Are Maternity Photos Necessary?

I'm not sure when Maternity photo sessions really started popping up, but I know it's really just this generation, I think. My mom doesn't even have any pictures of her bump when she was pregnant with my brother or myself, let alone a bare belly shot. She didn't even wear tighter shirts when she was pregnant, so she's always commenting on my tighter maternity shirts. It probably all started with Demi Moore's maternity shoot. I love pregnant bellies, I always have, I'm just amazed that a woman's body knows what to do in order to grow a tiny human.

Anyway, I've been dreaming about being pregnant forever, and wondering what my body would look like during my pregnancy. I've been pinning maternity photos since I joined pinterest, and trying to figure out how I'm going to take my maternity pictures. I didn't want to spend a ton of money on them, and ideally I would love a friend to take them. Of course, one with some photography experience. This leaves two people, a friend I went to high school with and my sister-in-law's ex-partner. Mr. Skinny wouldn't really be comfortable with the ex-partner because she's not really in the family anymore and that might be awkward.

Back in December, I messaged the friend I went to high school with, Candice, and asked her if she would be around sometime in April or May-ish and do maternity pictures for us. She's a missionary, so I wasn't sure if she'd be around to do a shoot. She said that she was planning on being in Amsterdam in April-May, so that wouldn't work. I was kind of bummed, but wished her well and reminded her to let me know if her plans changed.

I didn't really think about it since then, I kept pinning some shots and looking at them. Thinking I could take them myself, but knowing that wasn't really very realistic, just pushing it to the side.

Candice sends out a newsletter 2x/month and when I saw her last newsletter saying that plans changed and she wasn't going to Amsterdam, I immediately messaged her and reminded her that I'd love for her to take some pictures for us. She wrote back and said that she would love to, just hasn't done a maternity shoot before, but said we could figure it out. I am super excited. She's going to take some shots, and then edit them and we get all the pictures to do with what we want. I am so excited! I've been pinning and looking for shots. I'm actually more excited for these pictures than I was for my wedding pictures.

But are maternity photos necessary? I take my own pictures each week, is it really necessary to pay someone else to take pictures of yourself? I think that it is. If nothing else, it's a beautiful part of life, and you'll get to show your baby what your body did when it was growing them. I would absolutely love to see what my mom looked like when she was pregnant with me. Granted, I'm sure boys wouldn't be as interested, but I would love to see what my mother-in-law looked like when she was pregnant with Mr. Skinny. I think it's a precious time in my life and it's definitely a time to remember and something to be cherished. I will love to have my pictures and I hope my baby will love them, too!

Here's a link to my pinterest maternity board, if you want to check out the shots I really like. I think some can be super awkward and some can be a little too sexy for my taste at least.

Tell me:


Do you think maternity pictures are a waste of money?

Twenty-Five Weeks.

Little one,

Wow! Only 2 or 3 weeks, depending on which source you use, until we've reached the third trimester! I can't believe how quickly these last few months have flown, and I know time will just speed up faster now and even faster once you're here. As comforting as it is to know that if you decided to come now, your chance of survival would be pretty good, I'd still rather prefer if you waited for about 15 more weeks until you join us, Daddy and I still have a lot more work to do to get ready for you.

Your Grandpa Crane asks us each week how big you are now, and you should be about 14 inches long! And around 1.5 pounds, the weight of a rutabaga, which I can't say I've ever felt. When I look at my belly I don't know where you fit, let alone where all my other organs fit! It's truly a miracle to be growing you little one! If I could look inside right now, I should be able to tell the color and texture of your hair! I'm secretly hoping that you have red hair, since Daddy's beard is reddish, but I know my hair doesn't have a red tint at all. My great Aunt Jane did have red hair there, so we do have it in our family. As for the texture, I'm going assume that it should be curly. Daddy and I both have curly hair, so unless there's some crazy recessive straight hair gene, you should have curly hair. In fact, no one in either family has bone straight hair, so I don't even know where that would come from! Your nostrils are also opening up and your vocal cords are forming, although they won't be used for a few more months.

Pictures are coming, but Daddy and I were playing Monopoly with your Uncle Billy yesterday and completely forgot to take pictures. After Monopoly we went to see your great Grandma Crane and chatted with her for a little bit, I love talking to her and she is just so incredibly excited for you to arrive!

