19 Weeks

Modcloth Sweater c/o| Old Navy Maternity Jeans | Rebecca Minkoff Backpack | Converse

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It’s been a few weeks since I’ve checked in and we are officially in the second trimester. As I write this, I’m 19 weeks (almost five months).  We have our 20 week appointment and ultrasound this Friday! I can’t believe we are almost half way there. I think we’ve finally decided that we will NOT be finding out the gender of Baby Mack. If we’ve made it this far, what’s another 20 weeks? Right? Although, I still think I’ll have the doctor put it in an envelope in case we change our minds!

PS. Should I just rename this post, “The One Where She Holds The Bump” haha

Here’s a quick update on my pregnancy right now:

What I’m Wearing

Tops: Thank goodness for tunic tops and peplum detailing like this one from Modcloth. I’ve been living in both styles of tops as my belly starts to pop. This knit sweater, also from Modcloth, has been an amazing addition to my wardrobe. I’m wearing a small and it’s long enough to cover my tush and handle a growing bump. I’m all about versatile tops these days that can be worn both to work and swapped out with leggings the moment I get home. Most maternity shopping has to be done online (frustrating), but thankfully Modcloth offers in-house stylists if I have any questions about how something will fit prior to purchasing or finding the right size for my growing bump!

Jeans: My biggest struggle has been finding the perfect pair of maternity jeans. I just don’t think they exist. I could do the ‘pony-tail’ trick on a few of my non-maternity jeans, but most are high-waisted and that just IS NOT happening these days. I thought I would find love with the jeans from the new maternity collab with Target, but they just didn’t work for me. I ended up ordering a few pairs from Old Navy, which I love their non-maternity jeans, so right now I’m happy with their maternity options, I didn’t spend a fortune and was able to pick up a few different styles for work this fall and winter.

Dresses: I love showing off my bump. I know some women may not be into that, but I love seeing my baby grow each week and snapping a quick selfie to see the progress (sometimes you don’t even realize how much you’ve grown in just a few days). I have three midi-length tank dresses that all have ruched detailing that I’ve lived in this summer.

What I’m Loving

Baby Kicks: At my last two appointments I was told conflicting information regarding baby kicks. One doctor thought that because I am petite I wouldn’t feel kicks until 20 weeks or beyond, and at my 16 week appointment, the nurse thought I would feel them sooner because I was petite. Either way, I think I’m feeling the baby kick every once and awhile, or at least that is what I’m telling myself! I can’t wait until I can feel the full fledged kicks.

Cravings & Aversions: Still not into grilled chicken, but I’d do anything for a medium rare steak right now. I’m easing myself back into eating eggs, especially scrambled eggs because it’s not recommended to eat eggs over easy. Overall, most of my aversions have gone away. I’ve been craving cereal and milkshakes. If you are ever in the Des Moines area, I suggest Zombie Burger – they have THE BEST milkshakes, especially the Zombie Wedding Cake shake. It happens to be even better when spiked, but I’ll have to wait a few more months to treat myself to that!

Exercise: My main form of exercise these days is taking walks with Lola. I need to start looking into some pre-natal yoga. I tend to do some yoga stretches every night before bed, my lower back and legs have started to bother me a little bit. I need to do a better job of walking around during the day, which sometimes is easier than others if I’m walking a job site or doing a field measure.

Beverages: I’ve been drinking a ton of water, which is good, but have switched it up to iced tea for at least one meal a day. I am not a pop drinking nor do I like sparkling water. I had a rough day at work last week and ALL I wanted was a summer shandy. There’s always next summer! :)

Prepping for Baby

What I’m Reading: The only thing I have started to read is Brining Up Bébé (the difference between American and French parenting) and weekly updates on pregnancy apps on my phone. I haven’t read that much. I’m take each day at a time and not stress about what will come next. I know whatever I read will fly out the window once Baby Mack is here and we will all figure it out together and what will work best for our family.

Nursery: I think I finally landed on a paint color. I’ve been trying to color match a shade I saw in a Pinterest photo. Nine paint samples later, I think I finally landed on one. It was a shade of blue from Sherwin Williams (Blue Horizon) lightened about 50%. I picked out my crib and it should be here end of October. We have a dresser that needs to get put together and then it’s all about finding the perfect swivel glider. All the details and accessories will come in time, I have a lot of items I’m reusing from my office.

Registry: I finally started making a registry, if you have any suggestions of must-have items, let me know! Especially for those first few months! Picking the cute stuff like sheets, towels, swaddles was easy, but I’m clueless when it comes to the essentials!

What I’m Struggling With

Breakouts: I know this is not a fun topic and may be a little TMI, but the hormones are causing breakouts on my chest and upper back and it’s ANNOYING. My mom experienced this too during her pregnancies, but doesn’t make life any easier. Thankfully the acne has stayed away from my face so far with a few minor breakouts here and there.

Round Ligament Pain: Real thing. When I sneeze or laugh it will catch me off guard and I swear I feel like I’m permanently damaging my stomach. My doctor swears it’s totally normal.

Emotional: This has come full circle the last couple of weeks. I’m more easily pissed off these days and often share my opinion before I even think about filtering what I’m going to say. That is pretty out of the norm for me, so I’m trying to remember to process everything before I open my mouth. I also can switch on a dime and become even more emotional, it doesn’t take much to make the tears start to flow. Thankfully, my husband has taken a few of my outbursts in stride, and I’ve only cried at work once (but to be fair, it was a BAD morning).

Stress: Work and the current events happening in our world the past few weeks have added a lot of stress to my daily life. After what happened in Charlottesville, I had a lot of fears manifest about the kind of world we are going to bring a new human into. Frankly, it pisses me off and makes me want to weep at the same time. All we can do is raise our child to be kind, to treat one another with respect despite any differences that may arise, and to know that love is love is love and the color of ones skin or the religion they practice does not make anyone less.

Despite what’s happening in the world putting everything else into perspective, work has been STRESSFUL. The last phase of my summer long project (two buildings, four floors each), is finally installing. Managing timelines, trades, vendors, and clients between two sales people and a very full install schedule has been testing my limits, which normally I feel like I handle fairly well, but as I said above, my emotions are all over the place and pregnancy brain is real. It’s been hard for me to ask for help, but I know that it’s ok to say I need help every now and again and thankfully I work with amazing people who are willing to take on some tasks to help alleviate a little bit of my stress!

So that’s a fairly long update of what my pregnancy is looking like thus far. I can’t wait to see what happens over the next few weeks and months!