2015 : Wow, What a Year! + New Years Resolution : Diary Post

Wow, this year has been full of so much stuff!

Christmas Morning!

Let's see, I had my internship in the spring, when Justin and I began looking at buying a house, which just let me tell you, is very stressful. Justin proposed in March. We got our house at the beginning of May officially, after a month of moving the closing date, which was stressful again. I graduated with my Bachelor's degree in May, then we moved into our new house Memorial Day weekend. At the end of June we got married. It was just as we planned it. Then at the end of August/early September Justin and I decided, hey, let's start trying for a baby. We got pregnant that first month and everything has been crazy since then. I'll be 15 weeks, 6 days on New Years Eve. I can't believe how quickly this year has gone by!

This last year Justin and I were really good at the whole New Years resolution thing and going to the gym. We stuck with it up until about April/May when we started working on our new home (it was a foreclosure and we had some little thing to fix/clean/paint pretty much everyday for over a month before we moved in). We were over there probably 3/5 weeknights and every weekend, so going to the gym was not very high on our priority list at that time. Even still, sticking to the resolution for 4-5 months was quite the accomplishment and honestly much better than I thought we would have done. Lol.

So, with all that said, I need to get back to the gym. For me, and for our tiny baby. And now's the time to start again. I know we can do it, because we did do it for several months this last year. And now we have the even better motivation of a little person who is going to depend on us for many many years to come. Being healthy should start to mean something even more to us now.

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I just kind of want to vent a little bit so feel free to skip this section if you don't want to hear it.

I have never struggled with my weight. Only in the past year or so have I even really started to gain weight or look any different than my high school self.

At the beginning of the year I was 115 lbs (where I had been since I graduated high school in 2010), I weighed 117 the day I moved in with Justin (May) and 121 the day we got married (June). The day I found out I was pregnant (Oct) I was 127. So what the heck happened this year? Did my metabolism just decide to give out on me all of a sudden? Has it been stressful? Am I eating more? Am I eating less healthy? Am I moving around/ working out less? I think all of those answers are yes.

I work at a job where I sit in the office at a computer screen for 9+ hours a day, where before I was climbing uphill on my college campus, not to mention up and down four flights of stairs in one particular building, several times a day. If I keep this up, who knows how big I'll be before baby arrives! This is motivation for me to get my ass back to the gym, even if it's just to walk for half an hour on the treadmill a few days a week. This needs to happen: both for me and my self-confidence and for the health of our tiny baby.

In the end, it's my decision to make. I want to be fit. I want to be healthy. I want to be able to feel confident in my own body once baby comes too, and staying active during this pregnancy is my best shot at that! I hope and pray that I will have the motivation to stick to this.

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And so, with all that's taken place this last year, I can't even begin to imagine what is going to come in the next year. First of all, we're going to be parents! That's the biggest, craziest thing to look forward to and I can't wait. :) 

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina

15 Weeks Maternity OOTD + FOTD : Blue Plaid High Wasted Skirt

I woke up this morning browsing Pinterest and my old OOTD videos on YouTube for some maternity outfit inspiration when I remembered this skirt that I hadn't worn in a long time. I said to myself, "it used to be a tad bit big on me, perhaps it will still fit".

Well, it fits, but this is the last time I'll be able to wear it til after Calvin arrives. Haha. It's a bit tight, but it worked today!

It gives a cute emphasis to my bump which I like, plus the plaid pattern is so great for autumn and winter. The nice blue and white stripes make it even more winter appropriate, if you ask me. 

Yuna, our 8 month old kitty, loves to sit on the new rug we got, so she had to be in the shots today. 

Outfit of the Day

Skirt - J Crew (Goodwill) 

Shirt - Old Navy

Leggings - Gordmans 

Socks - Hot Topic

Boots - Payless

Earrings - Body Central

Watch - Jawbone Up Fitness Band

Face of the Day 

I'm wearing this makeup in my latest favorites video!

Face:

ELF BB Cream Fair for a base

Flower Beauty BB Cream - BB2 mixed with

Loreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation - 101 Classic Ivory mixed with

Pacifica Alight Multi Mineral BB Cream for the foundation

Physicians Formula Multi Colored Pressed Powder - Creamy Natural to set entire face

Milani Felt Tip Brow Pen Dark Brown to fill in beauty marks

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Model Co Blush Cheek Powder - Cosmopolitan 01

ELF Baked Blush - Pinktastic for highlight 

Brows:

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Dark Brown

Maybelline Clear Gel Mascara

Eyes:

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Vintage Plum 

Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette - Enchanted Forest 

Kat Von D Autograph Pencil Eyeliner - Puro Amor

MUA Luxe Precision Felt Eyeliner - Black

Wet n Wild Megalength Mascara on lower lashes

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara on upper lashes

Lips:

NYX Auto Lip Liner - Natural

MUA Matte Lipstick - Totally Nude

Thanks so much for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Week 15 - 2nd Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 15 - Dec. 18-24

Watch my video vlog update for this week here!

Bump:
This week technically started on Friday, but Thursday night onward, the bump was here to stay! Sucking it in does pretty much nothing these days and I have finally decided to just go with it and embrace it. You might have seen that last week I put up a post kinda complaining about not knowing how to dress the bump (I actually wrote it about 2-3 weeks ago but finally posted it), but I think I'm getting used to it now. I really do feel like it finally just popped out of nowhere. I don't feel so much fat anymore, but I realize this is the baby starting to peak through, so we're gonna go with it. I even put up my very first maternity ootd post too!

Maternity Clothes:
I was actually contacted by a lovely lady at www.PinkBlushMaternity.com who offered to send me three clothing pieces, which, let me tell you, I was very very excited about. I don't have many super cute items, I just have basics for now. Right after I browsed the site for about an hour trying to pick out three pieces (which was super hard to decide on because there was sooo much cute stuff!), I also placed my own order because they were having 50% off already clearance stuff! If you know me, you know I just can't pass up clearance clothes! So I got myself some other stuff too, that I paid for myself. You'll probably see a blog post and video up soon enough featuring this line (or I might wait til my bump is a little bigger). I'm really excited to try them out though! The stuff is somewhat pricey according to cheapo me, but their clearance is great and it seems they have deals pretty often so the prices aren't bad when you consider that. We'll just have to wait and see what the quality is like before I make my final judgement though. I'll have eight items when it's all said and done so hopefully that will be a good sampling of their stuff. 

Emotions:
I think I'm back to normal after a few weeks of being a fool. I know I'd been bad at controlling my emotions for a little while there, but my sweet Justin is still just as great, supportive, and understanding as always! :)  

Sleep:
Let's just say I know what one of my Christmas presents is and I can't wait to open it! (psst. it's a Snoogle pregnancy pillow). I woke up at 3:30 am Saturday morning! Saturday! That was stupid. 

