I know, right?!
When I started thinking about maternity photos this go around, I had no idea this is where I would end up. I mean, a embellished bodysuit at 8 months pregnant?
If you have been following along with my pregnancy journey on Instagram, you know this pregnancy has ROCKED my world. I was sick with Maren, but not as extreme as with this baby. I lost 20lbs in 2 months. I threw up everything I ate and on days I didn’t eat I would still throw up bile. There were days I couldn’t get out of bed, Chase would have to help me bathe because I was so weak, I became extremely dehydrated and started weekly IV therapy, my entire life & business had to be put on an immediate hold because I simply could not function.
Even though I was growing life inside me, I felt like MY life was being sucked away.
Each day got better, but even after 4 months of extreme morning sickness, it took me a couple of months to regain my strength, my appetite and my mental clarity.
I wasn’t in the best head space. I felt like I missed out on months of Maren’s life, I felt like my business suffered, I felt like a bad coach, wife, mother, I felt so much guilt for not being able do anything at the level that I hold myself accountable to.
At the end of my pregnancy with Maren, I felt so dainty, maternal, soft and feminine and that is the exact representation of my maternity photos while pregnant with her.
Coming to the end of this pregnancy I feel strong, empowered, maternal (but in a really aggressive mother bear way) and confident that if I can survive what has been, the most challenging 9 months of my life running on not even half of what I am capable of, Quincy back at 100% is going to be unstoppable. Throwing on an embellished bodysuit at 8 months pregnant is just the start.
Maren & Q have both, in their own way, completely humbled me like no other living person could. They have ripped me apart from the inside out, and they have pushed me beyond my mental limit — all the while making me the strong mother that they need.
The strength my children have given me will never be matched.
Photography by the insanely sweet & talented Brittany Jury Photography