Pregnancy Update / 39 Weeks

How far along?

39 weeks and 2 days...5 days to go! (only I'm thinking he's way too comfortable in there and I'll be pregnant forever)

Gender?

The sweetest baby boy

How big is baby?

The doctor estimated 7.5 lbs at my appointment yesterday, which 7.5-8 lbs has always been the weight I was hoping for! Oh and my app says he's the size of a watermelon.

Total weight gain/loss?

27 total weight gain.

Maternity clothes?

Yes. And so tired of wearing all of them. My favorite sweatpants and leggings are getting so worn out but I refuse to buy more at this point. I constantly picture what it'll be like to wear my regular clothes again.

Sleep?

Sleeping fine but the peeing is out of control. I thought it was bad before but last night was on another level. 

Best moment this week?

My husband and I had such a great Valentines day on Saturday which was also our 7 year dating anniversary. We slept in, walked and bathed the dogs, got brunch, went to Restoration Hardware and ordered a big canvas map that we've been eyeing for MONTHS that will fit perfectly on the big wall of our living room. Then we walked around a new place near us called Manatee Lagoon, where manatee's like to hang out around November-March since the water is warmer. The weather was cool and sunny, such a pretty day! 

We went to Publix on our way home to pick up seafood since Ryan was inspired to make his own seafood dish for dinner that turned out AMAZING. Lobster tails, scallops, shrimp and mussels in a white wine sauce over jasmine rice. Who needs to fight the Valentines day crowds when you have chef skills like these??

We ended the night by getting frozen yogurt at Menchies and watching a movie before bed. Who could ask for a better day? As anxious as I am to meet Miles, I'm cherishing this last bit of time we have together as a family of two.

Food cravings?

Still sparkling water with limes but also blueberry muffins. I am slightly obsessed.

Food aversions?

Nope.

Labor signs?

I've been getting cramps for the last few weeks that feel like menstrual cramps. I had my 39 week appointment yesterday and I was barley 1 cm dilated. I was so disappointed and thought for sure I would have made more progress. I guess he's just a happy camper in there! I have another appointment Monday where they'll give me a non-stress test and ultrasound to make sure he's doing ok and to check my fluid levels. I left thinking that we'll most likely schedule an induction for later on next week, but I'm still really hopeful I go on my own before then.

Belly button in or out?

Out...still no stretch marks! I'm nervous they'll pop up now that we're towards the end so I'll continue to drink a lot of water and load up on belly butter creams.

What I miss?

All the usual things, but mostly just being able to fit in my regular clothes. I went through all my drawers and washed and re-organized everything and it was just nice to see all the outfits that I've been missing for the last 9 months.

What I’m looking forward to?

Meeting our boy! After planning and planning for months I'm at the point where I just want to get the labor and delivery over and meet our sweet baby Miles. Maybe this will be my last pregnancy update??

Pregnancy Update / 38 Weeks

How far along?

38 weeks and 2 days...1 week and 5 days to go!

Gender?

The sweetest baby boy

How big is baby? 

According to my app, Miles is the size of a pumpkin, which seems crazy ! At my weekly appointments the doctor measures my belly and they tell me he's right on track, which is anywhere from 6-9 pounds. I'm hoping he'll be 8lbs when he's born, but as long as he's healthy I guess it really doesn't matter!

Here is a picture when I am 37 weeks from my shower

Total weight gain/loss? 

I've gained 27 pounds so far.

Maternity clothes? 

At this point, figuring out what I'm going to wear is the worst part of my day haha. Since I'm still working it's just hard to find anything that fits me comfortably and is still "professional". I probably rotate between the same 5 or 6 outfits at this point and I don't even care. I am just so ready for this baby to get here!

It's been surprisingly chilly here in Florida for the past couple weeks so when I'm home I live in sweatpants and my husband's hoodies haha.

Sleep?

I still sleep pretty good through the night, but I need to wedge myself between two pillows so I have support on my back and can kind of drape myself over the other pillow. The worst part has just been how many times I have to get up and pee every night! I swear last night I  peed 10 times. Getting out of bed or even off the couch when I'm laying down has become a chore. 

Best moment this week?

Finishing his nursery! We have worked so hard on it and seeing how nicely it came together was awesome. I have a whole post with nursery pictures if you want to see it!