Energy:
Still just as tired as usual... what the heck? :(

Exercise:
Since this is the week of Christmas, I honestly don't see myself going to the gym very often. So, in order to combat the desire to not exercise, I am shooting for some at home workouts. I am very picky when it comes to workout videos though, so it might take awhile to find a lady I enjoy watching, but that's the goal anyway!
Monday after work I did this workout video. I felt like a puny weakling, I had to take a couple breaks haha. Don't make fun of me.

Physical Symptoms:
OMG blew my nose Monday and had the worst round ligament pain ever! It went away very quickly, but dude, that sucked.
Heartburn and indigestion have attacked this week. Stupid.

Also, cramping is back. I hadn't really felt much for awhile but in the middle of the night one day this week it kept me up.

Movement?:
I wish! Still no feelings... I'm trying to though! :) I have been reading through others' blog posts and it's like everyone can feel something in week 15, I'm so jealous! 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Our Gender Reveal party was great! Even though I didn't get to be surprised with everyone else, it was still a lot of fun and I was glad to see so many people happy for a baby boy. Also, not gonna lie, telling the internet baby's sex was very very exciting! I am going to go make a boy specific Pinterest board right now! Haha.

Nursery:
We haven't gathered anything new this week, but Christmas is coming and I'm sure Calvin will get something this year. :) I already know a couple things my mom has been working on for him (even before she knew he was a boy, she just had a feeling too!)

Baby's Sex:
Baby is a boy! If you watched my updates last week, you know that by now. And his name is Calvin Lee. :) You can also hear how we picked that name in my videos from last weekend.
Name Reveal Video
Gender Reveal Video
I thought he was a boy throughout the entire pregnancy (except for one week toward the beginning when I was kind of like, holy cow, what if it's a girl?!) so I really do wonder whether or not I just guessed and got lucky or if there really is something to the motherly instinct/intuition thing. I guess we'll have to wait and see with our next babies! :)

What I Miss:
I thought I wasn't prepared to learn baby's sex. I thought I'd miss the innocence of not knowing, but it actually didn't come as that much of a surprise to find out baby was a boy. I just couldn't imagine baby as a girl. So no, I don't miss the "not knowing stage," I honestly don't feel any different knowing.

Reality: 
Calling our baby by his name really does make it all so much more real. And this bump that's finally popped out of nowhere helps too. It's all coming together and I know 6 months might sound like a long time, but judging by how fast the first trimester flew by, I think we'll be meeting our precious Calvin in no time! :) I can't wait to start referring to him as Calvin in my vlogs, etc.
Holy cow, I started reading up on what's going on with little Calvin inside my tummy this week and OMG it's crazy. Apparently he's the size of a stinking orange! An orange! He can see light, like if you shine a flashlight on your tummy, he'll see it. He's growing eyelashes! Eyelashes! Wow! All that stuff is just crazy. If he's this big already, why can't I feel him yet?!

Thanks again everyone for reading! I am seriously so happy that you're on this journey with me! I love your support and kind words here and on my YouTube channel! I'm so happy there are already people out there excited to meet little Calvin!

Love,

Alaina and little Calvin

Makeup of the Day - Christmas Day 2015 - Sleek Enchanted Forest Eyeshadow Palette

Here's my Christmas day makeup!

Enjoy & Merry Christmas everyone!

Products Used:

Eyes:

Maybelline Color Tattoo - Audacious Asphalt

Benefit Hoola Bronzer in the crease

Sleek i-Divine Eyeshadow Palette - Enchanted Forest 

Kat Von D Autograph Pencil Eyeliner - Puro Amor

Collection Extreme 24 Hour Felt Tip Liner - Purple on upper lash line 

Wet n Wild Megalength Mascara on lower lashes

Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara on upper lashes

Face:

ELF BB Cream Fair for a base

Flower Beauty BB Cream - BB2 mixed with

Loreal Infallible Pro Matte Foundation - 101 Classic Ivory for the foundation

Wet n Wild Color Icon Contouring Palette - Dulce de Leche highligh shade to set undereyes

Physicians Formula Multi Colored Pressed Powder - Creamy Natural to set entire face

Milani Felt Tip Brow Pen Dark Brown to fill in beauty marks

Benefit Hoola Bronzer

Flower Beauty Cream Blush - Forget Me Not

Benefit Dandelion Blush

MUA Undress Your Skin Shimmer Hightlighter - Pink Shimmer

Brows:

Anastasia Dipbrow Pomade - Dark Brown

Maybelline Clear Gel Mascara

Lips:

ColourPop Tootsi Lippie Pencil

Flwoer Beauty Morning Glory Kiss Stick

...and a little bonus bump pic... It's seriously growing so fast! (15 weeks here)

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina

Maternity Style - How Do I Style A Small Bump? - Is She Fat or Pregnant?

I just felt like rambling today so I hope you're on board here... today we're discussing the struggles of clothing options so far in pregnancy.

I am finding it so hard to dress myself right now at this stage. I am 13 weeks pregnant and my bump is growing every week. I'm pretty sure I only look pregnant to myself and the outside world just thinks I'm gaining weight. So what do I do?

Between weeks 7-9 I was involved in a big ole purge of pants. Haha. It felt like every single time I wore a pair of pants, I had to throw them into my closet in the "nope, this doesn't work anymore" bag by the end of the day. They were still fitting, they buttoned and zipped fine, but they were just so uncomfortable to sit in all day that I couldn't take it anymore. I wear jeans and dress pants to work, but on the weekend I would just wear leggings because they were too comfortable to pass up. And it took a lot for me to finally find some new pants that I liked and that were actually affordable (I am sooo not one for spending a lot of money on clothes, clearance makes me unbelievably happy lol).

I've been all over the internet, all over Pinterest, looking for inspiration, for help! I just want to know what is the norm? Should I just embrace this little bump and say "screw everybody who just thinks I'm fat" or should I keep trying to hide it? What do the fashion gods have to say about this dilemma?

When I wear baggy clothes to hide the bump, I just feel frumpy and unstyled. I just don't feel happy. I want to be able to show off my bump, but it's just in this awkward little stage right now. I know I'm going to regret saying this in the future, but, come on real baby bump, just get here already!

Even the "Second trimester" posts are not helpful because they are always featuring ladies closer to the end of their second trimester, which I think is unfair. There has to be somebody out there who is posting one outfit per week for her whole pregnancy, right? At least one outfit per week just for inspiration?! Now that I say that, what an an excellent idea... Maybe I should try that out!

