One of the things I was really excited about when becoming pregnant was that I would be able to take weekly bump photos to see how my belly, and baby, were growing. I love seeing other people take these photos, and I couldn't wait to take my own. We got started right away, taking them at week 4. I've been taking them once a week ever since. Today, I'm sharing my bump's progress. Bump Photos Those first three photos are sized differently than the rest. We were just starting out, and I wasn't for sure how I wanted each photo to look. But by week 7, I had it down. I love seeing the different Continue Reading
Maternity Photo Shoot Tips
I had just hit 32 weeks in my pregnancy. It was time to document this big, beautiful belly of mine! Travis and I recently had a maternity photo shoot with our favorite photographer, Aubree. Before the big day, I asked Aubree if she'd be willing to share some tips for, not only me, but for all of my readers. I don't know about you but paying a photographer to come take pictures of you can be nerve-racking. What if you spend all this money and you hate the photos? What if you feel ugly? What should you wear? How should you stand? And what in the world do you do with your hands? We've all seen Continue Reading
Purple Elephant Baby Shower Ideas
Over the past weekend, my mom, sister-in-law, and aunt threw me a baby shower -- a purple and grey, elephant baby shower! They chose this theme because it's what we are using to decorate our daughter's nursery. The great part about having the same theme for the shower and the nursery is we can use some of the same items for decorations! During the shower, we had a craft activity, games, food, and the opening of gifts. We had around 30 guests come to the shower, and I had a fantastic time. Elephant Baby Shower Details Decorations Let's start with decorations! I loved all the little Continue Reading
Things to Do Before Baby Arrives
If you didn't know, I am a big-time planner. I like to know what to expect and I like to be prepared. Of course, I can't really know what to expect when it comes to birth or raising a newborn since I've never done it, but I can read up on it and ask other ladies all the questions. One thing I can do for sure is try to be as prepared as possible when it comes to things to do before baby arrives. As I've entered the third trimester, sleep has become harder and harder. Because of my giant tummy? Yes. But also because I can't seem to turn my mind off. It runs a mile a minute about everything from Continue Reading
My Favorite Gifts for Pregnancy
If I was to retake the love languages test, I wouldn't be surprised if gifts had moved up on my list. I get really excited for giving gifts that I know someone will like/love/need/want, and I definitely don't turn down a good gift either. With a baby on the way, I've gotten several gifts throughout the months. And these are my top four favorite things that I have received -- not things that are for baby necessarily, but feel like they are more for me. Perhaps you are wanting to get something sweet for someone you know who is expecting? Check out my favorite gifts for pregnancy in this post, Continue Reading
Tips for Unwanted Pregnancy Symptoms
Pregnancy is fantastic, at least in my opinion. After experiencing loss and quite some time TTC, everything that comes with pregnancy feels worth it to me. But the fact is, there are pregnancy symptoms that are just no fun. Symptoms that we could happily do without. That's why I thought I'd share some tips for the unwanted pregnancy symptoms so that maybe we can make these nine months a little easier. These tips come from my midwife, my own personal experience, and the advice from other mamas out there. Pregnancy Symptoms That Just Aren't Fun Morning Sickness I was lucky that I didn't Continue Reading
Where to Register for Baby
I remember when Travis and I registered for our wedding about four years ago. It was so exciting and so fun. Now, we've finished registering for our new baby. This time it was also exciting and fun, but it was also overwhelming. There are so many places to choose from that the first question is where to register for baby. Then comes deciding what to actually register for! Are you struggling on where to register for baby? Travis and I chose two places for registering for our daughter. Here are the things we considered when deciding: What's in our area so we can look at items in person Continue Reading
Second Trimester Essentials
Wow, can the second trimester really be over? I can't believe how fast that went! I guess when you aren't feeling sick constantly, time sure does fly! So now that I'm past round two, I figured I'd better share with you what helped me get through. These are my favorite second trimester essentials that made my pregnant life better. Psst... Have you read my first trimester essentials post? Second Trimester Essentials You Should Try 1. Body Pillow The second trimester is when my belly started growing big time, which meant sleeping became more uncomfortable. A regular old body pillow wasn't Continue Reading
5 Best Pregnancy Apps
One of the first things I did after finding out I was pregnant was download some pregnancy apps to my phone. I love looking at them to see how my baby is growing and get tips on babies, pregnancy, and my health. As a new mama-to-be, I have no idea what to expect or what's normal and what's not. There's so much to learn, and these pregnancy apps really help. Of course, there are tons of apps out there. So how do we know which ones are best? Today, I'm sharing the five apps I use the most and keep on my phone. Try These Pregnancy Apps 1. Ovia Pregnancy This app, which is free, is probably my Continue Reading
Baseball Gender Reveal Party
Pink and blue -- that's what most people do for a gender reveal party. But we aren't most people. We've had the idea for a baseball gender reveal party for almost a year now. Travis loves baseball. He still has all his baseball memorabilia from when he was a kid. He took me to my first MLB game, and we had so much fun. So we loved the idea of finding out the gender using a baseball and bat. I'm so excited to share all the details of our party. But first I want to say a big thank you to our family that came. I started to thank them all at the party, but I got choked up so I kept it Continue Reading
It’s a ….
On Saturday, we had our gender reveal party. It was baseball themed with lots of purple and blue all around. I can't believe so many of our family members drove all the way to Tennessee just to celebrate with us. None of us could wait to find out if this Little Oyster is a boy or girl. Next week, I'm going to be sharing all the details of the party. But today, I am announcing the gender of our precious baby! Here is a slow motion video of the reveal. Click here if you don't see the video below! Isn't that SO fun? Purple means ... It's a ... GIRL! We all found out at the same time, Continue Reading
Why We Chose Not to Have Genetic Screening
One of the biggest questions we've gotten at every single doctor's appointment is whether we want to have genetic screening done. I have had to sign several times to confirm my decision. Genetic screening includes several different tests throughout your pregnancy. The first trimester screen is a non-invasive evaluation that includes a blood sample and an ultrasound. The doctors are trying to identify the risk for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down Syndrome and Trisomy-21. These tests do not diagnose the baby, but rather evaluate the risk and determine if further testing should be Continue Reading