Can you believe it? Ella is one month old! Time flies by when you have a newborn. They grow so much in just a few weeks. It still amazes me to think we have had her for a whole month. Ella is a doll and we just can’t get enough of her. Below are some photos of her during her first month as well as a recap of her milestones.
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Ella’s One Month Old Update:
Our precious Ella girl loves to eat and sleep. She smiles for us when she is full and satisfied. Ella is so easy going and only cries when she’s hungry, and boy does she let us know she’s hungry. She eats very well and is probably why she’s in the 8oth percentile. She is growing like a weed. I hope she gets some rolls in her long legs. We currently do a mix of breastfeeding and formula feeding with Ella. It allows me to have more freedom to do things and not be stuck with a strict breastfeeding schedule.
We have been using Taking Cara Baby sleep tips and schedule and it has helped so much in getting a routine. Ella currently sleeps in a bassinet in our room, and occasionally in our bed when she needs a little extra cuddles. We have been using her nursery for nap times during the day and she does so well sleeping on her own. Night times are still rough as we still only get 3-4 hour stretches which is normal in the first few months for newborns. Luckily Josh has been home and has taken over all the night time duties, so I get extra sleep in. I’m definitely worried when he goes back to work next month if I’ll be able to handle it on my own.
Ella loves listening to her big brother and daddy crack jokes, and is always up to play and dance with them. We have been out and about with her and she does so well in public, and will sleep through just about anything. Loud restaurants, baseball games, ect. The girl is so laid back and only cries if she’s hungry. I’ve been able to breast feed her in public with no problem. I actually prefer it over bottle feeding because it helps prevent my boobs from leaking lol!
Cheeto loves being around Ella. He and Rotel (our dog) are her little protectors. It’s the cutest thing. Jayden is doing amazing at being a Big brother. He is so helpful around the house and helping with his little sister. I love watching their relationship grow!
Ella is definitely Josh’s twin, and a Daddy’s girl. Look at these two. She didn’t want to sleep in her bassinet so Josh has been sleeping with her in his arms. It’s the cutest thing!
Look at those lips. I can’t get enough of the newborn snuggles and all of her cute little sleep faces.
This past month has been a whirl wind watching our Ella girl grow. We have loved every second being home with her. She is truly a blessing, and I am so thankful to be her momma. I can’t wait to see what the next month will bring! I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you are doing well! It will be almost been a month since we had our little babe Ella Dawn. Today I am finally sharing Ella’s birth story. It’s still crazy to look back and think all of what happened actually happened. It almost feels surreal to think I almost lost my life at one point. Ella’s birth story was nothing I expected, but it changed my life in so many ways. It has made me stronger in my faith and helped me appreciate the little things more. Read more of Ella’s birth story below.
It all started Thursday May 26th. It was Jayden’s last day of school and I was had my 37 week appointment with my doctor that day. My doctor told me she had found protein in my urine and if my blood pressure was past 140 to call Labor and delivery because I might have preeclampsia. At my appointment and all my previous appointments my blood pressure was normal so this was the first time she had mentioned it. But I was swollen so that could have been another symptom of preeclampsia too.
After our doctor appointment we bought a blood pressure checker so we could monitor my blood pressure at home. Luckily we did because later that night we would check it and it was over 150! I knew something was off because I was more lethargic than normal and I wasn’t very hungry. I didn’t feel like my normal self. We called the hospital and they told us to come in that night. My mom came to pick up Jayden to stay the night at my parents house since it was late.
At the hospital they did a blood test, urine test, and checked my blood pressure and all came positive for preeclampsia. The on call doctor said we would have to be induced and have our baby ASAP as that would be the only cure for preeclampsia. If left untreated could be fatal for the mom and baby. So midnight Thursday night we were admitted to labor and delivery where they started me on twelve hours of the first of my labor inducing treatment.
This photo was taken Friday morning before starting Pitocin, getting my epidural, and having my water broken. The inducing process was easy and much more relaxed than my first labor experienced. We had a game plan, our room was very nice, and the nurses were very kind and accommodating. I didn’t feel rushed so I felt like we could enjoy the process more.