So let me just tell you all of the maternity stuff I have collected so far, so you can get an idea of what I'm working with. Pants were the item that I needed as quick as possible, so I have more of those than tops.
dark gray leggings - Old Navy
lighter gray leggings - eBay
black capri leggings - eBay
full panel dark jeans - Old Navy (a little big at this stage)
side panel dark jeans - Target (a little big at this stage)
light wash elastic waste-band jeans - Walmart
medium wash elastic waste-band jeans - Walmart
black dress - Target (a little big and unflattering at this stage)
light blue sweater dress - Target
pink sweater - Target
black tee - Target
light green tee - Old Navy
white tee - Old Navy

I also got some tank tops, not all of them are maternity, but I got bigger sizes and looked for particularly long ones with nice stretchy, un-confining bottom hems that I think/hope will work throughout the pregnancy. I had been needing new basic tanks anyway, so perhaps I used baby as an excuse to get some haha. These are the colors I have collected thus far: purple (eBay), hot pink (Old Navy), black (Target), light blue (Target), orange (Gordmans), coral (Gordmans), and white (Target). I think the goal (if there is a technique involved here) with this has been to gather basic neutrals (jeans, black/gray leggings) and get color involved with the tops.

So the method of dressing myself (on the weekends when I can wear whatever and have to save good pants that still fit for the work week) so far has been...

leggings + long tank + cardigan/sweater/button-down, etc. 

I want to film a maternity haul but that would require me to do all of my laundry in one day to gather the items to show you and I just don't feel up to that just yet. Ha. Hopefully this weekend? We'll see. Then I definitely want to hop on the weekly outfit inspiration for everyone out there struggling with embracing the tiny baby bump! Don't worry ladies, one day we'll all have big giant bumps and we'll miss these tiny bump days! Haha.

So anyway, I just had to rant/ramble a little bit. If you know any bloggers out there who have great in-between baby bump outfit ideas, please tell me about them! I'll love you forever!

Thanks so much for reading. I hope there's somebody out there who understands my struggle this week. Haha.

Love,
Alaina and Tiny Baby

It's A... : Our Baby Gender Reveal Party

If you don't yet know what we're having and don't want it to be ruined by scrolling further, watch this video first.

And if you want to know baby's name, watch this one...

I just wanted to share some of the little decorations and stuff that we included at our party, just in case you're looking for inspiration or are curious. I planned to vlog the gathering, but totally screwed up and forgot all about it. :( 

wreath on front door

some banners

some banners (don't worry, we hung these up and didn't just leave them on the closet doors, lol)

the voting station

the finished voting card to be displayed in the nursery

all the goods

the cake

Justin thought the "nuts" and "no nuts" thing was super cute.

IT'S A BOY!

 Thanks so much for reading! I hope these pictures are helpful, inspirational, or at least entertaining! We love you guys and are so glad you're on this journey with us!

Love,

Alaina, Baby Boy, & Justin (daddy!)

14 Weeks Pregnant Maternity OOTD 2nd Trimester Fall/Winter

I am finding it harder and harder to dress my little baby bump. I'm unsure whether I should still be trying to hide it or if it's okay to just show it off! So I thought I'd help the other ladies out there with little bumps by posting some of my outfits. Hopefully I can keep up on this little series on the blog and maybe even expand onto my YouTube vlog channel. So here we go with the first installment. I'm 14 weeks, 1 day here and this is my first pregnancy. 

Today is also our gender reveal party! And I'm super excited for all of our close family to know the sex of our baby! I can't wait to see who guessed correctly! :)

Outfit Details:

Cardigan - Target (a couple years old, but I think they still have similar ones now)

Striped Shirt - Old Navy (just picked it up this year)

Black Maxi Skirt - Target (maybe 1-2 years old, but it's pretty basic)

Belt - Ebay (I've picked up a handful of little belts for just a couple bucks on Ebay lately)

I'm not wearing any shoes here, but I just put on some little black booties since it's a chilly day out today where I am in St. Louis MO.

I really hope this was helpful and perhaps it inspires somebody else out there who is struggling with this fat or pregnant phase!

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina and Tiny Baby!

Week 14 - 2nd Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 14 - Dec. 11-17

After looking back at my weekly pictures, I can officially say this is the week that I popped!

Welcome to the second trimester, where everything is supposed to be magical and delightfully grand! :) This week Justin got the Harmony test results and in next week's post, I'll tell you all about the gender reveal party!!!

Bump:

Sooo... what the heck? The bump pic we took at 13 weeks, 1 day definitely looks smaller than the 12 weeks, 1 day pic... Also, I'm tired of this squishy bloaty belly, I just want a real baby bump already! Haha. I thought for sure it would be here by now! But Wednesday night and Thursday I looked down at my belly and said, "yes, this thing is growing!" Which is one of the first times in my pregnancy that I've noticed the belly without having to look at the weekly progression pics.

Maternity Clothes:
My last pair of regular jeans are finished this week. I can't decide if I'm going to try the hair tie trick with them, but they are too uncomfortable to just wear like usual now. (I still have three pairs of softer/stretchier dress pants that should work for a little while longer).
I finally gathered all my maternity clothes and filmed a haul over the weekend. It was a try-on too so it took awhile to film but I should be able to edit it sometime soon-ish, then it's going up on LainasLife.

Emotions:
Remember how last week I said it felt like Justin was thinking more before he spoke to me if I was being irritable? Well I asked him about that and he confirmed that yes, that was the case. Haha. Well thank goodness he's being nice and I'm not just imagining it. He really is just great. I'm so glad he realizes that I'm just a psycho lady at this point and he doesn't want to make it worse. :) I love him.  

Sleep:
Kinda crappy to fall asleep, but I'm not getting up to pee as much! If I do happen to get and pee, falling back asleep sucks! I can be up for an hour or two after that.

Dreams:

I dreamt Justin made a test cake and colored it pink on the inside. I couldn't decide if he used pink because it was actually a girl and he was testing how much food coloring he needed to get the perfect pink color, or if he was trying to use reverse psychology and it was actually a boy. Haha.
I also dreamt I got Justin a little onesie for Christmas and it was pink! But in the dream I felt like I ordered the wrong color like it was supposed to be for a boy.
So those two dreams had me even more confused. I felt like someone was telling me baby was a girl but on the inside I was still really really convinced baby was a boy. Perhaps the dreams are trying to tell me that the doctor will say baby is a girl, but baby will come out a boy! Haha. Or maybe I'm reading too much in to these dreams.

Energy:
Perhaps it is finally returning? Still can't stay up past like 10 on the weekends, but I'm able to make it past 8 during the week haha.

