Lay on Your Belly at the Beach [while pregnant]

 

Today was the perfect 85 degree beach day. It was sunny without a single cloud in the sky. I was out walking around in my new bikini sporting my baby bump, big and proud. There's nothing better you can do at 33 weeks pregnant. Of course it's only Memorial Day so the water in Lake Michigan was only 53 degrees... Needless to say I only dipped my toes in the water once but I still got some good sun. I was thinking that laying out in the sun wasn't going to be as fun and relaxing as anticipated because #1 I can't lay on my belly and #2 I can't lay on my back without difficulty breathing! My sister gave me the solution. Dig a hole. We were just joking around with the idea at first until I decided it could really be a good idea. I lifted up the sheet we were laying on and dug a hole big enough to cradle my belly. Then I put the sheet over top of the hole and laid down on my belly with it being in the hole. Pure Genius. I laid comfortably on my stomach for the first time in 5 months. The best part was I could relax in the sun at the same time. If anyone is pregnant during the summer, I highly recommend showing off your baby bump and laying out in the sun at the beach. My only advice is to ignore the stares or smile back politely, put on your sunscreen, and drink lots of water. You'll have an excellent time!

FYI- Soon I will share actual pictures of myself through my pregnancy journey. [in case you were interested]

Wear Your Jeans While Pregnant!

When you're pregnant and start getting bigger... and bigger... your jeans no longer fit. It's a no-brainer. I told myself I would just stop wearing them because I refused to wear ugly maternity jeans with the blue wide stretchy band on top. After awhile, I grew tired of wearing just leggings because it was reducing the amount of shirts I was able to wear. [You can't wear normal length shirts with a pair of leggings... it looks weird! AND there's just too much the world around you does not want to be exposed to...!!] So I walked around half of the day with my jeans unzipped and unbuttoned. It worked... but then my grandma gave me a better solution!

Use a hairband and place it through the pant loop and fasten both ends on the pant button.

This way your jeans are still secured and people don't think you didn't know your pants were unzipped, or unbuttoned. Really, they can't see the whole get up if you're wearing a normal length shirt. Usually women's jeans have a really short zipper anyways, so if it's unzipped, the hairband holds the two sides together and nobody can tell. It's a simple solution that I never thought about doing so I wanted to share it with you. Good luck!

I'm Anemic. Give me Iron... and Fiber!

I have never been able to donate blood due to the my low amount of iron. Though I've never been classified as Anemic until my last doctor's appointment. I'm usually labeled with having "borderline anemia". Apparently it is not uncommon for women to become anemic during pregnancy because there is almost a 50% increase in the amount of blood produced, which means the body requires more iron to make more hemoglobin for all the additional blood. Also, you need extra iron for the baby and placenta. [Thank you Babycenter.com]

So with that being said... I am Anemic. This makes me so happy... yeah. Not really. It means I have to take iron supplements along with my prenatal vitamins. Let me tell you how much this blows. A LOT. Let me tell you why...

1. Both of these pills make me nauseous. When I say nauseous, I mean I have to eat a lot of food with them or else it will be vomited back up within 15-20 minutes. Just ask my fiancé. 
2. Not only do I have to take one iron supplemental pill, but I have to take two a day. Twice the chances I'll have to throw it up. 
3. I have to pay for these pills. I had a breakdown at the Walgreens pharmacy today. To start off, I listed the wrong address because they still had my old address in their system. Not that big of deal. Then she told me that not one of my three insurances covered the cost of these pills. She asked me if I still wanted to get them. [LIKE I HAD A CHOICE]. Obviously I never wanted to get these in the first place. Tears decided to fill my eyes. I said to the lady, "I don't want to get them because they make me nauseous but I don't have a choice so YES, I will pay for them." She starts telling me about fiber... I ask, "How many months supply do I have here?" She says only one month. I did not want to have to come back and buy these pills every single month... And then the tears came rolling down my cheeks. I quickly handed her my credit card and apologized for crying and told her I couldn't help it because I'm pregnant. I cried all the way home. [**MAJOR PREGNANCY EMOTIONAL BREAKDOWN... Guess how much these pills cost? $6.00. Guess how much longer I'll be pregnant. 2 months. So even if I have to take these iron pills for a few months after my pregnancy as well, it is not a big deal... Like I said originally, I had a break-down. And a pointless one at that.]
4. The doctor recommends eating a lot of fiber because apparently this much extra iron is highly likely to cause constipation. So now I'm paranoid because I'm lucky to have rarely experienced this and don't know what to expect [besides the worst]! So to expand upon my paranoia, I will tell you what I just ate for dinner. 

