Bible Verses for Pregnancy, Labor & Your Baby

When I found out I was pregnant, it made me want to be a better person. I've always been Christian, but I really found myself praying a lot more during pregnancy than I had previously. Another thing I did was read Scriptures to ease my mind during pregnancy. 

Here are some of my favorites for Pregnancy, Labor, After Childbirth and Raising Children.

Pregnancy

• Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
• Let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart Galatians 6:9
•  Be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead! Peter 1:6
•  Stand still and consider the wondrous works of God Job 37:14
• Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock.Isaiah 26:4

During Labor

• Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is worthy of respect, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if something is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things. And what you learned and received and heard and saw in me, do these things. And the God of peace will be with you.Psalm 63:6-8
• The sovereign Lord is my source of strength. He gives me the agility of a deer; he enables me to negotiate the rugged terrain.Isaiah 59:1
• A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. (John 16:21 )
• The Pain that you've been feeling, can't compare to the joy that's coming. Romans 8:18

After the birth:

• “I prayed for this child, and the Lord has granted me what I asked of him.  So now I give him to the Lord. For his whole life he will be given over to the Lord.” And he worshiped the Lord there. (1 Samuel 1:27–28)

On Bringing a Child Into This World:

• Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”  Mark 9:36–37
• Behold, children are a gift of the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. How blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them; They will not be ashamed When they speak with their enemies in the gate.Psalms 127:3-5
• Every good and perfect gift was from above James 1:17

On Raising Children

• Discipline your children, and they will give you peace; they will bring you the delights you desire. Proverbs 29:17
• Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Ephesians 6:4
• Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6

On How You Wish Your Children to Grow:

• And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him. Luke 2:40
• Father, teach my children “the secret of being content in any and every situation…through Him who gives them strength” Philippians 4:12-13
• My children are blessed and will be mighty in the land.Psalm 112:2 
• Father I pray that my child's mind is guarded by your peace Philippians 4:7
• My children will fulfill God’s will and purpose for their lives Psalm 138:8 
• My children are children in whom there is no blemish, but they are well favored. They are skillful in wisdom, cunning in knowledge, and understand science. Daniel 1:4 
•  My children are not being conformed to this world’s system, but they are constantly being transformed by the renewing of their mind, that they might know what is the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God for their lives.Romans 12:2
•  My children will flee from all sexual immorality and impurity in thought, word or deed, and they will realize that their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.Corithians 6:18-19

I'll also be doing other posts like this including Prayers for your Baby, Prayers for Pregnancy, Bible Verses for Your Relationship and many others. 

If you want to read my posts on pregnancy & delivery they are here:

First Trimester
Food & Tips to Get You Through Morning Sickness

Second Trimester

Labor & Delivery Story

what are your favorite verses?

I'm linking up with Let It Shine, Monday Morning Gossip & Monday Inspiration: 

Labor & Birth Story

at 6 months

I was adamant that this baby would come before my due date, so when my due date came and I still had no baby I was starting to get so frustrated. I had been getting contractions around every hour or so for the past 2 weeks and was officially over being pregnant.

I was uncomfortable on the night of the 22nd which was my due date. I kept feeling like I couldn't breathe, and that my stomach was really over-stretched, so I went for a walk. When I didn't feel any better I lay down and went to sleep at around 8 that night.

I woke up at 2 in the morning because I started getting contractions again. They were around 5 minutes apart but I wasn't in THAT much pain that I thought I needed to go to the hospital, so I just browsed the internet until it was time to get ready for that day. I had my antenatal clinic that day anyways so I was just going to go to that instead.

When I was getting ready, my water broke. Richard was so excited and freaking out asking me if I was okay. I was still bustling about tidying and getting things ready as well as making breakfast. My ride to the hospital arrived and I ended up not even eating the breakfast I'd spent so long making.

I got to the hospital and I was so sure that I wasn't in labor yet because it wasn't hurting that badly, I was just short of breath and feeling pressure in my lower back and all across my stomach. When I got to the labor ward it was change of shifts, so I had to wait an hour before even being seen - and Richard had to wait outside.

