Maternity Pictures

I was sad to move away from Utah, for more than one reason, but because I know of tons of photographers from all over the area. Maternity, birth photographers, wedding, etc with such great talent and a lot of different price ranges. My wedding photographer was the absolute best and I recommend her to everyone I know, and I was disappointed we weren't able to use her for any maternity/newborn photos. I feel like photography is a huge industry in Utah because of the million weddings happening every year there so there is great selection. 

Birth photography is huge there too - and ALL over Pinterest - and something that I super wanted for our family. I think having those precious pictures of your newborn who is just fresh from heaven in the hospital is really special, and pictures that you will love forever. Unfortunately, no one around here in Oklahoma really offers this or it is crazy expensive. One photographer quoted us $1600……no just no. I'm gonna buy my baby some cute clothes instead! I have a nice camera so I am just going to take it along and pray Mike develops some sort of skill of taking newborn pictures that day :) 

Anywho, thankfully Mike's cousin Chrissy lives here and is an amazing photographer who graciously took some maternity photos for us!!! I am so glad that we got to document this stage of our lives in some great photos. The lighting was perfect and she made it really fun! The wind was completely insane though and it was blowing my hair in every direction which did not make me a happy camper. However, the pictures turned out great!!  just not my best hair day :)

Thanks again Chrissy! 

37 Weeks

How far along:  37 weeks 

How big is baby: 6 - 6.5 pounds and over 19 inches long would be the estimation.

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain/loss:  13 pounds. I lost almost the exact same amount in my first trimester because I had like negative appetite but my doctor doesn't seem concerned. Steadily gaining one pound a week which is what is supposed to be happening - or it's all those donuts I ate? Who knows :) 

Maternity clothes: Large t-shirt and sweatpants heyyyyy oooooo. What else do you wear this late in pregnancy? Dress up in cute clothes? Um no. My mom bought me the dress I'm wearing in the pictures and it is the best! No pinching or tightness anywhere. I would love to buy some new fall clothes, but i have restrained because I will most likely be wearing a large t-shirt and sweatpants after birth for awhile haha. I am excited to "get" my body back even though that sounds selfish!

Sleep: Sleep has been better actually lately. I am tired all of the time, but I am not waking up every 2 hours like I used to. I still have to get up to pee but I can fall back asleep! 

Best moment this week: My doctor said I am 3cm dilated and 80% effaced! She said that is really good for first time moms but I know you can stay dilated like that for a long time so I am trying to not get my hopes up. Also, the nursery is finally coming together and it has been SO fun decorating it. Once it is finished I will have to put some pics up of it. ALSO, our carseat arrived this week and it freaked us both out a little - this is all really happening and it's coming up so soon haha! Mike installed the base in the car so it is cool looking at it every time we get in the car. 

Movement: He has zero room left in there so it is mostly rolls and small movements, but he is head down and all I can say is OW! So so much pressure where his head is and it's making it hard to walk and just plain uncomfortable! Que the waddle! The pelvic pain and pressure is a real thang y'all. 

Food cravings: Mazzio's pizza and anything chocolate. SO random. I swear I crave pizza every single day. 

Have you started to show yet: YEP.

Belly Button in or out: Still only half of it sticks out and it isn't noticeable through my shirt. 

Miss Anything: Not having to do a 6 point turn in bed when I am trying to switch sides while sleeping. Ha!

Looking forward to: Meeting our little man soon! 

xoxo, Ally

33 Weeks

Holy moly

How far along:  33 weeks 

How big is baby: Different websites say different things, but I'm going with the size of a honeydew melon which is 19 inches and 4.5lbs.

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain/loss: 10 pounds I believe.

Maternity clothes: Loving my maternity jeans/capris. I wear them every day, shamelessly haha. Or a skirt which is way more comfy but requires you to be a little more ladylike ya know. I honestly hate all clothes and feel like everything is too tight and usually chill in a largeeee tshirt around the house. 

Sleep: Sleep? What is sleep? I am so uncomfortable at night trying to sleep - maybe I should get a body pillow. Anyone like theirs and actually think it helps? Anyways, between that, me getting overheated quickly, having to pee, AND Mike sleeptalking sleep is nonexistent. Just preparing me for baby right? 

Best moment this week: We have finally moved into our new place! It doesn't feel like home yet, but we went to our new ward today and everyone was soooo nice and welcoming. I think it'll be a fun 2 years here!

Movement: Kick kick kick all day long. I read that the ratio of amniotic fluid to baby is about equal now so you can feel their movements more. It is freaky to sit there and watch your belly and see your WHOLE belly move or some body part to jab outwards. Mike loves to poke my belly and make him move around. 