• 2 slices of whole grain bread (4g of Fiber)
• Peanut Butter (2g of Fiber)
• Special K- Fruit & Yogurt cereal (6g of Fiber)
• TLC Cherry Dark Chocolate Granola Bar [tastes disgusting] (4g of Fiber)
• Total Fiber Consumed= 16g of Fiber
• Total Fiber recommended= somewhere between 20-35g/day

Anyways, I was a little melodramatic today over this whole "Anemia" issue but there are definitely worse problems to have. I'm hoping that with the increase of iron, I will have at least a little more energy throughout the day. I have been so ridiculously tired these past two weeks. With that being said, I am off to take an evening nap because my eyes are getting droopy. Nighty Night.

Nausia Returns? [At 32 weeks!]

Pregnancy is not all sunshine, flowers, and rainbows. It has its flaws...

I felt nauseous for the first 11 weeks of my pregnancy. I remember being so paranoid that I was going to feel sick and queasy for the entire pregnancy. I heard horror stories from friends and family of them being nauseous/puking to the extreme throughout their entire pregnancy. So I was relieved that the terrible symptoms went away right before my first trimester ended. After that I only became nauseous when I didn't eat enough throughout the day. For example, if I ate breakfast at 8am and waited until 1pm to eat lunch, I would feel sick until I put some food in my stomach. I'd have to have small snacks throughout the day to prevent nausea. And it worked.

But now guess what's back to haunt me at 32 weeks pregnant? Incurable nausea from the first trimester. I rarely threw up [only once or twice] but I felt nauseous 24/7 and nothing would cure it. For the past week I have felt sick before and after I eat. I don't have any special tricks to make me feel better either. Today I was officially nauseous all day long. I work in silence sitting at a computer... so feeling like I'm about to throw up all day does not help my concentration... and it makes work last even longer.

I'm assuming this is normal...  FML.

Have a Baby, Plan a Wedding, and Start a Career at the Same Time

 

I am going through a huge transition in my life right now. I'm basically trying to have a baby, get married, and start my career all at the same time. Sound impossible? Well the good thing is that I am highly motivated by not failing so I'm bound to succeed. However, it does take a lot of focus and the occasional stress outbreaks to manage it all. I probably won't do everything the way I would if each of these big life events were done one at a time, but that's how life goes. There is so much I want to do that I don't have any time [to waste]. It's impossible to have everything go as planned anyways, so I'll just do my best, hope for the best, and enjoy the results.

How I am beginning to organize these events?

Prioritize. This right here is the only answer.

I am working a full time job at Measurement Incorporated and a part time job at Plato's Closet for as long as I am able. [Meaning until 39-40 weeks and I'm rushed to the delivery room!] My fiancé has high career goals which he is so close to achieving the first step of to becoming a dispatcher for a police department. [Please, Please! Wish him luck! He is down to 1 of 18 people (originally 270) in the race to fill 10 positions!]. Right now he is working as a full time janitor in a factory. [Not too shabby for pay.] So when our baby arrives we will at least be able to cover our finances.

Meanwhile, we are slowly but surely creating our wedding budget and looking for the most affordable ways to have a big [about 150 guests] and beautiful wedding. I am also doing a lot of networking in order to find great ceremony and reception halls, caterers, photographers, etc. The more people you know, the more information you have access to. For example, I am hoping to hire a high school friend as our wedding photographer. She is offering us a great discount and even though she has just started her business, she has already achieved professional [enough] artwork. We are only at the beginning of our wedding planning but it is not something we can figure out in one day. We are focusing on the largest expenses first and with our other time we are preparing for essential baby expenses [and learning how to care for a baby!]. So along with our wedding budget, we also have a baby budget. This budget is a little different than the wedding budget because we will just be saving money until we find out the remaining items we have to purchase after we have the baby showers. Obviously, we hope to receive a lot of essential baby stuff at the showers but we won't know for another few weeks. We are intense "garage-salers" so we have already found some used items in great condition for a great price.

