 

Well, we did it anyway.

After looking at photo shoots on facebook and Pinterest (the most lethal of creative inspiration) Drew and I decided we should give it a try. How often do you get the opportunity? I did insist that we spend no money or extra effort, in the event that they turned out to be worthy of Awkwardfamilyphotos.com. Here's a sample of the final product, shot by Drew's tripod at a park down the street:

The Third Trimester Begins

Yesterday, Drew, the baby and I had our 28 week appointment.  This marks a pretty big milestone in pregnancy because it's the start of the third and final trimester- the home-stretch.  In about three more months we will be holding our first child!

But before that happens, medical professionals like to test new parents-to-be by having them go through a series of challenges.  The first 28-week challenge was one I'd heard about from formerly-pregnant friends and relatives, who must have satisfied the medical professionals' standards because they are all now parents.  It's called the gestational diabetes screening.  For some women, hormones in pregnancy cause insulin resistance, which makes it harder to process sugar.  The test requires drinking an extremely sweet, tang-like drink, waiting an hour, and then giving away some of your blood so they can send it to a lab. (one of my very least favorite things)

From all of the accounts I'd heard, I was expecting to have to chug some sort of disgusting concoction that would be hard to keep down.  Maybe it's because I was an avid kool-aide drinker as a child, or because when given the choice my regular diet would consist of 90 percent sugar, but I found the drink absolutely delicious!  It was no problem to defeat challenge #1: disgusting drink, and move on to the second challenge which I believe was specifically designed for people who defeated the first with too much ease, and have a paralyzing fear of needles.

My blood type is A negative. That means it doesn't have something called an RH factor, which I would try to explain more specifically if the last biology class I'd taken was more recent than 10 years ago.  Basically, if my blood mixes with my baby's blood (like during labor) my body would see it as a foreign body and attack it. Usually this doesn't pose a problem with a first child, but could impact all subsequent pregnancies.  How do the medical professionals fix it?  By sticking a big needle in my right hip.  While Drew's hand may be a little worse for the wear from my grip during the RhoGAM shot, I defeated the second task.

The great thing about this challenge-laden appointment is the ultrasound.  I'm still amazed at what technology allows us to see and hear in there.  This week, our baby boy is measuring about a week ahead of schedule at 3lbs 2oz.  After 14 weeks, all babies grow at their own pace so this doesn't mean he will come out a week early, although I wouldn't protest.

Drew and I got to see his brain, his spine, the bones in his legs, and other indicators of his growth that all show he's a healthy baby.  He's in the correct position for labor, so we hope he stays that way for the next three months.

While we were looking around in there, our baby boy showed a little of his personality, knocking right back at the ultrasound tech with his tiny balled up fists, and even smiling a little, which we tried to catch in this 3-d image.  Seeing his face for the first time only makes me want to meet him sooner, but we'll let him cook a little while longer.


 

The Vanishing Lap

I feel I have finally come to terms with my changing body shape and am learning to take all that comes with it in stride... even the increasing difficulty of simple tasks like putting on socks and shoes, which now requires some sort of stabilization crutch like a nearby dresser, chair, or husband.

Our dog Max, however, is still adjusting.  His favorite resting place is slowly shrinking.  

He's learned that he can no longer bound across the room and onto my lap or jump up and push me with his paws as soon as I walk in the door, which were probably good habits to break anyway, but now as soon as the poor guy finds a comfortable position to nap that also accommodates baby's space, he has to reevaluate a week or so later as I continue growing. Or should I say, as the baby continues growing.

If Max does encroach a little too closely, baby responds with a swift kick.  Not even out of the womb and he's already defending his space.  Of course, this battle for my lap has resulted in a few new napping positions you see below:

And, my personal favorite, the "Forget it, I'll sit with dad."

Happy Halloween!

In the adult world, Halloween has become a holiday of revealing costumes and crazy parties, where women usually go as the "sexy version" of an otherwise scary creature, cute animal or occupation.  Sexy nurses, cats, witches, even zombies roam the night, and while in previous years I've never really fully embraced the "sexy version" culture, you'd be hard-pressed to find any costume in a store that doesn't.  One walk through Party City and I realized this year would be a great one to go home-made, and even embrace the complete opposite.  So I transformed into the least sexy and "the most harmless thing.  Something that could never ever possibly destroy us."  Mr. Stay Puft.

 

Drew went along as a Ghostbuster and the costumes went over very well!  We even carved the Ghostbusters logo into our pumpkin.  I had looked through a few maternity-inspired costumes online (bun in the oven, zombie babies, skeleton t-shirts complete with a skeleton of the fetus.) I wanted something that showcased the baby bump without creeping me out, so when Drew suggested a Ghostbuster and the marshmallow man as a joke, it quickly became a reality! We got a lot of compliments at his co-worker's party from the sexy witches.