I've put a lot of thought into this blog post and whether or not I should actually share this one.  Mostly because you're going to have to practice what I preach, not what I do.  Because you're looking at a two time momma and photographer who didn't do a maternity session.   One of my biggest regrets as a mom who is now embracing the body that grew my babies is not having enough pictures.  No maternity pictures (even selfies at home), and I did Gemma's newborn session myself.  I missed out on some really special moments that I can't get back.

Mommas, celebrate this short chapter in your story.

I know this is soooo easy for me to say.  Short chapter.  Laughable.

No matter when you find out you're pregnant, that due date feels like years away.  At the beginning it's because you're so excited to meet your little one and actually BE pregnant, and at the end, it's because you're over being pregnant and anxious to meet your little one.  

I recently reached out to a family friend, Renee Spinella, who is a pelvic floor therapist to see if she'd give us some insight on pelvic floor health- which can be greatly affected from pregnancy.  As a mom, I'm only in the past few years familiar with pelvic floor issues.  Luckily- there's help out there!

“What do you expect? You just had a baby!” “You just have to live with pain during pregnancy!” “Welcome to the club! Once you have a baby it’s normal to pee in your pants when you laugh!!”

Sound familiar? Terrified to join the “club”? The good news is that you do not have to!! I am here to give you knowledge and hope so you can get yourself on track to feeling better! Pelvic floor physical therapy is a specialized branch of physical therapy focusing on all of the problems that we face as women.

Where time goes, I have no idea.  One minute I'm planning your newborn session with you, and the next I'm delivering your gallery from your smash and splash one year session.  How it goes so fast, I'll never understand.

When we planned her newborn session, we incorporated tons of color- it was gorgeous!  This go around, I asked her mom what colors she'd like to see, and she mentioned that Amelia looks really good in blue.  If you've been around for a minute, you know that when you tell me I can put a baby girl in blue- I'm running with this.

As a baby she photographed beautifully on my minty green backdrop so I also found an outfit to coordinate with one of my backdrops and the pops of color were perfect with the more neutral backdrop.  (Perks of hiring the same photographer for newborn and one year- we have all the same props, AND remember little details like best colors to photograph your family on).

This is *my* experience. If this wasn't or isn't yours- I'm genuinely thrilled for you. After talking to a few moms, I felt compelled to put some thoughts out there.

You couldn't wait to introduce your baby to your fur babies. You've seen plenty of reels and tictoks of  adorable first introductions. Maybe you envisioned raising babies and pets together and having an automatic best friend and protector for your baby.

But. It doesn't take long before exhaustion and overwhelm sets in.

Things that your dog used to do that were entertaining are now grating your nerves.

Tip tap toes, hogging the bed, water sloshes, shedding, and barking are now the bane of your existence.

There are only so many hours in the day to exercise and run your dogs energy out.

The cat's nightly escapades threaten baby's nighttime sleep and set your heart racing at the thought of them waking everyone up when "going back to sleep" doesn't happen easily anymore.

A little over two months ago one of my friends tagged me in a post for a house for sale.  We went to see it that night and the following Saturday and I literally had tingles.  While at the top end of the budget (plus a bit lol), it checked all of the boxes plus some.  I'd seen something on IG between those few days that said "what if everything works out".  I repeated that phrase to myself probably a hundred times in the few days between seeing the house and being able to put the offer in.  We hadn't even thought of listing our home, much less pre-approved for a loan, the chances of everything working out felt soooo slim.  We were woefully unprepared to make an offer on a property that was everything we wanted and more.  Yet, here we are, making moves!

Since that time, we got pre-approved, extended an offer that was accepted, (waited forever for an appraisal), closed on the new property, moved the home we've lived in for the past 10 years, worked umpteen hours to turn the old house to ready for market, sent the girls went back to school, listed the old home, accepted an offer the next day and closed eight days later on the home we purchased 10 years ago, AND...