Okay so I briefly covered wedding and baby expenses. The excitement of both events really helps me to become motivated for all the hard work and planning efforts. As for planning my career goals... this is much more difficult to concentrate upon. I used to [still kind of do] have high, ambitious career goals like becoming a Foreign Service Officer which I feel to be the second hardest job to obtain, next to becoming US President [but yeah...]. Since I majored in such a broad topic area, [international studies and religion] I have more options to consider. Now what these options are exactly... I will get back to you! I am thankful to have a fiancé to help support our family while I have a baby and get my life re-organized. In the meanwhile, I will continue doing random jobs to save money and pay the bills. I would love to get a master's degree that will help narrow down my concentration and expertise so I maybe [just maybe] might actually get a worthy job. [Worthy= Decent pay + Something I feel is actually important enough to invest so much of my time into]

I know there will be many challenges to come in order to settle down but the real key [besides prioritizing] is to stay optimistic and positive. I don't force myself to think about these events every single moment of every day. If I am overwhelmed, I do something else. It's that simple.

My 5 Reasons for Choosing Our Baby's Name

I have good news! We have officially decided what the name of our baby girl will be. Unfortunately for everyone reading, I will not be announcing her name until she is born. This way I am preventing myself from hearing any comments that will flare up my pregnancy hormones and cause me to feel mad, sad, bitter, annoyed, etc! We like our name and do not want to be influenced in any direction, for or against our name choice. However, I will share with you how we decided upon the name. Some reasons may be silly or simple but here is my list.

1. It sounds pretty.
2. It looks pretty written out. [There are no abnormal/funky/ridiculous spellings that will confuse everyone!]
2. The full name "flows" and creates a nice rhythm.
3. It's unique enough but nothing crazy or new. [Like Moroccan or Nevaeh]
4. My fiancé likes the name even more than I do. [This is great because it is nice to see him have such a strong opinion on something for once. And it's just so precious... a daddy talking about his baby girl. *Tear* ♥]
5. We like the sound of all three of our names listed off together. [A real family!]

Basically, we just like the name.

People often name their children one thing or the other for several specific reasons, whether it be a traditional family name, a unique name, a Bible name, or the #1 trending name. Regardless of the reason, I think it is important that the parents genuinely like the name and that they take precautions for future possible insults. By this I mean, if your last name is "Slut" or "Dipshit" please do not name your child "Imma". That's rude and can emotionally wreck your child's life. Thanks.

Feel free to share your reasons for choosing your child's name. You can even list names you completely despise. The comments only bother me if you are directly telling me that you hate our name choice in person, [after knowing that's what we already decided on]! But you don't know and therefore there's no harm that can be done.

BeBands & BellaBands

These are maternity bands that you wear over your too-tight-unbuttoned-regular or too-loose-maternity jeans/shorts/skirts. You layer them so it looks like you are wearing a tank top underneath your shirt and they hold up your jeans.

BellaBand

BeBand

Thoughts Before the Purchase: I had never heard of maternity bands until I went to a garage sale. The lady was selling a lot of used baby and maternity clothes. I asked her if she had any stretch pants because I was having trouble fitting into my jeans, skirts, shorts, etc. She asked me if I had any maternity bands and tried to explain what they were to me. I had never heard of such thing. She ran inside and grabbed a pair she didn't think to put in the sale and gave it me. At the time I was wearing a longer shirt over an unbuttoned skirt so I was really excited about ending this problem. I've had to be careful not to lift up my shirt, exposing myself/my underwear, and taking away my dignity so I gladly bought them!

Pros [after use]:

Very comfortable

Available in neutral colors [white, black, beige, etc] to easily coordinate with shirts

Retains elasticity and doesn't stretch out or become too loose

Doesn't ride up and expose you
Hides belly button if you pull it up over it! [I love it when it isn't protruding so far out... I don't like hearing daily comments on how people can see my belly button!]

I'm about 32 weeks pregnant and I can still wear my regular jeans with these! Just purchasing one or two of these bands is a money saver itself because I don't plan on buying any maternity bottoms.

I vote this to be the Best Maternity Accessory ever!

Cons [after use]: 

None, except for the general problem of trying to maintain balance while slipping one foot into the band and then the next foot without falling over! [This is the same issue I have when putting on pants, jeans, skirts, underwear...my baby bump gets in the way!]

*I have not noticed any difference in practicality between BeBands and Bellabands. I own one of each. You can see in the chart that there are a few differences between the two brands though.

