Maternity Pictures Tips

Many of you may know that I have started a little side hustle. Well one of many side hustles. What can I say, mama likes to stay busy! One of them includes starting my own photography business, Ashley Sanderson Photography.

I love being able to capture life as it happens for my clients and this client is an extra special one.

That sweet little baby in there in my NEPHEW! Yep. I'm going to be aunt and I am so incredibly excited.

Courtney is the most beautiful pregnant gal and I was so excited to do her maternity pictures. All of her dresses are from Pinkblush Maternity. I won't shop anywhere else for anything regarding maternity clothing. Their styles are on point, so comfortable, and affordable! For my local gals, all of these photoshoot dresses are available to you for a maternity session. No need to go shopping!

I know that sometimes picking out a dress for this type of session can be overwhelming! You're dressing a body that you just aren't sure about and places are bigger than they were before and by the time you start looking for a dress you wish you never had and just want to cancel the whole session. Take a breath, keep reading, and I promise, you will have some direction by the end of this blog post.

I put together a little go to list to follow when you are shopping for that perfect maternity photoshoot dress.

1. Keep It Simple

Make sure that your dress isn't taking away from the fact that you are celebrating this sweet life inside of you! Solid colors (neutral tones) are great or a simple pattern. Make sure your outfit isn't too contrast-y. Did I just make up a word? Let me explain. Don't get a dress with a hot pink skirt and white top. Way too much going on there! You also don't need a ton of accessories, but a sweet floral crown always seals the deal for me.

2. Fitted Outfits

Make sure that the dress you wear is formfitting so you can see that bump. That's what the pictures are all about right?

3. LOVE IT

Make sure that whatever you pick, that you love it, feel comfortable it, and ultimately ROCK it because it'll show in the pictures.

I have linked the dresses in the photos below in case you are looking for inspiration. These in my opinion are perfect for a maternity session.

Light Blue Floral Hi Low Maternity Wrap Dress

Blue Solid Off Shoulder Maternity Maxi Dress

Mustard Lace Overlay Maternity Maxi

Courtney rocked these photos and you can tell how comfortable and natural she felt in these dresses. That mustard dress is my absolutely favorite! It comes in probably 10 different colors on the Pinkblush site.

Can't wait to meet this little guy in a few short weeks!

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Post Partum Style

For me once the baby comes I'm all about comfortable clothes. Trying to dress a post partum body is tough. I will pretty much be in maternity clothes for 6-8 weeks after the baby comes and I have no shame in it. Your body just grew a baby for 9 months and it takes some time to get back to what you were before. And even then, I don't know if I'll ever be back to what I was "before". Oh well. I have 3 beautiful children to show for it.

Anyways, once baby is here I need clothes and under garments that will help keep me looking put together and not the hot mess that I really am. Know what I'm saying? #3under3 #Godhelpme

I pretty much don't leave the house for the first month or so so I'm not looking for adorable, trendy clothes. Just something I can wear around the house that is presentable and can be worn in front of visitors. Just in case someone unexpectedly stops by.

So here is my round up of the brands I love the most! Also, these outfits will be coming to the hospital with me and one of them I'll be wearing home from the hospital too.

First up Cake Maternity. Can I just say how adorable is this packaging?! Makes any mama feel glamorous when she opens it.

 As soon as the baby is here nursing bras are worn on the regular. And guess what?! Nursing bras don't have to be ugly! You heard me right.

 Just look at that beautiful detail! No way you can feel frumpy in this. I know for me once my milk comes in, holy hannah, my boobs pretty much double in size. This Mousse Contour Wireless bra gives support (no underwire) and keeps them under control. I hate feeling like I'm sagging or sloppy when I'm nursing.

Next up is this adorable pajama set. That I'm already wearing. Hey, why not take advantage of it now and after baby comes? This pajama set is perfect for the hospital and when I have visitors I can just slap on a Pinkblush robe (see mine from Hudson's birth) and voila, covered, and ready for visitors to fawn over my sweet new babe. The top even has the nursing friends snaps to make nursing easy. I'm not too sure if I'd wear this around the house with visitors without a robe on just because there isn't a lot of support in the bra, but I'm definitely covered when I wear it.

Another new found love of mine is Kindred Bravely. 

With this being my third pregnancy and third time to pump/breastfeed I thought I had seen it all and found the best there was. That was until I put this nursing bra on. Oh my goodness, it is so comfortable and can be worn during pregnancy and after. I'm planning on getting more in different colors. 

The sleeper bra is so soft and these post partum panties are to die for! 

They sit above your c-section incision and are breathable. Yes please!

Now that the undergarments are taken care of, that brings me to my next favorite maternity and post maternity clothing line. Pinkblush Maternity.

