A Quick HELLO!

Goals. My goal is to fix the layout of my blog so that it doesn’t drive me nuts every time I view it on a computer! Some day, my friends. Some day.

Hiiiii btw! It’s me, Melanie. It’s been a while. The last time I checked in appears to be when I was 28 weeks pregnant. I had intentions of posting an announcement here but instead went the lazy route and posted on my Instagram page! I also shared the birth story on there but I am still wanting to type that one out so I can reference it in writing too whenever I’m feeling nostalgic.

One of my last pics while pregnant:

pregnancy 4

I am now a mama to three boys and a baby GIRL! Beautiful Ava joined our circus on July 31st, 2020. This was my longest pregnancy. She was born at 38 weeks and 4 days. She made her entrance fast and fierce just like her brothers. She was 6 lbs 15oz and 20 perfect inches. My experience at Willow Birth Center in Minneapolis (shout out!) was beyond amazing. I am so blessed to be able to say my fourth and final birth was everything I dreamt it would be.

Minutes before she was born:

Being surprised by the gender was the best decision. Not that meeting your baby for the very first time isn’t motivating enough when you’re in labor, but not knowing the gender just amplifies the anticipation and excitement! I was, and still am in disbelief that I have a girl. History repeats itself…I am the youngest of four children in my family. I have three older brothers. Now I have a fun fact to share when someone asks!

Adapting to a life with four littles has been a little nuts. Blake is freshly two and definitely acts like it. He adores his baby sis as do all of the boys, but he doesn’t quite understand that he is much bigger than her and that she is so fragile. I have to keep my eye on him more so than I ever did with the boys. But man is he cute.

The boys are all adjusting well to having Ava in the house. When they are away from me and her they tell me that they missed me, but that they missed her the most. Thanks guys. I love that love though so I am okay with it.

We are in the final days before moving into our new home. We are so gracious to my in-laws for letting us stay here, but it’s getting pretty cramped especially now that Bode is distance learning three days a week and Dana home-offices. Ava’s naps have been tricky because there’s a lot of tiny humans interrupting her slumber, so I’m hoping we can get her into a better routine once we move in to the new digs.

Cliff’s notes today but man it feels good to check in. I hope you are all well!

 

xoxoxo

Continue Reading A Quick HELLO!

28 Weeks Pregnant and Feeling GOOOOOOOOOD

It’s about time for a little check-in now that I am in my THIRD TRIMESTER. Are you kidding me? Each week is flying by in a blink of an eye.

28 weeks pregnant

How am I feeling?

Pretty darn amazing. My ulcerative colitis is finally starting to settle down, my energy level is improving hugely, and I am getting SO excited about meeting this baby. I am having quite a bit of heartburn and seasonal allergy symptoms, but besides that I am fairly comfortable!

I am staying super active with strength training, cardio, HIIT, and walks which makes me feel strong both physically and mentally.

Appetite/Cravings

My appetite has been funky. In the morning I don’t feel ready to eat breakfast until a couple of hours after I wake up (and after I’ve had my cup of coffee). That isn’t strange for me, but what is, is that I can never figure out what sounds good to eat. I have to pretty much force something down at breakfast time because I know I need energy. It’s totally unlike me as I’ve always been a breakfast person. Also, I’ve been preferring savory breakfasts which is new to me!

Typical breakfasts: bean burritos, salad and eggs, or egg burritos. If I go for a sweet breakfast it looks something like a smoothie, or Greek yogurt, or a banana with pb, but I generally have to choke those down.

When lunch time rolls around, I am usually ready for whatever and most everything sounds good. I’ve been all over the board with my lunches too: spring rolls, kale wraps, and salads have been my main go-to’s lately.

I have been eating small meals and snacks frequently throughout the day. It is what makes me feel best.

I haven’t had any really weird cravings that I can think of; just a very different appetite for a variety of foods that weren’t typically in my diet pre-pregnancy or even at the beginning of pregnancy. I have definitely been into ice cream as my go-to sweet treat!