 I'm loving this boon grass drying rack that we recently purchased. It looks so cute on our counter and I've already used it when I sanitized all the bottles.

 

I was shopping at Home Goods a few months ago and found this fruit/veggie holder on clearance and it has worked great to hold his bath stuff!

Are you kidding me with this shark bathrobe? I mean seriously, melt my heart!

I had so much fun packing his diaper bag with the most adorable things for the hospital!

Food cravings? 

Sparkling water with fresh lime slices. And always sweets, probably now more than ever.

Food aversions? 

Nothing that I can think of. 

Labor signs? 

Two weeks ago, around 4 p.m. I started to experience light contractions that I would compare to period cramps that were coming every 3-5 minutes and lasting about 10-30 seconds each. I figured they were just Braxton Hicks and would go away soon but even after I left work, went to Target and came home they were still coming at the same consistency. I told my husband when he came home, at this point it was 7 p.m. so I had been experiencing these for 3 hours. I knew if this was the real deal they would get more intense, which they hadn't, so we decided to go to dinner like we planned but packed our hospital bag in the car just in case. Around 8 p.m. the contractions started to slow down and then finally stopped all together. It was definitely a crazy experience and really got our butts in gear to finish the nursery and get everything else we still needed for his arrival!

I'm really hoping I go into labor on my own and I don't end up getting induced. I always pictured the typical movie scenario happening to me, where your water breaks during the night and it's a mixture of chaotic excitement. 

Belly button in or out? 

Fully out! I really hope it goes back in after he's here haha.

What I miss?

Clothes that fit, moving gracefully (ha), running, and champagne. 

What I'm looking forward to?

Meeting my sweet boy! I get emotional just trying to picture what it will be like seeing him for the first time and seeing my husband hold him; it makes me tear up just thinking about it!

At my appointment yesterday I was 1 cm dilated and my cervix had softened since last week. The doctor stripped my membranes a little bit (what a painful experience!) to hopefully speed things along. I felt cramping and uncomfortable for the rest of the day and experienced light discharge, which apparently is normal after they do that but oh my god, as anxious as I am to go into labor I'm not sure if I'll have them do that again next week, it was just too much for me! 

Miles' Nautical Nursery

I am SO happy to finally post pictures of our sweet little boy's nursery! Designing this nursery has truly been a labor of love and my husband and I enjoyed every second of creating this space. 

My favorite items are the DIY projects that I made. I love the personal touch that they add to the room.

My favorite non-DIY item would have to be the nautical wheel, since it was what we found while shopping on our baby moon that inspired the nautical theme.

My advice for anyone designing a nursery is to give yourself plenty of time so you can have fun with it and find/make special pieces along the way.

Below I'll try to list where we got the majority of the items but feel free to message me with any questions you have!

Hobby Lobby: white whale picture frame, fishing boat, blue/rope picture frame, wire and rope basket, lighthouse, pillow case fabric, wave wall art, large oak ruler growth chart.

Anthropologie: blue anchor knobs

Ikea: spice racks converted into book shelves

Home Goods: nautical wheel

Walmart: rocking chair and canvas map

DIY: wooden map covered "M", name blocks, hanging net with starfish, clothes dividers, pillow cases

How I Prevented Stretch Marks During Pregnancy

Drink tons and tons of water.

Seriously. It’s recommended to drink a lot of water during pregnancy for so many reasons, and this is definitely one of them. If I wasn’t drinking water I would drink my one cup of coffee in the morning and sometimes green tea in the afternoon. I made sure to keep a water bottle at my desk and I would drink it all day long. I didn’t want to waste calories drinking anything else.

The last month of my pregnancy I started to drink a lot of sparkling water with fresh lime slices. It helped mix things up and made me feel like I was treating myself and drinking something fancy! I recently fell in love with this lime Italian sparkling mineral water from Whole Foods.

Gain weight slowly so your skin can keep up.

If you put on too much weight too quickly your skin simply can’t keep up with the rapid growth causing stretch marks. Eat healthy, drink a lot of water, and exercise. I didn’t necessarily eat healthy for every meal or even every day (I was pregnant over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years after all!) but I made a conscious effort to make healthy choices more often than not. My exercise varied almost weekly just based on what trimester I was in and how I was feeling that day.

