Baby Belly Pics

Maternity Photos

I'm so excited to be pregnant, especially since I thought I wouldn't be able to have another child.  I watch my mid section grow with joy and excitement.  I'm 36 years old!  My first child was born in 2006, so it's been a while.  With the ongoing medical concerns and now in the homestretch for delivery, I spontaneously got up one morning and said HEY I THINK I WILL DRIVE A FEW HOURS AND HAVE SOME MATERNITY PICS MADE TODAY! haha, and I did just that.

I have a wonderful photographer, that is artistic, creative and knows exactly what I would love.
I feel extremely thankful to be able to have such awesome memories in photographic form.  I  highly recommend expectant moms to takes pics, whether it is cell phone selfies or professional portraits.  Start snapping away!  Never think you look fat, bad or undesirable!  Believe it or not, pregnancy is a miraculous time and you should embrace it.  You will be very happy that you have those pics to gaze upon years down the road.  This is where your journey of motherhood begins.  It is special and God given.  There are all types of mothers, whether you are a woman that has bore or adopted, motherhood is very important.  Embrace every step!  Take pictures! Being a mom is the most important job you will ever hold.  You are your child's first teacher, first friend and first example.  You will cry and laugh, kiss boo boos and be their cheerleader.  Take pride and joy in your responsibilities.  Don't forget, your child is ALWAYS watching you.

I see you 3rd trimester!

At the beginning of the 3rd trimester there are all sorts of emotions going on!  It's the home stretch.

Now I am appearing most certainly pregnant.  I actually had a guy at work say, I didn't even knowyou  were pregnant until a couple days ago.  Uhhh, dude where you been?  My baby bump has been out for a while lol

The wiggles have turned into punches, and man oh man is he strong.  I love every hit, kick and turn.  My pregnancy symptoms have remained the same.  I have bouts of being super tired and my appetite is pretty stable also.  Being able to sit down and consume a whole meals is pretty awesome.  I love love love ice cream, I crave soda and can't get enough pineapples.  Even though I can cook spaghetti and the like just fine at home, it makes me want to PUKE to smell someone else making it out at a cafe or restaurant.  I keep trying to up my water intake (pssst...much better with a kool aid single).

So many concerns arise in the 3rd trimester.  Is my baby moving enough?  Did I feel him today?  Did I scratch my tummy too hard?  Oh no, I am laying on my back!  What is this discharge about?  Oh my goodness, there comes the braxton hicks.  Yep, a whole new set of worries and thoughts rushing through my mind alllllll day long.  There are times that random thoughts  do become serious I concerns.  If it's a worry, always call the Doctor.  My little man felt the need to not move for a while one day.  After calling the doctor, I had to report into the office for a look.  Come to find out, my amniotic fluid was a little low.  I hooked up the the monitor (NST) and waited.  After some stimulation and prodding, he perked right up and let us know he was just fine.  I rested  over the next couple days, raising my water intake.  The follow-up appointment showed improvetment and my fluid level became A-OK again.  This would not be the only scare he gives me!  At 32 weeks I went into L&D for the same cause, but this I had woke up around 3am unable to move and felt serious pain down my right side.  After a while, I could move a little and decided to go in to see what was happening.  I spent  a few hours at the hospital being monitored and having a couple labs drawn.  Contractions were actually showing up on the rhythm strip.  His heart rate was good and he started moving around.  Eventually I started feeling better, the contractions eased off and all became well again.  Lab test were fine.  The attending doctor said perhaps he was just pushing on a nerve and I am able to go home.  Shew, what a day!

Always some humor in things:
while in L&D, my husband just couldn't help but ask "how long are we gonna be here?" lol
Trust me, you better get settled in and familiar because when he is ready to come into this world, it's going to be an experience you will never forget.  If hanging out is tiring, just wait til time to birth! lol

2nd trimester

3 months down and 6 more to go!

So now everyone pretty much knows I am expecting a child.  I am turning 36 and having a baby, oh my.  My first child was born in 2006!  Can I even remember how to do this?

Oddly, I was feeling pretty good!  With my first I was extremely sick, had hospital stays and couldn't eat anything without throwing up the entire pregnancy.  This time, not so bad!  There have been mornings of dizziness and nausea, headaches and fatigue.  Startling heart palpitations have been concerning.  The oh so pleasant acid reflux has been terrible!  I mean, hey maybe I should not have ate that pizza but geez this chest pain is outrageous!  Yes, that was a trip  to the ER to make sure.
I have bonded well with Zantac, and have been a little more comfortable (until I lay down that is).


As the weeks have gone by, I couldn't wait to start feeling this little guy wiggle around in there.  I waited and waited, but guess what? ANTERIOR PLACENTA!  So my little guy has a little cushion in front of him.  Typically, that suggest that it is a little more difficult to feel the baby's kicks and punches.  Finally, around 22 weeks, I started feeling faint movements.  How happy was I!  It is a little tricky to describe to someone how that actually physically feels.  Those beginning movements have been described as many things such as gas bubbles to being like a fish in a bag of water hitting the sides of the bag.  Bubbles, wiggles, pops and shifts.... all happily accepted by me.  Those cute little "hey I'm in here" taps quickly turn into big shoves soon enough.