Prenatal care during Covid 19

At the beginning of this Covid stuff, I was pretty down about the changes in prenatal care. This is my last pregnancy and I wanted everything to be as it always has been. But it has definitely been different, and I am trying to make the most of it. It broke my heart that Dana couldn’t be in on the ultrasound appointments with me. We made the most of it by FaceTiming during the entire thing. It’s strange that I meet virtually with the midwives and I don’t get to go in and hear that most incredible heart beat sound from my sweet little peanut like I typically would in the clinic every month or so. No weight checks, no measurements…it’s weird.

Mentally I’m continuing to prepare for labor and delivery, and am praying for another successful unmedicated birth!

28 weeks pregnant with each baby: Bode, Ben, Blake, and baby #4

Just for fun! Left to right: pregnancy with Bode, Ben, Blake and baby numero quatro!

All in all, my pregnancy has been wonderful. I am so fortunate to have such easy pregnancies!

 

Continue Reading 28 Weeks Pregnant and Feeling GOOOOOOOOOD

First Pregnancy Versus Fourth Pregnancy

This will be fun.

First of all, I’m pregnant?! It seems I forget pretty often because there is little time to think about it! The three little people that are dependent on me don’t seem to understand that I am growing a human and expect me to keep up with them as if nothing has changed. The blessing of this is that it keeps me active and it has definitely made this pregnancy fly by.

Symptoms

Throughout this pregnancy I have been dealing with an Ulcerative Colitis flare. With past pregnancies, pregnancy hormones (or something) put my body into remission at about week nine. Not this time. Typically I would dive straight into my supplemental regime and kick this to the curb, but alas, adequate studies have not been conducted with supplements enough to make me feel comfortable with the “risk”. My symptoms have improved but I am still dealing with it today. That being said, this could attribute to some of my exhaustion, but mostly I would attribute it to the little people honestly. I’d say I’m a pretty tough little lady.

At the beginning of pregnancy, I dealt with mild nausea, but nothing that ever sent me to the toilet. I thank God often that I have had four pregnancies without extreme nausea. I experienced fatigue in the first three months, making sure I was tucked into bed by 8 pm at the latest.

Round ligament “discomfort”. I won’t call it pain because it’s nothing compared to labor, but the uterine growth and round ligament stretching has been way more intense this time around. This one doesn’t make sense to me. Doesn’t my body just know what to do? It’s been stretched many a times already so why is it screaming at me so much this time?! Oh yes….I don’t sit still very often. That could be part of it.

Diet

I’m a dietitian as you are all aware. That being said, I can tell you that my diet has been far from optimal lately. The beginning of the pregnancy was mostly white carb focused: gluten free bread, cream of wheat, crackers, cereal, but I was able to get a whole buncha healthy stuff in there too. When the nausea subsided, it was back to the usual nutrient-rich meals. Then COVID-19 hit. I’m at home with all of the boys. As much as I aim to focus on nutrition for myself and my family, we are in a bit of survival mode as we all are. There are a lot of baked goods going down around here, let’s just leave it at that. =) In all fairness, I know I am still doing a heckuva job trying to feed us all with nutrition as BEST as I possibly can given the circumstances. So there’s that.

Cravings

I’d say my cravings this pregnancy around are more intensified. As I mentioned, the Pop Tart craving wouldn’t leave me alone. There has been a lot of pizza yearned for and consumed this time around. I was really into fruit at the beginning of pregnancy but that has now normalized. I guess it was most intense in the beginning of pregnancy. I feel pretty normal now. Kind of boring compared to my first pregnancy.

Weekly Bump Pics?!

I was religious about taking weekly bump pics for all three of the boys’ pregnancies. This time around, I’ve gotten maybe five, three of which I took as selfies.

19 week pic. I have seriously BUMPED since this picture was taken.

When will it feel real?

In lieu of our current life situation, my mind is heavily focused on remaining positive, keeping my family and loved ones safe, and making the most of our home life situation. There is nothing that really needs to be done to prepare for the arrival of baby except to buy some super teeny tiny diapers. Because we aren’t finding out the gender, I would like to sort through the newborn baby clothes bin to find some gender neutral clothes to hold us over, JUST in case a little girl decides to join the family. If it is a girl, there will be a whole lot of pink flowing in this house, you better believe it. So I guess there’s that too.

My appointments with the midwives have been every five weeks. Everything is looking perfect. I have my anatomy scan next week. My first one was canceled due to the virus. As of now, Dana will be able to join me for that appointment. My following prenatal appointments will be completed over the phone which is going to be so weird and sad because I won’t be able to hear my favorite little heartbeat noise that I so look forward to at those in-clinic appointments.