The first trimester I was nauseous and exhausted almost every day so the most exercise I did was walking from my bed to the bathroom haha.

Second trimester I had a boost of energy and did the most exercise and ate the healthiest for this period. I would walk a 3 mile loop around my neighborhood 3-4 days a week and would mix in light weight training at the gym. The last 3 weeks of the 2^nd trimester I started to get sciatic nerve pain in my back and walking would sometimes make it worse. On those days I would find pregnancy yoga videos on Youtube.

The third trimester has been a mixture of the first two trimesters minus the nausea. Some days I am so exhausted that I don’t exercise at all, and some days I have energy to walk the 3 mile loop and feel great. I just take it day by day and focus on eating healthy.

Start using creams/oils early!

I wasted no time using belly butter and vitamin E oil on my belly. Sometime during the first trimester when I felt my pants getting tighter I ran out to Target and picked up these from Burts bees...

 

I love them so much and used them through my entire pregnancy. The consistency and smell of the belly butter is so pleasant and the vitamin E oil makes me skin feel so moisturized.

I use belly butter in the morning and before bed each night and the vitamin E oil after every shower or bath to lock in moisture. The last month or so I also started using some generic aloe lotion that I love as well!

100% Edible "Kong" Treat for Dogs

Both of my dogs have the biggest sweet tooth's, so occasionally I'll make this easy, healthy treat that keeps them happy and entertained for awhile.

What you'll need:
1 apple per dog
1-2 tablespoons of raw, unsalted peanut butter

Core out the center of the apple, making sure to get all the seeds and fill it with peanut butter. Be mindful of the amount of peanut butter you stuff the apple with, especially if your dogs have access to carpet or furniture, as it can get messy!

Cue the drooling happy faces while watching these come together...

Then just freeze the stuffed apples for up to two hours. Freezing them makes these treats last a little longer, equaling more entertainment for your dog!

...waiting is the hardest part!

Peanut butter is a great source of protein and contains heart healthy fats. Apples help clean tarter off of dog's teeth, which helps to freshen breath (always a plus in my house). They are also a good source of fiber and vitamin A and C.

I recommend giving your dog these treats when you'll be home to monitor them, to make sure they don't choke (which has never happened, knock on wood!) and to keep them off the area rugs. It's best if you can let them outside or corralled in a tiled area to eat this - just in case you have a messy eater like my Brody!

Taking Care of YOU During Pregnancy

I can't stress enough how important taking time to take care of yourself during pregnancy is! It's so easy to overlook when you have so many other baby related things on your mind!

 Taking the best care of myself has made such a big difference in how I've been feeling about pregnancy. Like so many others, My first trimester was not fun, I felt nauseous all the time, the thought and smell of most foods, especially meat, made me sick to my stomach. I couldn't even brush my teeth in the morning without getting sick. Worse than that was my energy level; or complete lack thereof. It would take everything I had to make it through the work day without falling asleep at my desk (one time I actually did! haha), when I would finally get home I would curl up on the couch, fall asleep, maybe wake up to eat something but be back in bed for the night by 9:00 p.m. at the latest. It was hard on me, my relationship and just not any way to live, and it really made me wonder if I ever wanted to be pregnant again. 

Luckily, the second trimester came and like a light switch my nausea was gone and my energy started to come back. With this though, came the cravings. I started cooking again, but was eating a vegetarian diet since the idea of meat still made me sick. I went a couple days of eating a lot of mac and cheese and giving into my sugar cookie cravings (sweet Jess), with the mindset that I deserved it after close to three months of feeling permanently hungover. While it was nice to indulge, I didn't like the way the processed and sugary foods were making me feel and I wanted to give Miles better nourishment. 

Exercise

I started by getting into a routine of walking after work. At first I would just do a couple laps around my neighborhood, then eventually I was walking a giant loop that was about 3.5 miles, and doing this 4-5 times a week.  After a few weeks of walking I started to incorporate weight training at the gym every other day. Switching between a weight day and a cardio day keeps me from getting bored. Of course there are some days where I don't have the energy and/or time to walk or go to the gym, so I look up pregnancy yoga videos on Youtube. The stretching makes me feel so good and relaxed. After I started exercising regularly I not only noticed increased energy and better moods, but the lower back pain I have been experiencing from the beginning of my pregnancy went away completely!