The nurse who checked me out said to me, " You know, since you've come in I haven't really seen you get any pains"
"Just because I'm not crying and pulling faces doesn't mean I'm not in pain, Nurse" I replied
"You're not in labor, if you were - you'd be in more pain"

She examined me and told me I was four centimetres dilated, and admitted me straight away.

They moved me to what they call 'First Stage', where there were a few other women in beds being monitored too - while we waited to dilate further. While I was in first stage they told my Mum and boyfriend that they could come in, one at a time and talk to me.

Since they were checking my blood pressure and monitoring the baby every 30 minutes it didn't leave much time for them to get to talk to me, since when the doctors were examining me they wouldn't let my family come see me.

My mom went home, and Richard went to get a bite to eat when they heard that now I was 3 centimeters instead of four centimeters dilated. Yep - I was actually going backward.

Since my waters had only been trickling out and not gushing - a Doctor came and broke my waters to speed up my labor. Then they told me to walk around - trust me... it's really not the nicest feeling.

Almost immediately after she broke my waters the contractions got worse. I would say about 7 on a pain scale, but it was manageable as they were about 7 minutes apart lasting for a minute the same as they had been for most of the day.

I asked for something for the pain, and they examined me again - told me I was 5 centimeters and gave me an injection in my IV line. I was warned that the injection wouldn't take away the pain of the contractions but make me drowsy and possibly speed up the labor.

At this point I hadn't had anything to eat in almost 24hrs and I was super tired, hungry and nauseous. Right after getting the injection I went to sleep.

I slept for maybe an hour and a half, and woke up at about 3pm. I  couldn't believe how much pain I was in so suddenly. I guess the nurses didn't believe me either, because it took them 20 minutes to come and check how dilated I was again.

By then, I was 8 centimeters dilated. I tried standing up and holding over by the side of my bed which was helping me bear through the contractions which were increasing in pain and getting a couple of minutes closer together. They told me I'm not allowed to stand and to go lay down.

I got so frustrated. How can they tell me to do something that makes it even more painful? Within 20 minutes I was literally writhing in pain in my bed and feeling this strong urge to push. I'd been told not to push before my body was ready so I was trying SO hard not to.

I yelled for the nurse and told her I really feel like I need to push so she checked me again. It was all systems go from there. I was fully dilated and they wheeled me to a private room immediately so I could deliver.

You could say that I started to freak out a little bit then. Neither my mom or Richard were there and at least one of them should have been there. The midwife was there telling me to push and I didn't want to have this baby without the father there to see his child being born.

A doctor asked me if there was anyone I'd like to call. I gave them my mom's number, but she wouldn't answer her phone and Richard had just gotten a new number the week before so I couldn't even remember it properly.

It just so happened that he had come back just in time and was in the waiting room when I sent a nurse out to look for him.

The labor went pretty quickly after that. He was in the room with me for about 15 minutes before our daughter was born. I got to name her and he cut the cord, then my mother took her away and dressed her.

Maya was born at 4.10 pm on the 23rd of September.

Things You Shouldn't Ask a Pregnant Woman!

written on the 22nd of September

 Being pregnant has been a wonderful experience, but at this point I'm kind of over the waiting period 

and anxious to have my sweet little baby in my arms.  Maybe I'd be less 'over' being pregnant if people didn't ask so many questions all the time? I can guarantee you that every heavily pregnant mama is TIRED of hearing these things and wishes that she could have a parrot on her shoulder to answer you instead.

"when are you due? "

I know you're only being considerate, but you're the 5th person to ask me that today.
Also, when I tell you when I'm due please don't say any of the following:

"OMG you're so pregnant!"

I am more aware of this fact than you are, considering I am the one carrying said child. I feel very pregnant, and I don't need you to tell me that I am. Right after you say this, it's likely that you'll comment on the size of my bump.

"Can your bump get even get any bigger/smaller?"

