Every Breath We Drew Was Hallelujah

At 33 weeks, I'm going to do that thing I promised you I'd never do. You know, that thing where I show my bare belly because it is gross and covered in stretchmarks? Yeah, that. But stay with me, because after this photo, I'm going to share some more gorgeous photos that Beth took, to make up for my naked belly. Unless you like that sort of thing.


Truthfully, I mostly like this picture. I hate how dirty my mirror is, but I hope you will forgive me because I spent three hours Saturday painting the bathroom (by myself!), thus I let cleaning the rest of the bathroom slip by the wayside. I promise to clean it soon. But I like this photo because for the most part, my stretchmarks have faded. I haven't gotten any new ones yet, and I'm hoping it stays this way. At this point with Luke, my stomach was a MESS. He dropped very quickly at 33 weeks, causing my stomach to itch and burn and turn red and feel like it was splitting with stretchmarks. Not a fun memory.
This picture just makes me smile because my belly is so round and every time I watch it rise and fall when I breathe or when the baby kicks, I just smile. I admit--I rub my belly all the time. Sometimes I don't realize how much I do it, but I can't help myself. I love feeling the baby move from the inside and out.

Speaking of love, this set of photos from Beth? Oh my gosh, LOVE. Seriously, how am I going to pick which pictures to order?

When Beth took this photo, she told me to close my eyes and visualize holding the baby. Here's the thing... I mostly fail at visualization. When I was in labor, my midwife told me to visualize Luke moving down out of my body, and I wanted to be like, YO, visualize my fist in your FACE. But this.... I could do this. Except I don't really know if this baby is a boy or a girl, so it was swaddled in my visualization.
For these next three photos, Beth made me straddle a park bench, and I asked her what she would do if I told her I wasn't wearing any underwear. I think she called me a freak. I was wearing underwear, by the way, but it was a valid thought!



Total love. Now, if you live in Northwest Indiana or the surrounding area, HIRE HER. Not only is she amazing, but so is the sale she's having. Seriously, look at these photos. She made me look movie star pregnant!