My Burgeoning Belly

The title says it all...here are some very back dated pictures of my pregnancy. I was OH SO LUCKY to be extremely nauseous for the first 16 weeks of the pregnancy, the worst being from about 6 weeks until about 14 weeks. I did actually lose weight for a while and finally started gaining weight at 18 weeks. It was frustrating to be sick, but I figured if it was part of growing a healthy baby, I would do it. And I will do it again to have another one, it just isn't fun. Oh well, it all turned out just fine! Anyway, because I was sick for so long it took me a long time to start showing. People would ask ridiculous questions like, "Are you sure you're pregnant?" Um...yes, pretty sure! I was so happy when I did finally start showing and gaining weight!

So, here is my belly's journey to full term, starting with the first picture I have where I have a belly, sort of. I wasn't really showing yet, but I sure tried to look that way!

18 weeks - Jodi and I at the Gender Party PUSHING our bellies to show! It's crazy to think that Zolie and Kirby are here now and have already had their picture taken together (future blog :))!

22 weeks - finally starting to look pregnant, not bloated :)

24 weeks - at this point I was still wearing my regular jeans (barely) but had to unbutton them.

28 weeks - the start of my 3rd trimester and one step closer to seeing my girl!

29 weeks - Jodi, Vanessa and I were the pregnant bridesmaids walking into bars on 6th Street in Austin for Jana's Bachelorette Party. The bouncers (extremely observant fellows) kept offering us free drinks...um...no thanks....It was comical.

32 weeks - Tyler and I at Jana and Buddy's Rehearsal Dinner. I did the Cupid Shuffle and had my first round of Braxton Hicks Contractions...I was having fun and I over did it, A LOT.

32 weeks - Tyler and I at Jana's wedding the next day. I didn't know how big (or not) I would be by 32 weeks so I ordered a HUGE bridesmaid's dress (at the recommendation of the sales lady) and it fell right off before the alterations!

33 weeks - At my Tomball Shower and at this point I was REALLY looking ready to go!

33 weeks - Jodi, Angie and I at Jodi's Baby Shower for Kirby Love. Angie has not been drinking the baby-makin' Kool-Aid lately. She's already got 3 handsome boys!

35 weeks - Heidi and I letting our bellies play together, she had JUST found out that she was expecting...Baby Rice is due in February - YEA!

The next group of pictures is from our Maternity Session. We had our good friend Christina take our pictures and they turned out precious. She did an AMAZING job and you can see all of the pictures on her blog: http://christinashippeyphotography.com/blog/?p=1004

I love that we have this memory of our eagerness and excitement about our sweet baby.

My FAVORITE! This picture describes our relationship perfectly.

This next group was a BONUS! Jodi and I have been best friends for over 10 years. God has blessed our friendship and put us together and held us together through some CRAZY times. We found out we were pregnant 2 days apart and told each other the same day. Our due dates were 2 days apart (completely unplanned) and our girls were born 2 days apart. We got to see each other in the hospital with our sweet babies as infants in the nursery. Before they were born we wanted to have a session with Christina Shippey (who is Jodi's sister-in-law) and capture our bellies together. Again, Christina did FABULOUS and these pictures were SO FUN for Jodi and I to take together. You can see all the pictures from the session at http://christinashippeyphotography.com/blog/?p=1040

AND...last but certainly not least. This is my last belly pic.

38 weeks - This was the snapshot we took right before we walked out of the house to go to the hospital. Sunday, July 17 at about 4:45 - Zolie was born 27 hours later and that belly was deflated...mostly ;)