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!

What's New in My Wardrobe

I have actually been on kind of a no-buy spree lately just with the holidays and trying to save for the baby! I really don't "need" anything, but shopping is definitely my happy place & I have figured out how to spend a little amount of money and find cute pieces that I can style with lots of different outfits! That's always key for me: finding something that goes with a lot of other things. I figured I would share what I have picked up recently from Target and H&M because they both were having really great sales. I'll link similar or the same items too!

This is a Who What Wear top I picked up at Target for under $10 on sale. It is sold out online, but here are a few links to similar ones! Also, I did do a blog post on how to DIY this look yourself and linked individual tees and camis to get the same look. I love this for a night out because I am such a jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, but the lace overlay gives it a little edge and looks dressier! Tip: you might actually benefit more from buying two separate pieces and could probably get more bang for your buck.

This beanie I picked up in two different colors, black and heather gray, from Target. It's $5 and is perfect for bad hair days or just winter weather in general! The light pink graphic tee I got from H&M on sale for $7. I love graphic tees and think they are such a versatile piece to have in your wardrobe! I thought these two were super cute and could be worn in the spring and summer as well. 

This sweater I have raved about on my Instagram multiple times! It is such a cozy piece and washes really well. I picked it up at Target for under $10 on clearance and sized up to an XL because that was all they had. For reference, I usually wear a Small at Target, so if you want this look size up.

Another H&M find for $10. I could't find any on their website, but if you have an H&M locally, you should definitely check them out because I swear they always have the best striped button ups! Such a cute piece to wear with shorts in the spring time or layered under a jacket during the winter. This was a little more statement for me since it has the rose appliqué on it, but I think you can hide it under a jacket and just do the stripes to get more use out of it. 

I picked up these Gucci dupe slides from Target for $5!!! They were on clearance for $6.98 and the Target App had an extra 20% off of clearance. I have been wanting them for a while and even at full price they are such a great buy. I think they go well with any simple outfit and just kind of dress it up a little bit. I can't wait to wear these in the spring when it gets a little dryer out. These combat boots were probably my favorite find out of everything. They were $10 on clearance at H&M. I LOVE chunky boots and these are so 90's to me. I like styling them with a more basic outfit since they are a little on the loud side. The black balloon sleeve sweater I am wearing was another $10 bargain at H&M. I know I won't be able to wear it for that long while my belly is growing, but I'll be able to keep it in my wardrobe for years! I love how the sleeves gather at the end so they don't dangle into my food :)

This cute neck scarf was a $1 find at H&M. I love how black and white looks with camel, so I love pairing it with a simple sweater like this one. These can be worn in the spring and summer too and are an easy way to add a little something to a plain top!

This thick, blush scarf was from H&M for $5. So comfy and looks great with black, gray, cream, denim, pretty much anything! Any of these scarves I linked below would be such a good piece to layer over leather jackets, blazers or long coats! In my opinion, they all look expensive too!

Pregnancy Update: Weeks 16-17

So I am currently 18 weeks pregnant and I thought I would do updates every 2 weeks! I feel like not much changes between 2 weeks and it might be kind of boring doing every single week, so I'll start with every 2! I am going to post a picture at each update of where I was at the beginning of each of the two weeks, but because I didn't take one at 16 weeks I will just do 17 for this post. At week 16 and 17 the baby was as big as a pickle and a pomegranate! This is measured from head to "rump" so you have to imagine adding some limbs too. I feel like these two weeks have definitely been the best so far! I started working out again. I am not by any means someone who is super dedicated to working out, but before I was pregnant I would workout in my little at-home-gym in my basement (elliptical, yoga mat, free weights and resistance bands) because it is really good for you and makes me feel good! I don't like going to the gym, so this really works for me. I have read really great things about staying active throughout pregnancy and how it benefits both you and the baby, so since I have been feeling better I have really been enjoying workouts again. I can't wait until it gets nice out to start going on more walks, but it's currently in the 30's and on/off icy and snow, so I haven't been getting outside much. Everyone makes fun of me when they see my elliptical (I don't have the pink, but it's the same one!), but I have had this thing for 2.5 years and it does the job and is really affordable if you are wanting to stay active during a winter pregnancy especially!

