Pregnancy update: Weeks 20-21

Hi guys! I am now 22.5 weeks pregnant & I say this every time, but I can't believe it! I have been so blessed in the fact that I have had such an amazing pregnancy so far. The first trimester was a little rough, but I continue to feel great throughout the second trimester. I was super tired during both of these weeks. Probably the most tired I have been throughout this entire pregnancy and fell asleep around 6pm every night after work, which is why I didn't take a picture at 20 weeks, whoops! I think it's part baby, part weather-related. It's so freezing cold here in Washington and it seems to make me more tired. I have continued to feel more movement from the baby. It still felt like little gas bubbles or twitches during these weeks and I mostly noticed it in the morning and at night. I haven't had Chris try to feel yet just because it seems like he is not around when I notice the movements, but I am sure he will be able to feel soon. On some days I don't feel anything, which kind of freaked me out, but then I will feel it the next so I am sure it is just because he is still pretty small and I have been so busy/not really "looking" for it. I had absolutely no energy after work during week 21 so I don't think I worked out a single time, which I am totally fine with. I know with pregnancy it is really important to listen to your body and since I was so tired and really didn't feel that great before working out, I knew I needed that extra rest. I have continued to wake up multiple times in the middle of the night. Part of it has to do with my dog, who has started pacing around at 2am and ONLY waking me up (not my husband). I guess he's just getting me ready. I am still getting full really easily and especially if I eat out I feel like I need to lay down afterwards! I know your digestion slows down during pregnancy, so maybe this has something to do with it. I always bring lots of snacks to work and try to eat something every 2 hours instead of eating bigger meals. As far as other symptoms like pain or aches or anything like that, I haven't had anything. Still sore in the chest area, but that's been since about week 6 so I am used to it. I have continued to use lotion and belly rub as often as I can remember, but probably not every day. My favorite pants have been my Lululemon Align pants. They are sooo comfy and stretchy and are really high-waisted so they come up way over my bump. It has been really nice being pregnant in the winter because I can wear leggings pretty much every day I am not at work. I have continued to do the hair-tie trick with all of my jeans, but I am getting a little sick of it and think I will need to get some maternity pants sometime here soon. I picked up this tank top from Target in black and it is seriously amazing! I wear it under everything and it just kind of smooths everything and comes down long enough to cover my unbuttoned pants! I like that it isn't rouched on the sides too and it just a really nice, luxurious material. They have it in grey and white too! (linked below) The last thing I wanted to talk about is a product that a friend of mine recommended to me. It's called the BabyPlus In-Utero Education System. It's pretty much a little noise machine that goes inside a fanny-pack looking thing you wear around your waist 2x a day for an hour each and it makes a noise that sounds like a drum or heartbeat. It's supposed to be really great for brain development and if you are interested I would highly recommend reading about it! I started mine at week 19 and I think they say about week 18 is when you can start. It seemed kind of weird to me, but after doing a lot of research I felt like it was worth the investment! I notice the baby moving around more during those 2 hours too, which is really cool. If anyone is interested I linked it below and you can read about it in the product description. That's pretty much it for my update! Thanks for reading :)

Pregnancy skincare essentials

Hey guys! As some of you know, I have slowly switched over to more natural beauty products and I wanted to share which ones I have been loving so far during my pregnancy! I have mentioned before, but I really love the Think Dirty App (free to download) where you can type in or scan different beauty and skincare items to see what their ingredients are and which ones are harmful. I have felt extra inclined to use it since I have been pregnant too. These have been my favorites:

1. Honest Face and Body Lotion & Pacifica Island Vanilla Body Butter: I switch between the two of these depending on which scent I want. The Pacifica one is thicker, but I feel like my skin retains more moisture with the Honest one! Both are such good every-day body lotions! They smell super good and leave my skin nice and soft. Sometimes putting a belly butter on every single day just seems a little excessive so this stuff is perfect for in between. I find the Honest one in the baby section of Target and it's around $10 and rates really low on the Think Dirty App. The Pacifica one you can get at Target or Ulta. Same thing with the Honest body wash! Smells really good and does the job.

2. Honest Co. Organic Belly Balm: This stuff has such good, moisturizing ingredients, smells good and makes my little growing belly feel super soft. I put it on at night (not every night) and by the time I wake up in the morning it feels soaked in, but still moisturized. I think it will be really nice for when I really start to stretch and my stomach is itching!

3. EOS Mint Chapstick: I have mentioned this before, but it is my favorite chapstick ever. It has natural ingredients, feels so cooling on your lips and leaves my lips smooth when I apply it. I have had SUCH dry lips during pregnancy and have tried a bunch of different ones and this always seems to be the one I come back to. The stick form is key (I don't like the little ball ones).

