Brooks' birth story (in pictures)

We got our birth pictures back from the talented May + Marie photography and couldn't be happier! 

I already covered the whole birth story, but i'll add along commentary to the pictures.

all settled in, piton started and still smiling. Next, you see Cody calling family to give updates and me chomping on the 5445th cup of ice ;)

we were in room 11 again (same as evynn) so that was neat!

cody was a trooper and rubbed my feet

doesn't everyone adjust their own monitors when baby moves? ;)

I posted about this picture on instagram, and how somedays are harder than others to accept the stretch marks. But I have to remind myself that they helped bring about two wonderful children. Giving yourself, and your body, grace is so so hard sometimes!

you can see that I am turned on my side and Lara is about to add the birth ball. We did this, side to side, for the next several hours until about 4am, then we were finally ready!

After 15ish minutes of pushing, Brooks was here!

from the looks of Cody, you can tell it was a long night, ha!

after resting all day, the next morning all the doctors came by to start my discharge process. While they were finalizing those orders, our photographer came back to take "fresh 48 pictures". 

you know those cute pictures of the toddler peeking over at their new sibling, so sweetly? yeah, thats what I wanted. but in true toddler fashion Ev was not in the mood.. thus, we busted out the glove balloon. 

we have soon many more pictures, but I won't bore you with every one of them! 

We're so thankful for Brooks!

baby #2 | 39 weeks

How far along? 39 weeks

Baby's heart rate: today it was 140s

Maternity clothes? oh yes and even that is limited. Definitely limited on my options at this point. One.more.week!

The bump: large and in charge!

Stretch marks? No new ones, but my old ones are getting darker and more prominent. 

Best moment this week: i had my final prenatal appointment today and I am 2.5 cm and 75% effaced. So thats a great start! I'm still really wanting to go into labor so we'll see what happens.

Movement: big, sharp movements pretty frequently with his busiest time being around 8pm. 

Food cravings: just ice haha

food aversions: nope!

Miss Anything? not worrying about what I eat, and sleeping on my tummy!

Symptoms: occasional contractions, mores after a shift of work or if I'm on my feet a lot. 

Belly Button in or out? out!

Wedding rings on or off? On but snug. 

Mood?  Excited, anxious, eager, all of the above?! 

I am so ready to meet this boy! But I know i'll immediately miss being pregnant. I'm not "miserable" at all so It's not quite like I want pregnancy to end, I'm just eager to meet him. Selfishly, I want to go into labor this time.. I think just to have "the story". I know if we do end up being induced, the day will go just as the Lord has planned so I'm excited to see either way. I really cannot believe we're 39 weeks and he could come any day now! All pregnancy its about reaching the big weeks- 24, 32, 34, 37 and now we're full term and just waiting for him! I have been so blessed for a great, healthy pregnancy and for that I am so thankful!

baby #2 | 36 weeks

How far along? 36 weeks

Baby's heart rate: its been about 120-130

Maternity clothes? my options are running out, ha! I have very few options for work which means laundry everyday and at home its either stretchy pants or cody's shorts hah! I'm trying to set some clothes aside to pack our hospital bags which will really limit my options of things to wear.

The bump: feels large but looking back I look about the same as I did with evynn! 

Stretch marks? No new ones, so far! I've really been trying to put on biooil everyday and stay moisturized.

Best moment this week: We had our church baby shower which was great and then I sorted through clothes, washed some tiny clothes, organized, etc. it's getting real!

Movement: all the time. hiccups 495878 times a day. and big stretches and jumps when I lay down for bed. I wake up several times a night (to roll over, get up to pee, etc.) and make sure he's moving and then he shows off ;)

Food cravings: nothing in particular.... except ice. you would think I'm anemic but sheesh, its soo good!

food aversions: dairy makes me feel so sick. ice cream is still worth it, ha! but after cereal, milk, ice cream, queso, etc. I feel soon nauseas!

Miss Anything? not worrying about what I eat, and sleeping on my tummy!

Symptoms: very very tired. and pregnancy brain. I met cody and ev for dinner the other night and went the most round about way to get there. cody called to make sure I was going to the right place. Oh, and insomnia like whoa. Frequently I'm awake all night every night!

Belly Button in or out? out!

Wedding rings on or off? On but snug. 

Mood?  Excited! Little snappy, i've noticed, but trying to soak in these last weeks!

baby #2 | maternity pictures

We took lifestyle maternity pictures a few weeks ago with may + marie photography and I am obsessed with how they turned out! 

I've tried several different photographers in the Lubbock area over the years because I love different styles and meeting new people along the way! I've never been disappointed one time. 

I found Sara on my search for a birth photography package deal and LOVED her style. 

I wish I could say these pictures were easy to take, but anything with a (then) 18 month old... is not easy ;) Evynn started her "resent mommy" stage right about the second the camera came out which made it very stressful to take maternity pictures. Her and Cody could've had their own photoshoot ;). Sara was extremely patient and played with Ev the whole time to keep the smiles coming. 

I won't share all the pictures for the sake of a really long post, but here's some of our faves!