2nd Trimester Essentials

Now that I'm engulfed by my 3rd trimester I thought I would share some of the goodies that truly got me through the last several month. My 2nd trimester was fantastic. There really aren't many complaints. I felt so great until I was diagnosed with a hernia at 24 weeks. Besides the hernia I really had minimal problem or complaints. I was lucky to move into my 2nd trimester in mid summer so the discomfort of pregnancy and heat didn't bother me very much. I have also been lucky to be carrying small. I'm tall, 5'7 and I've got good hips so I have concealed this pregnancy very well. Many people still have a hard time believing I'm 7 months along (My primary doctor being one of them. He swore I was 7 weeks instead of 7 month this week) Not many people knew I was pregnant until I was about 24 weeks along.

Here are just a few of the goodies that got me through :

2nd trimester essential by kj2380 featuring so moccasins

HOT WATER BOTTLE- The old fashioned kind- After the hernia arrived I picked one of these up. I also use them when my back is acting up.
Heating pads are not recommended during pregnancy.

PILLOWS- I currently sleep with 6! I often steal my husband's when he gets up for work too. I opted to skip the body pillow and instead just adjust my many pillows as needed. Some nights I lay them under my tummy, other nights at my back or between my knees. I've noticed that in pregnancy nothing works for more than a few days at a time.

LEGGINGS- I have purchased a few from Motherhood and a pair from Target. The Motherhood are far more comfortable. I will probably go back for a few more pair. My maternity jeans seem to slide down all day long and yanking them up all day gets really annoying.

TUMS- Holy heartburn towards the end of my 2nd trimester. I've noticed if I eat anything with spice or anything after 8pm I wake up in the middle of the night with the burning my throat kind of heartburn. Some nights even waking up with verps...TMI??? Sorry!

WATER- I can't stay hydrated enough! I feel like I do better with straws too. My nurse told me that even though we think we drink enough we really don't.

BURT'S BEES' MAMA BEE- I have yet to get any stretch marks....Knock on wood. I hope it's because I use this stuff like it's my job!

SLIPPERS- I purchased a pair of Minnetonka's and they are for indoor and outdoor use. Yes they look like slippers BUT since my feet when from a girly size 8 to a beastly size 10 I barely care what people think of my feet. Just a suggestion; purchase a pair of heel or foot insoles for them or any shoes. They have really made a difference

BABY NAMES... HELP!!!!

Via

My usual bump date will be here soon. I'm so sick. I have had a raging fever for a few days. I went to the doctor yesterday and I'm infected with strep throat. YUCK! My fever has finally reduced down to 99.5. It's kinda hard to take cute bump pictures when your in your pj's! 

Brian and I have been having some trouble thinking of baby names. A few days after we found out we were having a baby I asked Brian to give me some names he might like for Baby G. With in a second we had a name for our baby boy, if baby is a boy, of course.

So if Baby G is a boy his name will be:

JACK JORDAN

Jack is the nickname of my grandpa. His given name was John but everyone knew him as Jack. Jordan is my maiden name and I have always thought to incorporate it into our baby's name. 

Girls names, on the other hand, has been a bit more difficult. I have the feeling that baby G is a girl as does Brian and most of our family. If our feeling is right we better get to thinking. Brian's choices were Brianna or Shannon. Both are pretty but not the way I'd like to go. We have decided if we have a baby girl her middle name will be Susan or Sue after my aunt who passed away last year. I know she would have been so honored! Our baby is due just 5 days short of my Aunt Susan's birthday. 

The difficult part for us is coming up with a first name.

So here are a few of my favorites:

- HARPER

- PEYTON

- NORA

- PAIGE

- MIA

- ELLA

- EMMERSON

So what do you think? 

I'm up for suggestions too!

Actually, we NEED suggestions

AND GO.....

Baby Shower- Part 2

Last week I shared some shots of our baby shower. Click HERE if you'd like to see the decor and games. It was such a great day. I feel so lucky that so many great people love us and Baby G so very much. So many people worked so hard to make this day perfect of us. We feel so very blessed in so many ways. 

Holding the diaper cake my sister in law made. 

The diaper cake is filled with health and wellness goodies for baby. 

My amazing little gift opener! 

My mother in law gave us a blanket she handmade along with a blanket (pictured above) from Baby Gargano's late, great grandma as well as Brian's baby blanket. 

So many goodies. 

Grandma's to be. 

Great Grandma to be. 

To top off a fantastic shower we had the most delicious desert bar. 

