31 Weeks Pregnant : Third Trimester Pregnancy Update, Symptoms, etc.

Week 31 - April 8-14

Our baby boy Calvin Lee is due June 17, 2016!

Bump:
I feel like the bump reaches all the way up to the boobies, even first thing in the morning (previously I didn't feel so uncomfortable until the end of the day). I feel like my ribs are so strained some days, like they're stretching. I keep getting things on my bump, like food. I'll look down and see a dribble of something or crumbs or whatever. Lol. :)

Maternity Clothes:
Why do my pants keep getting tighter and tighter?! And the belly portion of my Old Navy pair start to feel so tight on the center of my belly about halfway through the day. It's slowly inching its way down my belly lol. This band is annoying me, maybe it's time to try the under the belly pants one more time? O maternity clothes, why isn't there a one size fits all for all nine months? Haha. Well, that's where dresses come in! Trouble is, I don't always feel comfortable wearing super girly stuff like dresses to work. I am the only chick at my workplace and most of our customers are dudes too, so I always feel awkward in a dress.
But, I was thinking, at first (when I was stockpiling maternity clothes before I even had a real bump) I thought I picked up too many "winter" maternity things like a couple big sweaters and a sweater dress and I thought, "I'm not gonna get my fair share of wear out of these items!" But in reality, the weather has been strangely cooler than usual and I feel like I've actually gotten decent wear time out of these items, so that's awesome! However, I only have one pair of Bermuda jean shorts and one pajama pants shorts that fit now lol.
Anyway, I made a couple purchases this week. Went into my local Ross and they have greatly expanded the maternity selection, which kicks ass because it was freaking tiny before. So I had to take advantage. Got one pair of black capris that are super comfy and feel like pajamas, and a white tank top with black polka dots and a red bow on the back. So cute, couldn't pass it up. :) Tried on some shorts, but I'm just not a fan of my legs and thighs at this point, so I think I'm just gonna avoid the shorts and hope that May and June don't get miserably hot.

Emotions:
Everything's going good.

Food:
Craving broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots mixed frozen veggies with Parmesan cheese. I'm just so over salads, so I guess I gotta get those vitamins elsewhere. Also still love fried rice. I've been very into that a lot this pregnancy. Still love flavored drinks, I'm currently a tea lover this week. 

Sleep & Dreams:

Dreamt that a Youtuber I watch all the time was pregnant. Haha.
In other news, sleep may be getting stupid. Sometimes I'm uncomfortable, but mostly it's because I just can't turn off my brain. And it's not like I'm worrying about Calvin or anything directly related to the pregnancy or becoming parents. It's just that I can't stop thinking and shut off my mind. It doesn't feel like it's worrisome thinking, it's just thinking in general. And that has happened all too often this week. Didn't fall asleep until 11 one night, midnight the next, 10 the next (I'm usually passed out by 9 at the latest). Tried sleeping in all directions, tried the couch, and let me just say, the cats are super annoying at night lol. They have to lay right up in my area, as I toss and turn, and they bug the crap out of me! Haha.

Energy:
Not the best, but that's probably caused by the whole not sleeping thing. I've hated waking up in the morning this week.

Exercise:
Terrible. I think I got zero workouts in this week.

Physical Symptoms:
Heartburn and indigestion at bedtime (not helping with the whole not being able to fall asleep thing).

Movement:
I think he gets hiccups pretty much daily now. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
My sister Ry got to feel him for the first time. She's the only other person besides Justin. She described it like if you had your hand on your cheek and moved your tongue along the inside of your mouth lol.
I hung out with Justin while he replaced some parts on my car and it just got me thinking about once Calvin arrives. I think about how smart and lucky our little Calvin will be. He'll be raised by and with the two awesomest guys I know: my husband and my dad. They're both so handy and smart when it comes to fixing things and street smarts, being reasonable. They have all of the qualities that I think are essential for dads to have. Not to mention Justin's stepdad Tony, who lives right around the corner from us. These guys are going to raise up the best little dude ever! It makes me feel so proud and blessed to know these are the male role models our little Calvin will have in life. I can't wait to watch him and Justin in the garage fixing things and building things together. It will be so sweet to see him hanging out with his daddy like that, and watch him year after year learning more and more. The image of the two of them like this is something I look forward to soo soo much.

