Another Gather Pregnancy Announcement | Brooke’s Expecting!
Brooke here! I’m pregnant!
Those first kicks and wiggles caught on camera, to the ever-so-classic soundtrack of GBBO.
It’s finally my turn to join the parenting club I’ve marveled at for so many years. And we’re already zooming through the third trimester!
The first 24 weeks or so of my pregnancy was quite the blur, filled with nothing but a trash can next to the couch as I rewatched all of my favorite TV shows over (and over!) again in an attempt to distract myself from the misery I was feeling inside. It was a very different summer from the usual outdoorsy, camping, hiking, and biking adventures I typically like to fill these three months of warmth with. As someone who has been in the birth and parenting world for almost a decade, I obviously had some dreams and ideas of what I *thought* pregnancy was going to look like for me. Oh boy, was I in for a surprise. I’ve discovered I’m really not one for loving the pregnancy season of life. And it took a long time for me to feel comfortable saying that, seeing as I LOVE supporting other expecting and birthing families. And yet, in the midst of it all, we also celebrated some big milestones! I turned 30. My husband, Joe, and I had our 5th wedding anniversary. We’re getting ready to soak in our 10th year together. And we’re feeling so, so ready for another little family member to join the crew!
Though the nausea and vomiting are finally starting to ease, there’s all the other pregnancy-related adjustments I’m now navigating: the discomforts of a changing body I’m slowly learning to love through what I thought were old body image issues, a very tired pelvic floor from the last six months of vomiting and dry heaving, an anxious brain that is terrified of some of the silliest things, a good ol’ dose of shame and uncertainty in the choices I’m making as a birth professional preparing to give birth to my first baby, and all of the other sweet treats I bring to the sessions with my therapist. Growing a human is tough stuff, AND I can’t freaking wait to meet this small human growing inside me. I’m so excited to become a parent and DO the thing I’ve been studying and swooning over for so many years. Here’s to embracing the both/and of all things parenthood!
I can’t believe we’re already entering into the planning phase for this little one’s arrival. We’ve started putting together the very best birth team, making arrangements to cook as many freezer meals as my tiny freezer can hold, setting up a meal train well in advance, and assembling a postpartum plan for those sleepless nights ahead. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of my years supporting hundreds of others and taking notes from my business partners’ experiences, it’s that postpartum deserves a heck of a lot more attention. So as I continue to plan and prepare, I have some questions for YOU!
Our 10 year old standard poodle, Murphy, is squeezing in every ounce of attention he can get before baby arrives.
Believe it or not, that’s the MOON shining a light on my growing baby belly! Taken during our annual camping trip up to Lake Superior’s north shore.
A more recent photo from a trip to an apple orchard this fall, the bump is growing!
I’m going to steal a chapter from Meredith’s announcement earlier this Spring, and would love to hear from other birth workers, past clients, IRL friends and family, and internet strangers alike:
What did you learn from your pregnancy, birth, and early parenting experience(s)?
What are some can’t-live-without products for the first year with baby?
Local (Minneapolis area) resources my husband, Joe, and I should know about? If you have any classes, parent groups, favorite parks, or story hours… I’m all ears, but with a winter baby on the horizon, I’d especially love to hear some options for connection during the dark months!
What advice do you or your partner have for Joe as he prepares to dive into parenthood?
If you have additional insight to share about fourth trimester balance, cloth diapering, baby wearing, minimalist parenting with a new baby, and/or prepping dogs for newborn life, Joe and I would love to hear it!
Feel free to fill out this form, email our inbox, or text/message/email Brooke directly.