The only thing that worried me was that my doctor who I was seeing and delivered Jayden would not be on call to deliver our baby girl. This was the only downside with being part of a bigger hospital group was the inflexibility for OBGYN’s to deliver their own patients. I had heard too many horror stories of births gone wrong because the doctor who delivered was not the original doctor and had no prior relationship with the patient. A horror story that I would soon live through that night…
It was early Saturday morning I would deliver my baby girl at 3:16 AM. The labor process had been easy. I had been with wonderful nurses through the whole process. I had only met the on call delivery doctor once prior to delivering to adjust the position of Ella’s head during the labor process. I was in the final pushes when the doctor returned, and I remember it was the hardest five minutes of pushing of my life. I could actually feel it this time around and I almost thought I would quit during the worse of it. But then Josh told me he could see her head, and that gave me the last momentum to push her out. It was one of the happiest moments of my life.
Ella was born perfectly healthy. I did not have any tears nor require any stitches. But it went downhill from there. After the delivery everything happened so quickly. I remember, not even moments after her birth, the delivery doctor cutting her umbilical cord and tearing the placenta out of me. It was a different experience from my original doctor who delivered Jayden. She allowed me to have skin on skin with Jayden while he was still attached to my placenta, and I was able to deliver my placenta naturally.
After taking out my placenta my body kept on bleeding and I was gushing out huge blood clots. Josh said it looked like a murder scene. My body had not stopped laboring so when she removed the placenta it was continuing to bleed. This photo below was the last photo my husband took of me holding Ella before they had to wheel me to the OR to stop the bleeding.
Josh said it was the longest four hours of his life. He was all alone with Ella not knowing what had happened to me. Apparently I had lost so much blood that I had to have a blood transfusion. They also had to preform a D&C but realized that didn’t stop the bleeding. There was no tears, nothing wrong with my uterus physically other than the fact that wouldn’t stop bleeding. The only solution that worked was blowing up a balloon in my uterus to stop the bleeding.
After the OR they wheeled me to ICU for recovery. I woke up to feeling myself uncontrollably defecating on the hospital bed because of the medication they gave. My poor husband was by my side with tears in his eyes from worry and fear of losing me. For two nights I stayed in the ICU while they monitored to make sure I did not have any internal bleeding. I had to have the balloon in me for almost two days to make sure it stopped the bleeding before they removed it. If it didn’t work I would have to go into surgery again, and or possibly get a hysterectomy which would mean I wouldn’t be able to have another baby. But thankfully that was not the case.
During my time in the ICU, my mom, mother in law, and grandmother in law came to take shifts to stay with Ella in labor and delivery since Josh wouldn’t leave my side. I only got to see Ella a couple times during my stay when they would roll her down so I could breast feed her. It wasn’t until Monday when they discharged me from the ICU that I got to spend my first full day and night with her.
I don’t know what I would have done without our family being there to help us. It made us thankful that we decided to stay close versus build a house an hour away from our family. I don’t think I ever want to be far away from my family again. They did so much for us. Brought us meals, made sure Ella had all the love and attention she could get while her parents were in the ICU. God showed us how truly important family is during one of the toughest times of our life.
During this whole crazy ordeal also made me appreciate my husband so much more. He really stepped it up. Since I was bed ridden I couldn’t get up to take care of Ella. Josh did it all. The late night feedings, diaper changes, and helped me when I needed to breast feed her. He made sure I had everything I needed, and waited on me hand and foot while taking care of our little girl. God truly blessed me with the best husband. I honestly don’t know what I would do without him.
Monday, several hours after taking this picture and thinking we would be going home we were told I would need to stay two more days, where I would be administered a twenty four hour magnesium treatment in order to prevent me from having a brain seizure from high blood pressure due to my Preeclampsia turning into severe preeclampsia. It was so hard for me to comprehend that I just almost died once from severe blood loss, but I could also die from having a stroke.
Above is a photo of me on my magnesium treatment. Out of all the days I was at the hospital, this was the worse. I thought my face was on fire, and I felt like I had a severe case of the flu which were all normal symptoms of my magnesium treatment. Luckily I had these cooling cat face sheet mask in my toiletry bag because it gave me temporary relief from my face feeling like it was burning.
