31 Weeks!

I have less than 10 weeks left till my due date! It's crazy and amazing. I can not wait to hold my baby girl in my arms & hear her first cry. I'm unable to sleep at night because of all the thoughts running through my head about our precious angel. (that, and being unable to get comfy with this big ole' belly...haha). I just can't believe that I'm gonna be a mama! It seems unreal, still. I think to myself sometimes... 'Is she really mine?! Do I really get to keep her forever?!' It's like Christmas as a child, when you get something you NEVER thought you would actually get. You just can't believe it, and you're overfilled with excitement and joy. Yes, just like that. This pregnancy is just like Christmas & she's the best gift I could have ever imagined getting. It's going to be a million times better once she is here. 9 months is such a long time to wait to meet someone! Oh, but she's definitely worth the wait... : )

Sunday night after I got off of work, my honey and I went on the hunt for the perfect Christmas tree & out to a quick dinner at Panchero's. Yum! I love their burrito's. Anywhoo, we found this wonderfully fat Christmas tree that smells AMAZING. Our tree last year was pretty, don't get me wrong, but it didn't have that strong pine smell that I love oh so much. This year, we did it right and made sure to get a tree that smelled delicious. It fills the entire downstairs with it's pine smell and I just love it! We spent the rest of the afternoon/night decorating it with all of our special ornaments & topped it off with a pretty gold star then sat on the couch to enjoy Lampoons Christmas Vacation! One of my favorite holiday comedy's. It was just a wonderful Sunday night.

How far along? 31 Weeks and 3 days! (Picture above was taken 3 days ago)

Total weight gain: at my last appointment (a week and a half ago) I was at a 17 lbs gain. Woah mama!

Maternity clothes?  Definitely. If not maternity... then extra stretchy.       

Stretch marks? Not as far as I can see.

Sleep: Sleep? What is sleep? I certainly know of no such thing... haha. This past week I've been getting up at 4:30 in the morning... unable to get comfy, unable to get into a deep sleep.. it's just no fun! So I get up & shower and get ready for my day. Then by 3pm I'm fading fast & ready for a quick nap on the couch. Too bad those naps only last about 20 minutes before I'm awake again to pee or crack my sore back.. and neck... and shoulders. I'm so stiff lately!

Best moment this week:  Getting our Christmas tree!! :D

  

Miss Anything?  I miss sleep. But other than that, I'm a happy preggo.

Movement:  Plenty of it! I finally got a few movements on video via iPod. Not much, because once I turn the video on, she stops moving. Little camera shy lady! But I did get a few kicks, and I'm happy to have them. I know I'm going to miss feeling her move once this pregnancy is over. :')

Symptoms:  I've been nausious this past week. I've thrown up twice.. I think it's just due to her squishing my belly & being up so high. I will ask my doctor about it next week at my appointment.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Yes. Even foods that I LOVE, after getting half way through my meal, I'll look down and get grossed out!

Labor Signs:  Nooooooo! Lets hold off on those for at least another 6 weeks!

Are You Showing? Definitely.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am very very happy, though lately very emotional! I'm such a cry baby these past few weeks.. poor hubby has to put up with it! He does an amazing job, though. ;)

Looking forward to:  Hearing baby girls heartbeat on Wednesday next week and of course CHRISTMAS in a few weeks!

Hey yall, hope everyone had a wonderful Holiday Week with their loved ones! I had a g-r-e-a-t holiday, filled with plenty of yummy food & surrounded by all my loved ones!

I am 30 weeks pregnant today! We're down to the 10 week count-down and I couldn't be more excited and nervous! 

I didn't do any black Friday shopping this year.. I had to work at 9am, and was in bed by 10pm the night before. It was FREEZING out & I was exhausted from a day of work & holiday festivities. Maybe next year.. : ) But on another note, I did go a little crazy with the cyber Monday deals! I finally got the breast pump that I've been eying for a few months and WE GOT OUR STROLLER & CARSEAT! I'm so excited for them to arrive. I also did a little Target shopping, not everything was on sale, but it was all so cute! So here are my baby buys for week 30!

 

1) Bright Starts Grab & Stack Blocks - They are soft, crunchy & have taggies on them. They're just so cute and my niece had something similar that she would go ga ga over.
2) Fisher Price Sugar Plum Bouncer - Down from 62.99 to 47.24 + I had 5 dollars in Babies R Us rewards so that made it 42.24 dollars. Win! I love the colors & how cuddly & soft it is. It also goes with the theme of butterflies that I want to have for her nursery. (Butterflies & poka dots, to be exact. I'm obsessed with poka dots right now)

3) Cloud B Sleep Sheep - I've heard so many good things about this little thing! And he's just oh so adorable. 