Exercise:
Justin and I took a walk one day and I went to the gym twice. I actually even started jogging a little at the gym, which I haven't done since I found out I was pregnant. I was almost afraid to do so. I have to be honest, and I know this is irrational, but I just imaged tiny little baby just a couple centimeters big, not being able to hold on to my uterus while I ran and I feared miscarriage during the first trimester. I know, it's so stupid to even think like that, but I couldn't get it out of my head. Now that baby is a few inches big, I think it's a little stronger in there.
I do a warm-up walk for 10 minutes, then jog 2 min., walk 3, jog 2, walk 3, etc. until I'm ready to go, which is usually about half an hour so I can get home at the same time as Justin and we can have dinner.
And I've also started this new thing at work for every time I go to the bathroom, which is like so many times a day it's not even funny. I do lunges back and forth across the bathroom, then calf raises as I'm washing my hands. I must say, I've been able to feel it more and more everyday! Then at home I do a wall sit (I think that's what it's called) while I brush my teeth. I'm just trying to incorporate some little things throughout my day that can hopefully just become routine and I don't even have to think about it.

Food:
Got a craving for a French Vanilla MooLatte from Dairy Queen on Tuesday. Also decided to get the 4 piece chicken basket while I was there, ate all my chicken, plus the Texas toast (very unusual, I seriously never eat more than two of the chicken strips), even though I already had the salad I'd packed for lunch that day. Yep, there's the extreme hunger again at play. But, I'm so glad to say that MooLattes have about the same caffeine as a glass of iced tea, so I feel like I'm being good to baby too.
Then I got a craving for cream soda. Remember at the beginning of my pregnancy when I was enjoying A&W Root beer? I usually don't drink soda, like very rarely. Yet, during this pregnancy, it seems to be appealing, which is weird. Lol.

Physical Symptoms:
Hunger always. Nothing new. Zits still, on my face, on my scalp.
Finally discovered what this pain I've been feeling is called. Round ligament pain. When I sneeze or laugh really hard, sometimes I'll get a sharp pain in my low abdomen. This has been going on for several weeks now. It's not constant and it's not every single time I laugh or sneeze, just sometimes. But on occasion I feel like my insides are going to burst. Ha.

Movement?:
Nothing yet, but at times I will sit really really still and try to feel something, anything! I'll press my hands on my lower abdomen and try really hard. I figured since I felt so many different things in my uterus around ovulation and implantation, I could surely be one of the lucky few who feels baby's movements early! But no luck so far.

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Shopping with my sister Ryann at Ross for nursery accessories! :)

Nursery:
Got two little baskets for the changing table and a cute little rug to put in front of the crib. I actually caught my cat laying on the new rug the night we put it in there. :) Since then, apparently the cats like to use the rug as a blanket because it's always messed up. Lol.

The Name Game:
Can't wait to find out the sex to call this baby by his/her name! The two names we have picked out right now (and for a couple weeks now) are the official names we are sticking to and don't worry, you will know them both soon enough. You know how in the movies people just fall in love at first sight, that's how I felt with these names. As soon as we discussed them together, I just knew they were the right ones!

Baby's Sex:
Hoping for a healthy little one, it doesn't matter what sex they are! If you want to see the Old Wives Tales post I made last week, click here. We'll be filming a video and including some more "tests" once we know the sex. Then we'll post the video on my LainasLife vlog channel probably next week.
I have a gut feeling that baby is a boy. I just can't shake this feeling. And I wonder if I'm more excited to see if I'm right or just to know who baby is! Haha. It's not like I really want to know if I'm right/wrong because I'm so overly confident or anything, it's just that I've felt this intense feeling pretty much the whole pregnancy and I just want to know if there's any weight behind a "mother's intuition."

Announcing The Sex:
Keep a look out for more details and the announcement in my upcoming vlog channel videos, or just wait til next week's update because I'll talk more about it then (since the party is on Saturday (which is usually the day I publish these posts), which is technically week 15).
We're having our announcement party Saturday Dec. 18. Hopefully on Sunday Justin and I will be able to film the old wives tales/gender reveal and name discussion/reveal videos and they'll hopefully be up later that day. I haven't decided yet if I want them both on my vlog channel or if I should put the gender reveal one on my regular channel to try and let anybody who doesn't yet know/would be interested that we've got baby stuff everywhere on the vlog channel and blog. Haha.
I don't know what we're going to use to announce on Facebook. I plan to film everyone's reaction at the party, so maybe we'll get a good screenshot we could use. :) (also that video will be up on the vlog channel too in case you're interested). We have lots of videos to look forward to for next week!
As I'm writing this sentence here, it's Tuesday (Business day 8 of the wait for Harmony results, and I'm not even counting the day I got my blood drawn because it was in the late afternoon and they probably didn't send the results off until the next day) and I'm worried that we might not get them in time for the party Saturday! :( I know we still have three more days this week but I was totally convinced Justin would have gotten the results by now. The doctor said 7-10 days, so I know we're not even overdue yet, I'm just so anxious!

Harmony Test + a little ramble...
We got the results on Thursday, in exactly two weeks or 10 business days! Baby is low risk for everything so yay! Justin knows who baby is RIGHT NOW! :) I feel so relieved to know that he knows. I want to know but at the same time I want to just live these next 2-3 days still in this little moment of innocence. Now that I know I could know the sex, I almost don't want to know. I don't know if I'm ready for this! Haha. The nurse called Justin, told him she had to call me, then called me and asked for permission and had to call Justin back. I'm like what the heck, he's my husband, just tell him! So the whole little thing took about 15 minutes. I know Justin's heart must have been beating out of his chest just waiting. I know mine was waiting for his text to say she called! :)
I really don't know how to explain it. I really feel like I'm not ready. I kinda feel like I enjoy the mystery of it. But at the same time I am sooo glad Justin is very hard headed and he isn't going to give in to my whining. Because, believe me, as soon as I get home tonight, I bet I will annoy the crap out of him with questions. He's probably gonna get mad and he's probably gonna holler at me at least once before Saturday haha. But it's all good, I trust him and I know he won't tell. That's why he has the honor of the secret keeping, because I suck at it. I told him we could switch places next time, but honestly, I know I'd never be able to hold in a secret for more than like a day.

What I Miss:
Sleeping on my tummy, laying on the couch comfortably, and being able to just hop off the couch or bed with ease.

Reality: 
I'm sure it's really going to set in this weekend seeing all our family's reactions to finding out baby's gender and name! :) Then in just one week, we'll see them and everyone else for Christmas, to make it even more real knowing everybody knows baby's gender and name! I just wish the bump would look like a real baby bump, not just pudge! Seriously, I can't wait to finally dress my bump cutely instead of frumpily (yes, I made that word up).