I've been sleeping pretty well, up a couple times a night to go to the bathroom, but it's never gotten worse since I got pregnant. Some nights I'll wake up and starting thinking and then I can't go back to sleep for a few hours, but I think that's my body just preparing itself to be up with you a bunch at night! My weight is still on track, I'm really closing in on that 20 pound mark, but I know that it's all necessary to grow you! I'm not worried about getting back to my pre-pregnancy body, I'm sure it's going to take some time, but I'll have you, and it'll all be worth it.

My eating has been okay. I had to make a cake on Saturday because I was really hungry for it! I know I should watch the sweets, but it's so hard! I've been trying to really increase the amounts of fruit and veggies I eat, still eating my smoothies every day. I've been slacking on some exercise, too. I walked 1 day last week, and did yoga 2 days, I think.

I've had a few mood swings, and some issues with my body. I had a mini-breakdown about how uncomfortable I am, all the while knowing that you have a lot more to grow and my belly's going to get a lot bigger. I don't have a lot to complain about, although I thought I saw some stretch marks forming around my belly button. I asked Daddy and Grammy about them, but they both think that I'm just imagining it. We'll see. I know that I should view stretch marks as a battle scar of mommy-hood, but it's so hard to not get wrapped up in our culture of having the perfect body. I'm definitely going to work on that myself, because I don't want you to get wrapped up in that. You're already perfect in my eyes, and you always will be.

Baby related progress this week include getting the rest of the wallpaper off our bedroom wall, although we still have to get the glue off. We've also got our registry finalized (I think) and our shower date set, both of which are posts of their own. We were going to get your stroller/car seat this weekend, but we had some iffy weather and Grammy didn't want to risk driving to Babies R Us. Maybe next weekend. I don't know where we'd put it anyway! I still love seeing your crib all together and in our room, I just imagine walking around with you at night and putting you down to sleep. I get super excited for you and can't wait for you to get here, although I appreciate every day and feeling you move each day.

Keep growing!

Love,
Mommy

Tell me:
What's one thing you'd be most excited for/or where you the most excited for?

Fill in the Blank Friday

1.   My favorite place i've ever traveled to is Walt Disney World. No, it never gets old and I would go back all the time.

2.  Italy  is somewhere I'd love to go someday.

3.  I pass the time on a plane (or bus, or car ride or train) by  reading, talking, maybe listening to music.

4.  My three must-haves when I travel are  iPhone  , a ton of clothes and my husband. 

5.  My favorite travel companion is  my husband, or my mom.

6.  The craziest thing that ever happened to me while traveling is crying because my plans were foiled in Disney World. Seriously, but that was my fault.

7.  The most exotic food I've ever tried while traveling is  African food at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. I'm not even sure what I ate while I was there, but that was definitely the most exotic.

8.  If I could live anywhere else, I'd live in Orlando. That way I could be closer to Disney World.

9.  I have been to  18 

states in the U.S. New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Montana, Illinois, North Dakota, Colorado, and Ohio.

Pick a question to answer!

New Friends.

As I mentioned in my post last week, I had lunch with a new friend. Let me say that I don't have a ton of friends in real life. (I know - shocking! Ha. Ha.) But anyways, it started a few weeks ago when I was started to do my registry, I was looking at wraps/carriers for the baby and I came across the camo Moby wrap and put a picture on Facebook to poke fun at Mr. Skinny because he's that manly, hard-working, camo hat wearing type.

One girl I went to high school with, Dawn, messaged me saying that she had a Moby wrap and asking if I wanted it. Holy cow! Of course I did! She has a one year old son, and he's adorable. We figured out where to meet, in the parking lot of a local pizza restaurant, so I could get the wrap. We ended up talking for about 45 minutes in the freezing cold, just talking about kids, childbirth, family, everything. It was great.

Once I got home I found an old baby doll and promptly tried out all the holds. Seriously. I was that excited. I should have taken a picture, or 500. I was so, so excited and still am, I can't wait to put my baby in the Moby! Anyway, I messaged Dawn on Facebook, thanking her for the wrap and asking if she wanted to get lunch sometime since we seemed to enjoy our talking in the parking lot, and it would be a little warmer. We figured out a time and went to lunch last Wednesday.

