Moments of Musing

Last weekend of June

Filed Under: Baby L, pregnancy //

Who else is utterly surprised the last weekend of June 2016 is over? That means we have less than a week until our due date! This weekend was supposed to consist of relaxation and a date night.

We did the first on Saturday when we relaxed at the beach with family. The northeast U.S. Atlantic Ocean coast might not be the prettiest but I still feel lucky to live near the ocean. 

Then, on Sunday we decided to chance it (with me being 39 weeks pregnant and all…) and head to Philly for my cousin’s wedding. Yes, I wore heels. Who said pregnancy fashion has to be boring?

We also received all of our maternity photos. I am in love with them–big ‘ol bump, double chins and all. Here’s another sneak peek:
Jennifer Larsen Photography

I’ll share some more later on this week 🙂 
Now, back to work I go. Luckily, I work from home this week and then maternity leave kicks in. This all still feels surreal to me!

Life has already changed

Filed Under: Baby L, pregnancy //

People often say that life is about to drastically change when you have a child. While I’m sure that’s true, life has already changed quite a bit during pregnancy. The changes can be found in minute daily tasks or in more fundamental ways. For example, the other morning on my way to work I realized I cross the street differently. I look before crossing multiple times. I hesitate if the light is about to turn green. 

I eat differently. I eat more often and make sure to drink lots of water, especially now that it’s summertime. I’ve taken my prenatal everyday since around one month before conception.


I gave up running during pregnancy, per doctor’s orders. Instead, I walk. I walk to the train station. Up the stairs at work instead of taking the elevator. Across the Brooklyn Bridge. Around the park. 

I listen to my body more. If I’m feeling weird (like my stomach virus) or in too much pain (my round ligament pain was BAD), I call my doctor. I ask about the lumps and rashes. I wait for baby kicks and nudges to reassure me everything’s okay. 

I worry more. About the baby and his health. About how I’ll do at the whole mom thing. About raising a smart, loving, respectful person in this sometimes cruel and hard-to-navigate world. 
I care more about someone else. In January when I had my stomach virus, I called the doctor and went to the ER as told to do because I cared about the baby’s health. To be honest, if I wasn’t pregnant I’d have probably toughed it out at home. When I had round ligament pain, I called the doctor and went to see him because I cared about the baby’s health. I could care less that my abs were actually potentially being ripped apart. In a way, I already live for him. It’s a strange grandeos feeling but it just kicked in the moment I found out I was pregnant.  

I’m happier. I find myself feeling on cloud nine more often than not. I sometimes can’t imagine what life was like before being pregnant, before knowing he is ours forever and ever. My husband told me he recently finds himself thinking about how much he loves life. I feel the same. 
It’s pretty amazing how much a tiny human can change your life–all for the better. 

Maternity shoot thoughts

Filed Under: Baby L, pregnancy //

When we learned we were expecting, I automatically thought about a maternity shoot because I love photos. At the same time, however, we’ve had our fair share of shoots and we recently bought a nice Nikon to take more photos ourselves. Plus, saving money by not doing a shoot couldn’t hurt. 
I brought up the idea of a maternity shoot with our anniversary photographer, Jennifer Larsen, to Mr. L one day and he said to email her just to inquire. I was a little worried she’d say no because she mainly does engagement and wedding photography. It couldn’t hurt to ask though, right? Right! Jen is so sweet and gave us a great deal. Plus, she was so excited and that got me excited! 
So we picked a date in May. Lo and behold as I was in the salon getting a blow out, it began to rain. We rescheduled for this past weekend and the shoot was so fun. 
I’ve got to admit, though, that since I’m bigger (and much more swollen) than I was a month ago, I was a little lot more self-conscious. As someone who’s been in relatively good shape all her life, gaining all this weight has certainly induced constant self-critique. I was almost wishing the shoot would be rained out again … not because I didn’t want the photos but because I didn’t feel 100% confident being photographed in my current physical form. I’m rather ashamed to even admit that. 
All in all, we’re so excited to get the photos back. This is the most important time of our lives and I didn’t want to overshadow that with my body issues. Plus, most of the pregnancy, I have loved my body. As I’ve alluded to before, I hate the scale, though, so stepping on it every week and knowing that number is annoying. 
My advice to currently and future pregnant mamas would be to embrace your beautiful body that’s doing an amazing and miraculous thing–growing a human. If in doubt, go for the maternity shoot! 
This is a time to celebrate ourselves, not put ourselves down. 
Location: Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY
All photo credit and thanks to Jennifer Larsen! 

Hello, June!

Filed Under: Baby L, pregnancy //

There are LOTS of big things happening this month:

Moving into our new apartment

Soooooo… We’re renting. The NYC market to buy is a bit ridiculous and stressful right now so we have decided to wait another year.

Nesting
I plan to pack my hospital bag, wash all of Baby L’s clothes and set his nursery up. For now, he will sleep in his bassinet next to us. His room is a bit far away from ours so I’m still not sure whether his crib will start off in our room or his. It’s so exciting that he could make his big arrival this month! 
Festivities
We have lots of fun celebrations coming up: a wedding shower, a bridal shower, and an engagement party! I just love celebrating family and friends and dressing my bump up so I’m looking forward to it all 🙂
Professional Maternity Shoot
As you know we took our at-home photos (see above) ourselves so we could display some photos at my baby shower. The shoot with our amazing photographer (Jen Larsen) was originally planned for May but the weather didn’t cooperate. The shoot is now scheduled for mid-June and I’m excited. Fingers crossed the forecast is better this time around.
Cue the beginning of summer and I couldn’t be happier. To be alive. To be healthy. To be carrying our baby. To have the support we do. Life is just beautiful.

The Most Beautiful

Filed Under: pregnancy //

Happy “Bump Day” to my fellow expecting mamas.

Some time ago, Tim said something that will stick with me forever. It was bedtime and we were turning in for the night. As I was putting my pajamas on, he said he finds me the most beautiful I’ve ever been. Earlier in the pregnancy I had asked him what he thought about my changing body. He said he found me just as sexy and beautiful. Okay, I told myself, I’ve still got it going on. Fast forward to this weekend when he told me he was honestly going to miss my pregnant body. He’s the best.

Let’s be real ladies, the body changes are tough. Nearly every part–physically and emotionally– of a pregnant woman’s body goes through changes. Constant changes. I struggled with the weight gain in the middle-to-end of the second trimester quite a bit. I had worked so hard in the past to have the pre-pregnancy body I had …and then the second trimester was almost over and I felt like I royally messed up in the weight department.

Now this is not to say that I have ever been upset that I am pregnant. To me, growing a little life inside of me is awe-inspiring and a miracle. I would not trade this experience for anything. You can call me vain but the truth is I am a woman who cares about my looks and how my husband views me.

So to hear that he thinks I am at my most beautiful, while carrying our child and while not feeling my most beautiful at times, means the world to me. It means more than he’ll ever know.