It was hard for me to mentally cope with the fact that I was purposely making myself feel like sick in order to prevent myself from having a seizure. At one point I had a panic attack because I couldn’t sleep, and my nose was so stuffed I couldn’t breath. I felt like the room was closing in on me, and I thought would never leave the hospital. I thought if I fell asleep I wouldn’t wake up and wouldn’t get to see Jayden again. Josh had to comfort me and I eventually fell asleep after the nurses gave me Benadryl. I never prayed so hard in my life that I could make it out of the hospital and finally get home to be with all my babies. That day truly tested my faith.
During my whole time at the hospital and for two months before Ella’s birth I listened to Christian Hypnobirthing App. It helped me focus on my faith over fear and gave me strength when I needed it the most. I would 100% recommend it. It helped me get through one of the most scary times of my life.
Below is Josh massaging my feet while I was bed ridden and in the worse state of my life. Nothing test your love and makes it grow stronger than having a husband who is there and won’t leave your side when you are at your worse.
So glad I brought my Boppy pillow, and my favorite $5 plush doggy blanket I got in Montana when we visited Yellowstone last year. It made my six day hospital stay more comfortable. Those hospital beds are not very comfortable especially when you are attached to so many wires and an IV! Below are my other hospital essentials which I would highly recommend bringing:
This Mama robe and breast feeding friendly gownwas so much more comfortable to be in than my hospital gown the last couple days I was in the hospital. I also brought this cute night shirtwhich I ended up using when I had to extend my stay at the hospital. I would definitely recommend bringing extra clothing just in case you end up staying longer. There was nothing more refreshing than being able to take a shower and change into nice comfortable clothing after giving birth.
I had to share this photo of this door ornament my mom made for Ella because of the story behind it. During my stay there were two other women who gave birth to girls who stayed next to me. They already had names picked out so they had these cute custom name decor for their doors. My mom thought the hospital made them for the patients, and because I didn’t have a name picked out for Ella I didn’t have one on my door. So while she was staying with Ella in our room in the maternity ward while I was in the ICU, she would constantly text me name ideas for Ella and tell me I needed to pick out a name so I could get a cute name tag for our room. Finally when I was transferred back to the maternity ward, I asked the nurses if they made those cute name decor for the doors. They clarified they didn’t and the patient’s brought it themselves. I didn’t know that was a thing, but apparently it is now days. So when my mom found out she went straight to Hobby Lobby and made us one for our door. How cute did it turn out? My mom always goes out her way to make things extra special.
You can read more about the meaning behind Ella’s name and our special contribution to my mom:
The happiest day of my life, finally getting out of the hospital and going home to be with both my babies. I missed Jayden the most during my six days at the hospital. It still brings tears to my eyes when I think about the possibility of never seeing him again. I still look back and remember praying so hard to just get through the day so I could be reunited with my son. It was the longest six days of my life being away from him. I thank God everyday for answering my prayers and keeping alive so I could come home to my babies. They are my everything.
Jayden meeting and holding his little sister for the first time. He said that was the best day of his life for his family to be home. I will never forget his little face and excitement. This is a moment I will cherish forever.
Can you believe at three weeks early Ella was as big as Jayden who came almost a week late? Imagine how big she would be if she came out full term? She definitely takes after her daddy in appearance and size! I’m so glad she came out when she did. Plus that was three extra weeks we got to spend with her, and we have soaked up every moment of it!
They say nothing is stronger than a mom, and that’s the truth! Birth is a beautiful thing but it also can be scary. Preeclampsia is no joke, and it can happen to anyone at anytime. I was one of the luckier ones who was able to catch it early. Thankful for the doctors and nurses who took care of me.
Ella’s birth story was one of the happiest and scariest days of my life. That experience has made me appreciate my time at home with my babies so much more. I look back and can’t help but just be thankful for my family, for all that God has given me. It was truly an experience that has strengthened my faith and made me stronger.
Hope you are doing well! I can’t believe baby girl is already here. Technically her due date is not until next week, but she came sooner than scheduled. I wanted to share with you our last and final family maternity photoshoot we took, and the last shoot we took as a family of three. I will forever cherish these photos. Check them out below!
