We had such a great visit with my mom this past week! Adriana loves her Mimi so much. I even managed to avoid revealing the sex of the baby, despite it almost slipping off my tongue several times. I felt pretty bummed out for a few days after my mom left. Goodbyes are always hard, but she’ll be back for the baby’s arrival late September, if not before then. It always helps to have something to look forward to!
Mood: I’ve been feeling emotional lately, as I wrote about in this week’s cookie post. Writing has been more therapeutic for me than ever and I’m really enjoying it lately. I’ve been feeling pretty blah and down in the dumps, which I attribute to less than stellar sleep and quite a few life stressors going on all at once. My workouts and outdoor walking are helping a lot though. Thank goodness for endorphins!!
Home life: Our old washing machine finally kicked the bucket last week, so we’ve been out of laundry and I’m washing clothes by hand right now (I don’t know how they did it in the old days!). We have a small closet that previously held our apartment-sized stacked washer and dryer, so it’s been a long process trying to find new washer and dryer units that fit into the closet, and Eric has had a heck of a time with the install. We had to hire a plumber and electrician to reconfigure some things, and now Eric is drilling holes for pipes, closing up the holes, and painting (as you may have seen on Snapchat). With any luck I’ll have the machines in working order by this weekend! Our water softener also broke the other night and leaked all over the basement. This just isn’t our week, I tell ya! No word yet on when our house renovations will begin, but it looks like it won’t be until late July now (due to how booked up the contractors are and how long certain things take to order)! Major eek. I have a strong feeling that our renovations (basement and two bathrooms) will be going past baby’s arrival.
Nesting: I’ve been getting the urge to get rid of all my junk and donate all the things I haven’t used in the last year, so on Thursday I went on a bit of a nesting spree in my office. Things were flying everywhere! Eric was like, “Did you just put a chair on the lawn with a “free” sign by chance?” Bahahah. Oh yes, yes I did. Nothing is safe! I think he’s worried about his stuff going missing. My general rule of thumb is if I haven’t used it in the past year, it can be donated (with some exceptions of course).
Nursery: I made a small amount of progress on the nursery—I fell in love with a theme, and I’m super excited about it. Whether I will have time and energy to execute it is another story. Step 1: Starting a Pinterest board and pinning my little heart out. Sometimes a girl just needs to dream, even if that dream doesn’t come to life!
Sleep: Adriana had a rough few nights of sleep, and so our sleep wasn’t great either. I’m also randomly having trouble falling asleep at night. I have a lot on my mind right now so it’s not overly surprising.
Wearing: I bought a pair of BeMaternity workout crops from Target that I’m quite enjoying! They have the over-the-bump panel, which I normally don’t like, but this one stays up and doesn’t bulge under the shirt that much. Score! (They also come in a knee-length and I’m wondering if I should’ve bought those instead since it’s almost summer.) Also have my eye on these shorts. I still need to find a maternity dress to wear to a wedding next month. I’m finding it easy to find casual summer maternity dresses, but it’s a bit tricky finding more formal dresses that I like!
Symptoms: The round ligament pain is still about the same, but it’s not too bad yet. My nose and eyes are still extremely dry lately, especially when I wake up in the morning. I really need to get some moisturizing ointment for my poor nose. My sciatica pain is still gone. I’m also getting some Braxton-Hicks once in awhile, which started around this time with my first pregnancy too.
Exercise: I probably did about 20 to 30 minutes a day versus my usual 45 minutes this past week because we were out and about a lot when my mom was visiting. I was happy for staying consistent even though some days I could only do a little bit! This week, I’ve been easing back into my regular lunchtime workout routine (15 minutes Barre3 online + 30 minutes treadmill). I don’t know what the 3rd trimester will bring, so right now my motto is to work out as long as I’m feeling good!
Hair/skin/nails: I’ve been asked if I’m using any special stretch mark cream, and I’m not, nor did I use any with my first pregnancy. I’m not sure whether I buy into stretch mark creams. I feel like good nutrition (and lots of healthy fats) and genetics might have a bigger impact on skin elasticity? Who knows. That said, I do use an all-over body lotion when I get out of the shower—Burt’s Bees sensitive skin body lotion…nothing too exciting! As for the pregnancy melasma that I’m prone to experiencing, I’ve been super diligent about applying SPF on my face when I get up in the morning (as well as reapplying later in the day if I go for an afternoon walk), and I wear a hat every time I go walking. As a result, I haven’t noticed any more dark patches popping up so I think it’s working!
Cravings: Berries, berries, berries. Especially blueberries and raspberries. I think I need another job to support my berry expense lately, hah. Adriana loves them too! I also can’t get enough of Vegan Overnight Oats every morning (topped with tons of blueberries, cinnamon, maple syrup, and sliced banana) and spaghetti squash with marinara sauce, avocado, pink salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.
Best thing I ate/drank all week: My cookies, for sure. :) Salted Caramel & Chocolate Ice Cream (by Coconut Bliss) is a close second.
Days left until due date: 104 (some days this feels like A LOT, while others it doesn’t feel like enough time to get everything done!)
Ps – You can read my 25 Weeks update for my first pregnancy here.