Top 5 Game Changers during Pregnancy

So far I’ve had a pretty easy going pregnancy. I was able to escape the first trimester completely untouched by morning sickness, which apparently means I’m having a boy according to many old wives’ tales. However, my cousin Natalie, who recently had a boy, did have morning sickness for four months, and another co-worker told me she never had any morning sickness with either of her two girls. So honestly, I’ve learned to disregard these common beliefs and just go with the flow. I think that’s part of the beauty of not knowing our baby’s gender though sometimes it’s very tempting to give in to those notions.

Anyways, now that I’m 3 to 4 weeks away from being in the third trimester, I thought I’d share my Top 5 Pregnancy Game Changers … so far (believe me I know I’m still in for quite a few more surprises).

In no particular order, here they are:

     1.       Movies or long programs – I can no longer sit entirely through a movie without having to get up and go to the restroom at least once. I used to be the queen of “holding it,” but alas pregnancy has defeated me, and when I’ve got to go…well, I’ve got to go. It’s kind of annoying, but I’ve learned to know where the bathrooms are before I get settled in so at least I can make it in and out as quickly as possible.

2.       Working Out – Wow, I did not expect this one, but working out is so much tougher than it used to be. I didn’t used to work out every day, but still I considered myself in pretty good shape pre-pregnancy. Now, however when I exercise 1.) I’m winded much quicker 2.) It takes more effort to do less work…ugh. Luckily, it doesn’t stop me. I try to do prenatal yoga once or twice a week, go on longer walks and do a few other pregnancy-type work outs.

3.       Eating – This one is a long one. First, when I get up in the morning, I find myself immediately hungry. I can no longer skip breakfast (yes, I know it’s the most important meal of the day) or I feel really weak and just not good. Second, I haven’t had strong food cravings but I have had strong feelings of what I don’t want at that time, weird. Third, I eat more frequently and am therefore more conscious of what types of food I’m putting in my body…though I can’t help but to occasionally give into sweets ( I had quite the pre-pregnancy sweet tooth anyways). Finally, I can’t help but want the things I can no longer have like deli meat…sometimes I just want to go to Jersey Mikes and get a club sub for lunch…but I can’t, or sometimes I just want to have dinner consist of wine and soft cheese (blue, brie, etc) or a blue cheese wedge…c’mon is it too much to ask?!

4.       Using public restrooms – As if anyone is a fan of using public restrooms, pregnancy makes it that much worse. 1.) They are too small. 2.) Put a freaking purse hook or clip on the door or somewhere so I don’t have to try and pee trying to balance myself, a baby and a purse on my body. 3.) Yuck, please keep your restrooms clean…I don’t want to have to walk through every single stall and inspect for a clean enough restroom to hover over.

5.       Sleeping – Luckily, I haven’t had much trouble sleeping … yet. I’m not so big that it’s become uncomfortable, but one thing I will say about missing out on the morning sickness is I made up for it in sheer exhaustion! I was so tired all of the time, I’ve just now gotten to the point where I can survive the day without an afternoon nap (the second wind, they call it)…but I’ve heard it won’t be long until that returns…with a vengeance. We shall see.

Those are my “Top 5,” I’ll keep you posted as I experience more. Meanwhile, check out my Instagram Widget to see some progress on the nursery…that’ll be my next post. Talk to you soon!

We're having a BABY!

Our lives will be turned upside down come November 27th because … we’re expecting our first child. We couldn't be more excited about our new venture into parenting. We've been busy little bees trying to make sure we have our house in order as well as ourselves. You can expect a lot more blogging from me.

I’m a little over 22 weeks along and we already have a pretty active baby. I’ve been feeling it move since week 14 – it’s such an amazing experience! We’re going to keep the gender a surprise until the baby is born, but as you know I’m not one for neutral! We've already pretty much got our nursery together it’s a mixture of grey, turquoise, orange and whites. I will make sure to post pictures of the transformation soon!

We just had a doctor’s appointment last week where we were able to see the baby, and we actually caught a picture of it smiling -- pretty amazing RIGHT?!

The doctor says the baby is already measuring big, judging by the size of its bones and weight … I’m kind of hoping for an early baby, maybe a week ahead or so. The 27^th is the day before Thanksgiving and if it’s born on Thanksgiving my husband says it’ll have to be before 3 p.m. so he can still watch the Cowboys play ... but we’ll see. I honestly just want this baby to come before December because we already have a TON of birthdays in December in my family :), but none in November. Anyways, you guys can expect to be hearing from me more often...feel free to check out the new blog, dedicated from our growing family to yours! Also, leave me your best/favorite mommy advice ...I'll need all the help I can get!