I’m thinking that maybe the ultrasound will make this pregnancy feel more real?

When I was pregnant with Bode, I remember spending so much time planning for the nursery. The amount of hours I spent looking for a rug and wall decor seems completely unreal at this point. For goodness sake I even sewed him a baby blanket! I remember sitting in the nursery once it was completed, anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sweet boy.

I am equally as excited about baby number four, there is just less time to think about it. I am planning on diving into the childbirth books in the next couple of months so I can begin to mentally prepare for labor and delivery, something that I seem to keep putting off in my mind.

I think I’m going to wrap this post up although I feel like I could go on and on. It’s becoming a bit of a doozy.

_____________________________________________________________________

I pray that everyone is staying healthy and safe. Take care, friends.

xoxo

 

 

Continue Reading First Pregnancy Versus Fourth Pregnancy

Preggo But I’m Still Doin’ Moves Like Beyonce

If you haven’t seen the baby mama dance, you can check it out at the end of this post (this is where the post title came from btw)! In case you missed it in my last post, yes, I am indeed pregnant with baby number FOUR! Wow, that sure sounds like craziness sometimes when I say it. I know I personally love to read about women’s pregnancies, so I decided I want to share a little bit about mine! Details:
  • Estimated Due Date: August 10, 2020. I am 17.5 weeks pregnant. Fact: all of my boys have made their presence 2-4 weeks early. Also, I have been uber pregnant in the summer for all of them so this will be nothing new! Thank God for AC.
  • I am feeling pretty darn great, all things considered. Minimal symptoms. Energy is starting to come back again. It’s hard to say if I’m actually more tired in this pregnancy or if it’s just the fact that I have three little boys that I am keeping alive on a daily basis? Who knows! Anyway, my bedtime has been around 8:30 pm, wake up around 5 am.
 
  • My appetite is fab. Three meals, snacks, chugging water.
  • Cravings? Mostly healthy foods—salads, fruit, whole grains, cheese of some sort, but also some totally randoms. Enter: Blueberry Pop Tarts. I couldn’t get them out of my head, so finally after three weeks, I gave in and bought some. They taste as good as I remember from childhood. I ate a half a tart a day until the box was gone and enjoyed every single bite. In a perfect world I would have just made some from scratch at home but guess what? It’s not a perfect world! =)
Image result for blueberry pop tart
  • Feelings of content. I have always wondered how women know when it’s going to be their last pregnancy, their last baby. When I was pregnant with Blake I questioned this all of the time. Well, now that I am pregnant with number four, I most definitely know. This is it. This is the last one. I am trying to soak up this pregnancy with every ounce of my being. I am so excited to have an even numbered family! What a weirdo I know.
 
  • What do my boys think? Bode is 5.5 so he gets it and he is SO excited. Ben is 3.5 and kinda gets it but doesn’t really. He understands that Daniel Tiger’s mom had a baby so he kind of knows what’s going to happen. Blake (19 months) obviously has no clue.
 
  • Not finding out the gender. This girl loves a good surprise and although it’s going to be SO hard for me not to know, not to plan, we are not finding out the gender of this baby. We found out with the other three boys and I told Dana if we were to have a fourth, that it was going to be a surprise. Fourth and final = go big or go home. My little boys think it’s a girl. I can’t imagine that to be honest.
 
  • Planning for natural birth. I birthed all three boys naturally, unmedicated. They were all smooth deliveries minus they were all sunny side up so gave me excruciating back labor. The plan going in is unmedicated again however, I have done my pain management research and want to have that in my back pocket this time around. It will definitely be a game time decision. Also, I always go in to labor and deliveries with an open mind because you just never know what’s going to happen.
  What else do you want to know? I’m an open book for the most part so ask away!   As promised, the Baby Mama Dance with Shay Mitchell (I’m a Pretty Little Liars fan!)… *Beware, the song is super catchy!!  
Continue Reading Preggo But I’m Still Doin’ Moves Like Beyonce

36 Weeks Pregnant!

It’s that time again. Time for a lil’ bump update!

