Last week we took our maternity photos and I’m so excited to share them! We originally planned to take them in a wheat field, but when we got to the location, all of the wheat had just been cut (gasp) so the entire field was bare. Luckily, we were only about 20 minutes away from one of my favorite desert spots so we headed there and I’m so happy we did because I love how the photos turned out!

This may be a little surprising coming from me, but I originally was going back and forth on whether or not I wanted to take the time to shoot maternity photos at all. I was on the fence, but not because I don’t absolutely love maternity photos- trust me, I do! Maternity photos are actually some of my favorite sessions to shoot as a photographer. So why the heck would I consider not taking any myself?! Hang with me as I explain. As a photographer, Fall is one of my busiest seasons, and it just so happened to be right in the sweet spot of my pregnancy to take maternity photos (which is any time between 28 weeks to 32 weeks if you’re wondering). This meant that taking a day to shoot maternity photos for my family consequentially meant saying no to potential clients who may want to book the same day. Blocking off one day in my calendar might not sound like a big deal, but if you work in the wedding industry or are a small business owner, you probably get where I’m coming from. Work/life balance is tough to have in general- but it can be especially hard if you’re an entrepreneur because when you don’t work, you don’t get paid, period. With all of that in mind, I had pause when it came to blocking a day off of my calendar during my busy season, however I’m so glad I did.

Now that we have the photos, I know I absolutely made the right choice. When it came down to our final decision on whether or not to take the photos, I reminded myself that this is my first pregnancy and I realized I really wanted to capture this exciting time in our life before our family of two becomes three. If you’re on the fence on whether or not you want to schedule maternity photos, I’d absolutely recommend it! Obviously I’m a photographer so that recommendation probably doesn’t come as a surprise, but as a mama to be myself, I know my husband and I (and our baby eventually) will cherish these photos forever.

A couple weeks ago my family threw Keaton and I the most amazing baby shower ever! As soon as we found out we were having a boy I only had one request: that the baby shower be Winnie the Pooh themed. Well my sister, mom, and grandma heard the theme and ran with it! I was in awe as soon as we stepped through the door- they thought of every little detail to make it an absolutely perfect day. I managed to take a couple photos of the set up beforehand, but as soon as the shower started I completely blanked and didn’t think to take any photos with the rest of our family and friends. I’m super bummed about that, but Keaton and I had the best time with everyone and felt so incredibly loved! Thank you again to my sweet family for planning this celebration of our baby boy! He is already so loved!

Pregnancy has made me wayyyy more aware of what I’m putting on and into my body. There’s a laundry list of ingredients that should be avoided during pregnancy for so many different reasons. Some can cause preterm labor, respiratory issues for the baby, birth defects, the list goes on and on. Since getting pregnant, my most commonly searched phrase has become “is __ pregnancy safe?” Today I wanted to share some of the products that I’ve been using and loving since becoming pregnant. An added bonus is many of these items are all natural products that are safer for everyone to use, not just while pregnant- YAY!

The majority of the skincare products I use are from Primally Pure. I love using this brand because it’s all natural so I can rest easy knowing I’m not putting tons of toxic chemicals on my body.

Here are my favorites:

• Lavender deodorant– they have tons of options- I’ve tried their tea tree, (regular) geranium, and lavender. I’d say my fave is the lavender, but that’s just scent preference.
• Mint beauty cream – I use this as my moisturizer
• Dry shampoo– I use the dark locks, but they also have dry shampoo for blondes too, plus I love that it’s a powder dry shampoo (yay for no aerosols!)
• Cleansing oil– I have naturally dry skin, but they have cleansing oil for normal, oily and dry skin.
• Eucalyptus body butter– If you’re a fan of body butter you’ll love this one- It’s so hydrating and a little bit goes a longgg way.
• Bath Salts– I’ve tried both the sea soak and the flower bath and loved them both! They smell super good and make baths way more relaxing plus they’re amazing on my sore pregnant bod haha.

My other pregnancy favorites are a hodge podge of brands below!

• Glow Organics Belly Butter– I use this every morning and night to help prevent stretch marks and it provides relief for itchy skin as your belly stretches
• Honest Company Shampoo & Conditioner– this is also baby safe and tear free so I plan to continue using the shampoo on myself and the baby when he comes. 🙂
• Belli Body Scrub– good for exfoliating!
• Aveeno Baby Sunscreen– I follow the general rule “if it’s safe for baby it’s safe for me”
• Witch Hazel Toner– I started using this before I was pregnant because I had heard great things and knew it was natural so I was happy this was one product I didn’t have to switch during pregnancy.
• Mambino Organics Body Oil– I use this after showering on my belly while my skin is still damp to help prevent stretch marks.

This post may contain affiliate links however opinions are my own.

Before we knew our baby’s gender, one of our favorite things to do was ask our family and friends to guess if they thought we were having a girl or a boy. The vast majority guessed girl, which is what my husband, Keaton, thought we were having. I on the other hand, was convinced this baby was a boy. I joked with Keaton saying I was 100% sure our baby was a boy and then he’d fire back with “well I’m 101% sure it’s a girl!”

People commonly asked us if we had a preference on the baby’s gender, but from the start we both agreed we’d be equally happy either way. To us it seemed like no matter what you can’t lose- either way you get a BABY! (Though I will say that I think my side of the family was secretly rooting for a boy because boys are a rarity in my family!)

When the day finally came for us to find out the gender we were SO excited! Keaton and I decided we wanted to find out in the doctor’s office just us two and right away (patience is not our strong suit). The first half of our appointment consisted of the technician checking out the baby’s development while we eagerly awaited her announcement of the gender. Finally the question came, “would you like to know your baby’s gender?” “YES!” we responded. And then…. “It’s a boy!”

I instantly started tearing up from the joy of knowing we were having a son. Plus, I was glad we could finally stop calling him “it” haha. I was also a little relieved to find out he was a boy because we had finalized a boy name very early on in our pregnancy so I was happy we wouldn’t have to think about baby names anymore.

Our gender reveal oddly enough fell in our lap. Up until a day or two before we took the gender reveal photos I hadn’t planned a thing. Lucky for us, my best friend’s brother and sister in law had just done a gender reveal for their baby girl, but had gotten confetti for both genders so they ended up offering us the blue confetti! Additionally, Keaton’s mom planned a mini family reveal for us where she had a boy and girl balloon ready (depending on which gender the baby ended up being) so we used that for photos as well! Who says winging it is ever a bad thing? Haha!