It was really good. Like I said, her son is adorable and she was telling me all about making her own homemade baby food and everything that she does. It was really interesting and we have a lot of similar thoughts about child-rearing and childbirth. It was really great to have a conversation with someone who has such similar interests.

Dawn and I never really talked in HS, I think we had one class together and she graduated a year before I did. We stayed friends on Facebook, just not really talking. So when we got together for lunch and meshed so well together, it was great. For right now, Dawn is a stay-at-home mom, but due to some financial issues, she's looking for a full-time job again. I'm still hoping that we can get together occasionally, just because I'd love to have other moms to hang out with.

After we had lunch, Dawn paid, and so I sincerely thanked her after lunch and once I got home, I messaged her on Facebook again and thanked her. I don't know if we'll meet up again, but I'd really like to. Making friends is hard work. Mr. Skinny and I never really, truly dated. We started "going out" when we were 15 and our relationship just evolved from hanging out at each other's houses to hanging out together. Trying to make friends is like dating, I think, and I don't have any experience with trying to meet new people of any type.

So I don't really know what to do now. Do I wait for a while before I ask her if she wants to meet up for lunch? Or let the ball in her court?

Tell me:
How do you make friends? Does it come naturally to you?

Twenty-Four Weeks.

Dear Little One,

Twenty-four weeks done, and about sixteen more to go! You're moving around more than ever, and I think I finally felt you getting hiccups! I couldn't tell for sure, but I think that's what they were. I can tell when you're moving and when you're sleeping. You're definitely more active at night while we're laying in bed and watching TV. The belly is getting bigger everyday, that's for sure! I put on a tank top that I ran in last summer, and it kept riding up and showing the underside of the bump. I think that's the last time I try to squeeze into a non-maternity shirt! 

My weight gain is around +16-17 pounds. I'm getting really bad at figuring it out each week. I weigh myself most mornings, just to keep myself on track, so it's hard to find an average of each week. I'm still on track for an overall gain of 25-35 pounds, although I think I'm going to be more like 35-40 pounds. I know I can loose the weight and get myself in a better shape than I ever was before. I know how to eat healthy and get myself healthy. I am so grateful for you, I'm doing what I can to keep you healthy, and keep your momma healthy, too! 

For the first time, when I went to Wegman's on Saturday, I was determined to park in a Stork parking spot. I've been putting parking here off for so long, just because I didn't feel big enough to take up a closer parking spot. But I was thinking about it, and I reached my sixth month, I don't have a ton more time to take advantage of these spots, so I was determined to park in the first one I saw. But then, none were open, so I had to park in the back anyways. Oh well, I could use the exercise, and you can, too! 

Speaking of exercise, I only walked once last week. I'm really going to try to walk today, but I think my exercise of the day might be scrubbing wallpaper glue off the walls of our room. That totally counts as exercise, right? Eating has still been going good, and I'm doing a little better with the sweets ordeal that I mentioned last week. I don't need dessert every day. I have been craving cake though, so I might have to indulge in that next weekend or so...

You're the length of an ear of corn now (so big!) and weigh about 1 1/4 pounds. It's crazy to think how much more weight you have to gain, but you're already about half the length that you'll be. I wonder what you'll look like, if you'll have curly hair like Daddy and me, and if you'll have blue eyes and dimples. Whose nose you'll have and whose lips. I can't even imagine what you'll look like, half Daddy and half me. It's mind blowing! 

I still feel absolutely fantastic, other than the occasional grunts to get up out of bed, or pick something up, but that's what happens when my belly gets so big. I know it's only going to get bigger, and I can't wait to be amazed at what my body can do. I've been thinking a lot about labor, and how I'd like you to come into the world. I'll write a whole other post on it, and I know that a lot of it is out of our control, but I'm not scared at all about labor, or delivering you. I trust that God knows what He's doing, and He's in control. I trust that my body knows what to do. Daddy and I are reading a lot about it, and talking about how much Daddy's going to be involved. I hope everything goes smoothly, but I will do anything to have a healthy baby at the end of the day! 

