Once the baby bump made its appearance, I knew it was time to start documenting! I’m obsessive about documenting, saving, organizing, and commemorating, so photographing my pregnancy progression was the perfect opportunity to run with it. (Ok, to be honest, I first thought about the documenting earlier than this and took “starting” photos at week 13, but they didn’t come out great. Maybe with some major Photoshop work… nah, I think we’ll just skip those. Then I was traveling for 4 weeks, so that brought us up to 18 with very little change. So, here’s where it really begins…)

While I was back in the U.S. visiting family and sharing the good news that I was expecting, my family threw me a quick turn around baby shower, at the end of week 18.

week-18-1

My sister took control of my camera for the party and snapped a couple quick photos of me showing off the very start of my bump. As it turned out, they slotted in perfectly with the ones I took later at home. Yay!

18 weeks baby bump

Highlights from week 18 & 19:

  • My bump began to emerge and this all started to get real
  • I began to feel movement (I think… yes… barely) – like bubbles, tiny pokes and a rolling/pulling sensation
  • I finally got to tell all of my family and friends the good news (which I had been anxiously awaiting to do in person). It was definitely worth the wait to see their faces!
  • I was awed at the generosity at my baby shower. This baby is set for clothes!
  • Things started to feel a bit “different”, but in all, I felt great.
  • I was still going strong with yoga, but my pants were getting tight and laying on my belly made me nervous.
  • Travel caught up with me and I slept long nights once I was back home – clearly I needed more rest. This is going to be an adjustment.
  • Weight gain finally started kicking in and I was seeing small, but steady increases

During week 19 I traveled back to Dublin (where I live now and where this little guy will be born) to settle in for the remainder of my pregnancy. At the end of that week, Andy and I went out and shot our pregnancy announcement photos, which you can see in the next post. In all the commotion, I forgot to take a side profile shot, but I’m cutting myself some slack because the announcement photo turned out to be such a hit.

On week 20, I set to work taking some better bump photos at home and this attempt was much improved! The first reactions sharing with close family were a lot of fun.

20 weeks baby bump

Highlights from week 20:

  • Just when it felt like things were really getting started, I realized I had hit the halfway mark…?!
  • I attended a pregnancy yoga workshop that helped me figure out how to adapt my practice. Strong yoga classes are a normal part of my routine, so I wanted to be able to keep up with them as long as possible.
  • We got a HUGE reaction to our pregnancy announcement on social media! Most. Liked. Post. Ever. (several times over!) And, so much fun given our relative isolation over here on the Emerald Isle.
  • According to Runkeeper I walked over 25 miles this week, so I high-fived myself for that.

18-20weeks

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