I’ve been wanting to write about my pregnancy since, well, the day I found out that we were expecting last July! I want to start by saying that I loved being pregnant. From the moment I saw that positive pregnancy test, to those last few minutes when our baby girl was still inside of me, I felt happier than ever. I think it’s important that I say this because in my experience prior to being pregnant, I heard more stories about the difficulties in getting and being pregnant than I heard about the joys. I think those tougher stories are so important to share but I also think ones like mine should be told to lighten some of the fear or misconceptions women may have about getting pregnant. I learned from my prenatal yoga teacher/childbirth educator that every woman and every pregnancy is different, yet valid, and we should be comfortable talking about our experiences! Here I’ll share some thoughts of my journey along with photos taken {all on film!!} by my lovely and super talented friend, Elena, from Fawn and Fallow.
I spent 9 months not knowing if there was a baby boy or baby girl inside of me, just knowing that there was a tiny miracle growing every day. Matt and I imagined what he or she would look like/smell like/sound like, what we would name her, what she would feel like in our arms all while I felt her every little move.
During pregnancy, I took better care of myself than I ever had. I began eating three well-balanced {organic when possible} meals per day rather than eating on the run, and didn’t deprive myself of any snacks or desserts. I fed my body what it craved {except for alcohol, sushi and deli meats – those I waited long + patiently for}! I took naps and slept in late. I exercised less but walked more. I switched over all of my chemical-based beauty products to more natural ones, and treated myself to more manis/pedis/massages in 9 months than I had in my whole life! I read more books, spent more time with family, and took many more personal photos! But the most beneficial thing that I did for myself was to regularly attend prenatal yoga class. Yoga worked out my kinks, relaxed my “pregnancy brain”, gave me a spiritual and emotional outlet, and opened the door to a whole new community of like-minded mamas!
Towards the end of my pregnancy, even though I couldn’t wait for this baby to be born, I became sad at the thought of not being pregnant anymore. Not feeling this incredible connection of someone growing inside of me, not being able to rub my growing belly, not tracking her daily movement, no longer taking prenatal yoga or sleeping whenever I wanted to, not pampering myself or accepting the different type of kindness from strangers that you only get when you’re pregnant. The thought of no longer being able to do these things had me feeling a bit down. But most of all, I felt sad that this baby who had been all mine for 9 months would now have to be shared with the world! I know, it sounds a little selfish, right? It was a very scary and unsettling feeling, but it all vanished into thin air as soon as she was born and I realized that the joy of pregnancy was nothing compared to the joy of being a new mama!!! And speaking of, soon I’ll be sharing my birth story so stay tuned!
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