BeBand	BellaBand
Cheaper, $16.99 at Target	More Expensive, $26.99 at babyuniverse.com
Thinner Material [72% Nylon, 21% Spandex]	Thicker Material [84% Nylon, 16% Spandez]
Regular Style	Regular Style & Lace Trimmed

Baby Responses to Mysterious World Outside Womb

 
Never before have I felt that the baby inside me was indeed human with emotion! She has begun responding to noises outside the womb. Even though we have all been there before (like we remember ha), just take a moment to imagine what it must be like for a developing baby... To begin hearing strange sounds and not knowing where they're coming from, experiencing being startled or frightened, feeling things press against you through your surrounding wall, and feeling different temperatures for the first time. It's truly unimaginable.

I wanted to write on this subject because I felt like I honestly interacted with my baby for the first time today. I work at a desk grading essays in silence so I pretty much feel every movement my baby makes. Today, to ease the boredom of work I decided to experiment with my baby. Whenever she kicked, I would gently push down on the bump she created on my belly. It was was really funny because right when I pushed down on it (her foot specifically), she moved to a different spot. We did this for a good hour. I couldn't help but laugh sometimes because it was just so precious and some of the movements were so strong, it tickled! It was like I was really playing a game with her! ♥ Hopefully she enjoyed the interaction... I guess it is always possible she was trying to adjust and get comfortable for an hour!

That is my favorite response from her because it's so personal and touching, but there are other times when she is responding to the outside environment. She moves around when I turn on the vacuum, listen to music (especially when I play a cover of Don't You Wanna Stay by Julia Sheer & Jake Coco), and when there's loud noises. She is also sensitive to the extra heat of my computer when it's laying on my belly. One time I had my computer half way on my belly and after an hour I moved the computer to find a deformed belly! I tried to take a picture of it but failed miserably. My baby had moved to the other side of my belly because it was too warm for her on that side! My poor little baby! :/ Moments like these really make me believe that my baby is a real human being. Sometimes I forget she is real  because I get caught up in the imagining and planning part of having a baby. 

I would genuinely be interested in hearing any personal stories of your babies responses to the world outside their womb. It would be really neat to compare others' experiences to mine. So please, don't be shy and leave a comment if you can relate!

"Just Wait Until...!" [Experienced Moms Trying To Scare New Preggos]

Almost everyday at least one person I know (or don't know for that matter) comes up and talks to me about my pregnancy. It's now definitely obvious that I am pregnant with my thirty pound weight increase particularly in my stomach area. People begin with either "Ohh how far along are you?" or "So do you know if it's a boy or girl yet?" No biggie. I don't mind repeating the same thing over and over everyday. (Really, I don't mind!) The part when I become unsure about the conversation is when they continue with "Just wait until..." Just wait until what? I get even fatter? Feel more like a cow? Want to die or simply regret this pregnancy bliss during labor?? Please indulge me.

This has been going on since day one of telling the world that I am soon to birth a child. I'm not sure if "once-pregnant, current-moms" are trying to scare me and make me feel bad or if they are genuinely trying to be friendly by preparing me for the worst. I'm CoNFuSed!

Now, so far everything is going okay but...
Yes, it's getting more and more difficult to breathe. Sometimes I stop what I am doing just to concentrate on breathing so I don't have a panic attack!
Yes, I have to go to the bathroom every twenty minutes, sometimes every five.
Yes, I have gained weight I never thought I could.
Yes, it's getting harder to bend over and I fatigue easily.
Yes, I am losing money because I have to buy essentials for a baby. And you're probably right, having a girl will empty my pockets faster.
Yes, yes, yes.

