The highlights from this week included our maternity session and our second natural labor class! Firstly, our class. This session focused primarily on the experience of a couple who successfully labored naturally just a couple months earlier. The couple visited our class and spoke at length about their experience with natural labor. The mother mentioned that staying home as long as possible helped her the most because she was able to eat and drink as she desired, change positions as often as she liked, and take a couple long hot baths/showers. Because of all this, she felt more rested and empowered when she arrived at the hospital to give birth. She also mentioned that once arriving at the hospital and finding a comfortable position in which to labor, the support of her husband & mother were what carried her through. It was so wonderful to hear about another mother's success! I soaked in her advice like a shriveled up little sponge, eager for water!
After the class, Andy & I prepared for our maternity session, which turned out to be quite an adventure! We arrived at our photographer's studio and took some more intimate, boudoir-style images first. This definitely pushed my comfort boundaries (I mean what woman wouldn't feel a bit self-conscious in very little clothing, especially in her third trimester of pregnancy?!) but I truly wanted images that captured my belly and body during this special time of life. I'm very pleased with the finished products and am SO glad that I'll always have these images to cherish!
After the indoor shoot we traveled to Shaker Village for some outdoor shots. (You may remember this is where we shot our engagement photos a couple years ago! See: Engagement Pictures: Part I, Shaker Village) The first part of the session went smoothly, but near the end of the shoot, the sky became quite ominous, and in the middle of our session we received a nice, long soak! The rain poured and poured, but as it was quite warm outside (and we were already in the middle of a huge field), we pressed on! I think the final shots were some of my favorites, so it was worth it in the end! Thanks so much Erica Lee Photography! You're a trooper and we had a blast!
Below are a few of our favorites from our maternity session as well as our weekly update! Let me know what you think!
This was just after getting completely drenched!
Note the scraggly hair, haha!
How Far Along: 30 weeks
Total Weight Gain: 19 lbs
Stretchmarks: None
Sleep: Great
Best Moment this Week: Capturing this special time in our life with maternity photos!
Movement: Oh yes!
Gender: Baby boy
Labor Signs: None
Belly Button: In :-)
What I Miss: Nothing
What I am Looking Forward to: Next week's final Natural Labor class!
Milestones: Grayson is probably around 16" long and weighing in at around 3 pounds. This means that he's about as large as a head of cabbage! His little eyes, while receptive to light, will have poor vision for quite some time. This just means we'll have to keep him snuggled up close so that he can learn our faces :-)
30 Weeks
Til Next Time,
Hugs & Kisses,
A Southern Sweetheart
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