Hello Internets,

I almost hit publish on my “first” post that I have been working on for quite some time now, but I thought I should introduce myself first for those who do not know a lot about me. I believe life is all about balance, and while I could eat my weight in MJ’s donuts … I also enjoy yoga. So the donuts bring me comfort (and no thigh gap) and the yoga brings me clarity in the world that doesn’t make much sense most days (and hopes of a thigh gap).

My name is Kelley Hurtt, I’m 31 years old. I’m originally from Maryland but I have been living in Charlotte, North Carolina for the past 11 years. I moved to Charlotte to attend Johnson & Wales University where I received a degree in Culinary Arts and a degree in Food Service Management. Just a few months before I was about graduate, back in 2008 I met this guy at a clerb, clerb Tilt to be exact. That guy’s name is Jonathan and he is currently my husband of 5 years and my best friend. So needless to say I decided to stick around Charlotte, where I’ve worked a variety jobs in the food service and event planning industry. In between all that, we got a dog together, a yellow lab named Rocky. Then we built a house and moved out to the burbs of Pineville where we all currently reside.

Life has always been pretty sweet for Jonathan and I … we come from loving families, who have always provided for us, and now we’re fortunate enough to provide for each other. We’ve always had a great relationship; from the beginning of exciting first dates, moving in together, his romantic proposal, to our beautiful wedding and now living a blissful married life. We love to travel and have been lucky enough to explore some pretty fantastic places. So the missing puzzle piece in all this and what everyone always asked us throughout our relationship was, “what about kids?” Well that was a subject we always teetered on … of course we had discussed it before marriage and both agreed that someday yes we would. But when the DINK (dual income no kids) lifestyle grants you with so much freedom, travel and foodie dinners, it’s a hard leap to take. But honestly, it was more the voice in my head saying “Our life is so fulfilled with each other, do we need to add anything to it?” Towards the end of 2015, after completing a very full year of travel and adventure we decided to go all in and just see what happens. Thanksgiving came and we were so grateful to discover that the test was positive, we were expecting!

My pregnancy wasn’t the awesome, glow filled one I had hoped for at first. Immediately I suffered from severe morning sickness, or what I like to call “all day sickness”. Literally from sun up to sun down, I myself could not keep anything down. After a long and difficult battle with my insurance, I finally got some meds that softened the symptoms. But I was constantly sick for the first 20 weeks of my pregnancy. The veil lifted and I could finally start enjoying it and that glow did come that everyone talks about. I finally felt those first flutters which turned to full on kicks, and we found out we were having a boy! Around this time I did find out that my placenta was previa … which means it was sitting rather low. A normal placenta should be above the baby, previa means it actually sitting right on top of your cervix. This caused a lot of discomfort and cramping if I walked or did too much physical activity. I was put on “pelvic rest” aka no sex, for any penetration could cause damage to my placenta. Also my doctor began preparing me for a potential scheduled c-section because when the placenta is this low, it blocks the birth canal.

But despite these few challenges, I was having a “normal” and healthy pregnancy. So meanwhile we were preparing the nursery – Jon was so giddy about this part. He methodically planned out each detail like he does with everything – from purchasing an airbrush kit to paint the room himself, to creating a custom accent wall from reclaimed wood, and measuring each corner to make sure the furniture I liked fit perfectly. We also had two amazing baby showers; one hosted by my friends in Charlotte and one later in Maryland hosted by family. We were so grateful for all the “loot” as I liked to call it, for Baby Boy. When we returned home after traveling to Maryland for the shower, I was 29 weeks and we had a doctors appointment. We discovered my placenta had moved where it was supposed to be and there was no need for a c-section! Everything looked great and I could attempt a natural birth the way that I was progressing. Such great news, as I was heading into my last week at work to began an early (and permanent) maternity leave. But as we approached week 30 of our pregnancy, things drastically changed …