4) Butterfly Ceiling Hangings - Again with the butterflies! I just love this. Now, I was going to attempt to make my own, but I'm not very crafty and just shopping for the materials was overwhelming for my hormonal self.

5) Taggies Tags 'n Snuggles Mat - How adorable is this thing? I can't wait to place it right in the middle of her nursery. It's super plush & soft, and again has those taggies that babies love so much all around it.

6) Summer Infant Prodigy Travel System - We finally got out car-seat & stroller ordered! I'm so so happy 'cause that means we are so much closer to being ready to bring our baby girl home!! We chose to go with something neutral for the travel system. We're not made of money & it will be nice to be able to use the car-seat again for future babies. They grow out of the newborn one so quickly anyways. Why buy it twice if you don't have to?!

7) First Years BPA Free GumDrop Newborn Pacifiers - I'm so torn on whether or not we will even us pacie's but I like the idea of having them if we need them/choose to use them. These ones are the ones that I've heard the most about & most moms I've spoke to have really liked them. I like that they aren't just one huge circle like the other ones so it doesn't bother babies nose or take up half of their face. Haha. I think they're cute. 

8) Medela Pump In Style Advanced Breast Pump On-The-Go Tote - Last but not least for this week... my breast pump! 50 dollars off + free shipping + a 5 dollar coupon = great steal! I was so happy. I've been watching this pump for months, waiting to see if I could get it on a deal, and I did! Also, I used my Babies R Us card to purchase it, so I'll be getting reward $$$ next month to spend on more cute stuff for Gracie. : )

At 29 weeks & 6 days. My necklace kinda wondered off to the side there, lol.

Well, till next time mama's! xoxox

 I will be 28 weeks tomorrow, officially in my 3rd trimester!
So, I thought I would share the things that helped me through these past two trimesters and made life as a preggo a little easier/more comfortable... or at least as comfy as you can be growing a human being. ; )

1st and 2nd Trimester Favorites!

A) My Aveeno face wash cloths. Since becoming pregnant, my skin has gone bonkers! These are wonderful at removing my make up, moisturising my face and so much easier to use than face wash over the bathroom sink on those nights that I can barely keep my eyes open long enough to make it up the stairs to our bed.

B) My belly band! I had it in white, and it was actually a gift from a friend of mine who used it through her two pregnancies as well. It worked wonderfully! You know, the awkward stage where you've got baby 'pudge' but not an actual bump yet... and your pants just don't button/zip right. These just slip right over your pants & help hold them up without having to zip or button them. I also really liked how it smoothed out my sides & made me feel secure. I did get a lot of use out of this item (about 5 months worth) and I'm glad I had it. Of course, you will reach a point where pants with a zipper you can't zip just won't be comfortable anymore and have to move on to something else.

C) Tums. Yes, I complain about the taste and how much I dislike them, but the DO work and as much as I dislike eating them, I dislike my heartburn more! My favorites are the Smoothies in wild berry 'cause they kinda taste like candy. I keep a large bottle of these bad boys in my purse. They also have the added bonus of calcium. 

D) Preggie Pops! My honey bought these for me from Babies R Us but I've seen them at Motherhood & Walgreens as well. Used them mostly in my first trimester... but a few weeks into my second as well. I was SO nauseous 24/7 and these worked so so wonderfully. They actually made my nausea subside! Plus, they were delicious. My favorite were the sour raspberry.

E) BODY PILLOW. Get one. Just do it. Your hips, back, legs... they will all thank you for it. And even after you give birth to your little angel, you'll still be loving this thing, I can guarantee it. I got mine from Target for 10 bucks. Seriously, one of my best investments. And don't forget a cute & cuddle pillow case to go with it!

F) I'm not really into all the stretch mark lotions out there. 1 - I don't believe anything can prevent stretchmarks. They are genetic. 2 - Most of those creams don't smell or feel good to me. 3 - They're so over priced just 'cause they know people are willing to do anything to avoid the dreaded marks! That being said, I do believe that while they may not be avoidable, you can lessen the damage by keeping your skin extra moisturized so it's easier to stretch. And while it's stretching, it's gonna get itchy at times & I've heard that scratching your stretching tummy can make stretchmarks worse/deeper than they were to start with. ANYWHO, my favorite lotion for my tummy is Aveeno. I have sensitive skin, and this never irritates it. Also, it works so so well. My tummy is baby butt soft and so far (knock on wood) no marks have appeared. I know they will come in due time because I am susceptible to them, but as of now I'm enjoying my soft baby bump.