4. Pacifica Dreamy Youth Day and Night Face Cream: One of the first things I switched out were my face products because they seemed to have the worst ratings on the Think Dirty App. I am not an expert, so always check with your doctor on everything, but this has great ingredients and is nice and hydrating! It also smells really good, kind of floral-y. I put this on my neck too every night!

5. Coconut oil: Such a good multipurpose product. I use this under my eyes and on my neck and chest a lot! You could literally use it all over your body, but I just find it pretty greasy so I stick to smaller areas. Also, SO CHEAP.

6. Pacifica Sea Foam Face Wash: Has been my favorite for a while now. Smells so good and is super gentle! I have really sensitive skin when it comes to certain fragrances in face washes and my skin will completely dry up and crack. However, this has never done that and takes all of my makeup off as well!

7. Coola Face Sunscreen: My foundation has SPF in it, so this hasn't really been necessary for me, but if you are going on vacation somewhere or need an SPF under your foundation this is an amazing one!

8. Pacifica Essence Hydro Mist: My sister, Chloe, got me this for Christmas and I LOVE it! I use it as a safer "makeup setting spray" and it just feels really nice and makes the powders on my face set in nicely. You get a lot of product in the bottle and the sprayer has a really nice, even mist! It would be really great for girls with dry skin to spray on before applying makeup too I think!

I love trying out new products and am trying some different ones right now, so as soon as I have used them long enough I'll share some more good finds!!

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 18-19

I can't believe I am halfway through my pregnancy! I am currently a little over 20 weeks and feel like this second trimester is flying by. I definitely see why people say it's the "honeymoon phase" of your pregnancy. I have so much more energy and honestly don't even feel pregnant right now. I am still LOVING being pregnant (I know that sounds dramatic, but I feel like it is such a blessing and really am embracing it and enjoying it a lot). Over the past two weeks (week 18 and 19) not much has changed. My belly has grown quite a bit, definitely has grown the most dramatically so far. In the morning it sometimes still looks pretty normal, but halfway through the day it seems to have grown a lot. I still am waking up at the crack of dawn (2 am and then 4 am) every day. I usually just stay awake at 4am because it is so close to when I actually have to wake up to get ready for work and I can't go back to sleep for the most part anyways. I have been working out around 4-5 times a week (I try to just do it as part of my weekly routine during the weekdays and have a break on the weekends) and it feels great! I just do light workouts, but it gives me an energy boost and I feel good before/during/after (which is great according to my doctor). I did notice I have been really "veiny" over these past two weeks on my legs and chest (I am sure my fluorescent white skin makes that a lot more obvious than usual). I had a couple of people ask me what prenatal vitamins I have been taking and I take the Rainbow Light Prenatals (they come in a box with two containers: one for the prenatal and one for a DHA vitamin). I get them at Target and they have a good amount of DHA in them, a lot higher than most of the ones I saw. I still haven't bought literally anything yet! I don't know why haha I need to get on it it's going to sneak up on me! I picked out my crib and will be ordering this weekend, so I will show you guys after I get it! I started feeling the baby! I started to get freaked out because people kept telling me it was really "weird" I couldn't feel the baby yet. I was expecting some crazy, distinct movement, which is why I never really noticed. I honestly don't know if I would have noticed if I didn't start looking for it. It feels like a tiny little gas bubble popping or a twitch in my stomach, but the doctor said that's the baby! So that was super exciting and I can't wait for it to be stronger and for Chris to be able to feel! I am still craving cold fruit, especially apples and chips. At my 20 week anatomy scan my doctor did say I need to start stepping it up in the weight gain department, so I have been eating a lot more this past week (it's so hard because I get full SO quickly since I have become pregnant...not sure if anyone else has this same problem, but I have been trying to eat small meals every 2 hours to help with this). That's another exciting thing too, we had our anatomy scan! We already knew it was a boy, but it was confirmed at that appointment. We had an ultrasound scheduled and then a follow-up to go over everything with my doctor afterwards. I think I was 19 weeks 2 days at this appointment. I was initially really super excited for this appointment, but the closer I got the more nervous I was for it. I am so thankful I have such a supportive husband who made me feel so much better leading up to this. The ultrasound was almost an hour long and definitely the coolest appointment yet! They literally count every finger and toe, check the heart to make sure there aren't any defects or anything, check the spine, the stomach, the head, measure the femurs, so much stuff! Everything looked good and I honestly could not thank God more for that. I will continue to pray everything goes well, but it was definitely the most excited I have felt coming out of an appointment and the most real that everything starting seeming to me. If you are a mom, what are some of your must-have items for a new baby!? I would love to know and need to start getting a little collection going. I hope you guys enjoyed this post!