I am now 36 weeks pregnant. Next week, at 37 weeks, baby is no longer considered pre-term. It’s amazing to think that he could present himself to the world at any moment. He could on the other hand, choose to wait another 4 weeks. We will see won’t we?!

36 weeks pregnant

At 36 weeks, baby’s average weight is about 6 lbs and length is 20 inches long. Most of his systems are fully developed, and he is continuing to plump up and build up his baby fat. Bring on the baby rolls. There’s nothing better!

Watching how the body changes and grows during pregnancy is one of the weirdest, most miraculous things. To actually think that there is a little human growing inside of me right now is beyond me. I am supporting a life. With every bit of food that goes into my mouth I think of the baby. It’s been strange seeing the changes happening: seeing my bump grow, my legs get thicker, and seeing my weight go up. It’s strange, but it’s lovely. Do I miss my non-maternity clothes? Of course I do, I’m only human, but I know that some day I will be wearing them again. For now, I am trying to embrace the bump.

So how am I feeling, you might be wondering?

Mentally…

It’s hard to focus on anything but the baby at this point. Mentally I feel my brain is a bit scrambled. I am still able to work just fine but notice myself making lots of little mistakes that I’m not used to making. This could be due to some serious lack of sleep also.

Mentally I feel I have prepared myself for birth as much as possible. I am fully aware that labor and delivery in regards to your own “birth preferences” can alter in an instant and that has to absolutely be okay. What is important is that baby and mom are both healthy in the end. I have heard horror stories, I have heard incredible stories also, and I choose to remember the good stories and focus on those rather than letting fear get the best of me.

Physically…

You know what? I really can’t complain a whole lot. I feel very lucky to have felt this good throughout pregnancy. I’m slowing down a little bit but still going pretty strong. I walk nearly every day and continue to do my yoga stretches daily. I am getting stronger Braxton Hicks contractions that feel like menstrual cramps and that sometimes radiate to my back. This is perfectly normal and it’s my body practicing for the real deal. At night I am waking 6-8 times either to go to the bathroom or just to switch sides due to discomfort. So yes, lots of broken-up sleep. Again, my body is preparing me for what’s to come. 🙂

Other pregnancy symptoms I’ve noticed: clumsiness, forgetfulness, increased hunger (and yet some days I feel my appetite is completely normal), some mild swelling, dramatic mood swings, hot flashes, super hot hands, and nesting.

 Eats

What’s been tickling my fancy these days?

  • I am still drinking my chocolate peanut butter smoothie EVERYDAY. I still can’t believe it.
  • I’m still really into burgers but am also branching out a lot!
  • I have been wanting more fresh veggies and salads lately, so that’s good!

veggies and almond butter with craisins

  • My sweet tooth is pretty much insane. Chocolate and ice cream are dear friends of mine right now and I am okay with that.

Pearl Street Brewery Ice Cream

  • I’m eating three meals a day (usually smaller meals) and 2-3 snacks. My favorite bedtime snack is still Greek yogurt with honey.

Greek Yogurt

Let’s see, what else?

We have our last shower on Saturday! After that we will do some shopping and get anything else we feel we will need. Overall though we are feeling very ready.

I’ve left my wedding rings off because they were getting too snug for comfort and I know too many people who have had to have their bands cut off. Yikes.

How about I stop there? I could go on all day about all of the excitement I’m feeling. There is just so much anticipation!

Check in with you all later gators!

Continue Reading 36 Weeks Pregnant!

Pregnancy Week 30

I can’t believe I am actually saying this…I am now 30 weeks! I thought you all might enjoy a little pregnancy update since it’s been a while.

melanie 30 weeks pregnant

A comparison back at 20 weeks…

pregnancy 20 weeks

And I thought I was big at 20 weeks. Ha!

At 30 weeks, baby is about 3 lbs and 16-17 inches long! He’s getting closer and closer to his birth length and then he will continue to plump up day by day! I am definitely noticing more bumpage these days. I can tell this little guy is growing like crazy.

