My Maternity Shoot

I’m tired. I’m really tired. I’m 29 weeks pregnant with twins, anemic, and I have a toddler so it makes sense that some days I barely have the energy to keep my eyelids afloat. But I wanted to do a maternity shoot; I did one at 33 weeks when I was pregnant with Aspen and it lasted all day so I knew I had to put some time stipulations on this one if I wanted to make it out of there in one piece. (Yes, this is dramatic, but when you’ve spent days on the couch trying to control painful contractions because you walked over 2,000 measly steps in one day then you will understand my drama.)  Here’s what I did and how it turned out:

I loved my maternity pictures with Aspen and I wanted to commemorate this massive twin belly as well but with photos that weren’t “stock” looking.  I found my photographer, Christina Ceranna at Eclat Creative, she’s a fellow twin mama who was pregnant with her girls when I was pregnant with Aspen and she’s the most imaginative and creative person on the planet.  The way she works with lighting and captures lifestyle images is truly spectacular; every photo she takes exudes joy which is no wonder because she herself is a joyful, generous, warm soul.  I had my woman.  Step one complete.

I wanted a beautiful location and since I’m hunkered down in St. Louis this is harder to find than my previous site of the beach in Southern California.  But, like mentioned above, walking can be an issue for the contractions to flare.  So that narrowed it down to a few options: my house?  Nope, way too confined, we are busting out of this house hence the reason we are building.  Someone else’s house?  Yep, St Louis is bustling with turn of the century mansions (thanks in part to the 1904 World’s Fair) that boast everything from hidden tunnels that were once part of The Underground Railroad (Missouri was the only state that was half slave, half free, and St Louis happened to fall right smack dab on the Mason Dixon line separating the two), to camouflaged storage compartments that hid alcohol during Prohibition.  I happen to have a very generous friend who owns one of these homes and let me borrow it for the day (10,000sq ft turn of the century renovated mansion?!  YASSS PLEASE!)  This was the perfect solution to beautiful location and very little walking.  Step two complete.

I made sure to limit the shoot to three hours: 1 for hair and makeup, 2 for shooting.  Start at 9am, grab some shots with Aspen, and be done to put Aspen down for her 12pm nap.  Check.

Christina (the photographer) suggested that I look at Free People to find flowy options for the shoot that aren’t your typical maternity shoot uniform.  That’s where I got my burnt orange dress and my teal dress.  The pink one (this one is similar) I had saved from my maternity shoot with Aspen from Sew Trendy.  I bought the matching robes for Jimmy and me on Amazon for $35, and I got Aspen’s on Amazon for $35 as well (these robes were a big score in my opinion!).  I didn’t want to wear shoes and I wore my every day diamond earrings, engagement and wedding rings, and my gold and diamond pinky ring Jimmy got me for Christmas.

We started with the glitter shot in the bathtub.  I was under the impression it would be soap glitter, NOPE! It was everywhere!  After my makeup artist scrubbed down my body in the shower we got most of it off and then declared the bathroom a full blown disaster area that could only be conquered by the illustrious Dyson vacuum which finally did the trick.  Tip: save this shot for last, I’m still finding glitter in my underwear…

Aspen and Jimmy joined at 11am and we had only gotten the glitter shot finished, so majorly running behind at this point.  But we got some awesome family photos before Aspen started getting fussy and only wanting her Daddy (big time Daddy’s girl, how rude!) so it was time to move on.  I didn’t get some shots that I was hoping to get with her but that’s ok, her schedule is more important right now.  Rolling with the punches is something I’ve gotten good at via step-momming.

Then WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA’AM we knocked out three dresses back to back to back and I was heaving and ho-ing after that just to change back into my clothes, load up my car, and leave by 12:15pm.  Wow!  Christina sure knows how to keep it moving, which my very pregnant body surely appreciates.

After a two hour nap I’m good as new and I have the beautiful photos below to cherish forever.

And because everyone is interested in pregnancy stats here’s mine: I’ve gained 38 lbs at 29 weeks pregnant (with Aspen I gained 37 lbs total).  My belly is bigger now than when I gave birth to Aspen, in fact I surpassed my prior circumference at 24 weeks and I’m currently measuring the same as an average  37 week pregnant woman with one baby.  Still no stretch marks.  Contractions like crazy (every 10 minutes or more).

25 Comments
  1. Love the pic of Aspen touching your tummy. All pics are stunning. Love the mansions especially on Lindell.

  2. You look beautiful! Love the glitter! It’s remarkable that you haven’t gotten ANY stretch marks!!! That’s awesome! I have them nearly every inch of my little body and I only had one baby! Wishing you the best for the rest of this pregnancy and lots of love after!

  3. I want your maternity style! You are so stylish and cute! I am 16 weeks pregnant with my 2nd and just hope to channel my inner Meghan as I continue to grow. Your clothes are so amazing!

  4. You’re beyond beautiful and your pictures are perfect and those with your daughter is amazing ❤️💕😍🕊🎈

  5. My sister would like to like to have a maternity photo shoot this coming month, which is why we’re currently looking for a photographer. Well, you are also right that it would be smarter if she’ll use a pregnancy pillow through the photo shoot so she’ll feel more comfortable. I’ll also keep in mind to tell her that she should wear a support belt too.

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