My Favorite Baby Must Haves + Products

Sweatshirt // Graphic Tee // Camo Tee// Bra // Jeans // Zella Leggins  // Colorfulkoala Leggings // Sweatshirt // Jacket// Booties // Pacifier // Baby Blanket // Bibs // Bottles// Diaper Bag

What’s left on my list to get for this new baby + the clothes I’m loving for the final trimester!

8 Month Bumpdate – How I’m really doing with Pregnancy #3

I always start these updates with this: Daily, I thank God for this baby and acknowledge how incredibly blessed I am to carry my babies. My heart is always with those women who long to be pregnant right along side me, especially my best friend Shawnda and so many others. 

Here are some of the questions that came rolling in this week about my pregnancy and a few other updates I’ll share with you.

How Am I Feeling // The last two months I’ve felt pretty damn good! My energy came back up, I felt very motivated which is a huge blessing because we sold our house, packed, moved, unpacked, organized, decorated, painted and hosted two parties since my last update. SO, needless to say, nesting is in full mode as we make our new house a home. Now that I’m in month 8, I find myself slowing down a little, getting more tired throughout the days and not springing out of bed at 4am the way I used to. I am (kind of) counting down the days until my maternity leave starts, hey, I’m human, too! …It’s February 14th BTW. I decided to take the four weeks leading up to my due date off because if history repeats itself, I will be put on bed rest due to high blood pressure then anyways. It’s better for my clients, my employee and myself if I prepare for that to happen and give my business some time to run without me prior to me having a newborn in my arms. Because my husband owns his own tax firm, he is already very MIA and we’ve had to call in additional reinforcement for kid pick-ups on my late nights and I just need to be around and available more because he isn’t, so it really does work out best for me to stop about a month out.

My fainting and dizzy episodes have subsided which is great! I did end up in the hospital last week after a flu spell. I couldn’t keep anything down and I was very dehydrated AND contractions started. I contracted 2-3 minutes apart for 7 hours. Let me tell you, contractions plus the flu, sitting in a hospital bed is NO JOKE. After 3 liters of fluids, two separate shots to stop labor, a shot of steroids for the baby’s lungs in case it was “go time,” a collapsed vein, and some anti-nausea medication – I survived and I’m still pregnant which is the ultimate goal. I was not and am not prepared for a 31 week baby, so we are happy I was able to go home baby still inside! It was a scary ordeal when they really thought a bag of fluids would knock the contractions out but instead they only got stronger and more consistent. After another liter of fluids, it was the same outcome, they called in the reinforcement of the shots. They would only administer 3 shots, so luckily after shot 2, the contractions subsided.

I have been feeling contractions every day since, but they fizzle and don’t get more intense. Yesterday, I contracted from 11am until 4 pm every 5 minutes. It’s a mind game, but my doctor said the more pregnancies you have, the sooner your body and uterus prepare, so I’m keeping that in mind and not expecting to go early. Just hope my uterus is getting her work in now so when it is go time, she’s strong and ready and won’t make me deal with a 4 day long labor again! Let’s go girl, you got this!

“I’m 37 weeks and trying NOT to focus on the weight gain. How do you do in your experiences?” // First of all, I feel you! It’s totally normal to A. try not to worry about the scale and B. TOTALLY worry about the damn scale. It’s a mind game. Everyone expects you to just “accept it” “you’re pregnant” “you’re body is doing what it’s supposed to” “trust the process” “You look great,” but in reality, it just isn’t that fucking easy to do.

It isn’t normal to gain 5+ pounds a month, like I’ve done in each pregnancy. It’s a rapid weight gain and your body is changing so fast. It’s uncomfortable and scary, especially for first time moms. My weight gain was 50 pounds with my first and 52 pounds with my second and neither time was it easy to see those numbers on the scale. This time because I started at a heavier number on the scale, I’m gaining less, but I’m at the exact same weight in pounds as I was with the first two at each appointment. What I’ve decided is that my body gains the weight it needs to.

Is it easy? No. Have I done it twice over, taken it off and think the baby is worth every pound? Yes. This being the 3rd time around, I’m way less hard on myself and my body and seem to brush off the “ugh” feeling faster than I did before. I’m giving my body these 9 months to do what it needs to do. I’m giving myself permission to eat the brownies and have McDonalds when I feel like it guilt free. And to get my workouts in when I can. Here’s what I encourage you to do what I do the the next time you’re at the doctor and hop on the scale:

Let your heart sink.

Feel the things you feel.

Text your bestie and say “What the fuck…another 5 pounds gained this month!” Like I do.

….Then I move on and try to just know it won’t last forever and it really is an amazing thing our bodies are going through.

DON’T GET ON THE SCALE AGAIN UNTIL YOUR NEXT APPOINTMENT. Don’t obsess over it. I get on only at my doctor’s appointments and towards the end, I’ve even turned around to not see the scale so it didn’t affect my mental health. I told the nurse to have the doctor tell me if it’s anything I should be concerned about otherwise, I prefer not to know.

At my last doctors appointment I was up 30 pounds total and still have 2 months to go. It seems like I gain a steady 5 pounds each month I’m in which would put me at a 40 – 50 pound weight gain total over all, if I stay on this trend.

