Rachel & Matt's Maternity Journey
First I’d like to do a HUGE shout out to Cara for coming out to Hawaii and staying with us for 5 weeks helping us getting the house ready, meal prepping, and of course taking these gorgeous pictures for us!
Being pregnant on the other side of the world away from your friends and family feels exactly how it sounds (#MilitaryLife). Even more so when it’s not only your first pregnancy, but you’re also expecting twins! Which sounds exciting, when in reality when you don’t have your friends and family nearby to watch you grow, help you get your nursery together, go shopping for baby stuff, or even get to physically be at your own baby shower. It makes everything feel a little more lonely and just not as exciting as everyone else’s first pregnancy seems to be. We all try to make it more “normal” with video chats and social media updates. But it’s difficult to make time with them when there is a 5-6 hour time difference and everyone have lives they are living back home. I’m not saying it’s impossible! Just a little extra planning that has to go into figuring out when is a good time to call people.
It’s not all bad though. I have survived this far in my pregnancy at least! Some of the things I have been thankful for during this entire pregnancy include little things from my seat belt adjuster in the car and my pregnancy pillow, to big things like nausea medicine and my chiropractor. But out of all the little things that I’ve had to help make this pregnancy a little bit easier for me, nothing can compare to the help and support my husband gave to me. I seriously don’t think I would’ve survived this pregnancy without his help.
Right from the second I started experiencing morning sickness, he was there ready to help clean up the mess, and he did everything he could to try and help ease my morning sickness. He googled away for home remedies and would make runs for ginger ale and gatorade, anything that could possibly help we tried. My morning sickness got so bad that I had to go to the hospital several times, and he was there to drive me to the hospital in the middle of the night and waited with me until the wee hours of the morning. Once we were there for 12 hours! He didn’t sleep a wink just to make sure that I was doing okay.
In the midst of this horrible first trimester, we had to pack the house to move. I literally couldn’t move without feeling sick and was bedridden the entire time, so I couldn’t help him. And between work and having to help take care of me, it didn’t leave much time for him to pack up the house. But somehow this guy managed to pack up our entire house and have it ready to be shipped in just 3 days! I’m still blown away that he accomplished such a daunting task all by himself. And then when we moved into our new home, he unpacked everything and set it up by himself again!
When I was finally able to get up and be more active, I was dying to go out and do some photo shoots. He knows how I can really get into photo shoots, and he didn’t want me to do anything to strenuous or putting myself in a risky position just to get a good shot. But instead of discouraging me from doing these shoots, he drove me to them and accompanied me to make sure I was safe and was there ready to help me if need be. And when I was doing in home Christmas Mini Sessions, he would help me get everything set up and stay during the shoot to help me with props or cheering up any grumpy kids.
But because I was really pushing myself to do as much work as I could before the babies came and I wouldn’t have as much free time, I was putting a lot of stress on my changing body. My hips and back pain were to the max. To the point where I physically couldn’t walk. So what does my husband do for me? He literally picked me up and carried me around the house! Not only did he do that, but because I couldn’t walk up the stairs to our bedroom, he made our pull out couch as comfortable as possible for me so I could sleep on it. And he never left my side and slept with me downstairs. This happened more than once too!
As my stomach started to get bigger, I was having a hard time standing or walking for too long before my back and hips would be begging for me to sit down, or my hands and feet got too swollen—or even just be out of breath! So I was forced to slow down to almost a complete stop with everything I was doing, not just with photo shoots, but also household things. Normally, we take turns doing the dishes or doing the laundry, and I usually do most of the cooking for dinner. Again, I couldn’t stand for too long because of my back and hips so I wasn’t able to do much. But my husband stepped up to the plate and has taken over doing most of the household chore and really dedicated himself to learning recipes to cook. I’m not saying he didn’t cook before…but he also wasn’t the greatest (he has really stepped up his game though).
Even with all of the things I have used to make this pregnancy journey a little more easier, nothing can compare to the selfless acts of love and kindness from my husband. Everything he has done to make sure that I’m healthy, safe, and comfortable, reflects on his character and who he is as a person, partner, and, of course, soon-to-be father. He is the most selfless, kind-hearted, dedicated, and loving person I know, and I’m so incredibly thankful that he will be with me as we enter this new chapter of our lives together.
~Rachel
