Wow I can’t believe I’m 37 weeks along! To be honest things have been easy and smooth sailing till a week or so ago. Now the lovely swelling I’ve heard so much about has set in, my poor feet are hideous! Oh and sleep has become such a pain that I no longer look forward to bedtime. Between the bathroom breaks and the tossing and turning it has not been fun. Plus I wake up the next morning feeling like I was beat up in the middle of the night! Over the last few days carpal tunneling has set in so I’m wearing a brace to help with the numbness. I guess this is revenge for having such an easy pregnancy so far ;). Skipper was head down at my appt last week but has decided that position isn’t as comfortable as laying across my tummy. So I’m back to feeling his/her head in my ribs when driving! The Dr guesstimates s/he is about 6-6.5lbs now!
We are anxiously awaiting David’s arrival on Friday!!! I’m so glad this deployment is over but I’m so nervous because this means I’ll be having a baby soon! We are as ready as we can hope to be, the nursery is done, our bags are packed and the car seat is just waiting to be put in the car and checked out by the sheriff’s office for safety. Other then that I don’t think we can prepare for what is about to happen! I’m excited for maternity photos next week with Heather Bee Photography, I’ve been freaking out about what to wear! Apparently people have been following my maternity wardrobe and think I’m stylish! Who would have thunk it? 🙂 So I’m feeling extra pressure to look cute now!
Next week is all about clearing my plate in the office so I can go into my maternity leave without leaving anyone hanging! If you have not heard from me by next Thursday please contact me to check in because pregnancy brain is real and it is quite possible I’ve completely forgotten. (Hence why you may have seen this blog post go up this morning with only a few sentences, yeah I forgot to finish it!) I think I’m good though, this is why I have lists! I’ll be answering emails and voicemails over my maternity leave but response time will be sporadic. You just might see a lot of emails at 2am after a baby feeding 😉
I’ve got some fun sessions coming to the blog including an engagement session in Old Town Alexandria, my first senior session in Downtown Fredericksburg, another fab wedding at The Inn at Willow Grove and a super fun wedding towards Richmond at the Virginia Crossings! So check back for lots of great photos! I’m booking sessions for November if you are looking for family portraits or holiday cards. Just drop me a line!
And just to catch you up on the basketball I’m sporting here are some new pics 🙂
Week 37 pic is coming, I wanted to get a haircut and I forgot to wear makeup today!
Melissa Arlena is an award winning lifestyle newborn photographer in Charlottesville and Richmond, Virginia who has earned her Master Photographer Certification from NAPCP in maternity, newborn and family photography. Her natural and simple work has been featured in magazines and online blogs worldwide. She has been named Best Maternity and Newborn Photographer in Richmond and Charlottesville, VA in 2023.