Baby Purchases:
Got a cute teddy bear for Calvin. I think I want to take his monthly pictures with it, perhaps in the rocking chair in his room. You know, just some more Pinterest inspo. lol.

What I Look Forward To:
Sleeping normal.
Getting to wear my rings again! I feel so nakey without them. Not to mention the fact that I totally feel like a heathen walking around pregnant without any rings on, people always assuming I'm younger than I am. They probably think I'm a pregnant teen. Great.

Random Thoughts:
I wonder if/when Justin or myself will have a freak out moment before Calvin comes. Like one day, we'll just stare off into nothingness and go,"holy shit, we're going to be parents!" Lol.

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina and Little Calvin

30 Weeks Pregnant : Third Trimester Pregnancy Update, Symptoms, etc.

Week 30 - April 1-7

Our baby boy Calvin Lee is due June 17, 2016!

Thirty weeks! Holy crap, we've only got "10" to go! I put 10 in quotations because our baby boy could come early or late, who knows when he's gonna decide to make his arrival! :)

Bump:
I'm pretty sure this bump cannot get any higher. It is literally right up to my boobies and I don't know how all my insides are still fitting in there. Haha. It's usually like that in the afternoons and evenings, but this week, it's like that all day from the moment I get up, so that's sucky.
Holy crap, I know I've said it before, but looking back at weeks past remembering how big I thought I was makes me laugh and laugh! Haha. That bump was nothing! It's growing humongous every week now! I know in ten weeks I'm gonna look back and say the same thing about this 30 week update haha.  

Maternity Clothes:
This week was undergarments week lol.
New bra! Thank goodness. And it's convertible with the detachment in the front straps so I wonder if I could also kind of make it work for breastfeeding too. It has no underwire, has just enough padding, and still gives the boobies decent shape while still being comfortable, so yay!
Finally caved and got new underpants too. Although I must say I should have done this sooner and I'd have been more comfy, but wearing size large does not make me happy, especially seeing as I was wearing size small at this time last year! :(

Emotions:
Still happy to say it's going good, guys! Just one funny incident this week. My sister was moving into her new house this week (which is located on the same street as our house!) and she created some cute decor to hang in her kitchen. Well, apparently one of these canvases was broken on the way to her house. My husband saw it in the trash can. He told me about it, and although I did not cry, it made me very upset. I was like so sad that she made this artwork, then it just got destroyed. All of her hard work for nothing! I don't know what was wrong with me but every time they mentioned it, it just made me so sad. Haha. It's not even like she was very upset about it either, I just felt so terrible for her.

Food:
No real cravings or aversions this week. I do feel like I felt less hungry toward the end of the week. I've had these back and forth super starving all the time feelings, then the next day not so much. 

Sleep & Dreams:

Still sooo happy to report sleep is going good.

Energy:
I think my energy has been alright this week. Perhaps, I'm more lazy this week? I haven't made our bed for like three days in a row this week, which is crazy! I honestly don't think I've ever not made our bed since we moved in together (up until now). (Not that I make it all cutesy everyday, but I at least don't leave it in a big ole pile of pillows and blankets lol)

Exercise:
I did learn that using the elliptical at the gym doesn't hurt my back like simply walking on the treadmill, so that's awesome. And I must say, it really is incredible how much effect this extra weight has on me, I breath heavy and my body aches just simply from walking for a period of time.

Physical Symptoms:
Back aches continue, even when I'm not really doing anything. It sucks when my back hurts and it honestly is the only thing that makes me say, holy crap I'm so done being pregnant (at this point at least).
Peeing has become a constant and urgent thing, almost painfully so.
First belly stretchmarks. I have hip and thigh stretchmarks for awhile now, but this week they appeared on my lower belly. If they're anything like the others, they may look little now, but they're only going to grow from here on out. Lol.

Movement:
It's funny how one day he will be a little less active, then the next day he totally makes up for it and is extra crazy lol. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
Went through the Dairy Queen drive through and the young lady working, who had a beautiful face of makeup on, she hung out the window to take my card, she just stopped and said "wow, you're gorgeous!" Now, that made my day. :)
And on a couple random occasions this week, Justin just randomly kissed my belly. :)

Baby Purchases:
Nothing purchased this week.