 This outfit is totally visitor ready and paired with my Bravado Designs nursing tank, you can't go wrong. And the length on the sweater is perfect for nursing. It's very thin and I don't get hot in it so it can be worn during summer time. With the ease of the snaps on the nursing tank and the extra coverage of the sweater, I'm all set to nurse on the go. Because we all know, that's all newborns do for the first few weeks anyways.

 The pants are amazing as well because they are thin and have and adjustable waist. You can keep it lose right after having the baby and tighten it as needed as your belly goes down.

 Welcome to my FAVORITE new dress. This is for sure coming to the hospital with me and I'll probably wear it home. I know for me I'm not a huge fan of clingy material after birth. Especially a c-section birth so this dress is perfect. Oh and it has pockets. Yep. You heard me right. This can be worn in the house, out of the house, pretty much anywhere! I want it in every color. Unfortunately it's not very nursing friendly, but still a great piece.

I can't believe sweet Landon will be here in 5 weeks or less. Please be less. Oh please be less. This heat is just killing me!

This post was in collaboration with Kindred Bravely, Pinkblush and Cake Maternity, but all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own.

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Pregnancy Normalcy

I know I know. I'm sure you laughed as you read the blog post title. 

Being pregnant is tough. For me I feel like I'm not in my own body. I look in the mirror and have to take a second glance because everything just doesn't look like me. We have this photo hanging in our bedroom from 6 months after we got married. Oh pre-pregnancy body. How much I miss you.

Of course I love the reason my body doesn't look that way anymore. It has housed 5 babies, 2, almost 3 of which I have brought earth side. Having grace is important during and after pregnancy. It takes time to get back to normal, but until then, I just do what I can to feel as normal as possible.

With Raegan I didn't have much swelling. I wore my rings to the hospital to have her. Same with Hudson. It really wasn't that bad. I think they got a little tight at the end, but not bad. Well with Landon, I have blown up like a balloon. My fingers are a solid size bigger than normal. I can't wear any of my rings, which I hate. I feel naked without them.

I went on the hunt to find a ring I could wear while pregnant in place of my wedding set. When I found Tiger Gems I feel in love. It was exactly what I was looking for. The ring is gorgeous and makes me feel some what normal again. I can get dressed in the morning, do my make up, put on my rings, and tackle the day.

 The set I have is the 2.25ct square halo wedding set. You would never know these diamonds are not real by just looking at it. They are no conflict diamonds which means that they were man made and not mined. Allowing our earth to not be disturbed.

For me my swelling always get worse right after the baby is born and takes a few weeks to go down. I'm so thankful to have a wedding set to wear as my body returns to post pregnancy normal.

Check out my video review on this amazing ring. The company Tiger Gems and Tabitha (the owner) are hell bent on making sure that you are happy with your purchase and if you aren't, they will make it right.

Want to try out a set for yourself? Use code themrsandco at check out. I promise you will love yours.

This post is in collaboration with Tiger Gems, but all opinions are 100% my own.

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Trying To Conceive

When Kyle and I got married we had a plan. Be married for a couple years, enjoy one another, travel, do whatever the heck we wanted, and then after a couple years, we'd have kids.

Looking back at my very naive self, I wish I could just put my hand on my back, and say "oh honey, if only it were that easy."

For some, it is. It is easy. They get pregnant on their first try or they weren't even trying at all. To those who have, I'm happy for you. No I really am. Because what we went through over the past 4 years is nothing I would wish on anyone.

It's hard. It's full of appointments, shots, invasive procedures, disappointment, loss.

When we started trying we knew we were ready to start a family. Like right then. We didn't want to wait. There was no messing around. I was going to try everything I could to help our chances. I took vitamins, I cut out caffeine, I ate healthy, used ovulation tests, and I even was taking geritol because a teacher at my school recommended it. See, I told you, I tried everything. 

Had I known about the Stork OTC, you betcha I would have been trying it too. No doctor appointments, no scans, no prescriptions, no procedures, more cost efficient than fertility treatments. Sign me up!

The Stork OTC is a uniquely designed device that you use at home to increase your chances of becoming pregnant.

It's available at Target in the family planning aisle. Target is even having a promo right now where when you purchase a Stork OTC, you get a $15 Target giftcard. Valid 6/4-6/17.

What an amazing product to try as you begin planning to begin or expand your family.

Want to win your own? Enter here!

Stork OTC Twin-Pack Giveaway

“This is a sponsored conversation from Mums the Word Network and The Stork OTC. All opinions are my own.”

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Update on Life

Life is crazy right now. Like really crazy. We moved into our house that we've been renovating for the past 6 months. Even though we are in we still have workers at the house daily. Our dogs are still at my parents because Stella is not the friendliest of dogs with people she doesn't know. I'm ready to have my girls back in the house. I miss them. 