Symptoms

  • Braxton Hicks contractions especially when I’ve been on my feet too long or haven’t had enough water. These are never really painful, just uncomfortable. It feels like your abdomen is tightening and it feels very hard, and sometimes accompanied by mild cramps.
  • Mild back pain (lower and middle): again, if I stand too long or sit too long but it’s the worst at night. I toss and turn about every hour or two at night.
  • Increased bathroom trips, including 3-4 at night
  • Increased exhaustion. They weren’t kidding when they say fatigue usually hits in the first and third trimesters. I am needing to slow down and rest more often now.
  • Restless leg syndrome at night
  • Sore hips at night

Appetite

GREAT! This is nothing new. I eat three small meals a day plus three (or more) snacks. I focus on getting protein 3x a day as well as at least 5 fruits and veggies. Besides that I make sure I eat a fair amount of whole grains, dairy/calcium usually in the form of almond milk, cheese, and Greek yogurt, and healthy fats like avocado, olive oil, nuts, etc. And it’s time to be real, the sweet tooth has gone crazy.

Which leads me to my next topic: cravings.

I honestly didn’t think I had cravings but when I was at Target I really wanted Oreos. I’m talking double-stuffed Oreos. They are one thing that I pass by in the grocery store every week and think “man, I really want those,” but then I never buy. Well I finally gave in last week and bought them.

You know what, they taste delicious. I’m trying to moderate how many I eat daily. I bought them last Monday and I still have some left so this is a good thing, right? Ice cream has consumed on a weekly basis (once a week that is), and I won’t pass up a piece of chocolate if it is offered at work. I’m REALLY trying not to go crazy with the sugar but goodness it is tough right now.

Not cravings necessarily, but foods I’m loving…

pregnancy food collage

  • Chocolate peanut butter smoothies
  • Greek yogurt with honey
  • Muenster cheese
  • Hard-boiled eggs
  • Burgers
  • Cucumber sandwiches with laughing cow cheese spread
  • Sugar snap peas
  • Ice cream
  • Fruit

What I’m loving about pregnancy right now…

Feeling baby move, kick and hiccup! He hiccups every day and it is the sweetest thing.

Other updates

I passed the glucose tolerance test which means I do not have gestational diabetes and my iron level was excellent!

The nursery is coming along! I haven’t decided if I’m going to share it or keep it a private thing. I will tell you that the walls are gray, the furniture is dark espresso brown, the glider is gray, and the decorations are nautical and chevron! The look and feel of the room is very relaxing which is exactly what I was going for. We are still in the process of searching for an area rug, but besides that it is pretty much done besides filling it up with baby stuff from my upcoming showers!

We start our first birthing classes next month. I have been reading books like it’s my job and am feeling very prepared for birth. It will be good to go to the classes too!

We haven’t 100% settled on a name but we are pretty sure we know. It will be a secret from you all until he arrives. 🙂

That is it for now! I will give ya’ll another pregnancy update in a month or so!!

What are some of your favorite foods right now?

Continue Reading Pregnancy Week 30

Diet Changes During Pregnancy

My appetite currently in pregnancy is great! I’m nearly 28 weeks now. I wake up hungry or famished most mornings, eat breakfast, sometimes eat a snack mid-morning, always eat lunch, a snack in the afternoon usually, dinner, and a snack before bed.

Baby and I get pretty lethargic if we don’t get food when we are hungry, so I try and remember to always pack snacks when I am out and about.

I learned quickly that the snack before bed is a must otherwise I wake up insanely hungry in the middle of the night. My go-to bedtime snack is Greek yogurt with honey. Protein and carbs to tide me over for a while.

My diet has changed a few ways in pregnancy. I am eating more whole grains and not all of them are gluten-free. My body is tolerating the gluten and although I’m not going overboard with it, I am still eating regular bread, cereal, and snacks sometimes.

Also, I never know what I’m going to want to eat which makes planning meals ahead of time nearly a thing of the past. Dinners are usually pretty spontaneous these days. I’m still trying to clean out the freezer too! It’s going well!

Another thing I’m starting to notice, is that I feel much better when I eat smaller meals frequently opposed to large ones less often. This isn’t always completely doable with work, but I do my best.  My stomach is getting smooshed and appreciates smaller quantities at a time.

What I’ve Been Eating…

I think this baby gets some pretty tasty eats. Time to check out what I’ve been eating lately. I’m linking up with Jenn today!

One day I was suffering with terrible allergies and had no inclination to make food but I knew I needed food. I had pulled up pizza delivery on the computer and was all ready to order. Then the light bulb went off and I decided I would make my own mini healthier pizza instead, and that it wouldn’t be that much work either.