Usually people comment on how large your bump is.. but for  a long time I didn't really have much of a bump, so people would comment on how small it was. It's equally as annoying to be told that you hardly have a bump as it is to be told that you have a huge bump since both of them feel like unwarranted criticisms.

"When is that baby going to come out?"

When. It. Is. READY..!!

I'm patiently awaiting it's arrival too. I can't rush it. Just trust that when it is coming/ has come I will tell you.

"What are you having?"

Since we waited to find out the gender, this has to be one of the most awkward questions to get asked, because you can literally only say 'we don't know yet'. Then follows the conversation of why I should find out, even although it was our choice to be surprised.

"Are you having a shower?"

There are 2 ways to look at this. If I am now 40 weeks and I haven't told you about having one - I've either had it and you weren't invited or I'm not having one. 

Hint Hint: I'm not having one. We don't know the gender so it'd be hard to get clothes that are gender appropriate. 

"What are you naming it?"

If he's a boy, we're definitely naming him after Richard. If she's a girl there are about 6 options that I know I won't be able to decide in between until I actually see her little face. 

 It's not so bad that you want to know his/her name except for the fact that we are STRANGERS to each other and I don't ask you the names of your kids.

"Are you getting contractions?"

This is most often heard from Richard or my mother who will call from work to ask if I'm getting contractions. I know they're just anxious but I wish everybody would just rest assured that if something IS happening I'll call YOU..

For those of you with kids, what did you get tired of hearing whilst you were pregnant?

As someone who's not pregnant do you think it's appropriate to ask random pregnant strangers these questions?

The Second Trimester

While the first trimester was the hardest physically, I feel like the second took more of an emotional toll on me.

You can read about the first trimester *here* , and *here* are some tips on how to deal with morning sickness.

I felt like I couldn't process anything, but yet at the same time I couldn't stop thinking either. There were so many different thoughts and emotions swimming around in my head, and some of them seemed almost like they were arguing with each other. I generally tend to keep a lot of my feelings  inside, or at least I try to. It had really been building up though,

There was so much that I wanted to say, but either didn't or literally couldn't find the words. It's really a time when you have so many hormones in your body that what you say might not be what you mean. Or when you're irrationally upset by the fact that there's no cookies left.

I wasn't  about to go whining the situation that I very clearly allowed my SELF to get in to, because I believe you should stand up to your obligations and responsibilities and deal with the consequences of your actions.

I just kept my mouth shut, for most of  it. Instead I wrote what I felt inside, which goes something like this;

'In less than 5 months this little baby inside of me will be in my arms, and I'll be responsible for SOMEONE ELSE'S LIFE. It's kind of a lot for me to comprehend the fact that I'll be the caregiver to a tiny person who can do nothing for themselves and who will grow up depending on how I mold them in their early years of life. I sure as heck don't want it to grow up to be me! I'm selfish and as I've come to realize I have a lot about myself that I still need to develop, let alone another person,'


'I can cry at the drop of a hat right now, what with the hormones and all - I mean I have so many feelings coursing through me right now it's insane, and I kind of feel like nobody told me this is how it would be when I signed up for this.'


'I have this resentment and guilt towards R that I hate myself for. It's not fair that he doesn't have to change anything and meanwhile my diet, body, mood and entire life has to change.'


It was a really transitional point in my life where I didn't nearly  feel ready for the task ahead, but I wished that my baby would hurry up and come already, so I could deal with it instead of worrying about it. I mean I'm one of those Type A planners and it niggled at me that there were so many unknowns.

I still feel like that - I think that we can adapt to anything though, so I'm not exactly scared - but apprehensive to be able to get adjusted to life with a new baby.

I also feel like I've gotten over the overly emotional part too, and the resentment I had towards Richard, because I realized how ridiculous I was being, and how miserable I was making myself telling myself things like:

• he doesn't have to get fat
• he doesn't have to get all this hormonal acne
•  he can eat whatever he damn wants and drink whatever he damn wants meanwhile I have to eat  healthier and even when I don't feel like it.
• he can drink beer and energy drinks
• he can lay on his freaking stomach if he wants to.