Sugar cookies made by my friend Jessica. 

Look how amazing they are! 

She just started doing this little side business. 

They not only looked good they tasted even better. 

My brother's fiancé picked up fresh cider donuts (my favorite) at a local farm. 

My sister in law knows I LOVE pumpkin spice lattes so she made the most delicious pumpkin, cappuccino cupcakes! 

The favor bags my future sister in law picked up for the shower. 

They were adorable and fit take home goodies. 

Mommy and Daddy!

Happies and Crappies

HAPPIES

- IT'S FRIDAYYYYYYY!!!!!

-I downloaded the new Maverick on my Mac and I'm loving how fast my computer is moving!

- I am still going through the lovely gift our baby was given at our shower last weekend. Bogart LOVES the baby's new carriage.

- We have been addicted to scary movies on AMC all week. We love this season for spooky movies. In just a few short weeks it will be Christmas movies!!!

- My little family of 3.5 makes me very happy. 

- This face. 

CRAPPIES

- Holy hormones! I am a mess lately. I cry at EVERYTHING! It's gotten really bad! 

- Hormones have been making me feel so guilty and sad for Bogart. I feel so bad that his life will change so much in a few short month. I want to spoil him so much and cuddle with him more than ever. 

- I'm working tomorrow. BOO! 

- I watched Blackfish on CNN last night. It was beyond heartbreaking. I have wanted to see it for a while. I am glad I did but also so sad at what I saw. 

Baby Shower-Part 1

Words can not express how incredibly blessed I feel after celebrating our baby shower last weekend. Everything was so wonderful. I couldn't have asked for anything more. My mom worked her behind off; planning for months, cooking up a storm and setting everything up.

My shower was not a surprise. I was so glad I was able to help and be a part of the planning. My parents and I spent the day before the shower cooking, decorating and spending some fun family time together.

We utilized our development's club house. It was the perfect location. It if just down the road from our house and it was a perfect blank canvas for decor. We went with a fall theme and decorated with some of our favorite fall decorations and threw in some pumpkins, gourds, and mums.

Our gift table before the gifts arrived. I created the "Thank You" banner from fall themed scrapbook paper, some white paint and ribbon. We decorated the table with pumpkins and some small indian corn. (On the corners of the table)

We used this table for our guest books. Each book had a fall theme. 

We also had a mason jar filled with candy corn and asked our company to guess how many were inside. I also made the "Baby" banner that hung above. 

We set up each table with beautiful Pelee Mums, gourds, and indian corn. 

Some of the decorations on the tables were taken right from momma's house! 

We hung leaf garland and indian corn garland from all of the windows. 

I'm so sad. I planted these beauties in my front yard and the deer ate every single petal! 

This is something I made and we hung it in the center of the room. 

I was afraid the entire shower would be a little to fall and not enough baby. 

We asked out guests to write little wishes for us and Baby G. 

I can't wait to make a little scrapbook with all the lovely notes. 

Our guests filled out our calendar with the day and sex of Baby G. 

I increased the size of the image so you can see lots of girls up there. 

We played Baby bingo and "Who knows Mommy and Daddy"

It's crazy but my best friend's little girl, 6 years old, WON!!! 

We had a a bunch of fall them gifts for all the winners. 

This amazing diaper cake from my sister in law. 

It looks a little messy because I couldn't wait to see all the goodies inside and I did not put it back correctly! It is filled with baby tylenol, gas relief, thermometer and lots of other goodies. 

Here is one of our favors. My mother in law creates pottery and she made an apple soap dish. 

My mom found these adorable Cute As a Button soap to add to the soap dish. 

Check back tomorrow for part 2 

BUMPDATE- Hello 3rd Trimester

Leggings- Motherhood
Dress- Old Navy (non maternity)
Belt- Kohls (Kinda hidden under the girls)
Boots- Old Navy

How Far Along: 28 weeks and 4 days.

Baby is the size of: Baby G is the size of an eggplant!

Total Weight Gain: Ugh, I'm up 20ish.

Sleep: Has been better this week. I've been back up in my bed rather than my couch like the last few weeks. I'm sure my husband disagrees considering he says every time I move I grunt and groan. Oh well for him I guess :)

Best Moment of the week:

* My baby shower. It was just perfect. I loved seeing all my favorite ladies. Baby G is definetly loved.