My handsome little man! I can’t believe he is a big brother. Truly thankful God blessed me with him as my first born. He is truly something special. The little boy of my dreams come true.
I can never get enough of these photos with me and Josh. It just captures our love and relationship so perfectly. He always makes me laugh and honestly don’t know what I would do without him. He is my rock and the love of my life!
I love this tulle maternity gown. It was the perfect color of yellow for this shoot. As you know yellow is my favorite color, so it was nice to have instead of the typical pink, white, or blue most people have for their maternity photoshoots.
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I’m so thankful I took our family maternity photoshoot when I did at thirty one weeks, because if I had waited any longer it would have been miserable for me since I started swelling at thirty five weeks. I would highly recommend getting maternity photos done before the third trimester, before it just gets uncomfortable. These photos I will forever cherish as our last family photoshoot as a family of three. I can’t get enough of my favorite guys. But happy to be adding our little princess in the mix.
For more pregnancy photos check out these post below!
If you haven’t heard from us lately it’s because we have been busy with our newest arrival our little Princess Ella Dawn Darnell. Born Saturday May 28th at 3:16 AM, at 37 weeks, weighing 7lbs, and 20 inches long. It was a very eventful birth that will have to be shared in another post, but today I wanted to officially introduce our newest member and share a little story behind her name. Read more below.
During her whole pregnancy we didn’t have a name picked out. I wanted to wait to see when she was born to name her. Plus with her being due so close to my mother’s birthday was another factor. Either she was going to be born a Taurus like me or a Gemini like my mom. Well she ended up being born in May versus June which was the month of my mom’s birthday, but she was still born a Gemini like my mom instead of a Taurus like me.
Then when she was born I had complications postpartum that resulted in me being separated from her for almost two days only getting to see her an hour at a time. It wasn’t until the third day after giving birth were we finally able to spend the whole day with her. And with the help of my my husband, brother, and her big brother Jayden we finally came up with the name. Literally within hours before the birth certificate lady came to make her name official. We did ask her to make sure it wasn’t a popular name since we wanted her name to be unique to her. She confirmed it wasn’t and one she hadn’t heard in the years she had worked at the hospital.
I love the name Ella. It means light, beautiful maiden, Goddess, & All. Ella was a shortened version of my mom’s name Eloisa, and Dawn after me and the fact that she was born early in the morning. Ella Dawn named after two generation of strong women in her family. A light of a new day, fitting for her birth story which I will share with ya’ll soon.
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We are so thankful baby girl is home with us. She is just a perfect addition to our family. Ella Dawn loves to eat and sleep, and listen to her big brother and dad crack jokes. They already have funny nicknames for her! Jayden wants to call her Bobble head, and Josh calls her McChinnigans because she has a double chin. This poor girl is going to have a tough skin born in a home full of jokesters lol! We are taking this time to enjoy every moment with her so I may not be so consistent in posting this next couple weeks on the blog. Thank you so much for following along. For more baby girl updates check out my highlights on my Instagram!
This is my last official pregnancy fashion post. At this point I’m currently living in loose bump friendly dresses like this Pregnancy Friendly Paisley Dress. This dress is perfect for summer and can be worn after pregnancy too. I am wearing my normal size small. I love not having to buy maternity clothes, and instead buy non-maternity outfits that fit my bump that I can also wear when I am not pregnant. Check out more of this cute paisley dress below!
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Summer is just around the corner and whether you are attending a bridal shower, baby shower, or just a day at the beach this pregnancy friendly paisley dress a versatile piece to add to your wardrobe. I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you are having a great week! Answering your questions and giving you a 36 week update on my pregnancy with baby girl. Sharing the good and the bad from pregnancy symptoms, weight gain, to potential baby names. Read more below!
36 Weeks Pregnancy Update
Current Cravings
It’s been non stop sweets and carbs for me. I can’t get enough of my local donut shop’s glazed donuts and Lindt Lindor 5 Flavor Chocolate Truffles. This girl better come out sweet for the amount of sweets I’ve been eating lol!
Pregnancy Symptoms
From my sciatica, swollen feet, carpal tunnel, and Pregnancy rhinitis my pregnancy has gotten very uncomfortable. I’ve been seeing the chiropractor every week which helps so much with my sciatica. Josh also got me this leg and compression massager which helps too! At this point my only shoes I can wear are these sandals because of how swollen my feet as gotten.
