My pregnancy in pictures

I've told the story of my pregnancy through my ultrasound pictures, but everyone knows when you're pregnant all others really care about is the belly! So I'll start from the beginning. Hubs and I found out we were pregnant the same day the offer on our house was accepted. It was a crazy crazy day, and one I'll forever remember. Of course I took pictures of the positive test, but they were on my old cell phone and that went kaputz before I saved them. So here's the first picture of me pregnant on the day we closed on our house. I was about eight weeks pregnant and still feeling great. I was pretty tired, but had no morning sickness and no real cravings. But I did start the nesting process early- we moved into our house when I was pregnant, what do you expect! I couldn't wait to find out if baby was a boy or girl so I could put nursery plans into action.

I told myself before I got pregnant that I would take weekly pictures, and I actually had every intention of resurrecting the blog then. But as the first trimester passed, I realized I hadn't taken any pictures because I just didn't feel pregnant- I felt fat. I'm going to be completely honest here. I didn't love what pregnancy did to my body early in the process. One day I woke up and my hips had expanded and my thighs were rubbing together (which is really annoying in hot weather). I felt like I had no shape whatsoever, and I just didn't feel beautiful like so many women say they feel when they're pregnant. Another detail the perfect blog world doesn't talk about is that in order to take belly photos, you have to actually have someone to take them! Hubs doesn't get home from work until I've already changed out of my work clothes and put on my stretchy pants. So was I seriously going to get dressed, touch up my make-up, and take the picture with a self-timer? Sounded like a lot of energy for this tired lady.



But as my belly grew I focused more on that and less on my expanding love handles. I realized I needed to capture this pregnancy before it passed me by. So here I am around 15 weeks, starting to feel good about my bump, and really starting to get excited about the changes happening to my body- love handles and all.

When I was 18 weeks pregnant, I went on a girl's trip to Martha's Vineyard. I snapped this picture before I went, and I feel like in that weekend on vacation there was a visible difference in the size of my bump (of course only noticeable to me!). I felt good, but it was the middle of the summer and I was starting to understand why it's better to be in your second trimester than in your third in the summer- the heat is exhausting!

Here I am at 18 weeks, friend S at 28 weeks, and friend L at 32 weeks. I swore I looked like I had a belly but nobody noticed when I stood next to these girls!

I even enjoyed a few non-alcoholic brewskis while I was on the trip. Made me feel like I was a little more fun to be around, when all I could really think about is what restaurant we would go to next and how chubby I looked in my bathing suit.

Hubs and I celebrated our half-way 20 week mark with a trip to one of my favorite local restaurants Longhorn Steakhouse, or as his family calls it "not the Outback". A few weeks earlier, my Dr. told me that my anemia had gotten worse and I needed to take a serious iron supplement. I used this as an excuse whenever I could to eat a steak:)

20 weeks!

Another belly shot at 21 weeks- I think after 20 weeks I really started to feel like I looked pregnant instead of just bloated. This is when I started taking more belly pictures. I wish I had more pictures of me early in my pregnancy. Next time, I'll just suck it up and take them even if I feel bloated and not pregnant- it's worth it for the memories. My mom sent me this maternity jean skirt for my birthday, and it was the first maternity item I wore. What sweet relief! Next time I'll also start wearing maternity clothes WAY earlier- I now wish I could wear maternity wear and stretchy pants all the time!

23 weeks in Maine. This is when other people started to notice I was pregnant, and it made me feel kinda good. I actually put on a bathing suit, and for once on the beach I didn't have to suck it all in! We went out to dinner one night and walked around the amusement park, but all I could think about was what I would order at Dairy Queen when we got home. Ice cream was a very serious subject at 23 weeks.

Around 28 weeks, I really felt like I had popped. People at work were calling me "huge" and I started to get the "are you sure you're not having twins?" remark. Why do people say that, anyway? Do they think it makes a pregnant woman feel good? Like she's doing a good job of getting fat? I've never understood that, and it's definitely something I won't be saying to anyone. This is also when my face started to change a little. I didn't quite get the Bethanny Frankel pregnant jowls, but I filled out a bit for sure. I'm convinced if I had gone full-term, my nose would've taken over my face. How a nose swells, I have no idea- but it did. Lucky for me, it didn't stay that way:)

 At 28 weeks, hubs sister got married and I made my best effort to party hardy 7.5 months preggers. Sure my feet were swollen and I would've loved to take part in the champagne toast, but I actually loved dressing up and feeling pampered. Hubs' family really made me feel a part of the wedding party, and I had my hair and make-up done which made me feel beautiful and special.

I really wish I had more pictures of us that night, but you can see my belly a little better in this photo- this was a non-maternity dress I found at Macys. I purchased two sizes and wore the one that fit me best that night! 

I mentioned we were in the hospital around 30 weeks for steroid injections. I was nervous, and anxious that if baby did come, I wouldn't be prepared to handle if anything went wrong. This is when I started to realize that I needed to mentally prepare myself for the unexpected- like a c-section or a nicu baby. It made me sad to even consider these things, but I just had to deal with them before Luca made his arrival.

I snapped this picture at 31 weeks because at this point I was way too tired to get dressed and set up the camera for a portrait. I still felt great, but moving around was taking a lot more energy!

Around 33 weeks my MIL hosted my baby shower! My in-laws were seriously amazing throughout my pregnancy- my MIL came to every appointment when hubs couldn't come, and it was so nice to have a support system at every appointment "just in case". About this time people started to tell me I was starting to drop, and others were telling me I was in for the long haul. I squeezed my feet into heels for one of the last times, and I was feeling pretty good! About a week after this, my feet started to swell, and well... it wasn't pretty and that's why I don't have a picture!

My last belly picture before our maternity photos- feeling pretty good, but not exactly ready for the little man's early arrival!

I'm sure I can't be the only one who didn't document my pregnancy with weekly belly photos, right? Next time I swear I will...