How far along are you?

[NOTE: At the time that this was written, I was 23 weeks.] I’m due in the beginning of June -- June 9th to be exact -- but I don’t trust that date so I’m just planning for the first two weeks of June! I’m really excited to have a summer baby! It couldn’t have worked out better. The weather will be mild, hopefully not too hot as our house doesn’t have air conditioning! Hello, house built in the 1890s! I love our old home, it’s super charming, but it does have its challenges and limitations! 

My parents live in Florida and my mom wants to come for the birth, which I think will be hard to plan for but I’m hoping that we’re able to time it right! I encouraged my mom to plan a trip after the due date so that she has a chance at actually seeing the baby.

Did you plan everything or did you guys just try and it worked? If yes, what did you do?

We weren’t officially trying to get pregnant at the time! I had stopped taking birth control the last month we were in Thailand because I heard it’s good to “detox your body”. I heard that it can be hard to get pregnant after being on birth control. I’m not sure if that’s true or not, but we got pregnant pretty much immediately when we got back to the States in September!  

I had suspicions that I was pregnant while we were in Germany last October. My period was supposed to come a week before we left, and I thought that it was just late so I was ready to get it while we were in Germany. We were in Germany for 10 days and it didn’t come. I was also super tired, I was a zombie everyday. I thought I was just tired from traveling, we did just get back from moving back from Thailand and we were already on another international trip, but looking back it was definitely just because I was in my first trimester! There was one morning where I felt super nauseous and threw up. That, in combination with my late period, I just had that suspicion that I was pregnant!  When we got back from Germany, I went to Walgreens and got a pregnancy test. As soon as I got home, I took it and it was positive!

Did you guys find out together or was it a surprise for your hubby?

John didn’t believe I was pregnant and was in denial of all the symptoms I was having . I think he was feeling a little nervous because we didn’t quite plan for it -- we were planning to start trying in January 2020. I took the pregnancy test by myself and then told him! I could have done a bigger reveal but I was just so excited that I wanted to share the news!

Will your gender reveal involve adopting a rooster?

Haha, probably not, but I do want a rooster!

Do you know yet if it’s a boy or girl?

We’re having a boy! I thought FOR SURE we were going to have a girl, but we’re having a boy! I’m so excited, it’s going to be fun. John wanted a boy, but I didn’t really care either way. If we were having a little girl, I would treat her no different! She’s still going to grow up working on the farm, getting her hands dirty, and doing chores! Who knows, maybe our next one will be a girl...hehe.

PS. Here’s a picture of me when I was 6. I’m so curious what our son will look like! I need to get a picture of John to throw up here too for a comparison ❤

I really love gender neutral colors: beige, grey, white, olive, dark oranges, yellows, etc. For example, we painted the nursery grey and I’m going to accent with beige, plants, and black and white wallpaper. Here’s some of my nursery inspo!

Is it as bad as you thought it would be? Isn’t it funny how people try to scare you before you get pregnant?

I remember whenever I’d say, “I can’t wait to be pregnant one day”, someone would always retort with something weird and negative: “You will know TRUE MEANING in your life when you have kids.” “Hope you’ve had your fun because everything is going to change” “Say goodbye to your body”“Get prepared for stretch marks” “You’ll never sleep again” Or the worst one: “Say goodbye to having a life.”

Say what?!I’ve been trying to tell all the ladies in my life to not be scared to be pregnant! It’s all about mindset. Yes, your body is changing and life is going to look different. But is that bad? I’m starting to have back aches and I totally have cravings. My fingers, hands, and feet are starting to swell. My mindset? It’s all part of the adventure. I feel so incredibly blessed to have been able to get pregnant and it’s not something I take for granted! I think it’s a beautiful thing to see your body change.

I make it a point to look in the mirror as much as I can. I see my body grow and change, and if I hear any negative self-talk, I tell myself to shut it off. As someone who suffered with an eating disorder and body dysmorphia for 15 years, the thought of gaining weight while pregnant always terrified me. Part of my recovery was literally rewiring my brain to not speak to myself a certain way. For example, I’m banishing the word “fat” from my vocabulary. If I notice that I gained weight in a certain area, I usually have a dialogue that looks like this: “Oh, look, looks like I gained a little in this area. That’s okay! Nothing is permanent. This is just part of the journey and after the baby is born I can focus on working on those areas. Right now, this is what I look like and thank you body for being able to accommodate these changes.” Yeah, yeah. It’s a little cheesy. It works for me!

I’m really enjoying being pregnant. Everyone has their own unique experience and I’ve been happy to share mine with you!

How are your energy levels?

The first 3 months, I was a total zombie! I was tired from the moment I woke up, hungry for nothing but junk food, and I got nauseous in the car even if I was driving it! I felt anxious and it was hard to socialize with people. However, after those 3 months in my 2nd trimester, I came back to LIFE! I have energy, ambition, and a new zest for life! I’ve been loving getting my house in order and organized for our new baby. I’ve been prioritizing working out and eating whole foods as a means of having a healthy pregnancy. I noticed that the more I work out, the more energy I have. I’ve been going to Zumba, Barre, and Spin. My goal is to just keep moving my body! I heard that working out helps with delivery and recovery, and of course, with excessive weight gain!

How do you feel about giving birth?

I’m looking forward to it! I was nervous at first but I shifted my mindset to think about how it will be such a unique and different experience! I know this isn’t the same thing at all, but the most awful hospital experience I’ve ever had in my life was getting rabies shots after I got bit by a monkey in Thailand. The monkey bit me in the stomach, so I needed 3 immune globulin shots in the stomach, 1 shot on my butt, and the first round of rabies vaccine in the arm. After that, I needed to go back to the hospital 4 more times to finish the rabies vaccine. That experience was so traumatizing I feel like I can handle anything!I love the idea that no matter how delivery goes, I get to leave with a baby, and that makes everything worth it!

How do you think your pets will be with the baby?

I’m not too worried about it! We’re not planning on leaving the dogs alone with the baby or vice versa. Introductions will be gradual, but otherwise I’m sure they’ll just sniff the baby and go back to doing what they’re doing. I think once our kid starts eating solids and starts to drop food on the floor they will probably all become best friends.

Do you have any names picked out?

Boy names are tough! We’ve gone through a few rounds of names and have a final few but that will be kept top secret until he arrives!