
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.
Hi Angela!
I am also due in September and just loving your baby posts! Thank you for sharing. It’s so motivating to see someone going through their pregnancy in such a healthy and mindful way. Your blog is helping me stay focused and provides great alternatives when I’m desperately craving sweets (always!).
Anyway – in case others were curious, I would highly recommend using natural Almond Oil for stretch mark prevention. Just lather that on post shower or when your belly is feeling itchy. It’s wonderful and (knock on wood) no stretch marks yet.
All the best and thank you again!
Lauren
Thanks Lauren! And congrats on your pregnancy. :) Glad I’m not the only one who’s craving sweets, haha.
PS – Almond oil is a wonderful idea! Might have to try that out.
I just use coconut oil-I usually use it on my face at night, so I just rub a little extra on my belly too when I think of it (I’m 20 weeks with my third! I’ve also heard that stretch marks are really mostly just genetic.
Also, I just ended up at your recipe for smashed potatoes with avocado aioli and am now ridiculously excited to make them tomorrow-they might be breakfast instead of dinner :)
I could totally do those smashed potatoes for breakfast! Yum. :)
Hi Angela,
Thank you for sharing your pregnancy journey. I had my first baby in October and always read along your pregnancy #1 updates – they were so helpful. As was your birth story!
Anyways, I saw in your cookie post that you are dealing with some behavioral issues. I wanted to let you know about the podcast “Unruffled” if you don’t know about it already. It’s a wonderful resource by a renowned author that follows the respectful parenting (RIE) approach. It’s been doing wonders for me as I deal with my almost 9 month old’s screeching and stubborn streak :)
Your bump is so dang cute.
Hah thanks girl! ;)
If you are looking for a maternity dress for a wedding, you could try rent frock repeat, a dress rental service in Canada.
Thanks Liz! I didn’t know they had maternity dresses, but I’ll have to check them out.
When I was pregnant I read somewhere (don;t know where, so don’t have a link) that it was never proven stretch mark creams work. The only conclusion they were willing to make was: if you are young (like 22) you will probably have stretch marks. If you are a bit older than that, your skin isn’t already so tight anymore…
Yes, there are so many conflicting opinions on everything pregnancy and baby related it seems! I try to do what works for me and not take all the advice to heart too much.
Awww Angela! It sounds a bit stressful over there. I hope everything is OK (not that there’s much I could do if it weren’t lol). This too shall pass and may I ask what your nursery theme is? I’m helping my friend set up her nursery based off this really cool art I have of a Parisian cafe. Yes, we are ridiculous, but it’s going to be really cool I swear hahaha.
Thanks for thinking of me Tiffany! This week seems to be going better, so I’m thankful for that. That’s so nice you’re helping your friend with her nursery…can you come to my house too?! Haha. I love the idea of using a piece of artwork to set the theme. It sounds so chic already! I’ve been going back and forth on the theme this week a bit (after feeling so certain!), so don’t really have much to share yet. :)
Your cravings sound the exact same as mine when i was pregnant for the second time with my lil boy. Couldnt get enough berries !! Xox
I hear you on the urge to purge! I only wish there were more hours in the day to allow for me to get ‘er done. Oh, and depending on how formal a wedding you’re attending, you might try Pink Blush (online) – I ordered a dress for a wedding we attended this past weekend and I was pretty happy with the purchase. Also – your “days until due date” inspired me to count down too and I’m a little panicked to see that it’s less than 100! Eeek!
haha…I know ever since I did the countdown I’ve been a little freaked out! I might have to forgo it and just live in denial. ;) I hope you’re feeling well!
My little one’s already 14 months but I remember being pregnant like it was just yesterday! I had no luck with stretch mark creams (hubby bought me two and they were great but didn’t stop me from getting my tiger stripes).
I had to get a formal dress for my 8th month of pregnancy and got one from TiffanyRose.com … they have such beautiful maternity dresses for formal occasions!
We just moved house and the first recipe I’ll be making in my new oven is your cookies from last week… what better way to break in the kitchen than with amazing cookies!
Hey Marta, Thanks so much for the tip on Tiffanyrose. I’ll take a look for sure! Congrats on your new house. I can’t think of a better way to break it in either!
Woohoo! Baby #2! So excited for you and your family! I was several months behind you on our first baby, and loved reading your pregnancy posts (it was like a little sneak peak into what was in store for me…) Now we are 26 weeks along with our second, so I’m looking forward to reading your posts again! Congratulations!
Thank you Kathleen! Congrats on your second! It sounds like our due dates must be pretty close.