Random Thought:
I really thought I would have been crazier about what I'm eating/drinking. I always imagined pregnant Alaina as checking every food label and looking up every item online to see if it was okay to eat while pregnant before I ever thought about eating it. Haha. I don't know why but I always imagined myself being this really obsessive pregnant lady. But really I'm just avoiding the stuff my doctor warned me about at our first appointment: raw egg, soft unpasteurized cheeses, etc. I don't usually take a lot of medicine so that hasn't been an issue so far. I thought for sure my eating habits would change dramatically as soon as I found out I was pregnant, but that's really not the case (so far at least). I do watch my caffeine though. I try to get water at restaurants more instead of tea. But I still drink tea, I just try to limit it to a couple glasses. And I know many say caffeine really isn't the big deal that everyone thinks it is, I still want to play it safe in that department, and I know caffeine is addictive. Believe me, I want a salad with real Bleu Cheese dressing sooo bad. I want a real Caesar salad. I want my eggs over-easy on Sunday morning! But I guess those are the things I've chosen to stick to in order to make me feel like I'm doing my best for baby.

Love,

Alaina and Tiny Baby

Week 13 - 1st Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 13 - Dec. 4-10

The final week of the first trimester is finally upon us! Wow! I seriously can't believe how quickly this has flown by.

Bump:

My "12 Weeks" picture from last week (taken at 12 weeks, 1 day) was my favorite so far. I think I am starting to look pregnant, not fat, and that makes me happy. Even if it's only to my own eyes that I am "looking pregnant," out in public I bet nobody would know it, but at least I'm getting into it.

Weight:

135 (+7 pounds). I think I might discontinue this weekly update. I don't want to stress or focus so much on the pounds. I hope you understand. I am happy with a total of seven pounds gained in the first trimester though. I was afraid it would just keep on building, but it stayed steady toward the end. But from here on out, I think it's a different story, so we'll just leave it be. I might update you periodically, we'll see. 

Morning Sickness and Food: 
Happy to call the morning sickness officially over with the beginning of the second trimester just on the horizon. But the serious pregnancy hunger has totally set in now. I feel like I am hungry all day! Like all day! I don't remember feeling this way before, but two days into week 13, hunger just took over! Seriously. I could eat all day. I'm not even exaggerating, it's pretty crazy.

Exercise:
Went to the gym twice this week yay! I really need to get on it and stick to it but for two days in a row I was very proud of myself lol. :)

Maternity Clothes:
No new purchases, but I'm finally able to wear jeans on the weekend with the purchase of my awesome Walmart pants from a couple weeks back. Ha. Previously, I was wearing leggings pretty much all weekend. You could see examples of that on my Instagram before I announced. Ha. 

Emotions:
I almost flipped out on Justin for eating something I wanted. Ha. That was a little intense. I wanted pop-tarts for breakfast and we were all out, I stormed out of the kitchen. Meanwhile Justin went to the store and got pop-tarts, as well as stopping by the local doughnut shop. I was being crazy, but he is just so sweet.
I saw a picture of a baby boy in a teddy bear jacket and started crying it was so cute. Cute things are like ridiculously cute to me these days. Just unimaginable cuteness everywhere. 

Sleep:
I really really want to order a pregnancy pillow. If I'm this uncomfortable now, I just can't wait for the months to come. Ha. I am still sleeping well, but sometimes trying to fall asleep in a good position is a task. Before I got pregnant, I enjoyed falling asleep on my belly probably half of the time. So with this growing tummy, that position is no longer feasible. Trying to adjust to new sleeping positions is proving to be difficult, and even though I never used to fall asleep on my back before, I want to these days more and more. But I know that's not good for the baby as your uterus starts to grow, so I can't let myself get into the habit. So it looks like side sleeping is the goal here and it's kinda sucky trying to get into the groove right now. 

Dreams:

Weird dreams continue. Pretty sure I had one that I was drinking again while pregnant. Then I had one I cheated on Justin under the impression that it wasn't a big deal because I was already pregnant. Ha! What the heck...

Energy:
So they say with the start of the second trimester, everybody gets their energy back and everything is hunky-dory. All I can say is that Wednesday night (12 weeks, 5 days), I stayed up til almost 10! That's amazing seeing as I usually HAVE to lay down right at 8.

Physical Symptoms:
Acne. All the pimples. Out of nowhere. What the heck.
And the scalp pimples are back too. Gah! I don't want to, but I might have to begin washing my hair everyday instead of every other day. Bye bye hair color. Lol.
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say my skin is even oilier than usual. It usually starts to be halfway decent in the winter months, with everything drying out and whatnot, but apparently this year, it hates me.
So even though my face is freaking out, my fingernails look great. Haha. They're growing so fast and they're thicker and tougher than usual too.
The numb feeling spot on my tummy feels a little more noticeable/prominent this week. I really wonder what that's about, should have asked the doctor when I went last week.
So much hunger! I feel like I'm starving all the time. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Watching Justin fill in nail holes in the extra bedroom in preparation for turning it into baby's room. Then laying on the floor in the empty room talking about baby. And seeing Justin hold Yuna the cat and trying to explain to her that there will be a baby in this room soon enough. Haha. We might be crazy cat people... Ok, maybe I am, and Justin is just being influenced by me...

Nursery:
My lovely Justin cleared out the extra bedroom that is going to become the nursery, with the help of my sister's boyfriend. He even cleaned up the basement and organized some things, it's looking great! He even got a big roll of carpet from work and it covers almost half our basement and makes it look so much better! I know it's still so far away before baby needs its own room, but I'm so happy to be seeing this little progression. Next we just get to go pick up the crib and changing table from my older sister. :)

The Name Game:
We had one name picked out last week and I just couldn't handle not having another, so we finally got to figure out our other gender name pick! I love them both! And they actually have a funny commonality that you will all know in due time. Haha. I can't wait to know baby's sex so we can call him/her by name. And I can't wait to tell you guys about our name choices in a video and to reveal the sex to you too! I just can't wait to know!!!

Baby's Sex:
Late this week or early next week Justin will know the secret! He's good at keeping secrets, so I have full confidence in him and his ability to announce to everyone at the same time! (I got my blood drawn for the Harmony test on Dec. 3 and they'll call him with the results in 7-10 days).
But then I wonder. What if Justin feels left out because he has to hear it over the phone from someone he doesn't even know, as opposed to everybody else learning it together from family? That makes me sad. I wish we could learn together.
When sitting in the nursery to be, all I can imagine is a little baby boy's room. I just can't seem to picture a little girl. And when I think of the two baby names we picked out, I am so attracted to the boy name, I feel like that's who baby is. As soon as Justin suggested the name, I was just in love. It's so weird and unexplainable. I'm probably gonna freak out if baby ends up being a girl because I have felt so sure baby is a boy. Lol. We'll just have to wait and see.
I even got my first glimpse at any kind of sex judgement from Justin this week. He referred to baby as a girl one time! He refuses to say what he thinks the baby is, so getting one little reference is my only hope from him lol. He also had a dream in the beginning of a little girl, so I think Justin's bet is on girl even though he refuses to make the choice! Lol.
We will of course both be so happy no matter what sex the baby is. As long as it is good and healthy, we will be the happiest parents ever. I can't believe we are this close to finding out already!!!

