If you aren’t following me on the ‘gram, you might have missed our exciting announcement. Zach and I are expecting our first baby later this year!

We are over the moon excited and a little nervous—okay a lot nervous—to bring this little one into the world. But we are trusting the Lord with His plan for all three of us.

Pregnancy Photo Inspiration

Further, into my pregnancy, I wanted to get some cute announcement photos taken that were unique to us. I didn’t want to have a letterboard with an ultrasound—although cute, it’s not for me. We wanted to have photos that we could hang in the nursery and our home.

Scouring Pinterest, I found a blog post that shared fun and meaningful announcement photos—without the couple holding the woman’s belly. *Don’t feel bad if you got those types of photos, they are just not for me. I wanted something that reflected Zach and I’s excitement while also not being cheesy.

**I will also celebrate with you when you share your tummy photos. Don’t worry there friend.

I reached out to Amy, our amazing photographer, and shared my ideas. We planned for a sunset session on her property here in Oregon.

Coordinating Outfits

I knew the dress I was going to wear—both because it was on-brand for me, but also because it’s SUPER comfortable. I got it from Carly Jean LA, and you might recognize it from my brand photos that Amy took earlier this year too.

But it was hard to find what matched Zach. We settled on a plaid dress shirt and jeans. So he could be classy and comfortable.

We don’t usually get a lot of photos of us, so I wanted both of us to be comfortable and only focus on laughing and enjoying this season.

Pregnancy Photo Poses

With the images I shared with Amy, we were able to adapt and make our own. Zach and I laughed as we did piggyback, and he even tried to put me on his shoulder—but that didn’t work out too well, I am NOT coordinated.

When Amy shared the photos with us, I was AMAZED at how perfectly she captured our excitement, friendship, and joy entering this season.

My Pregnancy Journey

When this publishes, I will be around the 20-week mark, which is completely surreal to think that I am halfway to meeting this little one.

The first trimester was a lot, but I’m thankful for a supportive husband, and clients.

I had morning sickness fairly consistently, and nausea lasting throughout most days. I didn’t have too many crazy cravings. But I lost a lot of energy—I took lots of naps and cut back on a lot of activities so I could rest.

I’m usually a high-energy person, so navigating low energy has been tough.

So far, the second trimester has been good! My daily nausea has passed, with a few episodes of sickness here and there. Baby Hoffman really makes their opinion known when I eat something they don’t like. I crave BOTH sweet and salty, and so far have enjoyed LOTS of fruit.

We are not going to find out the gender of our baby. I’ve always wanted that to be a surprise. So our midwives and Drs all know we are keeping that hidden until birth. I can’t wait to hear Zach say “It’s a … ” when I deliver.

Pregnancy and Entrepreneurship

While I don’t have too much wisdom to share on this, I will let you know that I was NERVOUS to start a family. Being my own boss, and birthing a new business takes WORK.

I didn’t know when was a “good” time to have a baby, and I hadn’t been in business that long to know the true patterns of when my busy season was. Fear really took over my thoughts about starting a family and pausing this business that I equally love.

I started to pray and ask the Lord to intervene. Knowing He would have the perfect time for us, so I just had to trust Him. I knew that when the time was right, He’d make it happen.

My encouragement to you, fellow entrepreneurs is don’t hold the reigns of your business so tightly that you are missing out on the other dreams in your heart. Being able to have open hands for both business and a family is what I’ve learned to be the best option.

While I’m nervous to see what new rhythms and boundaries I need to put in place for my business, I am SO excited about the adventure God is leading me on.

Share Motherhood and Business Tips

It will be messy, require LOTS of grace, and I’ll have to master nap time working. But, I can’t wait to see the blessing of family, and business. I know I can do both. And so can you!

I hope you find encouragement with this, and if you have any tips, be sure to pass them along. I admire all of you working mama’s SO MUCH!!

Come on over and say hi on the ‘gram, and share your business + motherhood tips. And in the meantime, I’m still accepting clients until October, so if you want to get on my calendar before the end of the year, hop into my inbox.