I know I know it was childish, but we all have our moments.

I kind of really wasn't prepared for how under-appreciated I'd feel, and how tired I'd be. Or for how much stuff you have to buy and how expensive it can be. I wasn't expecting I'd outgrow about 70% of my wardrobe in the space of like 2 weeks either.

I also didn't think that it could hurt like hell when the baby kicks and take my breath away when it moves instead of it being all cute like in movies, or that the baby would super active until anyone else tries to feel it.

Little did I know that I'd have to take my clothes off at doctor visits - at this point way more medical staff have seen me naked than I'm comfortable with, but whatever. It also is realllllyy mortifiying when you have a young HOT male doctor doing a vaginal exam on you.. just FYI.

I also wasn't expecting to love my baby SO much when I've never even met him/her yet. I mean it's all completely worth it to bring another life into this world. I mean it's pretty darned amazing what the female body ... MY body can do, and I guess that makes me feel pretty special (if a little huge). I  never thought I’d worry so much when I felt less movement after being admitted to the hospital with a kidney infection. How hard I’d pray when they told me that it’s heartbeat was slow. How I’d beg my baby to kick me even if it hurt me just to let me know that it was alright. That was the scariest week of my life so far.

I'm was, and still am anxious to see my baby, find out it's gender and settle on a name, hold it in my arms and get back to actually being able to do a hardcore workout.

I'm putting a lot of faith in God at this time.. more than I thought I would need to before this all happened but I believe that he's given me a blessing and that having this baby will allow me to find contentment, grow and to be a better person. I believe now that God doesn't give us anything we can't handle and whilst my little peanut was somewhat unexpected/unplanned that it's come at exactly the right time and for a purpose.

For those of you that have been pregnant before, what was the second trimester like for you?

Hot Cup of Inspiration VI: Ashley Torchia

Hey Everybody! Today it's the sixth installment in the 'Hot Cup of Inspiration' Interviews. Each Thursday I'll be interviewing a different creative entrepreneur. We'll chat with all sorts of people - from writers, to designers, jewelry makers and photographers to see just what makes them tick.

Today I'm chatting with the Ashley, from Ashley Torchia Photography.

She's a blogger and self employed photographer of 4 years.

You can see other installments here:

one

two 

three

four

five

Welcome Ashley! Tell me a little about what you do :

 I am a portrait photographer based out of South West Florida and I specialize in families and high school seniors.  My business is based around building self confidence, self worth, and self awareness through my sessions.  From teens up to adults my goal is to have my clients walk a little taller, smile a little bigger and see themselves in a better light after they leave my studio.  You can see my work at www.ashleytorchia.com or catch up on the latest on my blog atwww.ashleytorchiablog.com.

How long have you been doing photography?

About 4 years since I have opened my doors.  I have been part-time for the beginning 3.5 years but since this past summer I have decided to go full time.

Did you major in a creative field at a college/university or are you self taught?

Throughout my high school  years I was in as many photography classes as possible and on the yearbook staff.  But sadly I did not realize until later on that I could actually make a career out of photography.  I went to college to study Physical Education because I had a deep love for teaching self confidence in children.

Wow! Such different fields! I wanted to be a teacher when I was younger.  

Yes, it is but the same passion is there-working with teens and teaching them self worth is all part of the heart of my business.  I just knew I didn't want to work for anyone other then myself.  Going into the photography world has allowed me to fulfill both of those desires.

What is the best thing about being a full-time photographer?

Being able to make my own destiny.  There is no corporate bull to deal with.  If I put in the effort I see the rewards.  It is very fulfilling.

What is your typical work schedule like?

