Mamahood Styled



10/24/2012

26 weeks

Official Baby Bump!!! 26 weeks, 3 days!
How far along: 26 weeks, 5 days today but 26.3 in the picture
Weight gain: at 26.0 I was still at +14 pounds. Then I ate donuts all day and had lots of delicious treat meals over the weekend (my pregnancy compromise: eat clean all week, get a lil dirty on the weekends!), so I know for sure I am at least +15, by now.
Still no need for maternity clothes, although by how low he sits, I know I’ll need some soon- at least some pants.
Sleep: Wah, hardest time going to sleep and falling asleep. I am exhausted! Geoff constantly wakes me up throughout the night because I’ll be sleeping on my back; which is so strange because prior to being pregnant I could never sleep on my back! Sometimes, I still sleep on my tummy, which has always been my favorite, but lately, I have to bring up my knee to my chest so I’m not completely flat. I’ve asked and done my research and it’s perfectly safe, so I’m taking advantage of it while I can. They say it’s best to lay on your left side but my right is my preferred, lol. So longer story short, sleep is hard!
Best moment of the week: We had an appointment on Friday (at 26.0 weeks) and I also had my glucose screening test done. I lucked out with my midwife’s awesome planning because the first thing I did was take the glucose drink- which did not taste bad at all; just like fruit punch. Typically, one waits for blood work to be done in an hour. Well, she planned to see me for my regular appointment in between! We really wanted to see our baby but this was the second time in a row that she didn’t perform an ultrasound for us. She had told us that from late second trimester on, that’s how we would roll, but she has spoiled us! The baby is now measuring on time (right at 26 weeks-perfect!) and I had a couple of contractions in front of her, so it was good to see her not get alarmed. Hearing his heartbeat is always so reassuring, too! After the appointment, we got blood drawn and by Monday morning I received the results, which were all within normal ranges! Woot! When we were leaving, she scheduled ALL of our appointments from here on! That was crazy to see! So we see her again in a month, then after that it’s every two weeks, then every one week until delivery! Ahh!
The next day, Saturday, Geoff and I had our first childbirth class at the hospital (after I trained a client at the gym). It was such a long day 9am-7pm but it was worth it. We learned a lot of information that we hadn’t been really exposed to before. I am so interested in finding out what my choices are, which apparently, we have the right to choose everything, they just don’t advertise it (as long as all things go textbook stylee). So we have a lot to think about. It was fun taking a class with Geoff and he quickly learned that although I have been going to school all my life, I am a horrible, easily-distracted student.
On Sunday, I had a couple of clients first thing in the morning. Then we decided to go to the first Farmer’s Market of the weekend that was located at our wedding venue. It was nice to be out doing something we both love together and showing our baby bump where we got married! We went out to lunch afterwards and then ended up at the movies- a very rare treat for us! We ended up driving out to make our own peanut and almond butter and pick up some groceries and of course stopped for some froyo. When we got back into town, we passed by 8th Street and both smelled all the tacos, so picked up dinner along the way- even though I had sopes and a tostada, haha! It was SO nice to have a full day with my husband who can function on his own at this point. I can’t wait to only have one job!
Another best moment this week was on Monday. I woke up with my baby bump higher than ever and it has actually stayed like that! I officially look pregnant (hence, the picture)! So exciting!!
Miss anything: Not much this week!
Movement: Like crazy! I can’t seem to figure out what part of him is his head or his feet! I can’t wait to see him and figure out what position he is in! Our next appointment is November 15th and we’ll be able to see then. It’s insane to think that by then we will be 30 weeks!). We are going to risk it and get our 4D ultrasound that Saturday (the 17th) too, because we want to be able to share that experience with my mom. It’s hard being so far away and not be able to share the regular everyday stuff with her. So even though now is the prime time to go see our baby, I’m going to push the limits and hope that we get good results the weekend we are in town in L.A. I hope he cooperates! J
Food cravings: Nothing specific this week. I was super excited to have donuts last Friday, though!
Anything making you sick or queasy: Other than feeling exhauuusted, I’m feeling fine!
Gender: our baby boy who we can’t wait to see! I wonder all day and night what he is going to look like!
Labor signs: way too many contractions on Friday and Saturday. The most I had ever had! It was alarming! But not more than 6 in an hour and by Sunday I was a lot better! As long as he makes it to 37 weeks (full term) then we’ll be good!
Symptoms: no calf cramps this week! Yay! Just feeling super tired and having a belly stick out is crazy! Feels heavy!
Belly button in or out: It is thhhiiiissss close to becoming an outie! So weird!! Yesterday, when I got home, a little part of it was sticking out- so gross! Haha! The baby loves to be on the right side of my belly so it pushes out way more than the left. It was hilarious!
Wedding rings on or off: I <3 accessories! So still comfortably on, plus more!
Happy or moody most of the time: Oh, boy! I had been lucky enough not to notice any of these effects until recently. Pregnant girls DO get moody! Lol!
Looking forward to: November! I cannot wait! We have celebrations (our baby showers) and weddings every single weekend!! It’s all going to be ridiculously busy but so fun, I think! One more week of October!
The glucose fruit punch at Friday's appointment! Not bad at all!
Probably the culprit of the next picture...
G was shocked when I told him I actually caved in
and had donuts after Friday's appointment haha!
Geoff trying on the empathy/sympathy belly at our Childbirth class, hilarious!
My mom sent me my birth card this week. I can't believe she's kept it!
She said now we can compare Oliver to us! <3
Honey Munster laying on my baby bump!
Which looks huge at this angle! haha!
Our Tuesday night treat!

