Pregnancy post #4, Dressing the bump, part 1

          When I was younger, I did a lot of online window shopping. More than once I thought, hey, I'm gonna shop maternity wear, even though it was seriously years until I would ever wear any. I've got about 10 weeks left of pregnancy, and I have no idea how much more my body will change between now and the arrival of my little man. That being said, I haven't broken the bank either, but I'm well taken care of. Here is what I have done.

           First thing, shop what you got. I looked at clothes that had a little more give to them, yoga pants, stretchy or flowy tops. I'm still able to wear a lot of my PJ pants below my bump, and the only maternity tops I own, were purchased for me. I also remove anything that doesn't fit anymore. I don't want to dwell on the fact a top I really like doesn't fit, and I want to grab my clothes I do wear easily. Leaving the stuff that is too small was just a huge mess so I removed it as it ended it's usefulness. Another thing I've done? Snagged a thing or two from Cale. He has one sweater he never wore, that I'm absolutely in love with.  I've been able to stay non-maternity for a lot of my clothes. BUT there are exceptions. 

          I hit up kijiji very early in my pregnancy, and I kind of hit the jackpot. I started with a belly band, which a lot of people swear by....for me it was, okay...it was short lived, but thankfully I spent like $10 on it, so I just have it packed away with other clothes that don't work anymore. Speaking of work, I purchased 1 pair of maternity work pants. Again I didn't spend a lot, maybe $15. Truth be told, I hate them. BUT I needed them, and from what I hear, dress pants kind of suck in general in maternity wear. K, so here is the jackpot. I had intention of purchasing 1 pair of jeans. The woman selling them had such a hard time selling, she ended up handing me 5 pairs of jeans, and said, just take them.One pair didn't work, but I'm well equipped with jeans.

         
           On one hand, I wasn't terribly lucky with the selection the city I live in has for maternity options, there is like one. On the other hand, I have a mother in-law who was more than happy to pick me up a pair of leggings early on, and she had a little more fun while she was at it. She picked me up yoga pants and a couple of maternity tops too. The pants are basically what I live in, I love them. The tops were basic, which is what I've been going for my entire pregnancy. Complicating can get expensive.

           This post is one I decided to do as a two parter. What I've covered, is stuff that has worked well for me, most of my pregnancy. That being said, as I'm planning my hospital bag, and wondering what I'll wear after, I'm picking up a couple of other pieces. These are the things I've been doing lately, and will show up later today!

            K, LuvYa, Bye!
            Nancy

Pregnancy Post #3, A Moody post

            Tomorrow is typically when I would post a blog, but I have a lot on my plate with my diabetic clinic in the morning, and a butt load of errands to run, so are going to be fun, and some are the truest form of adulting. So I decided to post today, and while I feel the creative juices flowing, I'm a tad moody today, so we'll see how this goes. 

            Last night was birthing class #2, and it was a very interactive class. However I'm still fighting my cold, so I stayed back so I wouldn't infect the other offspring carriers, and wore one of those surgical masks they ask you to wear at the hospital when you're not 100%. That was like being in a sauna. Seriously, I wasn't having any sinus issues, but half way through the class I felt like my eyes were floating, and I became a heavy mouth breather...thank god most of my face wasn't visible. Speaking of visibility, reduced. Sans glasses I was attempting to squint, and luckily got the gist of everything...with the glasses was some serious foggy conditions. However, my kid, 100% worth it all, I don't want to miss any of these classes because I want to be as well equipped to make the actually birthing process as easy, and safe as possible for my little man. 

            And for just a second, allow me to gush about my big man, who was a rockstar this week. Not that he wasn't last week, but I did catch his chin on his chest once or twice when the lights went down. Not last night, last night, he took the helm. He was my cup holder...and really my anything I needed him to be holder. When we were practicing the stuff we could do from our seats, he was making me smile, and when I sat out the interactive parts, he was climbing all over the room to see what was happening. Most of the class was teaching the birth partner what to do, and he was paying very close attention. Don't be surprised if I go off on Cale gushing from time to time on here,because he has been amazing, and it's bound to happen. 

             Also, come to find out, another piece of baby furniture has arrived at my store! And it was the one I was hoping for next! The change table has arrived! Jake's room is currently pretty disorganized, aside from the closet, so I was waiting for this one, because most of the mayhem will be housed in the change table. 

