Pregnancy Must-Haves

1. Palmer's Cocoa butter- I have been using this religiously and still have no stretch marks.  I can't say it's from the Palmer's or that I won't get them eventually but so far so good.

2. Prenatal Yoga- Yoga really clears my head when I'm stressed out. It is also keeping me in shape and flexible, along with my other workouts.

3. Maternity Leggings/Jeans- Motherhood was the best place for me to find pants at a reasonable price. Target was horrible! I do have some dresses and tops from Target that are good but I mostly got the basics at Motherhood. When it came time, maternity jeans were a welcome change. They are so much more comfortable and the BellaBand just did not work for me. As it gets hotter, I plan on relying on maxi dresses.

4. Body Pillow- I have the Snoogle pillow. I honestly have not had trouble sleeping but this thing really is comfy and for people who do have trouble sleeping I'm sure it is a huge help.

5. Google- Baby books are outdated before they even hit the shelves. When I wanted  info, I wanted it ASAP and reading through an entire book filled with 90% info I already knew or didn't care about just was not going to cut it.  No, you can't trust everything you read online but who says you can trust everything you read in a book?  I gathered as much info as I could, asked my doc what she thought, and then formed my own opinion when it came to pregnancy questions.

6. Decaf Green Tea- I'm a huge green tea and coffee drinker.  Tea for pregnancy is particularly difficult to find because you're not supposed to have certain herbs and they are in everything.  Basically everything Starbucks carries has a questionable herb in it.  I ended up finding decaf green tea from Trader Joes that is pretty good.

7. A supportive and patient husband- This is the biggest must have of all.  Kyle has been amazing throughout this whole process.  He doesn't baby me, which I hate, and even though he's busy and stressed also, he is there for whatever I need.

26 Weeks

How Far Along:  26 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of a head of lettuce.

Total Weight Gain: 13lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing both maternity and non maternity.

Stretch Marks: Still no.

Sleep:  I have started tossing and turning more these days.  I think it’s pretty good that I’ve made it almost to the 3rd trimester without any sleeping problems.

Best Moment of the week: Starting to order and get everything together for the nursery.  Seeing it all come together is so exciting.

Miss Anything?: Cookie dough.  I hate not being able to take a bite when I’m baking.

Movement:  I tried the flash light thing this week.  She moved around a little so I guess she saw the light. Also, she’s very active as soon as I lay down in bed.  I think she’s trying to learn karate in there J

Food Cravings: Peaches.

Anything Making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs:  No.

Symptoms: Forgetfulness.  I have been terrible.  I forget my phone about half the time when I go out.  I really hope this goes away before I get around the time of going into labor.  It’s making work more difficult too.  I have to run back and forth a lot more for things I have forgotten.  As a positive side note, I am getting more exercise at work because of this J

Belly Button in or out: Flattening out.  Half of it is starting to pop out a little.

Wedding Rings on or off: On.

Mood: Good.  I’m still feeling great.

Looking forward to:  Taking our classes through the hospital.  I will feel a lot more prepared after the childbirth and newborn care classes.  Also, our weekend anniversary getaway.  We are headed down to L’Auberge Del Mar to relax and celebrate.

Exercise:  I have been doing ok.  Some things are getting harder now but I’m determined to stay active.  Work alone keeps me moving.  I have a co-worker that once wore a pedometer to work and he said we walk about 5 miles in a shift on a busy night.  That’s not too bad when you consider I do that 4-5 nights a week.

Simplifying My Routine

Ok so a few months ago, based on the advice of a friend, I changed up my skincare routine.  She told me that all she ever uses is Dove Sensitive Skin bar soap on her face.  We both have combo skin that tends to be dry.  I personally hate the feeling of dry skin but I have always used a cleanser designated for the face like Neutrogena because I was afraid of acne.  My skin always feels dry after a shower so I just moisturize immediately.  She claimed that this bar soap left her skin soft and never dry.  I was skeptical but I figured I would give it a try and if it worked out, I would end up saving money.  Also, I happened to already use Dove Sensitive Skin body wash so I had it in my shower.  It was just too convenient not to try it.