Worst Moment of the Week:
* I have been feeling very pregnant the last few weeks. Lots of soreness below my belly that works down to my legs. I feel like my insides may be falling out. It takes a long time for me to get up and move like I used too. As strange as it is it feels like I've been riding a horse or going to spin class. You know that annoying pain you get after doing both of those? I feel like that all the time now. Weird, right???

Miss Anything:

* The usual things but nothing crazy. 

Food Cravings: Anything sweet!!!

Anything make you queasy: Sometimes the pain makes me a little quesy

Have you started to show? Oh yes!

Gender: Surprise baby!!!

Symptoms: Swollen ankles/feet, hernia and other not so pleasant things, YUCK. :(

Workouts: I've been doing as little as possible considering how much I'm hurting. It's actually been really hard to do much. We did participate in a fundariasing walk a thon with Bogart and I did complete the 2 miles.

Mood: The hernia and lack of sleep have taken it's toll on me.

Looking forward to:
- Finishing up the nursery. Adding all the great goodies our baby got at the shower. 

- Doing our thank you cards. 

- Purchasing some items we still need. 

Maternity Clothes: A good mix of maternity pants. I've been wearing a lot of non maternity dresses over leggings.

Stretchmarks: Nothing yet. Thank goodness! I've been using Mama Bee by Burt's Bees religiously.

Rings on or off? Both are still on and I've been pretty lucky with swelling. It has only been an issue with my feet.

Bellybutton in or out? Still in.

This week I:
* Finish painting the baby's room, plus paint the trim, clean the carpets and put together the crib.

Baby Update:

* Baby is doing so great. The movement is constant and it is always such a pleasure.

Momma Update:

* Mommy is feeling pregnant and popping a little more each day! 

Bumpdate 27 Weeks

(No picture this week. I'm a mommy to be failure. Oh well.)

How Far Along: 27 weeks and 4 days

Baby is the size of: Baby G is the size of a head of cauliflower

Total Weight Gain: Ugh, I'm up 20ish.

Sleep: Has been just awful. 

Best Moment of the week:

* Spending a nice fall weekend with my mom and husband. 

Worst Moment of the Week: 
* I hate to be so negative. It was so difficult for me after a miscarriage and an ectopic to hear pregnant women complain about being pregnant. It has been such a difficult few days and I hate to complain but I just need to get things off my chest. A little support is always good too. I feel down right terrible. I have cried so much in the last few days. I feel completely defeated. I have had such a wonderful pregnancy up until recently. This hernia is the worst. It is directly next to my belly button and since I have been using just my left side to avoid pain on the right I have now pulled some muscles in my right side. In addition to some other pregnancy symptoms I'm sure you would rather I not discuss. Although I feel completely defeated every time this baby kicks or moves it puts a smile on my face and makes all the pain worth it. 

Miss Anything: 

* I miss bras that fit properly!

* Painting my toes and putting lotion on my lower legs. 

Food Cravings: Anything fall or sweet.

Anything make you queasy: For the first time in a long time I've been getting nauseous. I think it is from the pain I've been feeling.

Have you started to show? Oh yes! 

Gender: Surprise baby!!! 

Symptoms: Swollen ankles/feet, hernia and other not so pleasant things, YUCK. :(

Workouts: I've been doing as little as possible considering how much I'm hurting. It's actually been really hard to do much. I did walk about a mile yesterday and I think walking the 2 festivals this weekend would be considered working out?!?!

Mood: The hernia and lack of sleep have taken it's toll on me. I am a shell of the person I was a week or 2 ago. 

Looking forward to: 
-My baby shower coming up on Saturday. So excited to see all of my closest friends and family!
-I'm also looking forward to spending Friday setting it all up with my parents.

Maternity Clothes: A good mix of maternity pants and non maternity tops! 
Stretchmarks: Nothing yet. Thank goodness! I've been using Mama Bee by Burt's Bees religiously. 

Rings on or off? Both are still on and I've been pretty lucky with swelling. It has only been an issue with my feet.

Bellybutton in or out? Still in.

This week I: 
* Will try and like the color I picked out for our nursery. Brian started painting and I wish I liked it. Considering I picked it out. It should look gray but to me it has hints of blue and lavendar. Oh dear. 
  
*Will celebrate Baby G with all my favorite family and friends at our baby shower. 

Baby Update: 

* Baby is doing so great. The movement is constant and it is always such a pleasure.

Momma Update:

* Mommy  is trying to stay positive. 

* Mommy got through the 2 hour glucose test. Waiting on the results which should be in sometime this week. I really hope I pass.