Pregnancy #2 Favorites

I always enjoy reading about other mom's favorites and must haves for pregnancy.

It gives me good ideas, and sometimes I think, "YUP! That's my must have too!"

So I decided to put together the things I couldn't live without for pregnancy #2.

I cannot sing the praises of coconut oil enough!!! I use coconut oil and a few drops of rosehip oil every day on my belly, thighs, butt, and boobs (basically anywhere pregnancy causes me to grow...) to prevent itching and stretch marks! I love how moisturized it leaves my skin feeling, and rosehip oil is a miracle worker for skin health as well!

I use organic extra virgin coconut oil, and Trilogy's organic rosehip oil.

LEGGINGS! LEGGINGS! LEGGINGS!

Comfy clothes during pregnancy are obviously probably my #1 must have!

But, I also feel slightly too bummy running all of my errands in sweat pants... (sometimes I don't care) but sometimes I want to look cute, while still feeling comfy with this big ol' belly!

These Motherhood Maternity leggings are my new BFF.

I have two different pairs, and they are literally so comfortable I feel like I have no pants on.

AMAZING.

Just go buy this stuff right now.

Triple Shot Caramel Coffee body polish from Farmhouse Fresh.

It is HEAVEN in a jar.

(and I am not paid to say this!)

For starters, it smells AMAZING.

It's also 97% natural, paraben free, sulfate free, gluten free.

It leaves my skin smoother than ANY OTHER PRODUCT I have ever used.

I use it in the shower, mostly on my belly, bum, boobs... everywhere I want my skin to be soft and constantly regenerating to avoid stretch marks!

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love this stuff!

(I use it when I shower at night, then as soon as I'm out of the shower I lather on my coconut oil and rosehip oil)

Farmhouse Fresh is one of my new favorite companies. Highly suggest checking them out!

SALADS, SALADS, & MORE SALADS!

I try to have two salads a day, usually one for lunch and one with dinner.

I really try to keep up on my leafy greens!

I go for mixed green salads, so I get a good variety of all the leafy greens.

My go to salads are:

Mixed greens salad with Raspberry Poppy Seed Dressing, topped with bleu cheese crumbles and apple chunks!

Mixed greens salad with Caesar dressing topped with grilled chicken.

Those are by far my two favorite salads I just don't seem to get sick of!

SQUATS!

This is a new must-do for me this time around during pregnancy.

I noticed this time around, that somewhere towards the end of my second trimester I was starting to gain the thigh and butt weight! Just like I did in my first pregnancy.

And it's not solid, nice butt weight, it's cellulite, not-cool weight gain in my butt and thighs.

No thanks this time around!

So I started doing 50 squats, every morning and night while I brush my teeth.

You would not believe the difference this has made in my booty!!
I really can't believe it!

I stick to doing this religiously, every time I brush my teeth! It takes only minutes, and I literally have no cellulite on my thighs or butt anymore, and my booty is actually firmer and bigger! GOOD bigger!

Woo hoo!

I've also read doing squats can really help with shorter labors! YES PLEASE!

I also plan to do this challenge once I reach 2 weeks before my due date:

Last but DEFINITELY NOT LEAST...

WATER!!!!!

I shoot for drinking between 60-90 ounces of water a day.

Right now I aim for about 80 ounces of water every day.

(I base this off of the "half your body weight, in ounces of water" rule)

As I continue to gain pregnancy weight, I try and continue to up my water intake.

After delivery, when I'm breastfeeding and losing weight, I DO NOT decrease my water intake.

Water is SO important to keep up your milk supply, not to mention the million other benefits water has for your body!

When I was breastfeeding Gavin, I drank no less than 90 ounces of water every day, aiming for 120 ounces.

I have a 32 oz water bottle that doesn't leave my side during the day,

it helps keep me on track with drinking enough water.

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So there you have it.

A short list of my pregnancy favorites & must haves so far this pregnancy!

PREGNANCY - 34 weeks with baby #2

How far along: 34 weeks 

Baby's name: starts with a J ;)

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain so far: 35 lbs

Feeling: I feel great! I feel like my belly isn't quite as big this time around, but when I compare photos from this same point in pregnancy with Gavin, it's about the same size! With Gavin, my belly got massive at about 38 weeks and continued to get even more massive right up until he made his arrival. So I'm guessing the same will happen this time around. ;)
I've been sleeping better at night too lately, which seems backwards. I wake up every time I roll from side to side, just because my low back gets so sore at night. It doesn't bother me much during the day anymore, which also seems backwards... usually things are starting to feel worse and worse during the 3rd trimester! I'm hoping I continue feeling this awesome for these last 6 weeks of pregnancy! ...I know the last few weeks are usually tough though... so we'll see!