What I Miss:
Not peeing all the time, man!
I might confess I'm already tired of being pregnant some days. I can't wait to not be pregnant in a couple months, but then I think to myself, do I really want to do this all over again in a year or two? Lol. Being pregnant is hard man. I must admit my being tired of being pregnant stems from the back pain issue. I can deal with the swollen feet, the overall fatness, the belly that's all up in the boobies' personal space, the peeing all the time day or night, the heartburn and indigestion, the creaky hips and knees, but the back pain? No, that sucks. I hope he decides it's time to come at 37 weeks, just to spare me! But my family has a history of babies just chillin' in the womb for awhile longer, so we'll just have to see how this goes! Haha. Not gonna lie though, I'm pretty much already counting on him showing up a little earlier than 40 weeks because I keep referring to it as only being two months away (when in reality it's more like 2.5). I do pray he makes it till June though, I just can't imagine him having a May birthday, he was supposed to be a June baby! :)

Random Thoughts:
Over the weekend I seriously could not shake the urge to just hold our baby boy finally! I know he still has so much growing to do, but I just wanted him to be here already so bad! And on the other hand, there are still days when I just simply cannot imagine what life's gonna be like once he comes. I literally cannot imagine how hard it's going to be to get used to. Justin and I have been together for nearly seven years now, we can take care of ourselves, but what about another human being?! Are we really capable of taking care of another tiny little helpless person? I fear that we'll leave the house without him or something, not being used to hauling around another person. I know it's crazy, but those are just the mixture of feelings I've had lately.

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina and Little Calvin

Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Recipe

I had a lemon flavored greek yogurt in the fridge that was about the expire and I just didn't feel like eating it, so I started looking for recipes to use it up. I love lemon blueberry flavored stuff, so a loaf cake like this sounded appealing.

This is based on a couple recipes I found on Pinterest. I kind of took tips from each recipe and added a little bit of my own twist on this. In the recipes I saw on Pinterest, they didn't use any lemon juice, and they also just used plain yogurt. To me, that didn't sound like enough lemon flavor, so I kicked it up a notch. Even still, I do not think it's too lemony at all. The only alteration I'd add to this is perhaps next time I'll use more blueberries, some slices were just right, but others seemed to be a bit lacking in blueberries, in my opinion. :)

1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
zest of one lemon (about 1/2 tsp)
juice of one lemon (about 2 Tbsp)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup/pkg lemon greek yogurt
1/2 cup butter
3 eggs
1 cup/small pkg blueberries

Mix the dry ingredients well, then start adding in the wet ingredients gradually. Don't mix too much once you add the blueberries because they can start to create streaks of purple in the batter, or you might squish the berries.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50-60 minutes in a loaf pan (8x4 in. or similar).

Enjoy!

Love,
Alaina

29 Weeks Pregnant : Third Trimester Pregnancy Update, Symptoms, etc.

Week 29 - March 25-31

Our baby boy Calvin Lee is due June 17, 2016!

Glucose Test Results:
I just had to start off this post with this awesome news: my one hour gestational diabetes test was normal! Yay! I am just so happy about that. Since my uterus is measuring big and last week we discovered Calvin is measuring big too, plus the fact that I've gained like a million pounds this pregnancy so far, I thought for sure I'd be diabetic. So... I guess Calvin's just big for no good reason? Lol. We'll see what my doctor says about it all next week. Permission to treat myself to a bag of candy corn? I've been wanting candy corn all week...

Bump:
Last week I measured 36 cm, so it's gigantic. :-P

Maternity Clothes:
I can't wait for the weather to get warm and stay warm so I can just live in dresses. Some days I just don't even wanna look at pants. Especially days I shower in the morning and I just put on a gallon of lotion. Pants are pretty much impossible at that point.
And, once again, bras are proving to be one of the suckiest things about maternity clothes. I have none that are comfortable, yet flattering. The ones I've been wearing are similar in style to sports bras and they feel awesome, but honestly they just make me feel and look frumpy overall, they just aren't going anything positive shaping or anything like that. But, on the other hand, should I really buy a new bra right now not knowing how long it's going to fit and work for my changing body? They say your rib cage can stretch out and you'll never be back to the same band size after pregnancy. But that's not the case for everyone. I know I've gained weight and plan to lose it, so that will also affect the band size. Plus not to mention what the cup size might do! I could be pretty much the same, bigger, smaller, whatever, by the time my milk comes in and sticks around. So who knows at this point... Hopefully though, next pregnancy I'll have a nice little collection of bra options.