10/14/2012

25 Weeks


How far along? 25 weeks, 1 day
Weight gain: +14 lbs. My guesstimate was right on.
Sleep: I am so exhausted most days and crash when I finally decide to go to sleep. It's hard to fall asleep once I wake up to pee, too! And getting comfortable has been tough. Waking up is hard! I
Best moment this week: On Friday night, we were watching Oliver move (always around 11pm). All of a sudden my belly did a ripple and it was the oddest sensation! He went from the position he has always been (super low) to right below my belly button! We think he is in still in transverse position as we can see his movements on either end (maybe arms and legs). His preferred side is by my right hip to the point that I was sore on Friday! It's so odd feeling him higher than I have all these weeks/months!
Miss anything?: ;)
Movement: I had soo many contractions yesterday! It was crazy! But no other signs for preterm labor. I do have an appointment this Friday though so we'll check my status then.
Food cravings: Nothing stands out this week! I'm eating clean meals all week and allowing a couple of regular meals during the weekend! All in moderation! :)
Anything making you queasy or sick?: luckily, no.
Gender: Baby boy!
Labor Signs: nothing too major.
Symptoms: nothing different from last week.
Belly button in or out?: still innie bit who knows for how much longer!
Wedding rings on or off?: On!
Happy or Moody most of the time?: Happy with a couple moody days here and there!
Looking forward to: fall weather!! Warm clothes (but not colds, wind and cold temperature), just good fall weather! & November: such a buuusy month but I am thinking it will be super fun! And a cute baby bump!
grainy mirror picture

10/13/2012

Pumpkin [Chocolate Chip] Pancakes

This morning, I woke up bright and early and started on my chores and decided that we needed pancakes. I was going to attempt to come up with a recipe for more protein pancakes and then realized that I have  pure pumpkin puree- hooray! (ha!)! Pumpkin pancakes it is!

Not only is pumpkin delicious but the health benefits make me wonder why I forget about it all year long! The only other times I use it is if I'm ever making store bought cake mixes which is extremely rare...but I just substitute all the additioanl ingredients for a can (for chocolate cake)! It has thousands and thousands units of Vitamin A (which is good for your vision, immune system, babies in the womb -ahem-, & bone health); it has more potassium than a banana & a bunch of other minerals; fiber!!!; & it's an antioxidant!

Guys, these were AMAZING! Like a crispy pumpkin pie or cookie or scone or...pancake! haha! So delicious! Since I made it vegan, I was able to taste the batter and adjust measurements to my liking. In the end, I decided they needed more sweetness and added a little bit of mini chocolate chips which really made these pancakes, in my opinion. You can definitely omit the chocolate chips and add carob chips or none at all to make this fully vegan!