Movement: This little guy moves around all the time! He's super active! He's head down, with his tush on one side of my belly and feet on the other. He likes to stretch out, which sometimes is almost painful! His little foot will stick out of the side of my belly, and his butt out the other! It looks so funny! He also gets hiccups at least a couple times a day. I just LOVE all of his movements... I know I'll miss it, so I try to soak it all in the best I can! Even the painful jabs and kicks ;)

Contractions: I get a lot of Braxton hicks contractions throughout the day. I've been getting them for a couple months now. Some of them are getting pretty strong and uncomfortable, so that's a good sign! ...my body is practicing and gearing up for the big day!!! eeeek!

Best moment this week: This past weekend Aaron had a conference at a water park only about an hour and a half away from home, so one of the nights Gavin and I went and stayed there. Gavin absolutely LOVED the water park! He was going down slides, running around, just having a blast! It was also my birthday that weekend, so it was a great way to spend it!! We all had so much fun! I just couldn't get over how old Gavin looked :( He's growing up so fast! It was nice to have a super fun little trip with just us and Gavin, because soon, we'll have a baby brother tagging along everywhere!!

PREGNANCY- 32 weeks with baby #2

How far along: 32 weeks... ONLY 8 WEEKS TO GO!?!?!

Baby's name: starts with a J ;)

Gender: BOY!

Total weight gain so far: 34.6 lbs

Feeling: I feel exhausted! But at the same time it's like I have supermom powers, because I want to be doing as much as possible with Gavin while I can! I think it's really hitting me that A: winter is coming and we will be stuck inside for the next 5 months, and B: baby is coming, and life is going to get turned upside down for awhile. So I'm trying to do as much as I can with Gavin while it's easy to get out, and while it's just me and him. Also, everything is starting to get harder... a lot harder... like putting on socks, trimming my toenails is nearly impossible, shaving, getting out of bed, sleeping... I'm starting to remember what the 3rd trimester is really like again... ;)

Cravings: I feel like I went a couple weeks where I had some serious cravings, nothing weird or crazy, but I would really want something (broccoli, cauliflower, cookies...) and this past week now I feel like I didn't have any sort of cravings! My "cravings" seem to come and go, and they're usually cravings for veggies or sweets...one or the other...

Movement: Wow, this little boy is SO STRONG! He kicks and pushes his feet out one side and his butt out the other, and man sometimes it kind of hurts! Which makes me nervous knowing he has 8 more weeks of growing left to do still!!... At night a lot of times I wake up to his feet up in my ribs...like literally, under my lower ribs. I LOVE all of his movements, even the somewhat painful ones, but yikes, I think he's going to be one big, strong baby!

Best moment this week: I finished painting little man's room!!!! It was SO awesome to get that room cleaned up, and start bringing furniture in! I repurposed a desk into what will be a changing table and I set up his crib!!! (I set that mother trucker up BY MYSELF! I felt so accomplished... well, Gavin "helped" me, which was pretty darn cute too). I've just LOVED getting back to working on his room, it's so much fun. I can't wait to have it put all together :)

All About Pregnancy #2

Well, I'm at 31 weeks in this pregnancy.

It's been so fun comparing this pregnancy to my pregnancy with Gavin.

I absolutely LOVE being pregnant, it's such an amazing, miraculous, crazy 9 month journey...

So I decided to put together a fun post all about this pregnancy... so far!

So, here you go:

1. How Did You Find Out:

It was early for me to be taking a test, but I had like 50 of these super cheapie Wondfo pregnancy test strips... so 6 days before my expected period... I decided, why not. So I took one! I had just laid Gavin down for his afternoon nap, so it was like 1:15pm, and I went and took one. Left it on the counter for a few minutes expecting for nothing to show up, and when I came back, I wasn't sure if my eyes were playing tricks on me, or if there was a super faint (and I mean, SUPER faint) line there.

See for yourself...

So, I tucked the strip back into it's package, and decided I would wait and take another Wondfo test the following day. I didn't tell Aaron I took one, because I knew he would look at that little test strip and say "Babe you're crazy, there is NOTHING there".

So the following morning around 10 am I took another Wondfo test...

Ok, this time, I kind of let myself freak out- because I was pretty sure THAT was a positive test line! I remember showing Aaron when he got home, and he actually saw the faint line too! His eyes kind of lit up, but we were both still a little hesitant, and didn't want to get too excited yet... especially because I was using super cheap tests that I'd never used before. So, we decided we'd go buy some of the First Response early result tests and I would take one that night!

That night around 7:15pm, I took the test and set it on the bathroom counter, jumped in the shower and decided I would just look at the result once I was done showering. So here's what was waiting for me when I got out of the shower:

I saw it right away.

Most definitely, A LINE!!!