Announcing The Sex:
I am over the moon excited for the gender reveal party. Justin could magically find out late this week, but it's more likely that it will be next week. If he finds out this week, we're definitely gonna have the party a week early! I just want to know and having to wait two weekends is sooo hard! I can't wait to have our close family over to learn what the baby is too! :) I think it's going to be so fun to see who guesses right! I plan to have everyone who picks boy/girl stand together for a group picture and everyone to pick a side, stamp a heart in the color blue/pink and sign a little decorative paper to be framed in baby's room. We bought pink/blue candies and plates and forks. Justin's in charge of making the cake. He's the only one who will know beforehand. I'm not sure exactly what method he's going to use to reveal, but he keeps talking about the cake. He's worried about making the icing. We went grocery shopping over the weekend and he was just going to buy colored store bought icing. I laughed at him, that's not how we do cake in this family. Ha.
Anyway, we plan on recording the gathering in segments, but hopefully will get to keep the camera rolling when we cut the cake and we can capture everyone's reactions on film! So that will be up on YouTube for you guys to see too if you're interested. :)

Reality: 
I didn't know what else to name this section, but early in this week I just kept getting these waves of strange feelings. Every once in awhile it's like I'll totally forget about being pregnant, then when I realize I've forgotten, I get all worried and ashamed that I forgot about my own little baby in my tummy! I know this just sounds silly, but it's just a weird little phase I'm having. The fact that we're going to know baby's sex so soon is really starting to make me feel like this is real. I know I've said that before, seeing baby on the ultrasound, hearing baby's heartbeat, etc. But once we know who baby is and can give it a name, I think that will really blow us out of the water in terms of the reality check.
Sometimes I worry that it hasn't really hit Justin yet. I feel like he might be stressing more than I am about it all. This week though, after clearing out the future nursery, I feel more connected to him on the baby level. I feel he talks about baby more and it's starting to finally hit him.
I really do wonder about all dads out there. It has to be a strange thing to just watch us grow and then one day you get a tiny person! They don't feel the symptoms or feel the baby moving all day, yet it's just as much their baby as it is ours. It grows out of two teeny tiny little cells and one day you get to hold it. It's all so miraculous. I just wonder if it's even more bizarre for the dads out there.

Love,

Alaina and Tiny Baby

Baby Sex Old Wives Tales Tests

I thought it would be fun to share with you guys here on the blog a compiled list of all those silly little old wives tales pertaining to the baby's sex. Justin and I plan on doing a video on this little topic as well, but you guys get to know all my answers ahead of time because you're special.

We don't know what baby is just yet but will in a little over one week's time when we finally get our Harmony results and Justin reveals it at our reveal party! (I'm just so excited) So let's hop on in...

One little idea we have set up for the reveal party!

____________________________________________________

Boy     vs.     Girl

Heartbeat 

Under 140 bpm     Above 140 bpm

(heartbeat was 120-something at our first ultrasound, but 170 at 11 weeks, at our latest appointment)

Beauty

More beautiful     Less beautiful

(zits everywhere, more oily skin)

Food Cravings

Sour & Salty     Sweet

Morning Sickness

Yes    No

(I had morning sickness, but looking back, it really wasn't that bad)

Skin

Dry     Soft

(It's not necessarily soft, but it is softer, usually this time of year (December) my hands would be killing me by now with dryness, but they're doing pretty well so far)

Sleep on ____ side

Left     Right

Balance

Clumsy    Graceful

(I was pretty clumsy in my first few weeks of pregnancy, but I don't think it's been so bad lately)

Mood

Moody    Pleasant

(Last I checked my husband said I was doing pretty well, so hopefully he isn't just lying to me lol)

Headaches

No    Yes

Chinese Calendar - Boy

My own feeling - Boy

(from what I've read this one is kind of iffy, some say trust mother's intuition, some say always go with the opposite lol, so we'll just have to wait and see)

Dreams
I read this on the Intelligender website --- "Interpreting dreams of the pregnant woman. Cigars, trucks, snakes, telescopes = Boys. Tupperware®, keyholes, any fish, almonds, Prada®, Vogue magazine = Girls."
I would say according to this, I'm having a boy because I have dreamt of drinking and smoking on several occasions so far during this pregnancy ha!

_____________________________________________________________

Haha! I had no idea just how swayed this would turn out until I went through to answer the questions! From what I see here it looks like we've got ourselves a baby girl. We'll all know soon enough, I just thought this would be some fun little entertainment for us all! :)

Here's our full gender reveal video where we answer these and more old wives tales and tell you the gender of our baby!

Let me know if you have any thoughts on what our little baby will be! How did these types of tests work for you when you were pregnant?

Thanks for reading!

Love,

Alaina and Tiny Baby 

Week 12 - 1st Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 12 - Nov. 27-Dec. 3

Bump:

Every week I say that the bump is looking the same, but then Saturday comes along and we snap a photo and compare and you can definitely see the progression! It's just hard to see when it's happening gradually every day.

Weight:

135 lbs (+7) Still holding steady at this weight for a couple weeks now, which I'm happy about. Now just as long as I don't gain five pounds next week, I will call the first trimester a success! :)
Went to the doctor and according to their scale I'm up 10 pounds! I'm just gonna stick to my scale's weight... lol.

Doctor Appointment:
We went to the doctor at 11 weeks, 6 days. We had both been under this crazy impression that we'd get to have lots of ultrasounds, when in reality I hear you only get a couple the entire pregnancy! Surprise to us. Lol.
Justin has been worried about something being wrong with baby. In the first few weeks I was worried about miscarriage, but I must be honest and say that I seriously haven't even given a second thought to the idea that there would be something wrong with the baby. Thank goodness I'm not sharing in his worries, it's keeping me sane, but I hope this appointment will help put his mind at ease.
At this appointment we were able to get the Harmony blood test taken. It should tell us about any issues with baby, as well as the added bonus of finding out baby's gender! We should know the results in a couple weeks, before Christmas! I hope the office is able to call and tell Justin the news instead of telling me because I want to have a gender reveal gathering with our close family where Justin is the only one who knows until then! I hope we find out on a Friday lol. I don't think I'd be able to make it several days knowing Justin had the secret all to himself. I'll probably try to talk to him in his sleep because he does talk in his sleep on occasion ha. 

Morning Sickness and Food: 
No food aversions, no real cravings either though. Everything is going smooth for now. I just had one day I felt somewhat sick. I was just so hungry but fighting the urge to snack all day. It felt the same as morning sickness, the feeling of hunger that makes you feel sick, but I haven't had morning sickness for awhile, so I'm unsure if that's exactly what it was. 