G) Ginger ale. Another nausea favorite. There were days where I couldn't even keep water down 'cause it would gag me, and this ginger ale was just the trick to help settle my tummy. (make sure it says made with real ginger)

H) Vitafusion Gummy Prenatals. I had a really hard time taking my prenatal pills because I was so nauseous and sick feeling all of the time during all of my first and most of my second trimester (nausea has actually started to come back now that I enter my third...) I was so happy when I found these! They were around 10 bucks at Walmart and taste like sour gummy worms. The only thing they don't have in them is iron (because they appeal to children as candy). I take iron on the side anyways, though. I take a slow fe iron that releases slowly so you don't get the icky constipation that is common with iron supplements.

I) Last but not least, my lovely VS yoga pants. You can really use any kind of yoga pants, but VS are my personal favorite. They seem to keep their shape a lot better than most I've had before and they're not as thin as most either. The flap also makes for a great maternity band once the bump gets bigger and they're just a great comfort all around. I live in these yoga pants & the VS leggins right now.

27 Weeks!

 

 

How far along? 27 Weeks & 4 days. (27 weeks 2 days in picture above)

Total weight gain: 14 lbs.

 

Maternity clothes?  Oh yes. Shirt pictured above is from Target's maternity clearance. I love how great it feels & stretches. I also bought a nice long sleeved sweater off the same wrack that is oh so comfy and cute looking over my bump. : ) Pants also need to be maternity nowadays... or yoga with the fold over flap flipped up. Haha.            

Stretch marks? Not yet. I say 'yet' because I am almost certain that I will get them eventually since I have old ones from puberty.

Sleep: So hard to come by! I fall asleep very quickly at first, but am up about an hour later because I either have to pee, am no longer comfortable in my position (also unable to switch positions while still asleep...) my hips hurt, back hurts or I can't breathe!  Then when I try to go back to sleep, it seems impossible. I am up so many times through out the night, it's quite irritating. I don't get nearly enough sleep for my busy days.

Best moment this week:  Watching baby girl move from the outside. Her movements have gotten so much larger and noticable. I love it so much. I still keep trying to capture it on camera, but she always stops as soon as I'm ready to hit record.. drats!
  

Miss Anything?  I miss going a day without aches & pains. But I'm also so happy to be going through this 'cause it means I get a precious baby girl at the end of everything.

Movement:  Oh yes. Plenty of it! She's very active early in the morning.. 3 or 4am. Then I believe she naps till around 8 or 9, because then she's all squirms, wiggles, kicks and rolls! : )     

Food cravings:  For a week there I was craving WAFFLES every single day. Thank the lord they didn't go straight to the number on the scale! Haha. This week it's root beer floats. Yum. I still love my milk, cheese and fruits too of course.

Symptoms:  Heartburn, body aches, head aches, acne (still! ugh) and bloat.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not really.

Labor Signs:  No, no, no!

 

Are You Showing? Definitely.

Happy or Moody most of the time: I am one very happy camper these days. And oh so excited that we are closer and closer to the day we get to hold our baby girl in our arms.

Looking forward to:  Thanksgiving! My baby shower the weekend after Thanksgiving and of course CHRISTMAS, my favorite holiday everrr. And once we ring in the new year, we'll get to welcome our bundle of joy into this world shortly after. Ah, so much to look forward to.

25 Weeks!

Hey guys! I'm 25 weeks and 1 day pregnant today. I can't believe that it is already the end of October! This month seemed way too short! November is one of my favorite months out of the year, so I'm super excited for it to come! 

I have my glucose text this up coming Tuesday, and will have more to update on about baby girl after that doctors appointment.

This past Friday I worked the majority of the day and felt super icky. I didn't eat much because I didn't feel well, and when I got home I quickly had to rush to the bathroom because I felt so sick! I felt like I was back in my first trimester again. It was awful! The feeling continued all through the night & into the next morning but passed as the day went on, thankfully! Not sure if it was a stomach bug or just pregnancy related but it was horrible and I'm glad it's over and passed.

Hubby and I sat in the babies room last night, going through everything that we have & making lists. We came up with an idea of what we still need to get and everything else that we would like to have before our princess makes her grand entrance. I love making lists and organizing my thoughts out. He also told me all of his plans for the nursery as far as decorating/organizing it. We will be getting things together soon! I'm so excited!

This past week I also made up my gift registries for my baby shower. Still not sure of the exact date but it will be sometime within the next 6 weeks.

Food cravings: Nothing this week, oddly enough!

Food aversions: Nope.

Weight Gain: Acording to my last doctors appointment my weight gain thus far was 8lbs. I am guessing it's more by now, seeing as that was almost a month ago and I can FEEL myself getting heavier. We will see on the 30th when I go to my next appointment & get my glucose test done.

Symptoms: My heartburn is still in full force, back pain, headaches, acne (ugh!), and my ankles have been swelling. :/
Sleep: HORRIBLE. I wake up several times through the night to pee & then when I get back under the covers I can NOT for the life of me fall back asleep (it takes nearly an hour!!) This has been going on for about 2 weeks now and it's really depriving me. Also, it's hard to get comfortable and my hips always hurt in the morning from sleeping on my sides.