I am a stay at home mama along with running a successful petite in-home studio.  I have an 8 year old that heads off to school and a 3 year old that stays home with me during the day.  My schedule usually goes something like this but as most of you parents know-kids usually have different ideas when it comes to how our day is going to be spent. Haha.  But here is a rough outline of my day.  I get up at 6am and until 7am I am getting my 8 year old ready for school, eating breakfast, and inhaling coffee.  Once I send him off to the bus me and my 3 year old hang watch cartoons, play, eat some more breakfast, I drink another cup of coffee and just enjoy waking up.  We hang out until around 8am.  We then head upstairs where I can then look over my plan for the day.  This can take around 15 minutes.  I see what I have on my plate, schedule calls, and map out how I would like the day to shape up to be.  After that I rock out my to do list until 10am.  I break for a snack and play time with my little.  This is key when dealing with kids at home.  You cannot ignore them or go, go, go all day.  My brain needs and welcomes the break and so does my little.  We hang out for about 45 minutes.  I then bust out the rest of my list or any new projects from 10:45-noon.  At noon we eat lunch.  If I have used my time wisely I shouldn't require anymore time to spend away from my daughter.  

If I am slammed (holiday season) or have a lot of projects I am working on I will return and work from 1-2pm.  Once 2pm hits I am no longer photographer and I am stay at home mama.  That is when I tidy up the house and do personal tasks for me and my family.  At 3:30 my son arrives home and until his head hits the pillow at 8 it is homework, dinner and family time. From 8 until 11pm is time to spend watching tv and snuggling up with my hubby on the couch.  This is my favorite time of the day.  Usually with a glass of wine in hand I unravel from the day and get ready to hit the next day with the same intensity.  Because my family comes first I shoot on the weekends and take one night during the week for order sessions.  

So the rest of the time is spent editing etc for clients?

I schedule everything out.  I give myself a week to get editing done per shoot.  I usually tell my clients two weeks to expect a session back but I know in my head I’m shooting for a week.  My studio is not high volume (except for holiday season) so I generally take one session a week.  I do not like to take more then that.  That way I know I can give my all to that clients experience and my family is happy as well.  The rest of the week I will batch blog posts, social media posts and marketing plans to fill in my day to day that I just talked about. 

What’s your advice for someone who’s interested in starting a photography business?

I would say if it is your passion do it!!  But passion is all well and good but you cannot go in blind thinking as long as you have a semi good camera you can just open up shop one day and boom clients will be knocking down your door.  I would say to run a successful photography studio (in-home or brick n mortar) you have to be good in business.  I would say that is where most of us fail, on the business side.  My advice is to get your ducks in a row.  Before you invest heavily I would practice, practice, practice.  Work on your technical side, composition, POSING, business and then open up shop.  If you don’t know about the business side it is OK.  There are plenty of mentors out there that can offer advice.  But just make sure they are reputable.  If they say sell 100 images for $25 RUN!! Choose someone who can help you value your worth even though you are just starting will be the best thing that can happen to a new photographer.  Get help, ask questions, and never lose that passion!

You can show Ashley some Link Love here:

www.ashleytorchia.com

www.ashleytorchiablog.com

www.instagram.com/ashleytorchia

Foods & Tips to Get You Through Morning Sickness

I can honestly say that morning sickness was the worst 12 week period of my life ever. I wasn't hospitalized due to my morning sickness, but I still ended up pretty much bed-ridden for 3 months of my life. I lost weight due to hardly being able to eat, and when I could eat, I still wasn't able to eat sufficiently to gain much weight. Thankfully it only lasted from around 4 weeks, to about 15 weeks for me, but some others have sickness that lasts their entire pregnancy.

I had to stop going to college because I literally couldn't even stand up for more than a couple of minutes without feeling like I was going to faint and vomiting.

Here's what I ate, and the tips that got me through those 3 months.

Food:
Pretty much the only proper food I could eat was :
Chicken Breast - lightly done with only salt & pepper.After this I could move on to Chicken Breast w/ toast & BBQ sauce. It sounds disgusting but it's really not bad.
I also tried to eat bread with whatever I was eating since that would settle my stomach a bit.

