I’m Stephanie, a wedding + lifestyle photographer based in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Warrenton, Virginia. Whether I’m by the mountains of Colorado or Virginia, my soul feels at home, surrounded by rural living and the raw beauty of nature. I genuinely love what I do, and feel so passionate to share the enthusiasm and joy of these celebrations with you!

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August 31, 2020

We are Having a Baby | Second Trimester

We are Having a Baby | Second Trimester

It has been about ten weeks since we shared with you all that we are expecting. πŸ™‚ So it’s time to share an update now that the second trimester is quickly flying by!! The first trimester seemed like an eternity whereas the second trimester seems like we cannot grasp time. You’ll see below why we are enjoying this season so much!! Check it out!

What I am Learning About the Second Trimester…

I’m not completely out of the second trimester (four more weeks), but I will say this season has been my saving grace! After dealing with not feeling myself for 10-weeks, I wondered how we could consider having another kid in the future. HAHA! But now that I’m enjoying this season MUCH better, I can overlook that first part of pregnancy. πŸ˜‰ So grateful to feel me again with the addition of a growing belly and daily baby kicks!!! These are some of the MANY reasons why we are enjoying this trimester…

BABY KICKS πŸ™‚

This has to be my favorite “symptom” right now. <3 Around week-16, I felt the “flutters.” Then around week-18, I started feeling little kicks! Since then, they have been getting stronger, harder, and more consistent! Around week-21, I started seeing the kicks through my tummy and it wasn’t until week-23 when Alex got to witness it. I’m soaking this in while it doesn’t hurt too much (except when he kicks into my bladder!!).

SLEEP + LONG SHOWERS

From all of the wise mommas out there, I’ve heard to never take sleeping and showers for granted. SO I’m taking FULL advantage of this time to sleep as much as I can as well as the long showers without worry! πŸ™‚ My body is really enjoying it too!!!

MORE ENERGY + NO MORE NAUSEA!!!

My energy mostly returned and my nausea subsided by week 16! Wahoo! I had dealt with zero energy/constant nausea for 10-weeks, and was SO grateful to feel better! I don’t know how friends of mine survived a pregnancy feeling nauseous the entire time. So brutal… I feel for anyone who had/has to battle that daily struggle!!

So the first thing I wanted to do was ADVENTURE and get out of the house!!! Around the 16-week mark, we went to Alabama for a camping trip. It was fun but hot! And definitely too hot for a dog in a two-person tent in July. But I’m so glad we got out and about and even hiked 6-miles on very minimal sleep and brutal temps! Proud of us!

Since then, I’ve been walking 2-2.5 miles on a daily basis to keep Ollie and myself active. Some days, my activity might look different. Like walking on the beach instead of around the neighborhood … or doing prenatal yoga if the weather is not ideal … or like recently, go on a 16-mile bike ride with my best friend! πŸ™‚ We have been finding ways to stay active!!

WE GOT TO FIND OUT THE GENDER!!!

Around week-19, we got to find out the gender together!!! Originally, I was supposed to go to my anatomy scan off-base alone (no thank you, COVID). We were both bummed to not find out together during the appointment. SO Alex went out of his way and surprised me with an appointment at Living Images where both of us were able to find out together! It was the best surprise!!! I could have SWORN we were going to have a girl! I cannot wait to be a boy mom … except for the crazy stunts he will do during his childhood years. πŸ˜‰ My gray hair will surely come in fast and furious by that point!!!! HA!

Of course, we proudly display out little guy on our refrigerator!!! πŸ™‚

CUTE BABY STUFF

Our baby boy is already spoiled!!! The gifts that have been given to us already are SO appreciated and really make our hearts melt. <3 I cannot wait to get into “nesting” mode and start educating myself about parenthood while working on his nursery!!! Eeeeppp!

We are Having a Baby | Second Trimester

FOOD AVERSIONS MOSTLY GONE!!!

THANK. GOODNESS. I was so sad that I couldn’t even bear the smell of eggs at all for WEEKS! And after educating myself about pregnancy nutrition through Lily Nichols, eggs are one food item you don’t want to skimp! But it wasn’t until around week 19/20 that I could finally start dabbling in eggs/meat products again. I was a straight up vegetarian for WEEKS! Haha! But now I can mostly enjoy everything again. πŸ™‚ No cravings … yet! But I do loveeeeeee FRUIT! … and acai bowls, ice cream, mocktails, Pumpkin Spiced Lattes (YAY for fall!!!), and hot chocolate (not too soon, right?!)!!

PREPARING FOR PARENTHOOD

Not much going on inside of the Schloe household … I’m hoping to dedicate a couple of weeks towards the end of September to get into baby mode … But Alex and I are laughing about some things that we are doing to prepare. πŸ˜‰ Like I found myself cleaning up the house one Sunday and post-it noting a reminder to Alex for his daily vitamins. Or taking on the role to baby sit for a friend. Oh man, my heart MELTED seeing my best friend cuddle and entertain a two-year-old!!!! Alex is going to be an incredible father! And of course, we pray on a daily basis for our little guy. <3 I love seeing his ultrasound on our fireplace mantle every day!

WORKING

I’m SO glad to be back in action!!! It looks a lot different, not necessarily due to pregnancy, but to the pandemic going on. Regardless, I’m so glad to be back photographing and having the full energy to do so! πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚

THE PET LIFE

Ollie isn’t acting any differently towards me so I think he either doesn’t care or doesn’t have a clue! Haha! πŸ™‚ Whereas Pixie is attached and wants to be held or somewhat close to me. I’ve also noticed that she doesn’t necessarily want to also cuddle with me, but also Alex!!! Which is VERY bizarre!! She might be more in tuned with what is going on. πŸ˜‰ This photo of Ollie on top of me was not normal because he usually HAS to be on top of Alex. HA! But this has only happened once so not really a thing. Hopefully, when I have a big belly, he will want to snuggle with ME! πŸ™‚

14-24 Week Bump

If you missed my first post about the first trimester, you can find our pregnancy story and bump photos HERE! It’s pretty funny that I am NOT consistent taking bump photos… But now that things are really bumping, I think I’ll be more on top of my game. πŸ˜‰ It’s so fun seeing these photos and the progress over the past weeks. Even with the lack of consistency. πŸ˜‰

ALMOST 100-DAYS AWAY FROM MEETING OUR BABY BOY!!!!

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