It all began back in June of 2012...
Well technically earlier than that, cause I started to get the impression that it was time to invite a little spirit from heaven into our family. We knew that we'd be getting health insurance starting in June through Tod's employer as he went to a full time position after graduating with his Bachelors degree in Computer Science in April of 2012. That also gave us some comfort because we knew that with health insurance we'd be covered financially as well, since having a baby in the states is so dang expensive (compared to the universal health care system)! (When are we moving to Canada?) Really, I enjoy this country, the great people I have met and grown to love. There are good things and bad things about it, like anywhere, but my heart lies in my homeland, and gratefully Tod is excited to live in Canada one day too!
Here is our beautiful family of 4, *ahem*, 5. I was 14 weeks pregnant here and we had just moved into our town home in Santa Fe, NM!
My pregnancy has been relatively easy, around week 9 my sense of smell went way up, I had morning sickness for a couple of weeks around week 11, "rhinitis" (stuffy nose not related to any allergies or cold) around week 16, increased desire to sleep (yay! I love sleep), a couple of days of insatiable hunger, and I started to retain water around week 37 (I couldn't wear my wedding ring anymore--thankfully I had a "fakie" ring just in case). I gained 38 lbs, cracked the 200 lb mark, craved junk food like suckers and cheezies (bleh!), and slept well. In the 9th month my hips began to spread and that was painful (specifically my pubic bone hurt). I had to slow down my walking a great deal BUT I did not stop walking with my dogs and husband for 20-30 minutes twice a day. Walking gave me great enjoyment and I know being active in pregnancy has helped me in recovery. I did feel in month 7 that my lungs were starting to lose their full space. I wore maternity pants through most of my pregnancy, but was able to wear my normal tops easily through month 7 and then switched to wearing only maternity tops at that point. Luckily I was able to find maternity clothes that were flattering & stylish so I felt like myself and comfortable while so many physical changes were happening.
I felt the baby fluttering early on around week 19-20 which was pretty amazing. There were times that I wondered "is this really happening? Me being pregnant doesn't feel like how everyone describes it." For the most part I didn't feel gross or uncomfortable, or desperate to get this baby out of me, even at the end! I felt good with the exception of a few discomforts but I adapted and accommodated those changes because I knew they would be temporary, even if an ache or discomfort was present all the time at the time. Most everything was good, so I went with that good feeling.
The feeling of excitement to be a mom came slowly for me. I just felt like being pregnant was very natural in the flow of life with Tod and everything else I was choosing to do.
So I decided to spend some time on what this experience of becoming a mom meant to me by really focusing my efforts into making some images and art where I could connect with and explore my feelings. I haven't yet taken photos of these yet, but they will follow shortly!
Another fun fact: my innie belly button stayed innie the whole pregnancy!
Well technically earlier than that, cause I started to get the impression that it was time to invite a little spirit from heaven into our family. We knew that we'd be getting health insurance starting in June through Tod's employer as he went to a full time position after graduating with his Bachelors degree in Computer Science in April of 2012. That also gave us some comfort because we knew that with health insurance we'd be covered financially as well, since having a baby in the states is so dang expensive (compared to the universal health care system)! (When are we moving to Canada?) Really, I enjoy this country, the great people I have met and grown to love. There are good things and bad things about it, like anywhere, but my heart lies in my homeland, and gratefully Tod is excited to live in Canada one day too!
My pregnancy has been relatively easy, around week 9 my sense of smell went way up, I had morning sickness for a couple of weeks around week 11, "rhinitis" (stuffy nose not related to any allergies or cold) around week 16, increased desire to sleep (yay! I love sleep), a couple of days of insatiable hunger, and I started to retain water around week 37 (I couldn't wear my wedding ring anymore--thankfully I had a "fakie" ring just in case). I gained 38 lbs, cracked the 200 lb mark, craved junk food like suckers and cheezies (bleh!), and slept well. In the 9th month my hips began to spread and that was painful (specifically my pubic bone hurt). I had to slow down my walking a great deal BUT I did not stop walking with my dogs and husband for 20-30 minutes twice a day. Walking gave me great enjoyment and I know being active in pregnancy has helped me in recovery. I did feel in month 7 that my lungs were starting to lose their full space. I wore maternity pants through most of my pregnancy, but was able to wear my normal tops easily through month 7 and then switched to wearing only maternity tops at that point. Luckily I was able to find maternity clothes that were flattering & stylish so I felt like myself and comfortable while so many physical changes were happening.
I felt the baby fluttering early on around week 19-20 which was pretty amazing. There were times that I wondered "is this really happening? Me being pregnant doesn't feel like how everyone describes it." For the most part I didn't feel gross or uncomfortable, or desperate to get this baby out of me, even at the end! I felt good with the exception of a few discomforts but I adapted and accommodated those changes because I knew they would be temporary, even if an ache or discomfort was present all the time at the time. Most everything was good, so I went with that good feeling.
The feeling of excitement to be a mom came slowly for me. I just felt like being pregnant was very natural in the flow of life with Tod and everything else I was choosing to do.
Another fun fact: my innie belly button stayed innie the whole pregnancy!
4 comments:
Really glad things have gone so well. Really want to get there and meet Miranda, and see you all again.
it was pretty special to have you all home this Christmas. And will be a great thing to see you again in a few weeks.
You look really pretty in that red dress.
thats a really good pregger picture of you in the red dress...where did you get that dress??
i got the dress from a site called zulily, they sell kid, baby, preggers, and mom stuff.
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