Bonzai!'s Pregnancy Story

Posted Wednesday, July 01, 2009 3:53 PM

"My husband’s favorite memories are of me in my first trimester: Snoring profusely or sobbing uncontrollably..."

Tacos and baby talk

Sometime last year, my fiancé and I had just wrapped up a late night shoot (we’re both independent filmmakers). We were pulling into a standard choice for late-nite cuisine (when one is too exhausted to fathom any kind of food preparation), and it’s there that he pops the question: “Do you want to try to have a baby next year?”  I promptly burst into tears, nodding my head in a fervent “YES!”  Now I can say that I’ll remember that moment for the rest of our lives.  At the drive-thru of a Taco Bell at, like, 2:00am. THAT’S the moment we decided to begin our most beautiful creative endeavor of all.

Pregnancy...not always so easy

After that early morning revelation, my intake of folic acid immediately commenced. Along with an increase in exercise and a decrease in Taco Bell (and other not-so-good-for-ya foods).  A few months later, I went off the pill.  That was in November. The following January, (the day after we put down the deposit on our wedding reception) we discovered to our amazement and elation, that we had done it!  We’d made our baby! We would be married with our little one “in tow”, at the halfway point of 20 weeks.

So… that first tri? It was HARD. Not that I remember that much of it- since I was always sleeping!  Or crying. My husband’s favorite memories of me are from my first tri: Snoring profusely or sobbing uncontrollably. Traveling as a motivational speaker- on planes, in cars, and on stages- all while feeling as nauseous as a college girl on a bender... I was NOT diggin’ the pregnant thing at ALL. I didn’t have any energy for hiking or exercising or yoga (all of which I had practiced so consistently before) but once second tri started comin’ up, I was good to go!

I met my stupendous labor buddy on The Bump (Thank you, Bump!), and we got into hiking together regularly, with some prenatal yoga on the side. Now, almost into third tri, I’m able to exercise for at least two hours about 5-6 times a week: at the gym, doin’ yoga, swimming, or hiking our two dogs- which makes them VERY happy!

Lucky in love

My husband blows me away every day with his nurturing nature- his hugs, his kisses, his affirmations that I’m gonna be the most amazing mama ever to our son, Troy Lovell II! My husband filmed our big U/S, and through our tears of joy at the beautiful little being, he let the camera slide to the side for about 5 minutes of it!  The whole experience is one of my favorite moments ever captured on film.

He’s absolutely supportive of my plans for a natural birth -- as I read to him from Hypnobirthing or Birthing From Within, he’s alert, focused, and interested.  He’s also reading The Birth Partner. He’s pumped about our natural childbirth classes, and I couldn’t feel luckier. To have my best friend so excited to share these beautiful moments of our son’s growth and development in utero, gives me confidence that he’ll continue to do the same when Troy is OUT of the womb! We practice “pre-parenting” -- loving and supporting and welcoming our child’s spirit as he grows inside of me.  Our family is truly coming together, and I feel so blessed!

My favorite moment of our pregnancy (so far!), was during the ceremony at our wedding.  As my husband spoke the vows he’d written, Troy gave me a magnificent kick! It was as though, at that very moment, as his father spoke of his love for me and how our love for each other resulted in the creation of our family, our baby boy heard and assured me that he was healthy, happy, and on his way!

> Read more about Bonzai! 

> Want to share your pregnancy story? Email it to kstanford@theknot.com.