The stunning Tamara Sullivan and Lily Grace (almost 11 mo).
Tamara's husband was going to be turning 40 when he said, “I think we should try to have a baby. I don’t want to be too old when we finally have a child.” She reminded him her father was 64 when she was born and children kept him young. "A few weeks later we were pregnant. He was ecstatic. I was afraid". The pregnancy was hard for me - she suffered from horrible morning sickness the first 20 weeks and battled anxiety and depression. "Depression has been my longtime companion. Things really got bad when I was 24, dealing with the fallout from the end of a long-term relationship involving domestic violence and on the verge of failing out of law school. After that, I started taking medication and working through some of my shit in therapy".
Tamara says that she isn't sure if it's that she reduced her medication dosage or if it were hormonal and life changes, but the first half of pregnancy was very lonely for her. She had moved for work and her husband was living part time with her and part time in our prior home outside of Denver. "He spent my pregnancy tired driving four hours back and forth from our old home in Denver to our new home in Alamosa. I started writing my baby letters. Most of them were about how much her daddy already loved her. I wanted to be able to give her something positive from a time when I felt so lost".
After 20 weeks, Tamara started really enjoying her pregnancy and says that she felt like she always had a friend with her. "I would talk to my baby and really started developing an attachment. I loved to feel the baby kick and lovingly rubbed my bump all day". Just shy of 36 weeks Tamara's water broke. At the ER they confirmed the baby was on her way and because of the elevation, her gestation, and lack of services in her new town, Tamara was transported by helicopter to Denver. She wasn't worried about giving birth but was worried about her baby being so early. A NICU nurse came in for a visit and prepared them for the worst. Tamara's blood pressure was high and she wasn’t dilating so they decided to induce and gave her an epidural. After that the baby came quickly. She only spent 20 minutes in active labor and there she was. "Beautiful, small, my daughter and best friend. Perfect. Ten fingers and toes she was healthy. After being weighed and measured she was placed on my chest and began to nuzzle and latched to nurse".
"I love the purpose of 4th Trimester Bodies. I have struggled with body image throughout my life and have always lacked the kind of self-confidence I see in women I admire. I want my daughter to be comfortable and confident at all ages and stages and to really thrive throughout her life. This movement is one way I can show her how to be happy and proud of who and where you are. I don’t want her to be constantly comparing herself to others and obsessing about the way she looks. I want her to be able to find the beauty in everything. I want my daughter to grow up powerful and empowered".