But at 31 weeks...
I am still waiting for the summer heat and humidity to bother me worse than it did before.
I am still waiting for extreme foot pains and swelling to the point of not being able to walk.
I am still waiting for the back aches and sciatic nerve pain to put me on bed rest.
I am still waiting to wobble everywhere I go instead of walk.
I am still waiting for the cute baby tosses, turns, and kicks to hurt so badly, actually breaking my ribs.
I am still waiting for the miserable weeks of not being able to sleep at night. (Doesn't this come after the baby's born?)
I am still waiting for the worst pain I'll ever feel in my whole life during delivery.
I am still waiting for the doctors to stab my spine with a huge needle and insert an IV in my arm.
(Don't even get me started on the "I am still waiting for my child to do this" list)
Please! Can the time come any sooner? I'M STILL WAITING! What is the point of all this fear and hatred being cast towards me, a very happy, first time pregnant, young woman? Can't a girl face pregnancy in peace? Is it because I am in my early twenties? Am I too young to be pregnant? Should I regret this choice I have made? The negative side-effects of pregnancy do not have to be reinforced daily. Every pregnancy experience is supposed to be different. So if you find yourself rambling off all your daunting experiences you hated during pregnancy, just save them for someone who specifically asks for this harassment. Don't frighten inexperienced pregnant women. That's just mean. I'm sure my time will come. After all, I still have nine more weeks to go. Once I am holding my baby girl, I will do a follow up post stating whether or not these just-wait-untils actually happened.

10 Things I Hate About Pregnancy

Pregnancy is truly a beautiful time in life. Your body is creating a new life and that in itself is so amazing and wonderful. As children, we never realized our bodies full potential. But let's face it. There are definitely uncomfortable changes we have to adjust to during our pregnancy. Here's a list of my 10 least favorite things about pregnancy.

1. My Emotional Rollercoaster: I am an emotional girl as it is. Now that I'm pregnant I have day long episodes where I feel extremely angry over something as small as a misplaced item lying in the living room floor. I may be upset for no reason at all. I may feel annoyed and miserable all day long! It's terrible. Though, I have only had about a week worth of these days throughout my entire pregnancy, I do have smaller episodes of anger outbursts too. I have several moments where I could cry at the smallest hint of emotion floating through the air. There could be anything from a really cute baby in the grocery store, a sleeping cat in a window, a pretty nature setting, a romantic song on the radio, someone yelling at me, a bug getting squished, a flower dying, or something meaningless breaking and my eyes instantly flood with tears. I become an emotional wreck! The worst part is that I never know when these emotions will flare up.

2. Nausea: Now granted that I was pretty lucky during my first trimester and rarely threw up, I did feel nauseous 24/7 for a long 11 weeks. I could hardly eat my meals. I had to skip taking those large, horse-pill, prenatal vitamins in fear I'd throw them up. I did my best to force them down at least every other day. The main thing I was able to stomach was fruit and a little water. Otherwise I just felt miserable.... Now (at 30wks) the only time I feel nauseous is when I go too long without eating. I have to eat something at least every 5 hours or else I will feel sick. I usually only feel nauseous when I eat a early lunch and then make dinner at the normal time (around 6pm) or if I stay up too late and forget to eat a late snack. Regardless how much I suffer with this, I know my experience is much, much better than what I could have ended up experiencing with nausea.

3. Increased Bathroom Frequency: I hate the feeling of having to go to the bathroom... especially when I go to the bathroom and I STILL HAVE TO GO! Sometimes, (like right now!) it's a never-ending feeling of "Oh my gosh! I have to go to the bathroom so bad!" There is no end. It is amusing for people around me... so I suppose I'm happy to entertain... :/ Haha

4. No Alcohol: It is no fun hanging out with friends who are drinking. I really enjoy drinking (moderately of course :) ). And I enjoy the occasional nights that consist of cards & beer with friends. I don't like hanging out with a large group of people, usually single... who are drinking and pointing and laughing at me because I can't drink with them. I think what bothers me most is the fact that I can't  drink. Though this is annoying, it is definitely worth the sacrifice.

5. Reduction of Fun Activities: The majority of my pregnancy has been during winter. I like ice skating, sledding, skiing, cross-country skiing, etc. I avoided those activities because they were not things I do all the time to begin with and because there's a large risk of falling and crashing into something. So I didn't enjoy winter activities to the fullest this past season. Now that the summer is coming I will have to avoid amusement parks and tubing & skiing behind a boat. Again, these things are definitely worth the sacrifice. A positive side to this is that I freed up time to discover many more activities that I like to do.

6. Weight Gain: Let's just say that I don't like looking at the scale anymore! Oh Boy!! I never knew I could gain so much weight. So far I have gained 30lbs... and I still have another 10 weeks! Yikes! For a girl, this is just not fair. However, my doctor has told me (numerous times) that it is normal for someone of my body weight (I normally weigh 125lbs) to gain as little as 25lbs up to 40lbs. It's just weird for me because I haven't gained weight for over 7 years now. Weight gain=Healthy baby! But it still sucks! As my body gets bigger and bigger, my clothes get smaller and smaller. I still haven't bought maternity clothes and I don't plan on it. I just wear dresses with athletic shorts, leggings, longer shirts, jeans with a BeBand and anything I can comfortably squeeze into! My selection of clothes seems to get smaller and smaller everyday... and I don't like it!