Beverages:
For some reason I wasn't really able to keep down water, so apple juice and sprite seemed to settle my stomach. It's important to take small sips of whatever you can handle to cut down the likelihood that you'll bring it back up

Snacks:
Dry Crackers: hardly the most appetizing, but dry crackers like Ryvita were one of the only things that would curb my nausea somewhat.

Corn pops or any dry cereal such as rice crispies. Cereal was okay for me as well. I don't take milk anyways so it wasn't a struggle to eat dry cereal.

Hard Candy: hard candy is a life saver. Morning sickness can leave this horrible taste in your mouth that makes you feel even more nauseous. It also helped me to be around other smells and not be as affected by them, since I had something that tasted nice in my mouth.

Pretzels: Like all the other starchy things, pretzels went down well too. I like the hard-dough salted kind and they sure beat just plain crackers !

Tips:

• Eating Little: Don't try to pack your stomach full of food. Chances are you'll see it again pronto, so try to pace yourself eating smaller portions.
• Eating Often: Since you'll be eating smaller portions, you need to eat more often. It's better to eat 5-6 times than try to have 3 large meals. I found if I ate something small every 2-3 hrs that minimized the nausea.
• Drinking enough fluids: You need to make sure that you are getting enough liquid into your body. You might not want to drink more since it seems like you live in the bathroom right now, but you're literally growing a small person and you NEED the water in your body to stay hydrated. Trust me, if you get dehydrated you'll only feel worse. Being more tired than you are right now IS possible and WILL happen if you allow yourself to become dehydrated.
• Taking a ginger supplement or Gravol: depending on your views on taking medication during pregnancy , you could try either ginger ( for natural advocates) or Gravol.

 My doctor recommended Gravol to me, but I personally don't like to take any medication if I can help it, since doctors don't know exactly how it could adversely affect YOUR baby. Even if they have been 'studied' everyone is different and I like to keep the risks minimal. Even those medications that have been tested mostly aren't tested in depth... and I don't blame them. I wouldn't want to test drugs during pregnancy either.

Ginger nut biscuits saved my life but you could try ginger tea if you don't like those biscuits.

• Don't try to eat too fast:  Trying to eat too much or too fast will only result in you tasting your food a second time. Trust me - it never tastes good the second time around.
• Distract yourself when eating: rather than concentrating on how much you don't want to eat. I found if I read a book, or tried to concentrate on something on TV while eating I could eat a little more than if I was just sitting down with my food and no distractions. 
• Sit up straight while you're eating: You probably just want to lay down, but trust me - acid reflux is THE last thing that you want.

Foods to Avoid:
Onion
Fish
Heavily Fried/ Seasoned Stuff

Morning sickness is one of the most testing symptoms of pregnancy and it's important to deal with it the right way. If you're going through it right now, don't let it get you down.

Everything is for a season, and this too shall pass. It doesn't matter if you can't eat the healthiest diet, or do the 5 work outs a week that you had planned. As long as you're taking pre-natal vitamins your baby is getting EVERYTHING it needs to grow healthily and that's all that matters.

I spent too much of my time feeling sorry for myself and I regret it, so don't let that be you.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a doctor or medical health professional. Eat these foods and try these medications at your own discretion and consult your doctor before taking any new medications, especially while pregnant.

The First Trimester; How I Found Out & How I Told People

at 13 weeks

I still call total bullshit on people who ‘didn’t know they were pregnant’.

You know. 

Or at least I did. I mean I was in denial, but I knew. 

I was on birth control, so I ' couldn't ' possibly be.. could I?  Well breakfast suddenly turned my stomach.. stretching backwards hurt in a period cramps sort of way, and my boobs looked like they got a little help from a plastic surgeon.

I bit the bullet and bought 2 tests from my mom’s money when I went to get groceries for us, and hid them until I knew she wasn't home and took them. 

I don’t dream often, but the night before I took them I dreamed that I got not one but 2 big fat positive tests... and well I wasn't wrong. 

That morning I had so many thoughts in my head. It wasn't one of those super pretty moments where I found out and planned all these creative ways to tell my boyfriend.  He took one look at me before taking them and said .. 