Weight Gain
I’ve gained over 40lbs and the swelling hasn’t helped. Plus this girl is in the 70% percentile and already measured 6lbs at 35 weeks! She is so much bigger than Jayden, and all this extra weight I’m carrying is very uncomfortable. I can’t even bend over or get up without assistance. I’m not worried about the weight gain as I am pushing out a big 9-10lb baby. Currently walking a mile, doing lunges, jumping jacks, and ball sits to get this girl out naturally before she gets too big!
Jayden training to be a big brother with Cheeto. Cheeto enjoying his time as the baby until baby girl gets here. Can you believe how much my belly has grown from 20 weeks to 35 weeks!
Due Date
We just had our 36 week appointment this week and it doesn’t look like baby girl is coming anytime soon. I am only one centimeter dilated! My due date is technically June 15, but I am praying she makes her arrival soon. Hopefully in May so she can be a Taurus like me, but if she’s born in June then she will be Gemini like my mom. It’s like God’s way of answering my mom’s wish when I gave her a hard time as a teen and she would say, “One day you are going to have a daughter who will treat you like how you treat me.” My girl would be my mom’s mini and Karma coming to get me lol!
Name for Baby Girl
We don’t have an official name for baby girl because I am waiting to see if she will be a May baby or June baby. I feel like her birthday will determine her name. Like I said I’m secretly hoping for a May baby or I might have to name her after my mom lol!
Hoping this is the last update before baby girl makes her arrival. With Jayden I was almost a week late. Here is a post I wrote seven years ago when I first started blogging and I was documenting my time as a first time mom.
Praying I don’t have another late baby but who knows! She will come when she is ready. I definitely won’t stop trying natural ways to induce her. But we will see!
Can’t believe we only have two weeks school of school left, and then it will be Memorial weekend. We currently have no plans but to hopefully have a safe delivery of baby girl. But I did want to share this pretty non maternity bump friendly summer red dressbut can be worn before, during, and after pregnancy. It’s the perfect Memorial Day dress. Check out more of this look below!
Bump Friendly Summer Red Dress
How cute are these MAMA earrings my friend got me for my birthday. I found some very similar and comes in several different colors! It’s hard not to collect them all!
As you can see I’m shoeless because at this point my feet had swollen too big to fit my sandals! I am currently living in these $15 slides for now until baby girl makes her appearance.
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I’ve been living in dresses lately because it’s the only comfortable thing to wear in the summer when you are nine months pregnant. This bump friendly summer red dress comes in two other colors and you can get 40% OFF with my discount code DAWN40. Check out more bump friendly summer dresses below!
Hope you have a great week! Officially 35 weeks and we finally packed our hospital bag. This time we are much more prepared than we were seven years ago now that we know what to expect. I remember the one thing I disliked about our first experience was how uncomfortable we were during our hospital stay after delivering our baby. So this time around I added some a few things that would make our stay so much better. Check out What’s in My Hospital Bag As A Second Time Mom below!
What’s in My Hospital Bag:
Hospital Bag Checklist:
For Packing:
Rolling Luggage– Love a good rolling luggage to put baby, hubby, and my things in for our overnight stay at the hospital. Easy to maneuver and load things on.
Weekender/Mom Bag – I love this monogrammed bag as my mom bag. I put all my labor essentials in this bag.
Makeup Case – Best traveling case to store your makeup. It’s not a necessity but great for getting ready for photos.
Hanging Toiletry Bag – This is a must especially since most hospital rooms lack counter space in their bathrooms. Having a hanging toiletry bag saves space and is easy to pack.
Packing Cubes – These are so convenient for separating and packing baby’s, hubby’s, and my clothes and keeping it organized.
For Baby:
Polaroid – For capturing unedited candid moments during this special time.💛
Car Seat/Stroller – We got the Doona because it’s an all in one and so much easier to transport than carrying a car seat. That was one thing I wish we had seven years ago when I had Jayden. I still remember the pain of having to lug a car seat around.
Portable Sound Machine – This is great for white noise for baby since hospital rooms are not always the quietest areas for sleeping babies.