My new routine is Dove with my Olay Pro X once a day, which leaves my skin feeling amazing, I mean I noticed it the very first time I used it.  And then just the Dove if I need to wash my face again that day (I don't like to overdo exfoliation).  I have had literally NO breakouts and my skin tone is becoming more even.  It might be in my head but I feel like my pores are smaller too.  I waited to post about it until after I had been doing it a while to make sure the results were accurate and I am proud to say that this is my new way of life.  I love it.  It's so much cheaper and easier to be all-in-one now.  If only I could wash my hair with it...

24 Weeks

How Far Along:  24 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of a cantaloupe.

Total Weight Gain: 12lbs.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing both maternity and non maternity.

Stretch Marks: No not yet.

Sleep:  Sleeping like a baby. Well not a newborn, I’ve heard they don’t sleep very well at all J I got a Snoogle body pillow for Mother’s Day and it’s amazing!

Best Moment of the week: Walking out of my last final exam.

Miss Anything?: Not really.

Movement:  Lots of movement now.

Food Cravings: Nothing specific.

Anything Making you queasy or sick: No.

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs:  No.

Symptoms: Heartburn L

Belly Button in or out: In but getting flatter.

Wedding Rings on or off: On.

Mood: Good.  I’m still feeling great.

Looking forward to:  Relaxing and working on getting the nursery done now that finals are over.

Exercise:  The last couple weeks have been hard because we have been so busy. Moving, Finals, Mother’s Day, Birthdays, etc etc etc.  I miss my workouts.  Getting back on track now. Worries: I still have a high level of amniotic fluid.  The baby was cleared of any swallowing issues, which is a relief, but I have not had my glucose test yet.

Goodbye to Our 2nd Home

Well, we are on to our 3rd apartment.  We are slowly making upgrades as we keep moving but I hope we can stay put for a while since we will have our hands full with the new baby.  As of now the plan is to stay here until we can buy something and that is going to be a while.

In the new house, Cody gets his own backyard and I don't have to deal with the up and down stairs.  We also have a garage now which is a total game-changer.  No more surfboards in the bedroom/livingroom/anywhere they will fit.  I think we are going to like it here :)

22 Weeks

How Far Along:  22 weeks

Baby Size: About the size of a papaya.

Total Weight Gain: Still don’t have a scale so I will know at my 24 week appointment.

Maternity Clothes: Still wearing both maternity and non maternity.

Stretch Marks: No not yet.

Sleep: I am still sleeping well.  I feel like I got lucky because people keep asking me about it like I should be sleeping terribly.

Best Moment of the week: Getting into our new apartment.  I love a fresh start.

Miss Anything?: Not really this week.

Movement:  She’s moving all the time now.

Food Cravings: I have had a couple of weird cravings but as soon as I eat what I was craving it satisfies it and they don’t come back.  But isn’t that just normal?

Anything Making you queasy or sick: Nope.

Gender: Girl.

Labor Signs:  No.

Symptoms: Sciatica might be coming back.  I had it at weeks 7 and 8 and it was really bad but now it’s on the other side and really faint.  I hope it stays that way J

Belly Button in or out: In but getting flatter.

Wedding Rings on or off: On.

Mood: Great.  I obviously consider myself lucky (I named my blog after it) but really I almost feel bad when I’m talking to other pregnant friends.  I sleep great, my skin and hair have never looked better, I feel healthy and strong, I haven’t had one second of morning sickness, and I haven’t had to really limit myself in any way.  I don’t drink or eat foods I’m not supposed to but I don’t miss all of that very much.  Maybe I’m just one of those people who was made for this?  Maybe I just got lucky so far and with this pregnancy?  I don’t know but I’m very grateful for it J (I really hope I haven’t just jinxed myself for the next pregnancy)

Looking forward to: The new nursery.  We have officially moved but the new house is still a huge mess.  After I get organized it’s on to the nursery.  We are so fortunate to have friends with great taste that keep gifting us their old furniture so we have a crib and changing table already.

Exercise:  Moving means I leave behind our private gym in the complex we lived in.  I will have to be more disciplined and get in my car and drive to the gym but I have been enjoying my workouts so much that hopefully this won’t be a problem.  Also it was nice to not have to worry about unsolicited advice while I worked out and now that might be a new pet peeve.

Gabby

This little lady has been around since I was 18.  She was the queen of my mom's house.  When we lived together we would have-it-out just like real sisters.  She was stubborn and so am I.  But even though we sometimes had our differences she was truly an adorable fluffy little fur ball and we will all miss her so much.  

RIP Gabby (aka Gabbster aka Gremlin aka Princess Pea)