As much as I’d like to post photos of myself dressed in actual clothes with my hair combed, the reality of the situation is that I look like this a large majority of the time. There are several influencers that I keep up with online that are also pregnant right now, and I truly wonder how they keep posting cute photos consistently for social media.

I had planned to be one of them and have a plethora of photos to share and to have for myself to look back on and even frame one day. I remember having some regrets about the lack of photos I took when I was pregnant with Petra and I wanted things to go differently this time around. Unfortunately, the world is on fire and I just don’t feel great when pregnant. It is what it is, homies. Instead of looking at the sparcity of my social media updates, I try to revel in the moments I get to feel our son kick his way around my womb and thank God that I’m able to do have life in my body again.

I’m trying not to compare my activity to anyone else’s and just really enjoy this time and have gratitude for it.

These past two weeks have gone fast, and I’m happy to be in my third trimester. When I first got pregnant, this milestone felt forever away. In less than three months now, I get to hold and kiss our baby and finally see his face. That’s super exciting and it trumps anything we’re going through and the crazy times we’re living in.

My most recent appointment was about a week ago and it went well. Nothing major, but my midwife was mostly trying to figure out if baby boy was head down yet. After feeling around my abdomen for a while, she wasn’t able to tell because of how he was positioned. I’m not concerned at all, I know babies can keep moving and repositioning all the way up to the time you go into labor. In my next appointment next week (I have to go in every two weeks now), I’ll also be seeing a chiropractor my midwife recommended who is known to be great at figuring out the position a child is in the womb and getting the body aligned for a better labor and delivery.

Here is a photo I took of the size the baby should be according to my midwife’s handy dandy baby diagram. (Petra calls it an “egg baby paper”.)

I’m always shocked at the size. He really is tucked away in there because when I feel for his body parts, it doesn’t seem like a kid that large is rolling around in my stomach.

I think most people aren’t super excited about the basics of week to week pregnancy updates, so I wanted to share with you guys two good personal things going on right now. As of yesterday, me and my husband booked our anniversary trip to celebrate 11 years of marriage. I’m so excited! Each year, we usually pick a spot about two hours away from us because a drive any longer than that is a bit exhausting. For privacy reasons I’ll share the location after we’re back, but our anniversary is September 12th. We’ll be going on our longest anniversary trip yet. We usually go out of town for two to three days, but this time we’re doing a full week. It’ll double as our “baby moon”.

For those of you who know anything about our relationship, things happened pretty fast and we were married only eight months after we started dating. We have a whole series on my YouTube channel for more info on that, and I’ll link it here…

Because of that, we never had a large wedding and had hoped to plan one in the future. It didn’t happen for our five year. It didn’t happen for our ten year (and that really bummed us out). I’m honestly not sure when it will happen, but we’re waiting on God’s peace on that because a lot of things need to come to pass first in order for it to be the wedding/renewal ceremony we believe God wants us to have. I’m just grateful we’ve made it this far and that our love for each other has consistently grown over time.

That being said, it’s good to have so much to celebrate in the next coming months. Speaking of celebrations, my sister-in-law asked if we’re having a baby shower for our son; even if it’s just a small one with family. We honestly still don’t know, but I have gotten more excited about creating a registry. I went to town on Amazon today just saving some onesies to my cart, and it made me excited to think about having a newborn to put them on. I just want to kiss him so bad!! I miss the tiniest little cheeks and lips of a baby, and it’s even more exciting to think about Petra getting to be in on having a newborn in the family.

The second thing going on is our debt situation. About four years ago, God was really speaking to us a lot about not being a slave to debt. Even in the Bible, it speaks about borrowing: “The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.” – Proverbs 22:7

It’s felt like forever, but I finally feel like we’re in the home stretch and should be debt free by the end of the year. In such a crazy and difficult economic time, God has really blessed my husband’s career and allowed us to become abundantly supplied in a time where lack is running rampant. I can’t tell you how tired I’ve been of the monkey on our backs from loans and credit debt. Since we’ve been purposely working on this in our life, we have experienced miraculous debt cancellation, but also chipping away at debt that seems to take forever.

I usually don’t share things that I’m in the middle of that could be a complete testimony later. I’m not able to say we’re officially out of debt yet, but God has been calling me to be more bold in my vulnerability this year and to trust that He’s not going to make a fool of me by sharing the processes He’s called me to share.

That’s the end of the story time, I hope you enjoyed it. Lol.

I’ve been trucking along and trying to stay cool in this heatwave. Even though it’s still more mild than our previous few Summers in Southern Cali, it’s definitely uncomfortable while pregnant. We’re trying to get fresh air at parks and the beach, but there’s not a ton to do especially with playgrounds and most places that offer activities being closed. This too shall pass.

Here we go with those stats!!

Age and size of baby:

28 weeks old, 15 inches long, 2.25 lbs in weight.

Cravings:

The most recent craving I had was for a matcha green tea latte. I’ve been a fan of those for a long time, but I haven’t really had it often during this pregnancy. My husband bought ingredients to make them ourselves and he did a really good job. I’m sure we’ll save money because those things are expensive over time. A meal I had recently that I really liked was from Panera Bread. It was some kind of chicken sandwich, a french onion soup, and mac n cheese. Man, I forgot how good their food was!

Morning sickness:

As long as I eat pretty soon after waking up, I can avoid throwing up. That’s been nice. However, heat still triggers my nausea and that can be a little annoying when I’m just trying to get outside and enjoy the sun.

Stretch marks:

None, but I have felt itchy sometimes on my belly. I think I’ve been swelling a little more than usual because my wedding ring is getting harder to take off and put back on.

Crazy hormones:

I’ve only really been sad when I don’t feel good. It’s hard not to let it consume my thoughts on days when I don’t have a lot to take my mind off of it. I just have to keep reminding myself that it’s not forever and that it’s worth it.

Sleeping habits:

Homeboy loves to jump around while we’re settling in for bed. I can now feel more distinct body parts and I’m pretty sure I felt a tiny foot today. My husband and daughter love feeling the kicks and sometimes my daughter will fall asleep with her hand on my stomach in my bed before my husband transfers her into her bed for the night.

So, that’s that for now.  Be blessed and take time to make your dreams into your reality.

-Kytia L’amour