my pregnancy journey week 13

12/6/2013

Posted in: JOURNALING | PROJECTS | FOR PHOTOGS | MATERNITY

SELF PORTRAIT HOW-TO: To achieve this week's photo I stood in my bathroom with the flash pointing away from me. The light bounced off the wall and onto the front of my body. I didn't want to fully illuminate myself so i made sure the angle of bounced light pointed toward the back side of the photo. This produced a nice contrast of shadows and highlights.

WEEK 13 MONTH 4 | DECEMBER 6TH - DECEMBER 12TH
B A B Y P E A P O D

The start of week 13 was welcomed with a positive experience at the midwifery. I was nervous to go alone, knowing that 3 other times a loss was discovered, one of them being just one week beyond this pregnancy. I knew that if everything was ok at this appointment that my husband and i could feel comfortable revealing our newest tiny family member. A lot was riding on this visit. I was excited but couldn't shake the fear of not hearing a heartbeat. The midwife placed the heartbeat-hearing device on my lower tummy and moved it around until we heard a strong heartbeat. It was my own. Ugh.

Fear remained until moments later I could hear an extra fast thumping. It was a clear sign our baby was a live and well! Its heart rang through my ears a beautiful song. At 160 beats per minute, our baby was sounding perfect. I stayed calm until the midwife left the room, at which point i couldn't hold back tears. The fear had left. I felt relieved, calm, and overjoyed.

When I returned to work that day, I told my coworker and I was comfortable with her putting an announcement into our newsletter. By the end of the day, my coworkers new about this baby, which made it feel all the more real. As soon as the newsletter went out, i let my stomach out. I didn't have to try hiding anymore. The next week I wore an outfit that clearly revealed what little bump I had. It was a weird feeling to have been hiding it for weeks under larger clothes, then suddenly letting it all show. But I feel wonderful being able to do just that.