Second Trimester Musings

In typical second trimester fashion...I'm only a few weeks away from my third trimester and I just now realized I probably should write down my reflections on what's been an overall blissful and easy couple of months. 

I LOVE the second trimester. I'm visibly pregnant. I can feel my baby move. I have NO MORE MORNING SICKNESS and my energy has returned. Yes. Yes. Yes. 

I had a busy summer with incredible clients and births, and despite our full calendar we somehow still managed to steal away for a week and go to the Pacific Northwest. The trip was just what we needed: being on-call 24/7 is demanding, and it often takes my physically leaving the state or country to truly rest.

We hiked. We ate. We drank a lot of good coffee. We met up with old friends (Kadi of Up in the Sycamore Photography being one of them) and took these gorgeous photos. We often dream of uprooting and moving to Portland, although we know that realistically Denver will always be home. 

How I'm doing/feeling: 

I'm in my 25th week now, and everyone is healthy and happy. We did our 20 week anatomy scan, and our baby is growing right on track. My appetite has returned (thank goodness) and I'm definitely eating for two right now. Baby is flipping between head down and  breech (at least I think) and I imagine he/she will turn head down (for good) in the next few weeks. I'm walking around 5 miles each day, enjoying what has been a very hot summer here in Colorado. 

We also know if we're having a boy or a girl (feel free to make your guesses) but we aren't announcing publicly until he/she is born. Although if I run into you at a birth...you can likely get it out of me. I'm not great at keeping secrets! 

What the girls are thinking/saying:

The girls are SO excited to meet our Christmas baby. Each day is full of whispers and snuggles and talk of mama's belly and our baby. I bought them both Solly Wraps to wear with their baby dolls, and we've been slowly selecting other sweet items for the baby's nursery. 

They've both fallen in love with this sweet book by Kate Hosford. We read it at least two or three times a day. Eliza likes to pull up my shirt and rest her head on my belly as she listens to the words and looks at the beautiful pictures. 

Where we're having our baby: 

We're having our baby at the Denver Center for Birth and Wellness, a wonderful birth center here in Denver. I'm dear friends with Karen, the owner, and got to photograph her own birth at the center over two years ago now. And Shari, their midwife, is an amazing person, friend, and mentor. She's truly one of the most skilled midwives I've ever seen in practice, largely (I think) because she treats birth as something more than just a physical event...but as an emotional and spiritual event as well.

I also have the honor of photographing many of the families who have chosen to give birth at the center, so I'm able to spend time in my future birth space often. 

Shari and her team know that I want a hands-off birth, and they're eager to support me in whatever way I need come December. Our plan is to labor at home for as long as possible...and then hopefully show up, hop in the water, and have a baby. (But of course, I know how birth and planning goes). 

Lucy's labor was around 6 hours, Eliza's was around 3.5, so I'm very curious to see how fast or slow it takes this little one to come earthside! 

When are you going on maternity leave?

The plan is for me to slowly wind down around December 1st. I have a few clients due at the end of November, and as long as I'm healthy and well, I'll attend their births. Rebecca is working closely with me now, and we're finding such fulfillment and rest in sharing call.  December is my FAVORITE time of the year, and I'm excited to hopefully at least two or three weeks to rest and prepare for our own birth as the magic of the season descends. Rebecca will then be taking over our client load, and I'll likely be returning to births in March (and I'm SO happy that I have SO many repeat clients that are already on the books for 2019). 

We'll be taking less clients in 2019, which means if you are pregnant (or about to get pregnant) please reach out sooner rather than later. We can't wait to tell YOUR story.