Oh and I'm 14 weeks pregnant. You may be thinking ummm how is that possible? Well 2 weeks after my D&C with Hadley, I got pregnant again. Yep. You heard that right. The 1-5% chance of naturally getting pregnant ain't got nothing on God. I still don't understand why we had to go through losing Hadley, but we did, and are stronger because of it.

Believe me, I was just as surprised as you. I stared at that test, hands shaking, with tears in my eyes thinking "here we go again. I cannot do another loss."

I went in for blood work and again, levels were low. Again. I prepared to lose our baby. I was just starting to heal from the 10 weeks of hell of low levels, slow heartbeat, and measuring behind at every sono, to seeing that our sweet baby girl was gone. I couldn't do it again. But every appointment we went to, levels were great, baby measured wonderfully, and it's heartbeat was strong.

I still couldn't allow myself to think this was happening. I couldn't allow myself to fall in love with another sweet baby that I may never meet. Even as I watched my belly grow I couldn't open up. 

We met with our MFM (maternal fetal medicine) doctor for our first trimester screening. With our history of loss and trisomy and also Pierre Robin with Raegan having early testing is important to make sure that our baby is healthy and we are doing everything we can to sustain the pregnancy.

They looked over our sweet baby and everything looked fine physically. They even gave us a prediction if we were having a girl or boy. (keep reading, I promise I won't leave you hanging). They took my blood and said they'd have the results within 2 weeks. This test would test for down syndrome, trisomy 13, 18, 21, and also for any chromosomal deletions. To be clear, no matter the results, this was our baby. There was never talk of termination. Our reasoning for testing was to prepare. To make sure we would be at a hospital that could handle if anything were wrong and have a NICU that was top notch. After having Raegan's surprise Pierre Robin diagnosis, NICU stay, hospital transfer, etc, we decided that we would be prepared for every pregnancy after. I needed that. We needed that.

Yesterday (Valentine's Day) I got a call from our nurse. She said she had amazing news that all the results came back negative. No deletions of chromosomes. Perfect sweet little baby boy.

I for sure thought we were having another girl, but Kyle's dream of having 2 boys close in age (they'll be 18 months apart) came true. Raegan is pretty excited about still being the queen bee.

We will continue seeing my MFM to monitor the baby's chin for Pierre Robin along with my fluid levels. I had normal to high levels of fluid with Raegan and Hudson. She also saw a funky spot on my placenta that she wants to watch. More on that after my next sono to confirm if it's something we should be worried about.

So for today, I am rejoicing in the sweet miracle growing inside of me. I still can't believe it's actually happening. Sometimes I feel like a fraud though. Infertility is no joke. We have been through the ringer, but then this happened. We got pregnant. Naturally. I have been pregnant 3 times naturally. We have lost 2 of those pregnancies. I still can't understand why we have been given this gift. Why us? It's a question I may never be able to answer, but I am so thankful. So thankful for this baby.

We can't wait to hold him and cry over him because you better believe I will be crying over him. Crying tears of healing and thankfulness.

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Hudson Kyle Sanderson

With a newborn comes another level of tiredness and craziness around the house. Hence the lack of posting that our sweet boy is here. 

Hudson Kyle Sanderson

March 3, 2016

9 pounds 12 ounces

22 inches long

His birth story blog post is in the works and I can't wait to share it with you. We had a birth photographer this time and the sneak peaks that I've seen are amazing. They really tell the story of how much love there was that day. I can't wait to share them. 

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Maternity Pictures {giveaway}

I am so excited to share Raegan and I's mommy and me maternity pictures!

I've been planning these out probably since I found out I was pregnant and they turned out exactly like I wanted. I searched high and low for the parts of our outfits and it came together so well!

Laura did a fantastic job with the pictures as well! She listened to my vision and if I had any picture ideas, she was sure to take them. If you are from the Dallas area, make sure you stick around till the end because I am hosting a giveaway with her.

I've been very emotional lately thinking about how it won't just be Raegan and I anymore. She made me a mama when I didn't know if it was going to be possible. Even though we are so excited to welcome baby brother into the family, she will always be my #1 girl.

mommy and me headbands- Garden of Arden

lace top- Charlotte Russe (similar)

maxi skirt- Pinkblush Maternity

dress- Sew Trendy Accessories

romper- Posh Peanut

moccasins- Freshly Picked
photographer- Laura Tye Photography

Now for the fun part! If you live in the Dallas area and are pregnant, Laura is giving away a maternity session! So get entered below! Good luck!

She also has the maroon dress available to her maternity clients to wear in their maternity session. How neat is that? And let me tell you, it's comfortable and makes you feel like a beautiful goddess!

The giveaway will run through next Saturday, January 30. Once winner is announced and contacted, they will have 48 hours to respond or the prize will be awarded to the next winner.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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