Going Home Outfit – This is a great two piece set to bring for baby’s going home outfit.
For Mom:
During Labor:
Portable Fan – Great for keeping cool and comfortable during labor. Also great for baby for attaching to her stroller to keep her cool during the summer.
Blanket/Pillow – Provide extra comfort for sleeping on the couch in the hospital rooms.
HOW I ORGANIZED MY HOSPITAL BAG:
For my hospital bag I separated the things I need for labor in my mommy weekender bag, and the things for our stay at the hospital in the luggage. That way we don’t have to bring it in until after I deliver. I separated all of our clothes for baby, hubs, and mine in separate packing cubes for better organization. I brought my LV tote because it has all my other travel essentials and one of my favorite travel bags. To see what I pack in my LV check out the post below!
Hope you are having a great week! Today I wanted to share this easy $20 DIY Nursery changing table makeover I did for baby girl. I loved the idea of having a butterfly mirror but didn’t want to pay the price. So I did this easy $10 DIY for the mirror and another $10 for the upgraded drawer pulls for the dresser. Check out more of this DIY below!
For the nursery we bought this pretty DaVinci Baby dresser and this $50 round mirror. To customize the mirror I bought a pack of $6 butterfly stickers to put around it. I saw another blogger do this DIY and I thought it was such a great idea. The stickers aren’t permanent so when baby girl grows out of her nursery we can still use the mirror for whatever theme she likes.
For the dresser, I found these gold pulls for $9 to change out the original white nobs. I love how it pulls everything together. This changing table dresser is the perfect size for baby girls nursery.
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I can’t wait to share the full nursery reveal. You can check out my Instagram highlight sharing my current progress of the nursery here. I hope you enjoyed this this easy $20 DIY Nursery changing table makeover I did for baby girl. Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you are doing well! Today I wanted to share our journey to become foster parents this year with The Sanctuary. Adoption has always been something we wanted to do as parents, but didn’t realize till a couple years ago that our pathway to adoption would take us to become foster parents. In my heart I’ve always envisioned having school age sibling sets to become part of our family. We had originally thought about waiting a couple years, but I felt God was calling us to do it sooner. We started in April with our classes and finally after many life changes and overcoming hurdles we became licensed last month. Read more below on what we had to do to get to where we are today in our foster care journey.
When we started our journey last April we had taken a break from trying to have another child. We also didn’t think we would sell our house and buy a farm in the middle of it. So after finishing our foster classes in the summer we were in between homes from selling our home to moving to an apartment temporarily, to moving to a rent home. As much as we wanted to be licensed and have children in our home we didn’t have a permanent home to do so.
While in the process of figuring out if we were going to build on our farm or not, we ended up getting pregnant to our surprise, especially after having two previous losses in the past two years. Not only were we juggling trying to build a home, but navigate a new pregnancy too. Thankfully our foster care agency The Sanctuary were able to get us certified before our classes expired even though we would only be able to do temporary respite care until we had a more permanent home solution.
In the midst of all of this we decided building a home on our farm that would leave us an hour away from our foster care agency, our family who could help especially with a little one on the way, and Josh’s work wouldn’t be the best idea. So we recently decided to find a home closer to our family and our agency whether we build one our find one that is move in ready.
We had the opportunity to do respite care for a two year old which gave us a taste of what it would be like. I know it isn’t going to be easy, but we know it is God’s plans for us to serve these children and be a place where they can feel safe and at home whether it’s temporary or a permanent placement.
One of the reasons we chose our foster care agency The Sanctuary was because of their faith based mission and that not only do they go above and beyond for their foster families but also for the biological parents who are willing to work and get the help they need to be reunified with their children. I know it isn’t easy being a single parent, or a parent who has been in a cycle of abuse. It’s is not us to judge, but to do what is best to help these children whether that means reunification with their bio parents or becoming their permanent placement or adoptive parents.
For anyone looking to become foster parents, to adopt, or simply to just help out when they can by providing respite care I recommend to do your research when it comes to foster care agency in your area and find one that fits you and your core values. Not every agency is created equally, nor do they provide the same services. We are so thankful our friend recommend our foster care agency The Sanctuary to us because it is exactly where we are meant to be.