A big appointment during the 2nd trimester is the anatomy scan.  I was genuinely anticipating this appointment.  You see, I myself have a heart condition.  My first born has a serious heart condition.  At the anatomy scan, the DR would be taking a look at the baby's heart.  Anxious and optimistic, I watched as the tech and doctor viewed my little growing blessing.  At this point, the heart is still small but worth the initial exam.  By the end of the appointment, the doctor decided that he will repeat the fetal echo again in the 5th/6th month of pregnancy and review the heart throughout.  So far, things are looking good!  So you see, every time I hear/see that little heart beating, I rejoice.  So thankful for the life growing in my tummy.  I cherish every beat.

Oh, in January, this little guy measured in the 90th percentile.  Whoah!  (Thank you Jesus!)
He's looks to be a big boy.  He is a little shy to show his cute little face, but you guessed it! He has NO problem showing his boy bits.  SMH

Announcing the pregnancy

Hey I'm growing a human! So I wanted to see how long it would take for someone to put it all together and figure out the mystery. I would make a series of cleverly worded status post. I would add some intriguing pics suggestive of various things. This went on for a while (lol). I was so surprised that not one single person, other than the couple that I told out right, every figured it out! I finally just had to come out and say, WE ARE PREGNANT.

When to tell family & friends

 Yay, I'm pregnant!!

hmm... well, gotta really think about this.   When, and how, should we announce our joy?   Traditionally wait the suggested three months or just burst out posting on every social media outlet available?  Make clever little hints to people, or bluntly said I'm knocked up!  Perhaps I should enjoy my news privately and reflect on the blessing, which is what I chose to initially do.

My husband on the other hand, couldn't help himself.  He wanted to yell it from mountain tops.  This is his first child and I completely understand the excitement. Even though I explained to why I wanted some personal time to enjoy my pregnancy, he was so happy to let it out of the bag a little early to his mother, his father and brothers.  I however, withheld my announcement from family until I was ready,  I wanted to go through some more appointments first and settle into my gestational journey.  I started dropping hints that we are expecting in November, which were hilarious!  SEVERAL days went by without a single person catching on.

Finally, I just had to state HEY WE ARE HAVING A BABY!  Immediate family members expressed joy at the news and of course some concern due to my medical history.  I have kept things mostly personal and private concerning my pregnancy between my husband and I, which has helped the stress level for myself.  I already know the risks and concerns, I didn't need the added stress from others constantly questioning the process. Now, I can share some exciting news from time to time!  I was excited to share his gender, his heart rate and how big he was growing each appointment.  I was also excited to choose his name and share that with our close family and friends.

Busy start

I immediately sorted out all the risk associated with being pregnant with my current situation.  I am over 35 (36 during pregnancy) with a heart condition, along with a previous diagnosis of endometriosis.  I knew I had to inform my cardiologist immediately.  So the next business day after I got a positive pregnancy test, I called the doctor's office.  After leaving a message for the doctor's nurse, I waited for their call back.  Didn't take long!  After relaying my news to the doctor, I was scheduled for an office visit the same week.  The nurse informed me I will be considered high risk.  My next call was to the OB/GYN,  Initially I went in to my same OB that delivered my first child, several years ago.  After the first two weeks, my care was completely transferred over to perinatal specialists.  From there, this amazing pregnancy journey began.

The doctors were very matter of fact from the beginning.  I would be high risk for a few serious complications  We could be looking at pre term labor, induction, c section, and heart failure along with various other factors.  I knew those would all be concerns.  Pregnancy wasn't recommended for me, and I never thought I would have another child.  I feel very blessed and I do thank GOD constantly for this baby I am carrying.

The duration of my pregnancy would include blood draws, test, regular ultrasounds of various levels, cardiology checks, symptom reporting, and of course, fatigue.  I have never felt overwhelmed, but always appreciative and continually thankful,  Smiling at each pregnancy milestone I accomplished.  I even managed to work my job until my third trimester!  I can still feel the emotion of seeing and hearing the baby's heartbeat the first time.  Seeing how much my baby had grown from the prior week to the next was completely fulfilling.  I also received the genetic testing at 9/10 weeks and found at at 11 weeks that those test looked good and I was indeed having a BOY.  I did feel as if I am carrying a precious baby boy, so when the nurse confirmed I couldn't contain my excitement.  I yelled at her, "I just knew he was a boy!"  I couldn't wait to tell my husband, and even called him at work.

Recalling that first positive pregnancy test

Seems like you been pregnant forever? Yeah, me to.    I vividly recall my immediate feelings when viewing that first positive pregnancy test .  I was ecstatic!  At that moment, I could not have been more happy.  I quickly withdrew that feeling,   I thought, "I need to make sure first."  After all, I am of "advanced maternal age" and a medical history that would suggest I would not have anymore children (I am blessed to have one already).  Four test over three brands later, I accepted that yes, this is happening!

My husband actually suggested that I am pregnant.  I repeatedly  denied that I could be.  He even went out and bough the test!  So the following morning around 8am, I woke up.  He did also, and rushed to asked "Do you have to pee!?"  So yes, I had to go pee.  Opening the test, and expecting a negative reading, I proceed to utilize the HPT he bought.  I waited a minute, as I watched the test turn positive.  I smile, staring at the two lines while pleased and shocked at the same time.  I casually lay the precious stick on the vanity and walked back into the bedroom.  As if he was so sure, he asked what the test showed.  I explained, "well it says positive but that doesn't mean anything.  I should take another one."  Throughout the day, I took three additional test - all positive.