I get a little annoyed at the websites that tell me all the symptoms I could and should have, I'm growing a human, it's not going to be comfortable! I have had a blessed pregnancy so far, not a lot of sickness or cramps. But, I'm a really positive person, and I could have a terrible pregnancy, but I think feeling you move would make me forget all about it. I'm not swollen yet, although I think I waddle a little bit, it's a cute side-effect of pregnancy so far. My mind might change in the next three months, but I think I have a laid back enough attitude that it won't bother me. This is something I've wanted to do my entire life, and I will appreciate every "bad" thing that comes along with the good of growing a tiny human. 

And the last exciting thing this week, we got your crib! It's all assembled and it it's permanent, we think, spot! It was pretty easy to put together, only took Daddy and I about an hour, and I even got to help! This was a gift from your Great-Grandma Crane and we are so thankful that we got it! 

Keep growing and moving, and baking! It's nice to know you could survive if you decided to come now, but please stay put for quite a long time!

Love, 

Mommy

Tell me:

Would/did you feel comfortable parking in the stork parking spot at stores? 

What was your least favorite part of pregnancy? Most favorite? Or what would you look forward to the most?

Twenty-Three Weeks.

Dear Little One,

Well, I'll be 24 weeks tomorrow, but better late than never, right? I'm trying to remember what happened last week as opposed to this week, just because this week was for the next update! 

You are growing daily, I think! I wake up each morning amazed at what God created my body to do! There is no doubt that I look pregnant now, although no stranger has commented quite yet on it. I'm sure it's only a matter of time. 

I had a dream about you last week. Well, two maybe. The first one you were a girl, and the second one I couldn't tell, but I put a pink diaper on you. You're always so lovable and I keep kissing you. And you always have dimples each time I dream about you. That wouldn't surprise me either, you have dimples on both sides of your family. I don't have any, and your Aunt Renee doesn't, but just about everyone else does. I hope you do get dimples, that's one of the first things I feel in love with about your daddy. 

Workouts were good last week. I did yoga, and walked 3 times on the treadmill. Two times for about an hour and one for about 30 minutes, including doing some really light jogging. I still haven't had any weird food cravings, but I'm definitely indulging a little too much in nightly sweets. I'm getting in too much of a habit of eating sweets after dinner only because I can, not necessarily because that's what sounds good at the time. I need to kick that habit! I'm up about +15-16 pounds as of last week. At first, I was okay with the scale creeping up, but now it's getting to be a little unnerving. I know it's necessary and I'm trying to do everything I can to trust my body and feed it healthy foods for you to grow, but it's hard! 

Last week seemed to be the week of heartburn. It was almost a daily occurrence. Once day it struck right after I ate yogurt and grapes, not sure what caused that, but I'm not going to stop eating healthy foods! It's not major heartburn, just a little annoying. If old wives' tales are right, then you'll have a full head of hair, which won't surprise me because your daddy's entire side had a full head of hair when they were born! 

You're moving around more every day. If I watch carefully I can even see you from the outside! You're still really stubborn though and when I put my hand on my belly to feel you, you stop moving until I take my hand away. You always put a show on for Daddy though, he always gets to feel you moving. With your daddy and me both being stubborn, I guess I shouldn't be surprised if you inherited that trait from us. 

Keep growing little one! Time is flying until you join us, but I'm learning to appreciate every day and be amazed by my changing body!

Love,

Mommy

Four Years Ago.

Sorry for the delay in my 23 week update. It's coming. I promise. Hopefully tomorrow. I have a ton of topics I want to blog about, just having a hard time coming up with the time to sit down and write them. My days off (Monday & Wednesday) are my normal blogging days, since I don't like to sit in front of the computer once Mr. Skinny comes home. But this past Monday was hectic, I had a to-do list a mile long, including going to town to get some things to rip down our wallpaper, hideous wallpaper, in our bedroom. Today, I'm going to meet a new-ish friend for lunch (hopefully writing a topic on that), and then it's time for me to make dinner for today and tomorrow. I like my days packed, but I also like my time to do what I want, especially considering that I know most, if not all of that, is going out the window in about 4ish months.

Okay, so four years ago today, Mr. Skinny proposed to me. I don't know if I've divulged in our history before, forgive me if I did (blame prego-brain), but I wanted to do that today.