Cravings + Food // Still loving cereal and sweets. I’m not normally a sweets girl, but I was literally mad when my husband and sons would eat a brownie. Like, no, they’re for mom guys…!

What’s Your Favorite Part About Being Pregnant // The element of surprise and watching my bump and baby grow. I love waiting to find out the gender. It’s the like the cherry on top of an already incredible Sundae when you hear the gender. It’s the most magical moment hearing and figuring out WHO it’s been the whole time. I ask that George is the one that tells me the gender and I’ll never forget the tears in his eyes as he said “It’s a boy!” With Sully, I didn’t “know” if he was a boy or a girl for probably a good 5 minutes after he was born. He was on my chest, eyes wide open and I just knew. I knew he was a boy. And finally the doctors and nurses were like, “What is it!?!” haha! Those magic moments…I can’t WAIT to relive again. Can. not. wait.

Boy or Girl Vibes //  Right away, because I was SO sick, I thought for SURE a girl. But at the 20 week ultrasound, both George and I, totally felt boy. The heartbeat was exactly the same, it’s profile looked exactly like the boys, it had huge feet like the boys, and we both left saying “it’s another boy!” I’d be so excited for a 3rd boy. Like, I could cry thinking of another son. In the last few weeks, I do feel like I’m carrying differently than the boys. Though my stomach is a low rider, as always, it seems to be popping out more instead of getting wider. I’ve also not been able to stop thinking about girl names, so maybe it’s my sub-cautious telling me something!?

Do You Have the Nursery Set Up in the New House? // Yes and no. When we moved a few weeks ago, we did all the things in 10 days and left the nursery undone and full of baby item bins. But, in the last week, we’ve put together the crib, painted the closet (it was so gross!), put things away, starting washing clothes, gathering items for my hospital bag, pulling out all the gender neutral items we have, and making lists of things we don’t have anymore from the boys.

The nursery won’t be super done or decorated right now (or if ever, honestly!). It’s just different with #3. Those things aren’t super important to me anymore. Plus, the room is already a beautiful soft gray, so no painting needs to be done and our babies usually sleep in our room for about 3 months or so, so the rush isn’t felt.

There are some little things that need to be purchased though: Here’s what I’m thinking, each boy got to pick out an animal print from this Etsy Shop for their new room, so I decided to get them involved and let them each pick one animal for the baby’s room too, I need a night stand and a lamp because there is no overhead light in the room (weird), shades / curtains and maybe a plant to add a little something calming to the room.

Otherwise, because we can’t use rock-n-plays anymore like the boys did, we will move the crib into our room (now that we actually have a master that is HUGE!) and put the doc-a-tot into the crib and see how that goes for a while. If it’s not working, I’ll get a co-sleeper or bassinet for next to the bed. I feel way better having our babies sleep close to me for a while.

“Are You Keeping the Sex a Secret? Guesses?! More Babies or Are You Done After 3?!”// 

We are keeping the sex a secret from us included! Ha! We don’t know the gender of the baby and will find out on their birthday!

Guesses: Right away we both thought girl based off of how awful I felt compared to the boys, but now we both feel it’s a third boy! The pregnancy has evened out to feel exactly like the boys, at the 20 week ultrasound the baby’s profile looked exactly like the boys and it had big feet just like they did, too, the heartbeat has been nearly identical to the boy’s at each appointment, too. I just picture a third boy in this family and I’d be so thrilled with a 3rd little boy!

More babies? Great question! I can’t imagine this being my last pregnancy or my last baby, but I really want, and need, to take it one baby at a time. See how overwhelmed I feel, see how our family dynamic is and see if I could mentally handle another once this baby arrives. Also, there is something to be said about closing this chapter of our lives and moving forward into the next without newborns and diapers every two years. I always say these years are hard, but it’s worth it for the full Thanksgiving table in 20 years I dream of! George is so open to more if I want more or is done if I want to be done.

What I hope will happen is, I will know one way or the other once the baby is here for a bit what we will be best for us. I very well could feel so complete with once the baby is here and content with shutting down shop. If we do have another one, I’d really like to do it sooner than later. I would like to be done having babies by 35, so I’d only have about 1.5 years left to make it happen.

How’s Work // For the most part, great! I’m feeling good on my good days and my energy is still there for my early 4am wake up calls and 6pm classes. It helps to have incredible clients who are so supportive and encouraging to me in my pregnancy. I’ve got the best ones in town, hands down. I am beginning to prepare for my maternity leave though – only 4 weeks away! It’s tough when you own your own business to step away and put it in the hands of someone else. I know each client will be taken care of and I will be creating their programs for while I’m gone, but it’s still not easy!

I am planning to step away from my business with a month left in my pregnancy. So, Mid-February, I’ll be phasing myself out. I want to give Brian, my trainer, and my clients a chance to get comfortable without me there yet I’m still available when and if I’m needed. I see this as a smoother transition than a hard stop when I’m in labor. In the past, I’ve had to be put on bed rest around 36 weeks or so due to high blood pressure, so I’d rather be prepared for that than rushing to figure it out during that time.

 Thanks for stopping by now go shop!

Molly