Pregnancy

A Word of Encouragement From the Other Side My husband and I were married for seven years before we decided to have a child. He knew he always wanted a child (or children). I wasn’t so sure. The fact that we weren’t in the same place with the idea didn’t really matter because both of us were busy working and enjoying our jobs and each other. We were enough. We were totally happy. As I got older, we discussed it a bit more often because BIOLOGY. At 30, I wasn’t ready. Nope. Not 31. Or 32. I had Ellen when I was halfway to 34. My least favorite thing about having a child in the beginning? Everything. Every. Single. Thing. Let’s take it back even...

“You’re hiring a what?!” was the most common reaction I got when I mentioned I was hiring a professional birth photographer. And I was living in Austin at the time…you know, the place where people ride around topless on purple unicycles (slight exaggeration), and yet I was the weirdo who wanted to record my baby’s birth. This Louisiana girl just trying to keep Austin weird, y'all! Yes, most people thought I was crazy to even consider this. Birth photography is a fairly new trend that has become immensely popular over the past few years. As someone who has utilized this service, here are some answers to a few questions I often get asked on birth photography: So what exactly is...

When I was pregnant with my first child my husband and I eagerly prepared and anticipated my pregnancy ending with labor and delivery.  I read countless books, articles and blogs, and we even attended an extensive labor and delivery class to become knowledgeable.   Much to our surprise (and a little disappointment on my part) our 36 week ultrasound revealed that our daughter was in the breech position and the safest delivery option would be a scheduled cesarean section.  So, I delivered a beautiful, healthy baby girl via scheduled c-section without ever having a contraction, feeling my water break or going into labor.  I was overjoyed to finally meet my baby but felt like I had missed out on...

As a child I dreamed of the day I'd become a mother. I never had a doubt in my mind that I wanted children, but often wondered how many children I'd have.  In a perfect world I'm pretty certain that my husband and I would channel our inner Duggar and have as many as we could and we'd love every second of it.  However, my world isn't perfect and circumstances have helped my husband and I make the decision that after three sons, we have decided we are finished having children. I started my momma journey early at the mere age of 21 and had my last child at 29.  Being a mother is such an indescribable feeling.  Your heart learns a new type...

Dear 3 month postpartum self, I know you saw the pictures of Scarlett Johansson's tiny little bod at her movie premiere like two months after giving birth. I know it made you want to curl up in a ball and never put clothes on or go out in public again. It sucks, because being a new mom in our media obsessed world is hard enough; there are a million and one things you can compare to and nit-pick and worry about. And then these celebs (and other real life moms around you) basically walk out of the hospital looking like they never carried a child around in their abdomen for 9 months. And there's nothing wrong with that. More power to...