I topped a gluten-free brown rice tortilla with leftover meaty spaghetti sauce, mozzarella, onions, and green olives. I baked it for 5-10 minutes or so and then broiled it. As simple as it was, it tasted so good. Sometimes simple is best.

tortilla pizza

I’m STILL drinking this smoothie every.single.morning. Not sick of it yet! This is a record for sure.

 

chocolate peanut butter smoothie

We had a perfect green bell pepper from our garden waiting to be used so I bought some farmer’s market tomatoes (we didn’t have enough ripe tomatoes in our garden yet) so that I could make a batch of fresh salsa.

homemade salsa

And it was delicious.

I can’t get enough of the frozen spinach cooked to steaming hot with a little butter and salt. Popeye would be so proud.

salsa shrimp spinach

I’m really enjoying my egg sandwiches still slathered with yellow mustard some time type of cheese.

egg sandwich

The southwest salad made an appearance this week! It’s as good as I remembered.

southwest salad

Yesterday I made myself a heaping veggie wrap. I packed it with cucumbers, red onion, banana peppers, pickles, Muenster cheese, spinach and arugula, tomatoes, mustard and mayo. This thing was massive, messy, and SO good!

veggie cheese wrap

 

There’s been a fair share of sweets being consumed lately. My go-to has been ice cream and frozen yogurt. Summertime just screams, “eat ice cream!”

 

frozen yogurt

 

There’s been no lack of good food consumed over here per usual. I haven’t been super creative in the kitchen, but find ways to make do. We’ve been going out to eat more often than before pregnancy too. I’m okay with this though since it’s at most once a week.

What are some of your favorite quick summer meals?

Continue Reading Diet Changes During Pregnancy

Pregnancy: 25 Weeks!

I am….

25 weeks pregnant!

25 weeks pregnant

Baby is about 13 inches long, measured crown to foot and 1.5- 1.75 lbs. Babes is starting to plump up now! Yay!

How am I feeling?

GREAT for the most part! My appetite is steady—baby lets me know when I need to eat. I eat often.

we're hungry

I’ve been having some Braxton hicks contractions. I realized I’m probably not drinking enough water so I increased my water intake and those have calmed down a lot. I have some leg cramping at night and some restless leg syndrome. These symptoms are all extra aggravated by not drinking enough fluids. The pregnancy brain thing…it’s real, and it’s happening. I just laugh about it because there is nothing I can do except make a million lists and notes so I don’t forget things!

if I had a dollar

All in all though, I am one lucky girl to be feeling so well.

Growing body.

You know, I always knew that when you’re pregnant, other body parts grew besides just the tummy region, but man….I didn’t realize just how much! My shorts are all pretty darn tight in the thigh region. My belly is getting bigger by the day and it doesn’t go unnoticed. Clients at work are asking me everyday when I’m due. It’s strange having people look at your face and then look down at your belly, but I know it’s something I need to get used to because it’s not going to change over the next few months. Simple tasks like pedicuring toenails and getting out of bed are starting to become more challenging. The solution to those: go to the salon for pedicures and gracefully roll out of bed. 🙂

What I love.

I love that my body is capable of creating a baby! The human body is incredibly amazing. I love feeling baby move and kick. I love talking to baby and singing to baby. I love knowing that baby is with me when I run errands, go to work, and relax on the couch. I love dreaming of November and holding baby. I love this baby boy so much already.

What’s keeping me busy.

The registry has been keeping me busy, but I think it’s done for the most part. Every once in a while I will add something else in that I think of, but I know I could be done with it right now and be absolutely a-okay.

Planning the nursery has been keeping me busy too. We have a crib and a changing table that were given to us from friends. We just bought a dresser, and I think we have decided on our glider. We started painting and I started some art projects for the walls!

nursery decor

We have been interviewing doulas and decided on our gal after our last meeting last night! This makes me so happy.

Cravings

No real cravings that I can think of, but I am loving all of the fresh fruit and veggies that summer has to offer.

blueberries

Fifteen weeks to go!

Happy Friday to you all! xoxo

Continue Reading Pregnancy: 25 Weeks!