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Yummy pancake stacks; fluffy goodness; Honey Munster silently and awkwardly begging.

Ingredients

-1 1/14 whole wheat pastry flour [I'm sure regular whole wheat would be fine]
-2 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. salt
-2 tbsp. brown sugar
-1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
-1 cup Pumpkin Puree
-1 1/2 cups almond milk
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 tsp.-1 tbsp. of chai seeds
-1 tbsp. flax seed*
-3 tbsp. warm water*
*egg substitution

Optional:

1/4 cup mini chocolate chips or carob chips or none at all!

Directions

1. Start by mixing your egg substitution (warm water + flax seed) that way you can keep your recipe vegan and taste/adjust as you go. Set it aside. Heat up a griddle or pan and lightly spray it with EVOO.

2. Mix all your dry ingredients in a large bowl (whole wheat flour, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, & pumpkin spice).

3. Add your wet ingredients to the mix (pumpkin puree, almond milk, flax seed/water, & vanilla). Mix.

4. Taste! Here is where I thought it needed more oomph (as in sweetness). I wanted it to taste more pumpkin-y (yup, that's a word), so I added more puree (originally I had only added 3/4 of a cup). I don't like adding sugar so 2 tbsp. of brown sugar was enough. I considered honey and then remembered I had mini chocolate chips! My favorite! I added 1/4 cup of chocolate chips, gave it a quick stir and voila! Perfection!

5. To make the same size (or similar sized) pancakes, I use the same measuring cup or ice cream scooper to scoop & serve. Use whatever size you want- I think I use 1/4 of a cup. This gave me enough for 8 pancakes! Cook your batter on medium high heat and flip when you know they're ready (usually about 4 minutes or so or depending on how you like your pancakes). Cook the other side and serve immediately! So delish!

Enjoy! Can you believe how amazingly HEALTHY these are?!

:]

With my leftover pumpking puree, I'm thinking of a pumpkin smoothie later for a healthy dessert or if it lasts til morning, I'll add it, along with cinnamon & almond milk, to oatmeal for a sweet, low-calorie breakfast. Yum!

10/07/2012

Nursery Sneak Peek!

Our baby boy's nursery is all done! Well, at least until our baby shower! 
Here are some pictures with some details:


Colors: Grey & Teal (although some pictures look turquoise). We knew for sure we wanted grey and a brighter color as that is what we had planned for the room anyway, as our office. Geoff color matched the grey and we went the stripes that we had wanted anyway. They bled through and we had to go back with tiny paintbrushes to fix the leaks! Our Momma came to help! Thank, goodness! We randomly had turquoise spray paint in the garage and tried it out. We didn't like it and searched for a darker shade until we found the perfect shade of teal...that photographs like turquoise haha!
Crib: When we thought we were having a girl, I had imagined my wedding reincarnated in the nursery: vintage, lace, pomanders, whimsical & romantic. When we were sure we were having a boy, obviously my vision had to change. So I went with a modern, whimsical twist. I fell in love with a grey crib that was well over $700. One night, I randomly found a knock off at Wal-Mart for $200 (& it's a convertible bed- score!)
Dresser: We knew we didn't want a changing table as there is no point in them. Plus, the angle at which you are to lay the baby down didn't make sense to us. We found some cool corner ones but they seem like such a waste of money to us, so we went on a hunt for a dresser. We looked on Craigslist and yard sales for weeks but we refused to pay the same price as a used one on a piece that we were going to refurbish anyway. On my birthday, Geoff went to the last place we hadn't checked and voila! All wooden, 6 drawer dresser with vintage pull handles that we kept intact! $85 score!
Owls: We randomly found these cute little bright owls at Wal-Mart one day on our way out for $1! We used them as a pennant for the crib just to see what they would look like and fell in love. It gave the room the pop of colors we wanted and it was the exact colors we were thinking! We went out for froyo one night with Momma and decided to go to Ross since it was a weekday and about to close. We knew we needed a new curtain rod and Geoff randomly found these cute 'hear no evil, see no evil...' owls! LOVE! 
Name: We knew we wanted to display his full name and when we thought it was a girl, I was obsessed with the wooden monogram in a cursive. I thought about doing it with a less girly font but then remembered these yarn letters I had seen on Pinterest. But that's a lot of letters to buy and it would get super pricey. So I decided to make them: printed out a classic font, used the cardboard from the stroller we bought, and one pound of yarn. I didn't even use half of it and the total cost was about $3!
Mobile: I really wanted clouds! I had seen some super cute ones on Pinterest and ages ago had pinned making real looking clouds with lights in them! I didn't use a tutorial or anything, just opened up a pillow and went to work. At first, I didn't like it and Geoff thought it looked weird. We even went looking for an embroidery loop to hang them from. We couldn't find a regular wooden one so came home and just decided to hang them as is, just to see. We both fell in love! So different and unique! Cost: Free!
Book racks: We went to Ikea and bought 6 spice racks for $3.99 each! Geoff spray painted them when we got home and they look awesome! 
Frames: We also found these awesome off-white frames at Ikea and decided to use scrapbook pages we bought at Michael's in the same colors as the owl pennant! 
Curtains & bed skirt: I used grey chevron fabric that I bought online for $40 to make them! I still have enough fabric left for any other little project that may need it. We also bought some black out grey curtains to double up- they have worked great since the sun sets on that window and it gets super hot!
Clothesline: I used black raffia and tiny clothespins from our wedding to showcase our favorite little outfits. 
Cars: Geoff used an unused shadow box to display his favorite Hot Wheels he'll be giving to Oliver. :)
Nightstand: We used an old basic wooden nightstand that we already had- just painted it grey! I made a pennant using scraps of leftover fabric I had. Another free set of items!
Diaper Bag: Love that it's a regular purse/tote that I bought this summer! Perfect size for a diaper bag without screaming baby & I bought a divider for the inside on eBay for 99 cents!
Glider with stool: a $35 find on Craigslist! Woot! I reupholstered it for $20 and still have tons of fabric leftover for more projects!
Pomanders: I still had to make some! A couple of bucks of tissue paper add the added corner oomph since the lace/doily round lamp I had envisioned wasn't going to happen.

Overall, just like our wedding, we proved to ourselves that we don't have to spend tons of money to have something that looks amazing and like if we spent tons of money on it. 
We are completely in love with our nursery and hope Oliver loves it just as much! 
<3

24 weeks


24 weeks, 3 days


How far along? 24 weeks, 3 days
Weight gain: Not sure but I feel soo heavy! Heaviest I've eeever been in my entire existance! If I wasn't working out I'd be huge, I'm sure! I really need to not giving in to eeevery single one of my cravings! My boobs are ginormous. I don't like it one bit. But I'm going guess around +13-15 lbs.? I saw one of my Personal Training clients today that I hadn't seen in awhile. She was shocked I am as far along as I am and said how weird it is because I'm gaining weight allll over, especially my boobs and thighs but not my belly and usually that happens when you're having a girl, not boy. At the end of our session she said "Bye, my Gordita!" As in my Chubster. Really?! :/ Great way to mess with a girl's self-esteem, not to mention a preggo!
Sleep: Not much sleep. I woke up yesterday with a cramp! Suckage! & I wake up so often to pee and sometimes I can't fall back asleep. & sleeping in just doesn't happen.
Best moment this week: Spending some real quality time with my husband! We never get to and we are making very real efforts to just have us time. It's been really nice. We also finished the nursery this weekend! We feel so accomplished! We are going to wait until after our baby shower to add the rest of the details. We have had to refrain from buying him outfits and cute things until after his shower as well. Bow ties, suspenders, skinny jeans, cardigans with elbow patches, mocassins, little Geoff shirts- oh my! It's going to so fun dressing him- I may wait until explosive diapers era is over though! haha!
I also read him his first book,"If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." I am saving "I'll Love You Forever" until his first night home. :)
Miss anything?: Of course.
Movement: Contractions have continued but not more than 3 in an hour. He seems to be always moving. The other day/night though, he gave me a silent scare because I hardly felt him ALL day. It was soo odd. Late, late that night he started his usual kicking and moving and I was able to breathe again! My mom and sister were able to feel him last Sunday night, which was great. My Squirrel who we met in SD all the way from Texas got to feel some pretty big kicks as well! 
Food cravings: I had my all organic, grass fed beef burger last weekend and it was delicious! So glad! I also realized that I am aaalways craving sweets, especially if they have chocolate. I've ALWAYS craved them but I have had the self-restraint to say no and now I almost always say yes. I need to stop because I feel SO heavy today! My body feels like I weight 200 pounds! No more eating out for this fat girl! 
Anything making you queasy or sick?: Not today!
Gender: Baby boy! 
Labor signs: Yes, but under control! I have been making an effort to remove stressors from mi vida loca. Both in my professional and personal life. Simply not worth it when I have such a precious little life in me. :)