Maternity Clothes:
Went shopping over the Thanksgiving weekend and got some deals. I just can't pass up deals. We went to Old Navy and Target, both of which were having 40% off for the holiday. I couldn't pass up 40% off maternity, even if I don't know what's going to fit in several months. It just sucks that there aren't any summertime clothes out right now in maternity. Ha. So I got a pair of full panel jeans from Old Navy, a pair of leggings, and a couple regular maternity t-shirts. At Target I got a cardigan (not maternity, I just thought it was cute lol), two XL t-shirts (not maternity, but they're pretty long and stretchy so I think they will work in everyday life and during my pregnancy), a long sleeved dress with ruching, and a super cute and soft sweater that could totally be worn in regular life too.

I got the pants I ordered from Walmart last week in the mail and they are so great. I am super happy. It's like wearing sweatpants and being comfy while looking like you're actually civilized and wearing jeans haha.

Emotions:
I know last week I was feeling like my emotions were finally starting to act up, Justin confirmed this when we filmed our announcement video over the weekend lol. However, this week I don't feel the same way, so I'm unsure what all that was about last week, perhaps stress or anxiety about hosting our first Thanksgiving?

Sleep:
I enjoy sleeping so many hours at night. I have actually been waking up pretty easy in the mornings this week, except Thursday morning when I was up for two hours in the middle of the night. Perhaps it was anxiety/excitement about the doctor appointment. 

Dreams:
I had a scary dream Sunday morning of this week. I can't remember what all happened, but essentially I was being told I was crazy and losing my mind. I can't remember if the person telling me this was someone I knew or a doctor or something. They kept showing me pictures of things and they were supposed to be different objects, but to me they were all the same face.
It just seems I'm having more scary dreams lately, but I'm overall remembering my dreams less.
I dreamt I was looking at a map of the border of Nevada/California.
I dreamt about going to find a cake at Dierbergs (a local grocery store where I had my first job and also where Justin and I met). I was trying to find a cake in the bakery while avoiding my old boss (I didn't give my two weeks notice when I quit, so I always feel bad going back there and seeing her lol).

The Name Game:
Justin and I were finally able to decide on one baby name together! We each had names figured out that we really liked and wanted to use, even before we got married, but when it came right down to it, actually having a baby in my belly that needs a good name, we couldn't stick to our original names and we couldn't agree on one. So, as of this past weekend, we have officially picked out one name ha. So if baby happens to be the other sex, we gotta start all over again ha. It's funny because we made this decision in discussion with Justin's brother and sister-in-law Thanksgiving weekend. The night we somewhat decided we should start trying for baby we also discussed it briefly with these two! It's funny how these two important events pertaining to our precious baby took place with them at their house. We'll probably film a video just about the name once we find out what our baby's sex is and can make an official decision on the name! Also, we want to film an old wive's tales gender prediction video once we find out the sex too! Let me know what other fun baby related videos you want to see!

Baby's Sex:
Justin absolutely with all of his little heart and mind refuses to tell me what he thinks baby is. He claims he doesn't feel one way or the other and that's why he will not answer me. We gave the doctor's office instructions to call him with the results of the Harmony test which we will receive in 7-10 days. He's in charge of the reveal gathering we will have probably the weekend before Christmas. I instructed Justin not to let me know when he knows because I will just bug him to tell me. At the beginning I thought for sure baby was a boy, but now I really can't say what way I'm leaning. It differs every day.

Physical Symptoms:
I started getting headaches in week 9 and week 10, less in week 11, and since then I haven't had any issues. So I guess it was just a weird little thing for a couple weeks. Then the last two days in a row this week I had them again. What the heck?
This week and last I've noticed that when I sneeze, I get a sharp pain in my lower abdomin. It also sometimes happens when I laugh so that's great. Lol. It's not too terrible, but it's just uncomfortable.
I also think I am suffering from pregnancy rhinitis. As I've mentioned in previous posts that I've felt like I'm coming down with a cold some days, I have self-diagnosed this condition and blame it on the pregnancy ha.
I'm starting to notice the breathlessness again. This time it's happening more when I'm actually doing things. I ran upstairs to grab something and ran back down and I was noticeably winded. I have started reminding myself that I won't be able to run around like that much longer, not just for lack of energy or growing bigger, but also because I need to be more careful and not lose my balance or risk falling or tripping by running around like that.
I'm definitely not getting up in the middle of the night to pee as often as I was. I don't know if something in my body has changed to make this happen or what, but I read in a couple places that since your uterus is finally starting to rise up out of your pelvis, it's no longer sitting right on top of your bladder. If that's the case, then woo hoo I'm gonna have a real baby bump soon!!!
I got four zits this week (one in between the eyebrows, two around the mouth, one on the lower cheek area, plus plenty of those under the skin ones that aren't actually full blown pimples yet, it's great. lol.)! I haven't really had a big issue with facial acne since the very early days of my pregnancy, but this week my face was just acting crazy! Lol. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Filmed our awkward announcement video. Lol. I had this plan for the video, but when it came down to the part where we say we're having a baby, Justin and I couldn't keep a straight face. I'm sure you'll be able to tell we couldn't be very serious in the video.
Hearing baby's heartbeat at the doctor. It was very hard to hear but if the doctor said it was there, I believe her. Ha. 170 bpm!

Nursery:
I know that baby won't even be sleeping in its bedroom for awhile after it arrives, but for some reason I really want to get that room figured out. I just want to finally have a space to call baby's where I can gather baby stuff and whatnot.
We have two extra bedrooms. Right now the smaller one is my YouTube studio and computer room, the "makeup room." The bigger room is the spare bedroom with Justin's computer that we don't really use and a twin sized bed. Originally we were going to put the bed and Justin's computer in the basement and turn the bigger room into the nursery, with plans to finish the basement before baby comes. I don't see this grand project happening in that time frame, in all honesty. So just this week I've been trying to think of an alternative way to place everything so we could keep the spare bed upstairs. I have been wondering if I could fit my computer desk and vanity in the spare bedroom and turn the makeup room into the nursery. The only time this would become an issue would be if we actually (rarely) have someone stay the night and I can't get to my makeup room without disturbing them.

Announcing:
I realize that the first trimester is not over until 13 weeks (next week) and some even debate that, saying it's like the middle of weeks 13-14 or whatever, I'm just gonna stick to 13 weeks. Anyway, I know we haven't completed the first trimester yet and therefore technically aren't out of the sketchy danger zone, but we're announcing to Facebook and YouTube and this blog this week on Thursday (11 weeks, 6 days), right after our doctor appointment. We figured, what's one more week, and we might as well announce right after seeing the doctor and everything is checking out in good standing (i.e. she can hear the heartbeat). You might not see this post until Saturday because that's just when we take our bump pic, but know that it's going up in real time for you guys! I can't tell if I'm more excited to go to the doctor and hear baby's heartbeat again or if I'm more excited about finally letting the whole wide world know about our precious little one!
I'm also kinda torn on how to post all of these blog posts and videos. Should I just throw them all up at the same time, space them out each day, or at least a couple hours in between? I don't want to overwhelm everyone with a million posts and videos. I also don't want to post like weeks 5-7, then all of a sudden post week 12 without having released the other weeks too. We'll just see how it goes. 