So of course I yelled out to Aaron right away to come look at it!
He saw it too- so I knew I wasn't crazy! ;)

I was actually so excited, I texted my mom right away and sent her the picture! But told her not to tell anyone else!

Then the real fun began-

using up the rest of the First Response tests, and watching the positive test line progression!

(ha!)

2. Did You Have Morning Sickness?

I actually felt best in the mornings. But around week 5 or 6 nausea kicked in. It would start anywhere between mid morning to afternoon, and it was wicked. I would just constantly feel nauseous, and feel like I needed to puke. Nothing would sound good, but I knew I had to try and eat. I never actually threw up, not even once. Some days were better than others, and ginger tea with lemon was the only thing that would temporarily help my nausea.

Around week 9-10  the nausea was totally gone and I was feeling great!!

With my pregnancy with Gavin, I had "nighttime" nausea- from week 5/6 through week 12, every day like clockwork, from 4:00 until I went to bed I would feel really nauseous. I never threw up either with Gavin, but I constantly felt like I needed to in the evenings.

3. What Was Your Gender Guess?

Since my pregnancy sickness was so different this time around, I thought for sure it was going to be a girl. As I got closer to 20 weeks, when we would be having the gender scan... I started to feel like it was a boy. People would say, "It's totally a girl" and I would kind of start to respond with "Yeah, I'm not so sure anymore...". My gut instinct was right... ANOTHER BOY! Both Aaron and I were somewhat surprised, just because we expected it to be a girl based on the differences in early pregnancy with sickness and what not!

4. What Were Your Nursery Ideas/Inspiration?

I painted the nursery a light gray. We have off-white craftsman trim and doors in our house, which I LOVE. The contrast with the light gray and the white trim looks so crisp and clean. I never go with one particular theme, because I've never been much of a "theme" person. But my inspiration and the feel I'm going for in his room is a rustic, woodland, cozy, manly room! If that makes any sort of sense...

5. What Are The "BESTS" About This Pregnancy?

- feeling baby move

- feeling his hiccups... he gets them a few times a day

- I feel like I know a little more of what to expect this time around

- maternity clothes are fun this time around since I'm due in winter versus being due in August like I was with Gavin! I still think the summertime maternity clothes are best, because I pretty much lived in maxi dresses... and you can't really get any more comfy than that. BUT, fall maternity style is so cute, I still love it! And lets be real, all maternity clothes are pretty stretchy and comfortable!

6. What Are The "WORSTS" About This Pregnancy?

- my back got sore WAY earlier this time around than in my pregnancy with Gavin

- dealing with the early pregnancy nausea was tough this time around. I desperately wanted to slow down, lay on the couch, and relax.. but Gavin didn't miss a beat, or slow down at all! I didn't expect him to either! So I had to just deal with it, and still be Mom! It was tough, and some days were really, really hard. Thankfully Aaron is an awesome husband and Daddy, and he really stepped up and helped out!

- with this pregnancy I feel like I totally lost the ability to nap. Which super sucks. Gavin takes really good 2-3 hour naps every afternoon, and some days my eyes would just burn I was so tired, so I would lay down to try and nap... and I could NOT fall asleep! This past week I've been able to take some short naps during his nap time... but it's just weird, because I am usually a nap queen! I love taking naps, but pregnancy just threw off my nap game!!

- having a big ol belly has made playing with Gavin a little harder. There's a lot of times I want to get on the floor and play with him, and for a split second I think of laying down on my stomach, and then it's like "oh yea, duh, can't do that!" Swinging with him on my lap is not possible anymore, and hasn't been for a few weeks. Going to the park with him, and climbing through the tunnels after him is no longer an easy feat.

- the emotional and mental aspect of this pregnancy is SO different than with Gavin. With Gavin, I wasn't at all worried about life with a newborn. It was going to be Aaron, me and our new baby. Big deal. I mean, I knew life would be SO different, but Aaron and I KNEW that, we were expecting it. NOW... I think of how life will change for GAVIN. I know it will change for Aaron and I too, but I don't "worry" about how we'll handle it. I do tend to worry about how it will affect Gavin. I know it's a normal worry all mom's have at some point before welcoming a new baby, but it's hard to think about how much Gavin's life will change, and yet he has no clue what's coming! It doesn't take away from the excitement of having a new baby, but it's definitely an added aspect I think about often! (and how can you not?!)

So all in all, I've had one amazingly smooth pregnancy.

Thank you Lord!!!

I still pray every night for a smooth labor and delivery...

I'm SO excited to meet this little boy, and see how he decides to enter the world.

what will labor be like?

what will delivery be like?

what will life be like those first few weeks at home?

So many exciting things to look forward to!

I know it won't all be easy,

but I'm hoping and praying it's smooth sailing here on out!