Here I am, nearly 30 weeks pregnant with baby Mallory #2 and FINALLY sharing the news publicly! I’ll admit, it’s a little strange to wait so long to announce this pregnancy online, but it feels really good to finally be making our happy news public with everyone. When we first found out we were pregnant in October, I was suffering through a pretty turbulent first trimester that lasted well into my 15th week of pregnancy. Coupled with the stress of the pandemic and sadness over friends’ struggles with fertility, it just didn’t feel right to tell our secret to the world quite yet. As time moved on, I’ll be honest that it felt weirder and weirder to announce – had we missed the window? Was it just going to be obvious? – until finally I sat down with John and told him we needed to just do it because I didn’t want to pop online one day, baby in arms, and finally spill the beans.

By then, we were so close to having our maternity photos taken that we just decided to sit on it a few more weeks until those were ready so we could use those photos for the announcement! My friend Erin Wilson did an incredible job (she always does!) documenting this special time for us, and I am so happy we are getting to use these beautiful portraits to share our happy, happy news!

When are you due? June 19th. I am publishing this blog post in early April, and am currently almost 30 weeks pregnant! This pregnancy has gone by a lot faster than my last, which I’m really grateful for. Time is flying and I know that there will be another baby in our arms before we know it!

Do you know the gender? If you’ve followed along for awhile, you may remember that we did NOT find out the gender with Jack. Our plans were to wait again this time – however, in the middle of a rough first trimester coupled with a depressing pandemic, I just needed to know. I needed something to look forward to, and something concrete to focus on amid so much unknown. Plus I wanted to feel connected to this little baby who was making me feel so awful! Luckily John was on board so we did find out via blood test at 14 weeks, just the two of us at home! It’s another BOY!

I’ll be honest, at first I was a little disappointed because I was hoping for a girl (I am one of three sisters so girls are what I know!) – but after a couple of weeks, I came around and now I am absolutely GIDDY over welcoming another sweet boy into our lives!

How have you been feeling? The current word that comes to mind is HEAVY! This baby is weighing me down (obviously) and feels like a bowling ball in my belly! Other than that, I’ve had some light headaches & heartburn, but nothing too bad. I’m very grateful I feel so much better than I did in the first 15.5 weeks – I was struggling with extreme nausea and a complete lack of energy. Every symptom I’ve had since then has been a cake walk compared to that!

Any cravings? Turkey sandwiches and chocolate cake!

Is Jack excited? Jack is SO excited to be a big brother! He will be 3.5 years old when the new baby is born, which is a little further apart in age than we originally planned, but now we are very excited about their age difference. We are hoping Jack will be able to be more involved in helping with the new baby, as well as a little more independent for those times when we can’t pay attention to him. He loves to feel the baby kick and we talk about baby brother every day!

Are you doing a nursery again? Yes! One thing that makes me feel really excited when I’m pregnant is getting a room for the baby prepared. Since we know the gender this time, we’re leaning a little bluer this time around, but keeping it neutral, classic, and sweet. I was really inspired by this nursery so we did similar white walls and blue curtains. We are reusing the crib and the glider from Jack’s nursery (which for the record still looks brand new)! And since the baby will be born in the middle of summer (instead of the middle of winter, like Jack), I wanted the nursery to have touches of summer here and there – nothing overly “theme-y” but just some nautical touches for our summer babe! I can’t wait to share when it’s done!

Do you have a name picked out? We do! This was much harder than last time though! We have had a girl name picked since we were dating, but coming up with a second boy name we love as much as the first was tough. We finally decided on a name a couple of weeks ago and I can’t wait to share when baby boy is born!

Are you shooting your own newborn photos? HECK NO. We decided to hire an amazing photographer from Louisiana. She shoots film (like me!) which was a huge factor for us. We are getting so excited to see the beautiful images she creates, even though they haven’t even been taken yet. Now I know how my clients feel!

Are you taking a maternity leave? Yes! I plan on taking off June, July, and August so we can spend time enjoying our new family of four (so weird to type that!). Granted, there are a few things I’ll still be doing for work – a business owner is never truly “off the clock” – so I’ll be shooting one wedding and a few bridal / engagement sessions during that time, as well as popping on email and social media to keep everything flowing smoothly. I plan on coming back full-time in September, just in time for the crazy fall season! Please note that if you are wanting a family session this fall, I’m not quite sure how many sessions I’m going to be doing – most likely more limited than normal. I will be announcing more about my availability at the end of the summer once I have a handle on how things are going with two babies at home. Sign up for my email list to stay in the know about fall scheduling!

Are you ready? Ahhh, the biggest question of all! No, I’m not! On the work-front, I still have 3 weddings left to shoot, plenty of sessions to edit, and lots of things to cross off of my to-do list! Like last time, my hope is to finish up all my work a few weeks early so I can spend my last 2-3 weeks of pregnancy prepping myself personally (you know, making freezer meals, spending quality time with Jack, pampering myself, and washing teeny-tiny clothes!).

Thank you everyone for your sweet comments and your support! We appreciate it so much and are really looking forward to sharing this next chapter in our lives with you. Soaking in these last few weeks before we officially become a family of FOUR!

Thank you so much again to Erin Wilson for the beautiful images! We are so grateful for you!