"you know what the result is going to be already right?"

" you know you’re totally pregnant?" and waited for me to go and do them.

Just a sidenote.. why do tests have to be so demeaning? I mean it’s totally not fair that guys don’t have to pee on a stick, but then again bringing a child into this world on the whole  is rather lopsided.

I was reading the instructions to make sure I’d do it right. Then I did it and before even a minute had passed I saw 2 little red lines denoting my fate. At first I  thought ‘ Oh. My . God.’ 

Then I thought ‘ This can’t be right, let me go and do the other one to double check’... which I did. 

By the time I got the second result it had already sunk in and inside all I was thinking is HOLY CRAPOLA. I’m going to be a parent.. I’m 18 and I’m going to be in charge of someone’s life, but I was never really sad or angry about it.

It was this weird feeling of love, and awe. I started looking at my stomach ALL the time and being in complete wonder at the fact that my little peanut was growing inside of me. A part of Richard and I.. 

The week after I found out ( about week 5) I started getting THE worst morning sickness, which had me existing on a diet of corn pops and warm apple juice.. which only expanded to KFC chicken wings or Chicken BBQ sandwiches around week 12. It was horrible, and it was hard. 

I just wanted to eat all the food. All day. But I couldn't.. I could barely keep down water, so my loves cheese and chocolate were definite no-nos too.

I couldn’t stand up without being queasy and every smell including my deodorant, my lotion and my boyfriend made me feel sick. Who knew that having super smell senses when you’re pregnant sucked so much? Like 98% of smells made me heave and I couldn’t help but smell them. I sure as hell couldn’t cook without barfing either. I was a mess and I had to stop going to school. I felt like ‘ I wish I’d stop barfing so that I could be really excited.’

All though that morning sickness thing gets really old, really fast and I was pretty tired of everybody asking me if I’m alright, because I never really felt any better than the last time they’d  which was perpetually about 5 minutes previously.

It was touching to see how much Richard really cared for me in those months, not getting angry at me when I couldn’t get out of bed and spending crazy money on the only things that I could eat. Sitting with me on the bathroom floor when I was sick and holding me until I felt better. It really brought us together.

He moved in soon after we found out and has been there for me ever since.

Obviously being so sick wasn’t something I could even ATTEMPT to hide from my mom, whom I live with, so I told her pretty much straight away, although it might have been ill-timed after a comment she made about ‘babies having babies’ - but I wasn’t bringing it up so she had to take what she could get. She cried and I’m fairly sure that they weren’t tears of happiness but over time she became really glad that she’ll have a grand-child, and she’s dealt with it really well.

The thing about telling people that kind of news is that they want to tell other people though. It’s kind of a tradition where I’m from to wait till the 3rd trimester until you tell people in case you lose the baby before then, but after within days of us telling our parents our circle of ‘knowing’ was about 20-30 people large. That kind of pissed me off because I barely actually told anyone, but it’s small fries now. 

I was also super impatient to actually get a bump, rather than just look like I’d eaten too many cupcakes, but I’m actually thankful I didn’t really start to show until about 14 weeks, especially now that I’m in the home stretch. Hopefully it means it’ll be easier to lose all this size when ‘Boopsie’ as we call him/her is born. The boobs were the first thing to grow though, and they continue to. I’m kind of hoping that my porn star -esque boobs stay, but I know they won’t. They did increase a whopping 2 cup sizes and 2 back sizes which I’m not too happy about.

One thing that I thought from the time I found out is that ‘ it’s such a long time!’ but simultaneously it feels like no time at all until I meet this tiny human that’s been growing inside of me and I still feel that way. 

These are moments I don’t ever want to forget.

Hacked By Kate; Homemade Baby Wipes

 Hi everyone! I'm Kate and I blog over at Hacked by Kate. I'm really excited to be doing a guest post for Jenny because she has a really great blog and I'm happy to be a part of it! Because she is expecting I thought it would be fun to share my homemade baby wipes.