This post is exceptionally long this time around. I don't know why that is. I just had lots on my mind this week I guess.

Thanks for reading! I'm so excited you'll be seeing this blog post go up in "real time" this week! I can finally tell the whole wide world about our baby! I am seriously just so excited and actually can't believe these 12 weeks have gone by so fast!

Love,

Alaina and Tiny Baby

My Secret Diary Post - Week 11 - 1st Trimester Pregnancy Symptoms, Overview, Updates, etc.

Week 11 - Nov. 20-26

Bump:
Bump seems to be fluctuating this week. Over the weekend, it looked like a bump, it was there. Then Monday at work I pretty much looked like normal when standing up (it's a different story when I'm sitting down lol). So I guess since bump isn't actually baby yet, it just kinda does what it wants. Maybe I'm loosing some bloat/water weight a little bit. Who knows.

Weight: 
132-134 lbs (+7 lbs overall, steady from last week) Unlike previous weeks, my weight has been fluctuating a couple pounds. In previous weeks I would weigh myself everyday and come up with the same weight, this week, it's varied.

Morning Sickness: 
I think I'm finally out of the woods on this one! :) Just one incident last week, and none this week!

Food:
I feel like I'm eating better this week and last week. When I still had morning sickness, I was only wanting snacks because I knew they wouldn't make me feel gross. Now that the morning sickness has settled down, I am able to eat a lot of different things and try to stay healthy for baby.
I'm really working on cutting down on the snacking. I'm pretty bad about watching TV for a couple hours after dinner and just eating chips or cookies or whatever. This has been a terrible habit since Justin and I moved in together in May, so I figured it's time to try and get this under control.

Exercise:
I went back to the gym one day last week and I am making it my goal to keep going this week too! I haven't been to the gym since I got pregnant, so this is a big step up for me. Haha. Even though I'm just walking on the treadmill, it's making me feel better about taking care of myself and our growing baby. Even though my doctor said it was okay as long as I didn't get myself totally winded, I'm almost afraid to run/jog on the treadmill.

Maternity Clothes:
Now that I am almost to the 2nd trimester, I am ready to give in to maternity pants! Well, I've been ready for weeks now, but I finally ordered some pants that I hope will work for me. I just got them from Walmart so they're probably not going to be the best quality, but they were cheap ($13 a pair). If you care to see them, I ordered this pair and this one too. I got mediums after reading some of the reviews on the website. I must say, Walmart online sucks. I couldn't even find size charts for these pants so I had to go solely by the reviews. Thank goodness some ladies were giving their heights and weights to help you understand what size they were.

Emotions:
I feel like the mood swings might be ramping up this week. I still try to catch myself when I start to feel a little cray-cray though. I'm sure I've had outbursts, but I can't think of any right now, and I like to believe I have some control. I know I got a little pissy grocery shopping the weekend before Thanksgiving (I hate shopping when it's super busy, HATE it!) but I can get that way when I'm not pregnant, so I don't think that was anything out of the ordinary.
I do feel the urge to just break down and cry every once in awhile, but once again, I try to suppress it. Is this bad? What do you recommend? I don't just want to be a psycho and blame everything on the pregnancy, but at the same time, if it's better for me to just let it out, then maybe I should. And it's not like I bottle it all up for hours, I find the urges to cry or get angry only last a few minutes and then everything is back to normal.

Sleep:
I feel like since the fatigue is wearing off, it's becoming more difficult for me to fall asleep at night. I just don't feel the urge to crawl into bed right at 8 pm like I did for the past month.
I am starting to wonder if it's time to invest in a pregnancy pillow. I know they're kind of pricey, but I think it's gonna be helpful down the line. The only thing I'm kind of hesitant about it the idea that adding this ginormous pillow will be like adding a third person to our bed and I hope Justin's okay with it. Ha. Just wait til I have a big ole belly too!

Dreams:
I haven't been having as many dreams that I remember this week. Still some, but they're just not quite as memorable as previously. I did have another scary dream but totally cannot remember it! It's like I'll wake in the middle of the night and remember my dream, but by the time I actually wake up, I can't remember it at all.

Physical Symptoms:
Okay, here's some TMI, but let me just say fiber supplements are very useful at this stage.

Favorite Moment of the Week:
We went and got an artificial Christmas tree and put it up and decorated it this week and that was awesome. Even though we don't have a ton of special ornaments, just seeing the different items that represent Justin and me is really cool. I just can't wait for the years to come and to see all of the new ornaments we will get or make. We even got to take our first ultrasound photo and put it in a sweet little frame ornament that says "Love at First Site" on it. It's so cute. I think I'm going to use it as our announcement photo on Facebook for next week.

Daddy:
Since the "Daddy" section of the week usually coincides with the "Favorite Moment of the Week", I might just be skipping this segment in the future... We'll see how it goes, but this is just a heads up.

When to Announce:
So as you know, we told all of our close friends and family like the week after we found out. Ha! We still haven't made the "official Facebook announcement" yet though. We have a doctor appointment next Thursday (the last day of week 12) and I plan to tell right after that so long as everything is looking good. I am so excited about it! Excited to tell Facebook, but even more excited to tell you guys!!! I can't wait to start doing Maternity OOTDs and actually being able to talk openly about it! To post belly pics every week on Instagram, etc. Haha! I just can't wait! I think that's what's going to make it seriously feel real. I know it's real right now, but having to keep it secret to some but not to others is really hard! I just can't wait for the world to know!
I had to remind Justin we need to take the pregnancy announcement pic he wants to use for Facebook this weekend. But we also have to film our Youtube pregnancy announcement video! I can't believe the time has come so quickly!
I keep worrying about someone accidentally saying something on Facebook or Instagram. We had a close call this week where a friend of ours posted a meme that said "that moment when you realize you're eating for two on Thanksgiving." I know she meant well, she was just thinking of me, but she tagged me and I had to super hurry up and un-tag myself and message her. Thank goodness the only other person who liked it was a friend of mine who already knew. I worry so bad that there's going to be one time somebody does that and I don't catch it as fast! It's only a week guys, please contain yourselves. Ha!
In the beginning it felt like it was forever away before we could tell the whole wide world, but now it's almost time! At least it's time to prepare the things we're going to be using to announce. We gotta be ready to go! I hope the rest of this pregnancy doesn't fly by so quickly, but before we know it, I'm gonna have a real baby bump, not just fat stores! Haha. And then we'll have a precious little baby in our arms one day in June! Wow! I think it's getting real really fast!

Thanks for reading!
Love,
Alaina and Tiny Baby