Diet

Exercising always encourages me to eat better. I have no problem eating healthy as long as I keep junk food out of the house and plan my meals for the week. This takes some extra time and preparation but it is so worth it. I usually make my grocery list every Friday when I have free time at work. I have about 5 months worth of weekly grocery lists and meal plans saved to my computer so I often look at those for ideas, but also like to search Pinterest for new, healthy recipes as well. My rule of thumb is to make meals that only use fresh ingredients, none of our meals come from a box. Also, make sure you are drinking a TON of water. It's so good for you, that there isn't any reason to drink anything else.

Below is an example of what my typical day of healthy eating looks like:

• Breakfast: Healthy Breakfast Smoothie (I started adding a scoop or two of peanut butter to this and it's SO good!)
• Morning Snack: Banana
• Lunch: Sweet Potato Scramble (sweet potato chopped into bite size pieces sauteed until soft with eggs, onion, apples, cinnamon, and lightly salted)

• Afternoon snack: Apple and 1-2 slices of Cheddar Cheese
• Dinner: Roasted Garlic Carrots with Sesame Peanut Ground Turkey

Relax

Almost every night after dinner I take a long bath. I'll shut the bathroom door, dim the lights, light my favorite Anthropology candle and either read, watch Youtube videos, DVR'd episodes of Super Soul Sunday, or just drink tea and unwind from the day. I love my nightly baths so much that I went out and bought some new products to make it even more special. I stocked up on Lush bath bombs, bath melts and bubble bars and went to Ulta and bought a new seasonal soap and salt scrub. 

After I get out of the bath I'll put on aloe body lotion all over, and then Burt's Bees Belly Butter or Burt's Bees Body Oil  on my growing bump. I've been really good at doing this so hopefully I won't get stretch marks, but we'll see!

By the time I'm ready to go to bed I am so relaxed and feel so GOOD that I fall right to sleep.

Hair, Skin & Nails

My hair has never grown so fast or been as thick as it has throughout this pregnancy. I was never great at getting regular haircuts, and would often just trim my ends at home every month or so. Just recently I went and got my hair cut and added layers to it. Not only is it more manageable, which saves time in the morning, but I can style it better because it's not so heavy. I'm already looking forward to go back for another trim in a couple weeks. I'm telling you, if you're in a slump because your body is changing and your clothes aren't fitting the same, get a haircut! It will make you feel pretty again :)

My entire life I had the worst habit of biting my nails, but these prenatal vitamins have made my nails grow so fast and strong that it just became too much work to keep biting them haha. I picked up some new nail polish (Target carries a brand called Sinful Colors, that come in fun colors and only costs around $2.00!) and paint my nails every week to keep them looking fresh. Having nice nails makes me feel so put together and happy!

Pregnancy hormones have changed my skin a lot, and I was getting a lot more breakouts than usual so I decided to totally change up my skin care routine. I wash my face twice a day (once in the morning and once at night) with Aveeno Positively Radiant Cleanser. It removes my makeup without drying out my skin, plus it smells and looks so pretty! I started using Ponds Cold Cream Cleanser (oldie but goody) to remove my eye makeup. It does a great job and leaves the skin around my eyes moisturized. I also use my Clarisonic Mia to deep clean and exfoliate once a week. I have very sensitive skin so I find that it causes me to breakout if I use it much more than that.

Indulge Responsibly

All this exercise and healthy eating talk does not mean that you shouldn't give into those pregnancy cravings every once in awhile. I don't know what I would do without my weekly Menchies fix! I try to balance out my indulgences and not give in to them every time. The other day I could not bring myself to eat the healthy lunch I packed because I was craving M&M cookies and that's all I wanted. I went to the grocery store and got one cookie and made a healthy salad from the salad bar. I was able to give in to my cookie craving and balance it out with a salad without feeling like I totally failed for that meal.

So take some time from registering and planning the nursery to focus on YOU, because right now the best thing you can do for your baby is to take the best care of yourself- Mind, Body & Soul!

Maternity Photo Shoot

We had such a good time having our maternity pictures taken this weekend. We're so lucky that Ryan's Aunt Callie is a photographer and has been able to capture so many of our special moments  over the years.