Motherhood (A New Adventure)

As I type these words, it's still a little surreal to me, but after keeping what might just be the biggest secret I've ever had over the past few months, Mother's Day felt like the perfect time to share a little bit of a life update — that Jason and I are expecting a baby girl in September!

We're pretty over the moon excited.

Today marks 20 weeks for me, and as my bump becomes harder to hide and I start to feel the flutter of tiny kicks, it's all becoming very real. Without consciously knowing it, I definitely had certain expectations about what being pregnant would be like, and more than anything else, I'm just in complete awe of what a miracle this whole experience is. I've never felt more out of control over my body, and though I'm thankful that I haven't felt too sick overall, I'm definitely learning more about what it means to really, truly listen to what my body needs. And it's not always easy. Exhaustion has been one of my biggest struggles throughout these past few months, and as someone who isn't particularly good about slowing down, it's been a learning experience, to say the least. And I have a feeling this will be the first in a long line of "firsts" as we embark on this new adventure.

As is often the case with more personal updates and life happenings, I've wondered how this will impact Studio Bicyclette and how much to incorporate it into the regular programming, and the truth of the matter is, I'm still not totally sure. If you read my recent life update, you'll know this is a topic that's been on my mind, and basically where I've netted out is that when it comes down to it, I play a pretty significant role in my business whether I like it or not (I do), and there are certain life events — like having a baby — that are going to impact the bigger picture. 

Beyond that, as I dive into the wonderful world of resources on pregnancy and parenting, I find myself yearning for more information and personal stories from moms who run their own businesses, who don't exactly have the option for a traditional maternity leave or find themselves battling the question of whether or not they can step away from their business for a few months — both from the "I need a creative outlet" standpoint, but also the financial and strategic side of things. I have enough friends who are also pregnant right now and run their own businesses to know that I'm not alone with these questions, and so I figure there's probably an opportunity for some of those conversations to happen right here.

So though I'm not too sure whether or not you'll start to see maternity style tips on here any time soon (though that might be a good challenge for me, as the struggle to not rely on leggings on a daily basis is very real), there will likely be a little bit of pregnancy and baby-focused content infused into the blog over the next little while as I navigate this new reality and share more of the journey. 

And as per usual, I would absolutely love to hear your thoughts on the matter — what you're interested in seeing more of, how personal you'd like me to get on pregnancy and this new role — all the good stuff!

I know things have a little bit quite in my little corner of the internet recently (and now you know why!), but I'm looking forward to getting back into the swing of things and making a few updates to how things look and feel around here.

As for these photos? I can't say I ever really thought about having maternity photos taken before either, but a couple of weeks ago I had the pleasure of hosting a series of Motherhood Sessions with Scarlet over three mornings, with Scarlet behind the camera capturing the beauty of motherhood and me helping to style and pull together all the details. Inspired by women and the incredible bond they share with their children, these sessions are a unique opportunity to capture the relationship between mothers and their children in a fresh and intimate way, and the experience was absolutely magical, made even more special as I enter into this new stage of being a mother myself, not to mention the opportunity to document and remember this early stage of pregnancy as well. 

The first series of Motherhood Session sold out within hours, before we even had a chance to "officially" announce them (I know, crazy, right?), and so we're planning on running another series in August, with more info and the waitlist to be the first to find out here. Scarlet's put together a really lovely post with a selection of photos from the first round of sessions and some words from the mothers, so if you're interested to see what this experience is like (or just need a little heartwarming mother-child eye candy), that might be a good place to start.