I've had your fairly standard pregnancy thus far. You know, get pregnant while living with your parents (awkward), move into a beautiful (albeit at the top of your price range) apartment, are fantastically sick, learn the reason you're so sick is because you're actually pregnant with twins, realize the beautiful third floor apartment you now live in is impractical for both pregnancy and having two babies (so... many... stairs...), your car breaks and you have to purchase a new one (which is a great car, but now you have more monthly bills), impress everyone with the way your morning sickness vanished and you're suddenly doing just fine, surprise everyone with how well babies are doing and how your belly isn't as big as the moon (though your feet begin to swell to the size of the moon), and are still able to participate in summer family vacations and get around just fine.
You know, standard pregnancy.
Until 31 weeks hits you like a ton of bricks and you're suddenly faced with your belly aching because your girls don't have enough room, feeling like your ribs are broken, waking up twice a night to pee and struggling to get out of the bed, barely being able to breathe, feet bigger than King Kong's and hurt with each step, back pain, pelvic pain, stressing over all the things you have to do and/or buy before babies arrive, doctors appointments twice a week taking up your time, and just living with general discomfort and pain.
You know, standard pregnancy.
Today I am 32 weeks pregnant, went to my doctors for one of my twice a week non-stress tests, and told my doctor that I was done. With work. See, I've been working full-time up until this point and while I enjoy my job, and am good at my job, being in the office 40 hours a week is beyond exhausting. I'm up and down out of my seat all day, don't have time to put my giant feet up, and when I get home am too tired to tackle the long list of things I need to do (partially just from all the stairs I have to climb to get home after work).
I can't clean my home after 8 hours of work, which leaves cleaning for the weekend, but my weekends are often too busy with baby or bridal showers, vacations, and other tasks that need to be done. I haven't had a full weekend at home in probably a month, and my apartment shows it.
Chris does so much to help out and typically he's the one doing the cleaning. But that's not always fair. Yes, I'm pregnant, but I'm ridiculously stubborn and hate having people do things for me. I hate admitting I may need help and having Chris do all the work around the house makes me feel like a bad wife and a lazy human being.
And let's not even get into what'll happen after babies come and I will be leaving my job, leaving Chris to be the sole money maker in the home (unless this blog finally starts making me money at some point). I've always been someone who wants to work. Being a mom is a job, but transitioning out of full-time employment in an office to full-time mom duties will definitely be a change for me. But in having twins, it would not be possible for me to continue my job. Trust me, I've looked at it from every angle, this is the best solution for me and my girls.
Anyways, today I got my doctor to write a note saying I can only work 20 hours a week up until my official maternity leave, which is only five weeks away. My boss was super accommodating, he understands my situation and wants what is best for me and my babies (which, reading through pregnancy forums, is actually a rare thing, I'm pretty lucky I work where I do).
Switching to part-time is a huge weight off my shoulders, despite the financial strain this causes. But I believe that things will work out. I've been looking for part-time online positions I can do from home for some extra cash and have been researching on how I can make money through this blog (because over 5 years and not a single cent is pretty sad). But also, from experience, I can say that I blog a lot more when I'm not working. Like today. I'm actually posting something because I didn't have to work. Therefore, working part-time and when babies come, I'm sure I'll have a lot more blog posts for you guys.
This post was mostly me complaining/venting, which
John Tesh told me I shouldn't be doing. But I hope you'll forgive me this one time and I'll work on less complaining on this blog in the future.
In summary, being pregnant isn't my favorite and hasn't been easy on me. I'm beyond thrilled for my girls to arrive and to be a mom. They have stayed very healthy through this whole pregnancy and I couldn't be happier about that, but me, personally, I'm falling apart at this point. But I have five weeks left until I'm being induced and I want them to stay in until them to give them the best chance at a healthy delivery and life.
Well, if you've made it to the end of this post, congratulations! Here's your reward: a couple of photos from an impromptu, unofficial maternity shoot from one of my favorite photographers, and my friend,
Mariah.
BTW, that dress is too short now because of how big my belly has gotten and these were taken a month ago. I'm growing like crazy! Good for babies, not so good for me personally.
Also, please check out more of Mariah's photos on her Instagram page by
CLICKING HERE. She did my sister's engagement photos and they were so gorgeous and she's a Farnes family friend so she's done a lot for us. If you live in Utah, particularly Davis County, check her out. She's amazing.
Lastly, up until recently, this dress has been my go-to for a comfy, cute outfit. Here are some similar dresses, all $50 or less, that I would have also loved.