Our shirts are from Together We Rise an organization that donates its proceeds to helping foster care children.
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Hope you are having a great week! This Saturday I officially turn 34! It’s an extra special birthday because baby girl will be arriving shortly after. This is the first birthday I have had where I am pregnant. Last pregnancy we conceived Jayden around my 26th birthday. He was quite a birthday surprise! But exactly what we needed. So thankful for these two birthday blessings God has given me. For my first pregnancy I didn’t appreciate my body as I should have. It wasn’t after experiencing two pregnancy losses did I truly appreciate the gift it was to carry life into this world. So for this birthday I wanted to share these beautiful 34th birthday maternity photoshoot my friend Eliana at Gem Galleries took for me in my third trimester.
I love these modern studio style maternity photos! They were definitely out of my comfort zone but love how they turned out! As I get older I find myself appreciating my body more and more as I know it is only getting older. God gave us one body and we have to treat it like the temple that it is and never take for granted the gift of life that it gives us and sustains us. In my thirties I have seen more and more women go through cancer scares, miscarriages, and even unexpected loss. It could happen to any of us, but all we can do is appreciate what we are given today. Who knows what tomorrow will bring, but today we will celebrate life for all that it is.
Looking back at these photos even though it was only a couple weeks ago I am so thankful I took these when I did. Because now as I get closer to my due date it is definitely getting harder and harder with my swollen ankles, stretch marks, and acid reflux. But these photos will be a constant reminder of the beauty of pregnancy even in the thick of it when our body goes through so many changes. So to all my mommas second guessing if they should take maternity photos, do it. Because you never know if it will be your last. These nine months go faster than you think.
I hope you enjoyed this post and my 34th birthday maternity photoshoot. Thanks for stopping by!
Hope you are having a great week! Today I wanted to share these beautiful maternity photos I took before my baby shower, and share my thoughts on overcoming fear and anxiety during pregnancy, especially after experiencing pregnancy loss prior to this pregnancy. It’s definitely something I battle with everyday. Making it to my third trimester is something to be celebrated. Read more below on what has helped me overcome fear and anxiety during pregnancy.
Overcoming Fear and Anxiety During Pregnancy
With this pregnancy versus my first I have taken advantage of all the fun maternity photoshoots because I know I will enjoy these memories to look back to. And more so since I have experienced loss. It’s been a constant battle to not let my fears and anxiety take over and ruin the joys of being pregnant. My first twenty weeks were the hardest. I bought my own personal baby doppler just so I could listen to the baby’s hear beat everyday. It gave me daily reassurance knowing she was still thriving in my belly.
Another thing that helped was sharing my fears and anxiety with my friends and fellow mamas who had experienced the same loss as me, and or were going through the same thing with their pregnancy. I feel like having friends who can relate and confide to helped me so much in calming my fears and anxiety. As much as I loved confiding with my husband, it wasn’t the same as another mom who has been through it.
I also prayed everyday during this pregnancy. I prayed for guidance, reassurance, and also just to thank God for getting me through the day. Knowing that I couldn’t control everything, I had to leave it to God and have faith that whatever happened was for a reason. And that regardless I would be thankful for everything I have been lucky to have so far in this pregnancy. My faith has always been the biggest factor in me getting through some of the hardest things in my life. Faith over fear is my mantra through life. Also being a mom, and having losses has made me stronger as a person. It’s true when they say you never know true strength until you become a mother.
It can be easy to let fear and anxiety ruin such an exciting time in you life. Pregnancy is not easy. There is so much to worry about, and it doesn’t get any easier after having the baby either. But I have found that in order to truly appreciate life, this pregnancy, and all it has to offer I had to stop worrying about the what ifs, the things I couldn’t control. Instead I focused on celebrating the little things, buying baby clothes, having a baby shower, capturing these moments with beautiful maternity shoots, planning a nursery, ect.
SHOP OUTFIT:
We found this small corner with these gorgeous arched windows and the lighting was just stunning. These maternity photos are a beautiful reminder of everything I have been through. I’m so thankful I was able to capture these. I know I will miss this stage of my pregnancy when it’s over. I hope you enjoyed this post. Thanks for stopping by!
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