Symptoms: My skin had been really great up until about 15.5 weeks and then all of the sudden it broke out and has been breaking out until about 2 days ago. It's always on my chin, which I am sure is hormonal. I have actually been using Tom's toothpaste at night to try up my breakouts and it's surprisingly worked. I couldn't really find anything else that was "safe" to use (in my opinion). I started being more religious about putting on lotion and belly rub all over during these last two weeks because I can really start to feel my stomach stretch (especially around my belly button it feels really itchy and tight). Still have not felt the baby, which I know is nothing to worry about, but I have seen so many people say they felt it at like 16 weeks so I am just waiting for that awesome moment! I started waking up every single day at 4am on the dot and cannot go back to sleep! It started with my dog waking me up to feed him...I am not sure when he decided he eats breakfast at 4am, but I guess he is just getting me ready. Now, I just wake up at that time every morning, it's so weird, but I guess I have been going to bed at like 8-9 every night too so it's not like I am missing out on much sleep. I have also been using the hair-tie trick on my jeans and living in my Lululemon Align pants! 

Cravings: I wouldn't really say I have any cravings right now. My appetite feels exactly like it did before I got pregnant, but some things I have been loving are: the Nature's Path Gluten-free Oatmeal packets for breakfast with honey, cold apples, Kashi pesto pita chips, Gardein mandarin chicken with cauliflower rice and strawberry Zevia soda! I still have not been drinking any sort of coffee and chocolate has not been on my radar either (so weird for me, I was literally obsessed before I was pregnant!)

I'M PREGNANT!

Hey guys! So, if you didn't see my post from last week my husband and I are expecting our first child in June! Right now, I am currently 16 weeks and some change, but I wanted to do a recap on my first trimester! Was it a surprise? Technically, no, because we were "trying", but still it is always a surprise and exciting when you find out even if it was planned! I actually found out when I was only 3 weeks pregnant, and usually you wait until the day you are supposed to start your period, which is at 4 weeks. I was having really weird cramps and just felt off I guess. So, I took a test (one of the cheap pink strip ones from Amazon--which I highly recommend for anyone trying to get pregnant because they are so much cheaper than buying at the store!) and I saw a light pink line! My husband was actually hunting that week and had limited cell phone service, which made it so hard because I wanted to celebrate and he wasn't there! Anyways, I really didn't start to feel anything at all until about 6 weeks, which is the same time I coincidentally got a terrible virus. So, the morning sickness snuck in along with the fever, chills, cough, sneezing and other lovely symptoms I had during the virus. For me, the morning sickness was the worst in the afternoon, kind of around the same time I would have lunch, and would get worse the later in the day. It actually kind of worked out perfectly (trying to be positive here) because I work from 6:30 or 7:30 am to 4 or 5 pm and I really only felt awful at the end of my work day. After a few weeks I honestly got used to feeling hungover all the time and was able to manage it, but I know a lot of women literally throw up every day of their first trimester, or even their entire pregnancy! So, I definitely feel lucky that I wasn't to that point. I ended up getting another virus about 2 weeks later, which made me super nervous because I am such a worrier about medical stuff, I didn't want to be harming the baby or anything! I did have 2 days where I got sick probably 15 times and couldn't keep any food down, which was a little scary! But, it went away. Not sure if it was pregnancy related or just a stomach bug, but I NEVER throw up so it was a little weird. Besides the typical feeling nauseous and having sore boobs, the other biggest "symptom" that I have had is sneezing. I have no idea if this is even related to being pregnant, but I have been sneezing so much more than I normally do.

Appointments:

I had my first appointment at 8 weeks and a few days, but after getting the ultrasound there they had recalculated it to be 7 weeks 6 days, which they told me was totally normal and sometimes you miscalculate or you don't ovulate on day 14, which is how most apps and everything calculate how far along you are. Anyways, first appointment was super easy just did the ultrasound (at my office they usually schedule that out after you are seen for the first time, but I had really bad cramping for a few weeks when I had called to schedule so they wanted to do one first just to make sure everything was okay) which was so fun and then some blood work, family history questions, kind of boring stuff. It's so exciting to get the ultrasounds especially when you don't "look" pregnant because sometimes I would forget I even was and it didn't seem real so it was cool to actually see that something was growing in there! I am not exactly sure, but the doctor said that you are seen every 4 weeks for most of the pregnancy, and then towards the end they start bumping it up. So, the next appointment was at 12 weeks. At that appointment they started out with the fetal doppler to heart the heart beat, which is a little nerve-wracking at the beginning, but reassuring when you get to hear it! They couldn't find it, which the tech said was normal because I was only about 11 weeks 2 days at that point, so she had the doctor bring in his handheld ultrasound device. He found the baby right away, and said it was because it was moving around so much they couldn't find it with the doppler. It was cool too because I got to see the baby again and it looked so much more developed than it did at the last appointment, which was crazy! After he found the baby, he just asked if I had any questions and that was pretty much it. I still was feeling sick at this point, but I was hopeful the end was in sight! I actually didn't start feeling better until about 14 weeks, which is a little later than most people I think. We had our last appointment about a week ago, which was the 16 week appointment. It was super easy again, just checked the heart beat and weighed me, asked if I had any questions and that was pretty much it! The next appointment is the anatomy scan, which is at 20 weeks and that is when most people find out what they are having.