Food cravings: Water which is good and bad. I'm trying to drink more to be healthier, but then I gotta go to the loo every 20 minutes. I am also really loving oatmeal and yogurt? Random. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: I do have acid reflux sometimes, but I can control it pretty well. Just can't lay down right after eating!

Have you started to show yet: -_- (<-- that face is all that is needed here). beyond showing. 

Belly Button in or out: Eek! It is like half in and half out. How does that work!? The top half of my belly button, if that makes sense, sticks out. It isn't noticeable through my shirt yet though.

Miss Anything: SLEEP! 

Looking forward to: Getting the nursery all put together, washing the baby clothes, and making our house feel like a home!


xoxo, Ally

25 Weeks

How far along: 25 weeks 

How big is baby: Different websites say different things, but BabyCenter says 13.5 inches long and 1.5 pounds. 

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain/loss: Haven't been to the doctor in awhile - going on Monday - so who knows. Based on all the junk I have eaten recently, I would say a good amount :)

Maternity clothes: I need new jeans asap. Haha. Right now I cycle through a handful of the same shirts, just because they are so comfortable, so I am not dressing up too often. I wore one of my size small shirts while we were on vacation in Vegas and I literally thought we were going to have to cut it off - haha I learned my lesson. 

Stretch marks: Nope, BUT I just noticed I am getting that linea nigra thingy. Noooooooooo. 

Sleep: So tired all of the time. Lately, I haven't been able to fall asleep very well (or at all) and it is so frustrating. When we were in Vegas, one night I stayed awake till 6am because I literally was wide awake. It was awful! Especially because there was absolutely nothing good on TV at that time of day(night?). But I do like to take naps :)

Best moment this week: We are packing to move so nothing is fun currently :) I got some face wash from Lush while we were in Vegas that I am pretty stoked about though. 

Movement: Baby loves to kick. Now he just loves to kick/punch/headbutt my bladder so I have to pee soooo much. I feel like I leave the bathroom and already have to pee again. I can get him to move by poking my belly so that is weird because he actually responds to what I do. 

Food cravings: In n Out burgers with a strawberry shake & iceeeeee cold water. With a lot of ice. And more ice. Specifically crushed ice. I almost made Mike go get me ice from Sonic at midnight the other night. (and I just had my blood drawn and i'm not anemic). 

Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of Mike's body wash ICK! The smell has never bothered me before until this past week. It is literally nauseating. I'll make him close the bathroom door after he showers because it kills me. 

Have you started to show yet: Yep! I think I was the only pregnant lady in Vegas - people stared at me like I had a third leg. 

Belly Button in or out: In.

Miss Anything: Again, not having to pee so much. Also, fun stuff, because everyone is always like "hey, we should do this - oh wait you can't cause you're pregnant" UGH. I wanna go ride a roller coaster while eating sushi and drinking a route 44 Coke and then go get in the hot tub -_-

Looking forward to: Mike bought me a facial for our anniversary that I am excited to go get soon!


xoxo, Ally

22 Weeks

How far along: 22 weeks and 3 days

How big is baby: 11 inches and 1 lb

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain/loss: +4 lbs at my last doctor's appointment. 

Maternity clothes: Still going strong with my regular jeans! Wearing a lot of skirts now because it is more comfortable. I can still wear the majority of my shirts. 

Stretch marks: No new ones. 

Sleep: It is average. I am tired all of the time!!! I am starting to wake up really early every morning which is annoying - but most of the time I can fall back asleep. I just wanna sleep as much as baby is right now!

Best moment this week: Seeing my nephew Parker who I haven't seen since he was two days old! Also, when my baby kicked I actually saw my stomach move this week. Sooo weird, but oddly cool. 

Movement: Kicks all night long and now I feel them during the day. He looooves to kick momma! Maybe we have a future soccer player on our hands. 

Food cravings: Grapefruits, grapefruits, grapefruits! I cannot get enough. Mike bought like 10lbs of them at the store a couple of days ago because I eat at least 3 a day.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: No not really!

Have you started to show yet: My belly has definitely popped! 

Belly Button in or out: In.

Miss Anything: I'm getting slower and it's annoying to bend down sometimes for stuff I have dropped haha. 

Looking forward to: My family is coming into town tomorrow for a whole week!


xoxo, Ally

It's a......