My Pregnancy Must-Have Foods

Throughout pregnancy, my appetite has gone in waves of normal to crazy hungry, but most of the time I am pretty darn hungry.

My diet isn’t nearly as perfect as I’d like it to be…my latest craze is Mentos candies. I have a whole stash of them in my car. I’d like to eat more salmon and more salads. I’d like to say I’m not eating any processed sugar or any processed foods in general. I can’t say that though.

BUT, I am doing my best given the circumstances (food aversions, cravings, etc.) to nourish my body and baby with healthy foods, and that is still pretty good if you ask me.

Here are some of my must-have pregnancy foods I have been noshing on for the majority of the pregnancy.

Open face egg sandwich on gluten-free waffles. I learnt to make this dish at my Online Prenatal and Childbirth Classes where I also learn a lot more about childbirth and pregnancy. For this dish, I fry an egg (making sure the yolk is cooked through), and place it on a gluten-free waffle with pepper jack cheese and mustard. So, so good.

Greek yogurt sweetened with honey or maple syrup.

Baked potatoes.

Cereal.

Burgers, steak….okay, beef.

Pickles: as cliché as it is.

Raw cocoa bars or Larabars.

Peanut butter on anything: toast, apples, celery, dates, spoon.

My favorite chocolate peanut butter ugly smoothie that I have evvverrrryyy morning. It’s so good I’m still not sick of it! Plus it’s a great way for me to get 2-3 servings of fruits and veggies into my day.

Beans.

String cheese.

Berries. Cherries.

 

Panera Bread…specifically their broccoli and cheese soup or chicken wild rice with whole grain baguette. OMG.

Quinoa.

Although I’m not SUPER into vegetables, I am still getting at least two servings a day, usually three.

Not too shabby, right?

Pregnant or not, what are your food must-haves?

Continue Reading My Pregnancy Must-Have Foods

Pregnancy Update: 20 weeks!

Wait, what?!

20 weeks! I’m halfway there!

I thought you all might be interested in a bit of an update from pregnant lil’ me.

First up: 20 week bump pic

pregnancy 20 weeks

Compared to 16 weeks…

IMG_1220

Baby is now measuring about 10 ounces and 6.5 inches long about the length of a banana!

How am I feeling?

  • Very normal for the most part and really enjoying being pregnant!
  • I have days where I am insanely hungry (like yesterday) where no matter what I eat I still seem to be hungry, and then I have more normal days.  I always make sure to have snacks on hand; don’t want to embarrass myself by getting “hangry” in front of strangers.
  • Excited to start working on the nursery. I have some ideas as to how I want to decorate now! More on that later.
  • Yearning to start “nesting” and getting the house baby-fied.
  • Starting to look more pregnant and not just blubbery.
  • Anxious to start feeling movements.
  • Needing to get used to people noticing my bump now. I see them look at my face and then look at my belly. I don’t always feel like it’s that obvious but I guess it must be.
  • Super lovey dovey to this baby. I dream of what he looks like and what his personality will be like.

Discomforts 

I have to say I have been very lucky (knock on wood) with very minimal discomforts, but I few things I have been noticing lately…

  • Out of breath a whole lot easier, especially going up hills.
  • Stiff and achey body all over when I wake up in the morning. It loosens up as I get moving. I sleep with those bed pillows walmart that my mom gave me, all around me and in between my legs and I think that helps a bit.
  • Stretching and some round ligament pain. I actually welcome this! I love it because since I’m not feeling movement yet, it helps me to know baby is growing.
  • Calf cramps at night.

Again, NOT complaining!

Cravings?

No serious cravings except for I’m almost always up for a burger still. Lately, my sweet tooth has nearly taken over my savory tooth. I was hoping that this wouldn’t happen. I am still trying to control my sugar intake. It’s tough though. I’m trying to choose foods with natural sugar like dates with peanut butter or Greek yogurt with honey.

burger yogurt

Oh, and everytime I see a subway sandwich I drool a little. 😉

Aversions?

I can’t seem to get salmon down the hatch even when I make it my favorite way.

What I’m looking forward to in the coming weeks?

Feeling this boy move!

I am absolutely loving pregnancy. 🙂 Catch up with you again later gators!

Continue Reading Pregnancy Update: 20 weeks!
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