Five On Friday

 

1 — Happy Friday! It has been a while since I checked in here. I am overdue for a pregnancy update and I have a lot I want to share/remember about these last few weeks of pregnancy including some fun things (like baby showers!) and some not so fun things (like some horrible pelvic pain!)… update to come very soon.

2 — Happy December! It made me so happy to break into Day 1 on my advent calendar this morning. A little chocolate with my morning coffee for the next 24 days sounds good to me!

3 — Happy 30th to my sister! I am sad to miss her karaoke bash up in NH tonight (although not sad to miss being forced to sing karaoke…), but looking forward to celebrating with her in NYC later this weekend.

4 — I’ve been thinking lately: there are so many things that make me happy and zen in life, like reading, cooking, baking, and doing crafts. The sad thing is, often I find that the whole day has gone by, and I have not made time for these things YET I have probably spent a few hours scrolling the internet on my phone. Does anyone else have this problem and how do you overcome the phone addiction? This is something I’d love to figure out for myself.  

5 — All of our Christmas decorations have been locked up in a storage unit that we couldn’t access (a long story) and I was afraid we might not be able to decorate this year. As of 9:30 this morning, I am happy to say they have been released… hallelujah! Excited to get everything up tonight, possibly accompanied by some coconut milk eggnog in a holiday cup 🙂

Happy Weekend!

Week 25

Hello from the end of Week 25!

This week was still all about unpacking and getting the apartment organized. We spent Columbus Day bopping around between Ikea, Container Store, Lowe’s, and of course Dunkin’. We also found time for some fun. On Wednesday I got to catch up with Becca over a matcha latte and on Friday D & I went out for dinner and a show after work. I’m realizing the freedom of these impromptu dates are going be a little more complicated in the future, so trying to savor every moment of life with just the two of us. 

Here is how things are going in the world of pregnancy!

Baby Updates (according to the apps) – Baby is now the size of a cauliflower or a rutabaga? She’s about 13.5 inches long and about 1.5 lbs.

This week I had a checkup, which I always look forward to. Getting a little glimpse of the baby is always exciting and each appointment feels like a little check off of the timeline. The doctor let me know that as of now, baby is head down. While the doctor was checking in she exclaimed “your baby just kicked me!” so yes, she is kicking and moving around more than ever which is really fun and something I don’t think I’ll ever get used to.

While I was there I had to take the dreaded glucose test. I thought I’d be able to choose my flavor — but they just handed me a clear bottle and told me to drink. I was prepared to feel terrible (I’ve heard stories) but it actually wasn’t bad at all, and sort of tasted like sweet tarts 🙂 I get the results next week, fingers crossed all goes well. 

Symptoms – Still feeling pretty energetic this week. I do find myself getting kind of exhausted by the end of the work week, which leads to overall agitation/crankiness. Sorry coworkers! My belly button is slowly creeping its way out. It hasn’t popped just yet, but any day now. I knew this would probably happen, but I didn’t expect it to feel so strange and tender.

Workouts – On Tuesday morning I got up for a morning walk, and even felt inspired to jog for a little bit! We made our way over to our local Dunkin for our usual post-run coffee and the ladies there were very surprised to see my bump (it’s been awhile). They told me no more running, this is a time for resting, haha. Don’t worry ladies, I do a lot of that too these days! I also made it to my beloved prenatal yoga class once.

What Sounds Good/Bad This Week – Not craving anything in particular. I go through phases of normal eating and then for a day I can be SUPER hungry every few hours/minutes/seconds. Loving carbs: toast, pasta, etc. Trying to keep lots of fruits and veggies in the mix. I made an apple crisp on Saturday which was particularly delicious (everything tastes extra good while pregnant!) I almost had to text my mum for the recipe, and then remember I had posted it back in 2011 (!) here. Time flies. 

Sleep – All great. The more the better. If it was appropriate to take nap time at work, I would be doing so. 

Reading/Listening – Currently reading Bringing Up Bébé which was recommended by a few friends. It’s written by an American mom living in France and is her investigation on how the French do pregnancy/parenting. I am really enjoying it so far.