Emotions:
Things are going good. I'm getting super excited to meet Calvin, even though I know it's still so far away.

Food:
Some days I still hate salad, but I can do one at least every other day, so at least it looks like I'm being healthy. Some days I can't decide if I should go home and bake some cookies or workout. Haha. I've been on a baking spree this week. 

Sleep & Dreams:

Sleep's still going pretty good. Sometimes I feel like I wake up more often, but I haven't had any issues falling back asleep recently. Once again, I am super grateful for the awesome sleep that I'm getting! I know I'm still snoring and it's bugging Justin and I hope it goes away quickly once Calvin arrives.

Then this week the "thin skin" dreams began. I had a dream that I could seriously just feel Calvin's head up on my left hand side. It was really defined, like I could feel his eye sockets and such. Haha. Creepy dream. And another night I dreamt I could feel his little hand up on my right side, I could almost hold it, I could feel his fingers perfectly through my belly. 

Energy:
When I get off work, I just want to nap. I feel like I'm back in the first trimester where napping is literally just all I want to do. But I know I should be making dinner or working out. That's a tough decision.

Exercise:
Did some legs and arms exercises over the weekend. Actually woke up Sunday morning to sore legs haha, that hasn't happened in awhile. Went for a half hour walk with Justin during the week and did a little bit of weights working out too. So I succeeded at the 3x per week this week! Yay! Gotta be honest, for two days after our walk my back was killing me. I can't say it's necessarily due to taking that walk, but it sucked. My back has been weird, it's usually only sucky every few days, and this was the first time it hurt for two days back to back.

Physical Symptoms:
Just an update on things, I've been taking a magnesium vitamin for a few weeks now. This, combined with a little ottoman under my desk at work to prop my legs up on have both really helped my restless legs and calf cramping. Of course, I asked my doctor before starting this extra vitamin, but I'd highly recommend looking into it for yourself if you're suffering with the same leg issues.
General discomfort. I just feel uncomfortable a lot. And I'm sure my sweet husband is tired of hearing it. Some nights I'll just crawl all over the living room trying to find a comfortable way to sit or lay haha. I'll sit on one end of the couch, lay, move to the other end, sit on the floor, lean on the couch, roll around with my yoga ball, then just sit there and say "I'm so uncomfortable" over and over again.
Back pain has been pretty crappy this week. :(
Round ligament pain sucks, I'm afraid to ever stretch my back because of those stupid ligaments (okay, I know they're not stupid, they're just doing their job here, but they hurt!).

Movement:
He's been avoiding my rib cage this week, which is nice. Thanks Cal. 

Favorite Moments of the Week:
At work one day I hummed Seven Bridges Road by the Eagles when it came on the radio and I guess it woke my Calvin, I could feel him lightly squirming around in there. It made me excited to see what kind of music he'll like and if he'll be partial to my music choices instead of his daddy's lol since he's spent all this time with me and my music. :)

Baby Purchases:
No new purchases, I'm getting excited for the shower though. It feels so far away, but it's about a month from now, I know it will be here before we know it! :)

What I Miss:
Being comfortable. Sleeping, sitting, walking, laying comfortably.

Random Thoughts:
Holy crap, we're getting there! Next week will be 30 weeks! That sounds like sooo many weeks! Haha. He'll be here in no time!
I've been on an organizing/cleaning/rearranging things kick this week in my makeup room, my personal space. It's the room where we keep the computer and my makeup and filming setup and all the good YouTubin' stuff. I just wanted to declutter some stuff in there. It's only a matter of time before I get the urge to do the rest of the house! Haha.
But hey, side-note, yet also somewhat related: I really want someone to clean my bathroom. It's pretty dirty and needs to be done. But getting on my knees to clean the bathtub at this point is just not appealing to me in my 36 cm pregnant belly. Man, that bathtub really needs to be done. Haha. I use this "measuring big" belly as an excuse for a lot of things. I consider myself just as uncomfortable as someone who is already 36 weeks pregnant. According to my doctor, this is pretty justifiable. Lol.

Thanks so much for reading!
Love,
Alaina and Little Calvin