Finding out the gender:

We really wanted to find out the gender a little early if we could and I had friends who had done the genetic testing to find out what they were having at like 10 weeks, so I had asked the doctor to do it, but after talking to us we decided not to find out that way and instead went to a 3D/4D imaging place that can tell as early as 14 weeks. Since he recommended them, I felt comfortable doing that. The place we went to was called Sweet Pea and it was seriously amazing! It's not something that insurance will cover because it is an elective ultrasound, but it isn't super expensive or anything I think around $150 and she said you can come at anytime after 14 weeks to find out the gender. It's not guaranteed just because the baby actually has to cooperate to be able to see, but we lucked out and found out right at 14 weeks! It was sooo exciting right when she put the probe on my abdomen you saw the baby on the huge screen and she was like "Oh! I already know what it is!" and she asked us what we thought it was going to be. Both of us thought boy the whole time and we were right! I started crying my eyes out lol it was seriously the most exciting thing finding out! We are both pretty private people and I really wanted to just find out with my husband and not in front of a bunch of people because I am pretty shy! The baby wouldn't really cooperate for any of the 3D/4D stuff to see his face, but that was okay it was cool enough to find out and just see his little body! Also, really reassuring to have between my 12 week and 16 week appointment.



Food cravings/aversions:

When I was feeling super sick around weeks 6-14 I was really craving cold, fresh fruit, popsicles and CARBS! I wouldn't really say I had a lot of food "aversions", but the smell of my husband cooking ground turkey makes (still does) me want to gag and anything to spicy or too flavorful makes me feel a little sick. I also haven't been able to eat a lot of food at once. I feel like whenever I eat a big meal it makes me feel so sick and just super full and uncomfortable, so I have been sticking to just eating small snacks all day long and that really seems to help. Oh ya, another thing that really does sound good that I normally love is anything sweet like chocolate. I typically have a separate full appetite for sweets and would prefer to eat them over savory foods, but I definitely have not been in that mindset since I have been pregnant. My husband brought home a box of white fudge covered Oreos probably 2 months ago and they are still in the freezer, which they would honestly have lasted me two or three days prior to being pregnant! Lastly, coffee sounds gross to me. I stopped drinking coffee a month before I found out I was pregnant (worked out to be good timing haha!) because my skin was terrible and I could not figure out what was going on. I cut out coffee and it completely cleared up after a few days! Not sure if it was the acidity of it or just the caffeine, but it worked. I know that doctors say that you can have a cup or so of coffee a day when you are pregnant and it is safe, but to me it just sounded disgusting. I had 2 decaf coffees from coffee stands around Christmas time because I love holiday drinks, and I drank like a 1/4 of each of them. Some foods that I have been obsessed with throughout my pregnancy have been cold honey crisp or granny smith apples, Halo or Cutie oranges, pineapple, bananas, Annie's white cheddar shells mac and cheese, bagels (with avocado and tomato or cream cheese), plain chips, crackers and peach outshine popsicles!

Let me know if you guys want to see more of these kinds of posts, I personally love reading them! Also, let me know if you want me to do weekly updates or just every trimester if you like them! I am planning on working on a pregnancy skincare post next to show you things I swapped out to be safer for pregnancy!

Cozy Color-Blocked Cardigan

A trend that I have always been a fan of is color blocking. I picked up this cozy, oversized color-blocked cardigan from Nordstrom Rack a year or two ago for under $10 I believe. I love all of the different colors and that you can wear pretty much any neutral or any color in the cardigan's color palette and make it look a little different! I wear so many neutral things that it is a nice way to go a little out of my comfort zone, while still making it able to match my wardrobe. Here are a couple of different options that I found since I couldn't find the exact one online! Tip: buy it a few sizes bigger if you want a more loungey, oversized look!