But first, I wanted to tell you just a little about myself. I am a wife and mom of three. I started blogging in 2010 when I was pregnant with my second child and I had just become a stay at home mom. I guess I thought I wasn't busy enough and wanted to start keeping track of everything we were doing to share with my family. It has since turned into so much more and I'm really enjoying it all!

After about a year of blogging only about my family I started to open up a little and started sharing recipes, crafts, DIY projects, etc that I tried out. I find so many awesome projects on Pinterest that I redo and make my own and because of that I recently changed my blog name to Hacked by Kate.

Ok, now, back to the baby wipes. A while back I was thinking about making my own baby wipes and so I turned to my trusted source, Pinterest. And of course it was not lacking, there were so many different ways that you could make your own. After browsing through quite a few that looked promising I put together the ingredients I thought worked best. Luckily, I had everything I needed except a container, but I was able to find one at the store.

So gather your ingredients:

• 1 container to keep your wipes in
• 2 cups of boiled water- cooled to room temperature
• 1 roll of premium paper towels- I use Viva because they are really strong
• 2 Tbsp Baby Wash
• 1 Tbsp Baby Oil

1. You are going to start with cutting your paper towel roll in half. Remove cardboard roll.
2. Mix your water, baby wash and baby oil together in the bottom of your container and swish it around to mix it.
3. Then you will put your paper towels into the liquid, cut side down. Let it soak up all of the liquid.
4. Now, with the lid on, flip your container over and let it soak all the way in.
5. Pull a piece of paper towel from the middle to start your roll!

*One note* I typically go through wipes pretty quick, but one time when I didn't use as many after being gone on vacation, I came back to moldy wipes. They really have a shelf life of less than two weeks. Otherwise, I've had no problems.

And now you have your very own home made wipes that don't have a huge list of weird ingredients!

And thanks Jenny for having me! It's been great being here and I hope you'll check out Hacked by Kate for more of my projects.

5 Things That Should Come In Adult Sizes

Hello everyone!  I'm Rebecca and I usually blog over at RebeccaChapman.com, but today Jenny has been gracious enough to allow me to take over at Escape and Inspire. 

I know Jenny is getting ready to have a baby, and so many of my friends are at that stage that I'm having to buy a whole lot of baby shower gifts.  The last time I walked in to the store to pick something up I thought to myself, "I would buy a lot of this stuff for myself if only it were adult-size."  Seriously, why do babies get to have all the comfort and fun?!  Here are 5 things that should be made in adult sizes.

1. Bouncing Seats

I own a rocking chair and it looks nothing like this beauty, all plush and cozy with a headrest to keep my neck from cramping when I inevitably fall asleep and will keep my butt inside when I start to rock so hard I almost fall out.  I'm not joking.  I would fall out without being strapped in!  No living room chair that I've looked at for myself has a cute name like "Snuggle Bunny Bouncer." I could really use that mobile too. I get bored easily and it's nice to have something to bat at. I bet you want one now too.

2. Activity Gyms

I'm not talking a work-out gym.  I don't want to have to work that hard.  I just want a nice comfy mat to lie on with a few toys I can reach for so I feel like I'm stretching out my arms. The product description said this came in "frustration-free packaging" so I was totally sold.  Pretty much everything I buy has "full of frustration packaging." 

3. Whatever the heck this is

I basically just wanted to include this product because this picture is hysterical.  Why is this baby so sad?! He looks so stylish in his umbrella hat.  And I could use one because every morning I get shampoo in my eyes!  

4. Jumpers

I want to feel like an astronaut in space walking around with no gravity.  Is that so much to ask?  

5. Pack-N-Plays

 First, I had no idea that play-pens were now called play-yards.  I totally get not wanting to put your baby in something that sounds like a dog kennel but I'm not fooled.  Still, this "play-yard" looks like an awesome place to nap.

Don't lie...you want at least one of these items on the list for yourself.  I have so enjoyed getting to talk to you today.  I’d love to have you visit me over at RebeccaChapman.com.  Stop by and say hello!