Movement: Baby girl is a dancer already! : )

Memory Of The Week: Getting things organized & planned out on paper. Helps to calm my nerves! I'm such a wreck with anxiety lately!

Stretch Marks: Nope! : )

Showing:

Gender Prediction: We found out it's a precious baby girl.

Maternity Cloths: Yes, unless I'm in my yoga pants & sweaters. Those stretch mighty nicely. ; )

24 Weeks. SIX MONTHS!!

My goodness, I'm 6 months pregnant! How does time continue to fly so quickly?!
My tummy has really 'popped' again, and I feel huge. I love my belly though, and feeling her squirm inside. She's much more active this week, then she has been thus far. She used to just move around in the early morning or late night... but now I feel her all through the day, even when on my feet for hours at work. She must move a lot in her sleep like her mama. ; ) 'Cause there's no way she's awake every time I feel her move. She'd never be sleeping if that were the case!

My heartburn has been getting worse and worse as the weeks go by. So, I finally broke down and bought tums smoothies last week. As much as I hate the taste/texture of tums, I hate my heartburn even more! I still only take them once in a while, but it's nice to know they are there for when I really need them. Oh, and don't get me started on the back pain! My lower back puts me in so much pain by the end of the day, to the point where I can barely walk! I attribute this to my belly growing so much in the past week and the cold/rainy weather we have had continuously all week. My body always has gotten 'achy' when it rains, but this is a whole new level of ache! I don't like to take Tylonol too often, even though I know it's safe to take while there's a baby growing inside of me. I take it about once a week, if that. When my back gets to causing me too much pain, I stretch & lean forward. It ALWAYS cracks when I do this, helping me out for a few minutes..

IN OTHER NEWS: My honey bought me a gorgeous diaper bag! It hasn't arrived yet, since he just ordered it via the internet last night, but I am extremely excited to fill it up & tote it around when baby gets here. It doesn't look too much like a diaper bag, which I love. It just looks like an over-sized purse - just my style!

Food cravings: BANANA BREAD. I am in love with this stuff all of a sudden. It's just so delicious. OH and banana nut cheerio's. YUM. I'm also really into cheese still, mainly mozzarella this week and I still love my milk. I've always loved milk through this pregnancy, but I haven't craved in since my first trimester. I'm back to craving it, and drinking much more of it. I guess that's a good thing to crave, though! Getting my calcium for my little girl to grow those strong bones & pearly whites. : )

Food aversions: Onions. The smell makes me nauseous OUT OF NO WHERE. I was able to tolerate them up until this point, but now... no. No thank you.

Weight Gain: Acording to my last doctors appointment my weight gain thus far was 8lbs. I am guessing it's more by now, seeing as that was a few weeks ago and I can FEEL myself getting heavier. We will see on the 30th when I go to my next appointment & get my glucose test done.

Symptoms: Heartburn, back pain, headaches, exhaustion, ligament pains and constantly having to pee!

Movement: Baby girl is a dancer already! : )

Memory Of The Week: Having her move soooo much more this week, getting my diaper bag ordered and making her a lovely little no-sew fleece blanket. It's so adorable and was super easy to make!

Stretch Marks: I FREAKED thinking that I saw one by my belly button last week.. then the next time I went to go find it/look at it, it was gone. Must have been my imagination.

Showing:

 

 So much bigger!!

Gender Prediction: We found out it's a precious baby girl.

Maternity Cloths: Yes, unless I'm in my yoga pants & sweaters. Those stretch mighty nicely. ; )

22 Weeks!

 22 Weeks. : )

 Food cravings: Cajun seasoning! I love it on my fries. So delicious! I order it at work a couple times a week. Also the regular that I've always craved since the begining of my pregnancy.. cheese & milk. I tried dark chocolate almond milk by silk the other day and OMG that stuff is sinfully delicious. I am officially obsessed.

Food aversions: Nothing in particular.

Weight Gain: I had a doctors appointment yesterday morning and so far I've only gained 8lbs. : )

Symptoms: My heartburn has gotten a lot worse lately. I have it all the time it seems. Also, a lot of bloat, head aches and exhaustion. My back aches a lot while at work now, it's awful. The pain kinda shoots down from my lower back into my but. Ouch!

Movement: Yes. <3 I love it.

Memory Of The Week: Hearing babies heart beat at my appointment yesterday and finding out that I didn't gain any weight in the last month.

Stretch Marks: Not yet!

Showing:

Gender Prediction: We found out it's a precious baby girl, last week.

Maternity Cloths: Yes. I'm getting tired of wearing the same cloths all the time. It's a few maternity items and a few select baggy pre-pregnancy clothing items that still fit a little. I don't have many options right now.