Bump Watch : 38 Weeks

Over New Years we took full advantage of the beautiful scenery of Hua Hin (our mini getaway destination) to capture week 38 of this pregnancy!

I've been wanting to get some pictures with Rylee and I'm pretty happy with how these ones turned out. We dressed up in similar attire, hair, and poses comparing our belly bumps. This is especially cute because when we ask Rylee where the baby is theres a 50/50 chance she'll point to my belly or she'll lifts her shirt and point to her own belly.  I'm constantly amazed by how much she comprehends about the baby and am very interested and excited to see how she reacts when she meets the baby for the first time. 

I don't think much has changed from last week other than my womb getting more cramped with this  growing lil'man. As for me I think that little thing called "nesting" is kicking in, I just spent all morning rearranging, organizing, and cleaning our little apartment. I'm feeling slightly stressed we aren't prepared enough for his arrival, last time around had everything and more to get us through the first year...now I don't know if we have enough to get through the first week! The biggest thing is that it's been extremely difficult to find affordable newborn clothing here, and even more so finding boys clothes! I'm kicking myself for not coming more equipped with baby stuff... very annoying knowing everything you need is packed away in storage thousands of miles away!

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Bump Watch : 37 Weeks

Time is a ticking and this bun is almost ready to come out of the oven!

At 37 weeks I am definitely done with being pregnant! Life as I know it can be described with one word, UNCOMFORTABLE! I waddle a little slower, my clothes fit a little tighter, and I sleep a little less.

With a visit to the doc today we learned the baby's growth is normal in every area and that his approximate head size is 9.4cm (here's hoping thats the same or smaller than Rylee's was). He's got his head in the game, head down. And this may be too much information but my cervix is soft and open slightly by a half cm. I had to laugh when the Dr. said this makes for an "easy labour"...since when is labour ever easy?!?

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Bump Watch : Week 32

Week 32 people! Can you believe it, cause I sure can't! Do you even know what that means?!?! That means in about 8 weeks this little guy is gonna make his way into this world...8 WEEKS! It's such a bittersweet feeling knowing that very soon we get to meet him and all his cuteness, but heck I gotta go through that thing called delivery... sooooo not looking forward to that!

I'm definitely beginning to feel the pains of being pregnant, walking will never be the same again, the waddle is here! My hips ache with feelings like all ligaments have been pulled and stretched to their limits (a nice warm bath would be my dream come true for this stage). I'm exhausted most days due to terrible sleeps because I'm so uncomfortable. BUT on a happier note, lil'man is moving a ton and thats always reassuring to know he's alive & kickin' in that confined bubble of his. It's also comforting to know from this point on his main goal in life is to fatten up, most development is done and if born today he has a great chance at survival without any severe complications.

Bump Watch : Week 29

This is a bit overdue, considering I'm just about 31 and half weeks along now! But look at the bright side... you will get to see another picture very very soon! 

The first set of pictures are showcasing the henna tattoo I got done by a local woman, Suzie, while we were staying in Batu Ferringhi. I was the first preggo belly for her, which is cool, she hand painted it all in about 20 minutes all the while putting up with lil'man thinking he was in the middle of a soccer game...I'm amazed it turned out so well considering all the moving and kicking he was doing!

The second set of pictures were from our last night in Malaysia where we decided to take full advantage of our surroundings. At sunset we took to our lovely hotel beachfront to capture some silhouettes of my growing bump.

Bump Watch : Week 23

I originally planned to post a picture of my growing bump every four weeks (if I'm a keener I may find time to post another one next week just for the heck of staying on schedule...no promises though!). But last weekend we went to some limestone waterfalls and I couldn't pass up the opportunity for using the gorgeous Thai landscape as a new background! Definitely a little more interesting than the ordinary bedroom walls I normally use.

To date, lil'man has been quite active moving around and its exciting now to actually see his kicks and wiggles! He should be about the size of a large mango and weighing in just over a pound. At this stage in his development he can now hear what I hear, just a little muffled due to being tucked away in the womb. Exciting times these are now that we can literally see his growth on my ever expanding belly... approximately 17 weeks to go!

Maternity/Newborn Photo Shoots

Over Thanksgiving weekend last October (2 weeks before my due date) I went up to Kamloops to visit family, and as I was there I stumbled across an ad of a woman looking to expand her maternity/newborn photography portfolio and would do the shoots for free!

I was literally jumping out of my seat with excitement because I had dreamed of having newborn pictures professionally done but as I looked more and more into it I quickly realized it was WAY out of our budget. But "ask and you shall receive" because my dream came true much to the skeptics of my family who thought it was all a sham.

I met with Ramona Lam about a week later to just meet face to face and to talk about location and picture ideas. I was a little nervous meeting her because I had no idea who she was but she quickly set my nerves at ease as she was super sweet and personable.

We did our first maternity shoot on our due date, and it went great! As a full on pregnant momma it got exhausting getting up and down for different poses and changing outfits, but it was so exciting that this precious time was being documented by the very talented Ramona. Since Rylee was 11 days late we were able to reschedule another maternity shoot to get a few different angles and a couple different poses too.

3 days after Rylee was born we met with Ramona again, this time as proud parents of a beautiful little girl. I think being a mother of two is a big asset for Ramona when it comes to taking pictures of children because she understands it takes a lot of time and patience when you have to change a diaper, feed, or calm the baby between every other shot. After that first shoot we did another one when Rylee was 6 days old at a different location for different lighting and atmosphere. The nice thing of the second shoot was that Rylee's umbilical cord had fallen off, and we as parents were a little more comfortable with this tiny fragile baby.

All in all our experience with Ramona was amazing, she made it so easy and comfortable because of her friendly personality, and I was so pleased with the results of all pictures. I don't think she understands how much it meant to me but she made my dreams come true, and I am so thankful for everything! We now have beautiful pictures of Rylee to look at for the rest of our lives. Ramona Lam is one talented up-and-coming photographer and I wish her all the best with her passion.