Symptoms: People are shocked that I'm 6 months along but I read that he is supposed to double in size in the next few weeks which I'm thinking means so will be belly. I hope my boobs stop growing though. I also find that my energy isn't as high once I get home. So my daily workouts have become 3-5 a week. I wasn't able to run two days in a row because he is sitting soo low, it's uncomfortable. Yesterday, I did run a 5K without stopping once which felt like a great feat. My time was crazy bad but I am still happy I was able to accomplish it without pushing too hard at 6 months pregnant! 
Belly button in or out?: My innie is visible at the surface! Not out yet but getting there! Crazy!
Wedding rings on or off?: On! 
Happy or Moody most of the time?: I feel like I'm in such a good place! Happy! 
I am already seeing how everyone has their opinions on what you should/should not be doing while pregnant (nutrition, fitness, etc.) or how life will be once he's here ("...take advantage of now, because later...just wait 'til..." At first, it was really annoying, then I realized some things and now iit just rolls off my back. Mainly because I realized that a lot of these things are facts, so the comments being shared are well-known facts and it's nobody's fault I've already heard/read them 5 times that day. 
I also realized that we all choose how we lead our lives, up to a certain extent. Some people choose not to have babies (I was one); some choose to have 4-5; and there's everyone in-between and beyond. 
If you are choosing your life, why complain? Also, don't make your life the 'right' life. Just be happy for me. & if you're not, don't say anything at all. Comments about what my life will be like with my child don't make much sense because none of us know what that will be like. :) It may be like yours, it may not be. Comments about how happy and glad you are that you're not having kids yet, don't sound supportive at this point. If you're a good friend, your life is about to change too, because this baby will be part of your life, too. ;) 
When you're pregnant, and going through so many changes physically and mentally, it is SO appreciated when people are simply nice. I'm all about keeping it real, for sure. Queen of it. But keep it real by being a real friend. & when I'm tearing out my hair and crying incessantly because my baby won't stop having explosive diapers/crying/won't sleep/etc., and I call you at 3am, THEN give me all the advice in the world, please. :) I will welcome it with open arms, promise!
Looking forward to: A growing baby bump; a healthy baby boy. Next appointment is in two weeks so hoping I get to see him again! November will be a fun month, too. Friday, we registered at the hospital and registered for three classes. We have three parent classes scheduled and it'll also be baby shower time! Thanksgiving, too! Looking forward to a month of celebrations. In November, every.single.weekend is booked with an event, wedding, etc. It's going to be SO busy but SO fun! I also want to show off the nursery!
*Pictures at 23weeks, 2 days*
Lunch meet-up in SD with my Texan Squirrel & Roomie! <3


How to top off the perfect lunch meet up? A donut, of course!



SD meet-up with my Mom, Dad and sister- who is also expecting! Geoff's first roadtrip!


Breakfast at The Naked Cafe- coconut french toast & artichoke/pesto quesadilla;
beach sun; & ridiculous amounts of froyo!
Satisfying a burger craving at The Burger Lounge and a sweet tooth!


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