7. No Intense Workouts: I enjoy working out, lifting weights, and running or biking... the whole nine yards! I don't exercise year round like I should but when I do, I like going all out. So when I found out I was pregnant, of course I hadn't been working out for a few months. The doctors say you aren't suppose to do heavy workouts unless you were doing them before. So I've been enjoying prenatal yoga workouts instead. These workouts make my body feel so relaxed and stretched out, relieving any minor back pain. But I can't wait to start really working out again.

8. Bending Over is Difficult: I never knew how hard it could be to bend over and pick something up off the floor. My belly just gets in the way and it feels weird. Whenever I can I ask Mr. Fiancé to help me!

9. Guilt for not Eating Healthy: I feel much more guilty not eating healthy when I'm pregnant than when I'm not pregnant. I do my best to eat healthy dinners (meat, vegetables, milk) but now that my finacé works second shift, I don't really want to cook an entire meal for myself. It's too much work not to enjoy it with someone else. So I slack off and make something fast like Macaroni & Cheese, Spaghetti, Ramen Noodles, sometimes a salad... my typical meals throughout college. :/ Not cool.

10. Secondhand Smoke: As if this didn't already irritate enough before... DON'T SMOKE AROUND PREGNANT WOMEN! It angers me so much that someone could be that selfish to force a baby to inhale that nasty smoke too. That's all I have to say about this one.

Any other things you ladies dislike about pregnancy? Come on, I'm 100% sure there are more complaints out there! Let's hear them!

Be sure to view the 10 Things I Love About Pregnancy too. :)

10 Things I Love About Pregnancy

Hopefully you all knew this post was coming after the 10 Things I Hate About Pregnancy post! I do very much enjoy being pregnant despite all the setbacks and unfamiliar body changes that come with pregnancy. Here is my list of the top 10 reasons I love being pregnant.

1. Fetal Movements: I was so impatient to start feeling my baby move, I could hardly handle it! But great things are definitely worth the extra wait. I now feel my baby girl move all throughout the day and sometimes night. By move I mean kick, punch, toss, turn, flip, wiggle, who knows what those babies do in there! It is the most miraculous thing in the whole world because it really let's me know that I am growing another human being within me. It is really weird to know that when I feel like a knee is jabbing into my side from within that there's a good chance that that is really the case!

2. Hearing Baby's Heartbeat: Hearing this new heartbeat coming from within my belly was surprising. The first time I heard it, I didn't know what to think. I thought it was really neat and touching because my eyes started tearing up, but it didn't feel real to me until later on once the fetal movements began. It is definitely reassuring though having the chance to hear her heartbeat every other week now at the doctor's office. It's a very comforting thing to hear throughout pregnancy letting me know everything is alright.

3. Starting My Own Family: My fiancé, Bill and I now have a lot of new thing to talk about for hours on end. I love the fact that we will be starting our own family. It's strange to think that someone will be calling me Mom so soon. Honestly, I can't imagine it. But I love all my new thoughts and curiosities about how my new chapter in life will unravel.

4. Decorating Nursery: This part is so much fun! We have a second bedroom for a nursery and we're going to make it look really cute. I wish I could devote my time to every room in my apartment but I will just save that for the future. We will be painting the nursery walls, putting up curtains, hanging pictures, and setting up the furniture to make it a cozy place for a baby. I realize that babies probably don't care what their room looks like but it will be pretty regardless! I suppose I am beginning to do what they call nesting.

5. Extra Attention: I will always have a friend no matter where I go. When I go to the grocery store, clothes shopping, baby shopping, to the park, out for a walk, a stranger or two will always come up and talk to me. They ask if I'm expecting a boy or a girl, how far along I am, and sometimes even give me advice on what to buy and what not to buy for the baby. It's a weird thing because people don't normally talk to me while I'm looking for the best deals on toilet paper at Walmart... Haha. But really, I like how friendly people are towards pregnant women.