I just discovered a podcast called The Birth Hour — each week a different woman shares her birth story. I’ve listened to a few of these this week and it is amazing how no two stories are the same. Soaking up all of this info makes me feel a little bit more prepared and a little bit less stressed about labor/delivery.

What I’m Looking Forward To – A trip to NH next weekend!

Best Moment of the Week – On Sunday we went back out to New Jersey for another visit to my favorite (NOT) store Lowe’s, and while we were out there we closed out the weekend with a fall stroll in Verona Park (where the above bump pic was taken). Perfect way to wind down the weekend.

Question for you! I’d love to get D a fun book to get him excited and prepare him for his future life as a Dad. I’ve done some googling, but nothing has jumped out at me so far. Would love recommendations on this if anyone has any!

Week 24

This week was all about unpacking and getting back into a routine.

To bring you up to speed — last week we moved from our cozy (aka small) one bedroom apartment into a two bedroom in our same building. The move was a bit chaotic. It happened the day we returned from a family trip to Italy, D got food poisoning, and there were delays due to construction. I’m relieved/happy to say we are officially moved IN and it feels so good that we figured out a way for this little babe to eventually have her own room to sleep in and not be stuck living out of a nook in our living room (which was a very real option we were considering). Gotta love city living.

This week we finally got some time to unpack and get ourselves back into a routine with a full work week after vacation. I also spent some time this week working on the registry since baby shower invites will be going out soon. I have received some awesome lists/spreadsheets/sticky notes/advice from friends and I keep referencing Lucie’s List for reviews, so that has all been really helpful. I am trying to find the balance of figuring out what essentials we need, while keeping things minimal — while it is awesome to have a second room, this is still NYC and we are still super tight on space! Would love any advice you all have.

Here is a little run down of where I am right now. Not sure if I love this format, but seems easy/straightforward for the time being.

Baby Updates (according to the apps) – Baby is now the size of an ear of corn, or according to Pregnant Chicken, a foot long sub! She should be about 1.3 lbs.

I feel/see her kicking throughout the day and night (especially anytime I lie down or eat or drink caffeine!) Her kicks used to feel like little flutters and now they are full on thumps. The other night, she was going so crazy in there that I couldn’t fall asleep. Is this a preview of life with a baby?

Workouts – Running has not been my favorite throughout this pregnancy, but I discovered this little prenatal yoga studio close to my office that I have been loving. Made it there twice this week. I’d love to get some morning walks back in the routine, but that extra hour of sleeping in is essential right now, so we’ll see how that goes.

Symptoms – Overall feeling really great this week. Lots of energy in the mornings, and then I get tired pretty in the early evening (Friday I was asleep by 9). I find myself getting very full quickly these days, and have had to cut back on my portion sizes. If I eat too much in one sitting my stomach gets tight and achey. But then 10 minutes after eating I can be starving. It’s weird! Not something I expected this early on.

What Sounds Good/Bad This Week – No food aversions this week. My diet lately is made up of a lot of: oatmeal, yogurt, toast, eggs, salads, soups, decaf iced coffee, water, La Croix. A lot of my “cravings” are just my normal life, non-pregnant cravings: pumpkin everything, all the coffee, and I am REALLY loving the pumpkin-shaped Reese’s (best chocolate to peanut butter ratio out of all the shapes, in my opinion!)

Sleep – Like every other pregnant lady out there, I am loving my Snoogle pillow. I curl up in that thing and fall asleep in a flash. Sleep overall has been really good. Sometimes I wake up once to pee, but no real insomnia this week.

What I’m Looking Forward To – Continuing to get the apartment unpacked and organized. Also continuing to feel the fun kicks from baby.

Best Moment of the Week – Brunching with friends on Sunday. They are all recent mommas and had lots of helpful advice and stories for me. I also left with a few big bags of maternity clothes (which I am super grateful for — my rotation of clothes at work has gotten very slim!) and teeny tiny adorable newborn clothes. Starting to imagine the little creature in my stomach wearing these clothes makes it all very real!

Overall I am feeling great and more than ever I am realizing how privileged I am to be able to have this experience. Although it is not always comfortable or easy, I am not taking any second of it for granted!

I leave you with this fun shirt my sister sent me. After a week in Italy and living off of take out during the move, I think I just might be growing a pizza in there 😉