It all started way back in 5th grade. Yes, really. I started 5th grade at a new elementary school because I live in the sticks and our elementary school only went up to 4th grade, they've since remodeled, but that was what happened to me. Like any other 11 year old girl, I found a guy to have a crush on. He had dimples and glasses. So what does an 11-year old girl do to that boy? Why, poke his dimples and steal his glasses. Duh, that's how she tells him she likes him. Said boy thought that this girl was really annoying and just put up with her.

Yep, Mr. Skinny and I in 5th grade.

Fast forward a few years, to eighth grade. This girl had a boyfriend who was a jerk, but whatever, he thought she loved him. Psh. The boy like the girl, but new she was "going out" with this other boy, but they still hung out every day in 5th period, telling the study hall teacher that they were going to the library, and telling the librarian they were going back to study hall. They hung out with another couple who was actually dating and the boy and girl flirted. A lot.

 The next year, in 9th grade, the girl and her boyfriend broke up, and the boy who she flirted with was still her friend and they still hung out in school a lot.  That summer was a hard one for the girl. It was spent hanging out with some friends, but it being her first "single" summer in a few years, she was a little down.  She actually thought about the boy a lot that summer and thought about calling him to hang out, even looking his phone number up in the phone book (remember those days??). She never got the courage up to do it though.

The boy had an equally hard summer. He's an extremely hard worker and spent his summer working at a banquet hall every weekend, trying to save enough money to finish his 1982 CJ7 jeep. After work each night, he'd come home and steal a beer from his dad, because that's what his dad did when he wanted to relax. When he wasn't working, he was with his dad or grandfather, helping them with something around the house. He never hung out with friends, he helped his family or worked.

Once school started that year, tenth grade, the boy and girl met up again and talked. The girl still remembers that first day hello, awkward since they both kind of liked each other, but they didn't say anything. The next month was a blur, but they hung out every Friday after school, walking to a restaurant for dinner before the girl had to cheer at the football game. The boy watching each game that he could. Finally, a month after school started, the girl and boy started dating, and the rest is history.

Us at semi in 10th grade. 

They made it through those last 3 years of high school, never breaking up once, always sticking together. They were voted class couple of their senior class.

The girl went away to college, 200 miles and 3 hours away to college. They still never broke up. That first semester was tough, the first month the boy didn't have a car, and all they could do was talk on the phone each night, and they did. They were determined to make it work.

In January, the boy had a dream that it was time for them to get engaged. So he went to the mall, and picked out a ring, with the girl's guidelines, of course. He wanted to wait until Valentine's Day, but was too nervous he was going to loose the ring. He had a plan, he was going to bring the girl back to his apartment, make dinner and propose, but the girl was nervous about this plan. She didn't want her mom to find out that she was staying at his apartment overnight, so she tried to lie to her mom, even though her mom knew the plan from the boy already. Both of their families knew that he was going to propose. The weather almost stopped them. The normal 2 hour drive from the boy's apartment to the girl's college took about 5 hours with the snow and slush. He picked her up and brought her back to his apartment.

They made pizza and caesar salad for dinner. Just before the girl started eating, the boy said "wait" and put a flannel jacket (ironically the one that belong to the girl's boyfriend from 8th grade). He said he had a surprise. When the boy took the jacket off the girl's head, he made her close her eyes, and he got down on one knee.

"Megan, you know I love you. Will you marry me?"

When she opened her eyes, there he was, on one knee with the perfect engagement ring in a box, waiting for an answer.

"Of course" she replied.

Then she ran to get her phone to text her friends and her parents as well got the boy's computer to update her Facebook status and relationship status. Clearly, this was the engagement of an 18 year old and a 19 year old.

The only picture I have of the night we got engaged.

Fast forward nearly two years, and they got married!

And yet another two years, and they are expecting their first baby together!

Hard to believe it all started with a crush on a boy way back in 5th grade. God definitely worked on our lives and brought us together in perfect timing. Sure, we might be young, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is where we're supposed to be. We've gone through our ups and downs, but our love holds us together - I know, how corny. 

Oh, and Mr. Skinny's jeep still isn't done, and if I would have tried to call him that summer before we started dating, I would have ended up calling his grandparents house because he has the same middle name as him when I thought that he would have had the same middle name as his dad. That would have been awkward, I'm really glad I didn't call him actually. 

Tell me:

Do you think that some people are too young to get engaged or married? 

How did you meet your significant other?