6. No Cat Litter!: My wonderful, amazing fiancé has the opportunity to learn to clean the cat litter in a timely fashion for 9 months plus extra time spent breastfeeding! I absolutely love how the doctor recommends that someone else do it. I have two cats that I love so much and I'm really glad I don't have to deal with their litter for awhile. It gets annoying, not to mention the terrible stench. Maybe I will breastfeed forever! HAHA, just kidding.

7. I Take Better Care of Myself: I am much more cautious now. I pamper myself more and take better care of my health because there's a baby growing inside of me. I want to make sure I'm doing the best that I can for my baby so it's a win-win situation. The baby benefits while I benefit by trying to eat healthier, stay hydrated, and exercise frequently.

8. Baby Shopping: I love looking through baby clothes at garage sales and department stores. It is so much fun to see all those little tiny outfits, onesies, socks, shoes, hats, etc. I like looking at different cribs, car seats, high chairs, all the baby stuff! If I don't look at the price of everything, it's fun imaging actually using all of the new baby items!

9. No Alcohol: Now I know I put this on my list of the 10 Things I Hate About Pregnancy but honestly, after 4 years of college my liver could use a break! I feel healthier not drinking so much. When I'm bored, instead of planning on drinking with friends I've discovered new activities to do. For instance, every Sunday evening we eat dinner and play games like Scattergories, Euchre, Skip-Bo, and Boggle with another couple we're friends with. It's a good time!

10. Daddy Talks to his Baby: The most precious thing ever is when Bill talks to my belly and feels her kick or move around. It's so cute and makes the whole family idea more and more real. He also kisses my belly and says "goodnight baby". How adorable! [If he only knew what I write on my blog... haha!]

BeBands to keep your Fashion during Pregnancy

I was out looking for clothes at garage sales this weekend and I came across something very helpful for pregnant ladies who do not want to buy much maternity clothing.

It's called a BeBand and it's magical!

It's a band of fabric you wear over your pants and underneath a shirt to cover up jeans or skirts that you can no longer button. I will tell you that it is definitely worth the extra $10-15 it costs in stores. I can wear jeans with normal length shirts again! I have completely worn out all of my longer shirts that could hide my unbuttoned/unzipped jeans, so it's nice to be able to wear my other shirts again. The BeBand makes it look like you layered your shirt with a tank top, which is "in" regardless. So I give props to whoever invented this handy little maternity band!

Below are two pictures of me modeling the BeBand at 30 weeks pregnant.

Here are two maternity band links by Topshop that cost $14.00.

If you don't own one of these maternity bands yet, check out my first solution to Wearing Jeans While Pregnant.

What Do Baby Kicks Feel Like?

Before I could feel my baby move in my belly, I was always curious to know what women meant when they asked, "Do you feel flutters?" or "Do you feel the butterflies yet?" I didn't have a clue and I was dying to find out fast. I wanted to be included in this special moment that so many pregnant women were experiencing. The only thing I felt at 16 weeks pregnant was pressure in my lower abdomen, which many times turned out to be excess gas. Once or twice a week, I began feeling "something" in my belly. This "something" I knew to be the baby but I also thought my mind was playing tricks on me.
For any ladies in the same situation as I was, Have No Fear! You will feel tremendous amounts of movement sooner than you expect. I am currently in my first pregnancy and it took a good 20 weeks before I really began feeling my baby. Just try your best to be patient [very difficult I know!] and give your baby some time to grow! I am 30 weeks pregnant now and I will try to give you a better explanation of what these baby movements feel like.

Baby Movements are like...

• The feeling you get going down a roller coaster but much shorter. 
• Someone is kicking you or giving you an elbow shove from the inside. [High chance this is actually happening!]
• Someone is smoothing out the inside of your belly with a door knob or end of a rolling pin.
• A baseball being pushed against & rolled around on the inside of your belly.
• A bunch of rustle & bustle deep down without touching the surface of your belly.
• Someone is flicking you on the inside.
• Something is trying to push itself outside of you. [When the movement gets further up near my ribs, I especially feel this way!]

Everyone begins feeling fetal movements at different times during their pregnancy. These feelings vary from person to person, so if you are already experiencing fetal movements and our feelings don't compare, don't worry. I'd be interested in hearing other comparisons for what these movements feel like. I have never felt "flutters" but I honestly think the movements compare to having butterflies in your stomach. Regardless, feeling my baby move is by far my favorite thing about being pregnant!