There are definitely a lot of woes that have come with pregnancy, for starters: growing pains of the bump itself and gaining weight, the sensation of my thighs touching (baiiii thigh gap), hence my newly found gangster walk, aka wobble de wobble, eating my feelings and only having two options when it comes to sleeping (on my left side or my right) which gets old pretty fast.

Despite all that, I am secretly loving being preggers (maybe it's not such a secret re: this photo diary, and if you follow me on social media, how much I've documented the entire process #sorrynotsorry). When my friend Connie mentioned to me that she loved being pregnant with each of her babies & shamefully admitted to eating McDonald's Fish Filets religiously because #pregnancycravings, I was surprised. First, because I think McD's Fish sammiches are delicious - even sans pregnancy cravings, but mostly because being a newbie pregnant gal, it was interesting to hear someone say they enjoyed pregnancy (and it's all it's crazy side effects).

But as the end is nearing (as in, I am going in for my c-section this Friday - I meant to post this A LOT sooner), I'm starting to feel those exact sentiments and tons of emotions in general. Mostly though, excitement & happiness about finally being able to meet (big) baby, and relief that I made it through this pregnancy avoiding harm to myself or baby - unless you count that one time I accidentally ate deli meat via a Jimmy John's sammich (don't worry, I only ate half of it and Google reassured me that "you're gonna be perfectly fine - the most dangerous thing you can do during pregnancy is get behind the wheel of a car" - somehow, that statement was both comforting and slightly alarming =D). But the one thing I wasn't expecting to feel was sadness, especially considering that the last 3 weeks of this pregnancy have been the hardest with the extra frequent bathroom trips, lightning crotch (it's a real thing folks, google it!) and an unbearable pregnancy itch/rash that kept me up into the wee hours of the night. I never thought I'd say I would miss being a wobbling penguin but, alas here I am thinking about the days of feeling the closeness of big baby's every little kick, hiccup, toots (I'm just guessing big baby does this considering my sometimes awful diet) and movements inside me will be soon long gone *insert cry face emoji here*

OK, but enough of that emo stuff, I'll cry to myself later. Instead let's focus on all the great memories these 9 months have brought, including a boyfriend (or shall I say baby daddy?) that allowed for a Palm Springs baby moon despite "not believing in them" filled with all the extra things I like: a relaxing stay at the Monkey Tree Hotel (fun fact: this is where JFK & Marilyn Monroe used to rendez vous), the most perfect weather the entire trip, mid century modern thrifting/shopping (and finally finding a pair of wooden Modernica plant stands!), burgers + tacos + hipster people-watching at the ACE, the cactus wonderland that is Moorten's Botanical Garden, pretending to be Pee Wee Herman @ Cabazon Dinosaurs, eating brunch with an obnoxiously stylish Taye Diggs at Norma's @ the Parker (ok, so he was like 5 tables away), popsicles + poolside every day, a delicious chef style breakfast every morning and flamingos - big and small. Complete utter bliss.

*Sorry for the novel, guys! Stay tuned for my not one, but two maternity shoots + the friends, new and old, that so beautifully captured this special moment in time for me.

Photos mostly by the boyfriend (terrible, blurry ones by me, because I somehow lost the ability to take good photos during this pregnancy)