 We are having a BOY!! Completely unexpected and I'll be the first to admit that I shed a lot just a few tears, but we can't wait to meet him!

xoxo, Ally

19 Weeks

19 Weeks

How far along: 19 weeks and 4 days

How big is baby: 6 inches and .5 lbs

Gender: Still don't know - now thinking it might be a boy cause everyone is psyching me out about it. Not that there is anything wrong with having a boy :) I want a girl to put all those frilly headbands and pretty dresses on. 

Total weight gain/loss: According to the scale I secretly stood on in my friend Julie's bathroom (haha thanks Julie) I have gained 1 pound since my last doctor's appointment.

Maternity clothes: Borrowed a belly band from a friend so that I can wear my jeans for a little while longer! That thing is so awesome. I love it. I might as well buy some maternity jeans, I just need to let go of my pride first. I did buy some new shirts at H&M from their maternity section, which is tiny by the way, but I am excited because they are really cute and extra comfy. 

Stretch marks: No new ones. 

Sleep: Not so great this week only because my lovely husband sleep talks like noooo otherrrrr and keeps me up half the night :) Oh the stories I could tell from his sleep talking rants. The other night he woke up and asked "Are you dead yet!?" - sorry honey you can't get rid of me that easy. 

Best moment this week: I felt the baby kick!!!!! (see below). We also went to some baby stores over the weekend and test drove a bunch of strollers (highly recommend Buy Buy Baby because they have a ton to play with) and it was so fun. We are like pushing them around the store lookin like weirdos first time parents. Twas a good time. 

Movement: Definite kicks people! Before I couldn't really put my finger on it if it was real or not, but these were nice hard kicks letting me know that it is alive and well in there. It was so surreal. I'm like OK there really is something in there!! It felt like a thump of a heartbeat. Sadly, Mike couldn't feel it when I told him to hold his hand on my belly. I'm like ok right there! It kicked! but he still couldn't feel it. That's ok it'll come in time and right now it is just something special between me and baby :)

Food cravings: 7-11 Slurpees, anything liquid as I am beyond thirsty all of the time, pizza (only from Papa Johns) and pickles of course. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: meh still eggs. And sometimes meat depending on the day. Also, anytime I brush my teeth because that always makes me gag. 

Have you started to show yet: Yes, but still tubby looking. 

Belly Button in or out: In.

Miss Anything: My pregnancy non-itchy-all-the-time skin. 

Looking forward to: Our gender scan in 7 days!


xoxo, Ally

17 Weeks

Yikes, ignore those pasty white legs. 

How far along: 17 weeks and 4 days

How big is baby: 5.1 inches and 5 oz

Gender: We don't know yet! All my instincts have said GIRL so far, so if it turns out to be a boy I will seriously doubt my instincts from now on! Haha. Plus all of the old wives tales and the chinese gender calendar have also said girl, but I am too caught up on it being a girl and I'm trying to not think about it so I won't be disappointed either way. 

Total weight gain/loss:  -10 lbs so far actually which is weird to me because I have this pooch sticking out so I feel like I should have gained some weight by now. 

Maternity clothes: None so far! Some of my jeans still fit, and with others I am using a safety pin/hair tie to hold them together. I do constantly complain to Mike that I have nothing to wear because my shirts are getting too tight/short, so hopefully we can pick out some new shirts soon. 

Stretch marks: I think a few are starting to appear by my hips, but I can't tell because I already had some from pre-pregnancy. 

Sleep: Sleeping great! My first trimester I felt like I slept through the entire thing. It was really hard going to school full time and working because I was so tired - I would take at least a 2 - 3 hour nap everyday. Now I am feeling like I have more energy, but can't overwork myself or I get really tired.

Best moment this week: Having an ultrasound! My parents and sister were in town for graduation and it was fun having them with us in the room to see the baby. I prayed so hard we would see the gender, but the baby would NOT uncross its legs! While the nurse was doing the ultrasound, she kept saying "he" is looking great and I was like "OMG is it a boy!?" and she just said she always out of habit says boy - giving me a heart attack woman!

Movement: I don't think so. I thought it would be super noticeable, but my nurse said when I am laying down and feel little bubbles or pops in my belly that it is probably the baby. So I am not sure!

Food cravings: pickles, watermelon, tomatoes with salt and pepper on top, avocados, and chocolate fudge bars. 

Anything making you queasy or sick: eggs! Haven't been able to cook/smell/taste them since I got pregnant without gagging. My first trimester smells realllllly got to me, but now it is textures more than anything. 

Have you started to show yet: Yep! Still kind of looks like fat.

Belly Button in or out: In.

Miss Anything: Being able to button my jeans comfortably. Also, not having to go to the bathroom every half hour. 

Looking forward to: Our gender scan in May!

And here is Mike's "sympathy belly" :)

xoxo, Ally