             Well this blog post was... I guess more organized than I expected, kind of ranty, but there it is. excited (and maybe nervous) to see where my inspiration comes from on the next. 

              K, Luv ya, Bye

              Nancy 

Pregnancy post #2, Gestational Diabetes

         When I planned on doing these posts, I had originally made a list of ones I thought would be fun to do. I seem to be getting some of the grittier parts done first, and let's be honest, I had no idea #1 would be about being sick with a cold.

           Right off the bat, thanks for the comments I got on the cold post, I got some good feedback and while I'm not 100% this is my best morning I've had since getting sick.
 
           I'm considered a higher risk pregnancy, for two reasons. On we'll cover today, and another on a later post. Today, I'm talking about my Gestational Diabetes. Gestational Diabetes is actually very common, and since I've been treating it properly, I feel a million times better. I'm part of some chat groups and stuff for pregnant women, due the same month as me and a LOT of them blame themselves, and take it pretty hard. I guess knowing how common it is, and how many people in my family have some form of diabetes, I shrugged it off and said, I'll do what I gotta do (it's a phrase I've used multiple times through my pregnancy). I'm also going to stress when I met with the dietitian after being diagnosed, one of the things they hammer home is, we did nothing wrong, this happens.

          The biggest issues I've had since being diagnosed? #1 was probably Christmas. I am not on insulin, I control everything with diet alone. So while I was still posting about some of my traditions on my blog, some I had to pass up, like my Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate, and most of my plate for Christmas dinner was greens. The biggest temptation has also been the cookies. I don't have a huge sweet tooth, but I do enjoy cookies now and then, and we had already done our baking when I was diagnosed. We still have a few kicking around at this point, and I can have one or two, as long as I'm careful.

            Another issue I've kind of had, is being tethered to my meter in more ways than one. So every morning I do my first test, and then two hours after each meal. I'm still working so I often wonder what my co-workers think when I have to run off the floor RIGHT after we open, because it's been two hours since breakfast (of course that has happened for other reasons as well). Night time is harder for me too. I'm supposed to have supper, and then wait two hours, do my blood and then have a snack before bed. I have been going to bed around 8:00 since my first trimester...some times I've forgotten and eaten before I check and then I'm reading higher...or I'm almost asleep and barely functioning to do my blood, or have a snack.

            In all fairness, if these are my biggest drawbacks, I'm doing well. No two pregnancies are alike, and things happen. For me, I guess I realized early on how little control I had in a lot of this process, so I just take it as it comes...don't get me wrong, I still wake up in the night stressing about something now and then, but for the most part, I just deal. By the way, way out of character for me too, I can stress very easily, and often.

             K Luv Ya Bye

             Nancy

Pregnancy post #1, Terrible cold

                Every year when I’m doing blog posts around this time, there is one about combating a massive cold…I said after the Christmas posts were done, I’d be getting into the posts about my pregnancy…and I am…while combating a massive cold. Before anyone jumps the gun here, I DID get a flu shot…so let’s crush that right now.

                

                Last night was my work’s Holiday party, as the captain of our social committee, I needed to keep it together for the  party. Was all hydration and vitamin c. But basically as soon as I got through the door, it caught up to me. Now typically speaking when I have a cold, I have a method. I take a night time cold medication so I can get some rest. I have avoided popping pills through my entire pregnancy, so instead I put a concoction into my oil diffuser. The only thing I’ve been popping is vicks vitamin c drops. I also try for a lot of hydration. Now usually I rotate Tea, OJ, and Water, once an hour for hydration.  I’m still doing my hourly rotation, but because of my gestational diabetes, OJ is not my friend as far as my sugars go, and tea, I have to be strategic with my time placement. SO Water has played a big role. Beyond that it’s been hacking up all the grossness I have in me. I have a total lack of voice right now, and I’m trying to rest as best I can, but in all honesty, I’m scared to try any more than I have.

                

                 Needless to say, Karaoke did not happen at the company party.

                K Luv Ya Bye!  

Wrap it all up

             

Well I sit here now a little sad, it’s all over for another year. Christmas was wonderful, not quite what we planned, but to be fair, does it ever go 100% to plan? I mentioned in the early post, my blog isn’t to give you a magazine styled Christmas, it’s to help make your Christmas, your way, and make it easier. I hope I was able to do this. This year, I felt my blogs were more consistent and helpful.

                What’s coming up? Well here is my PLAN! I will stress plan, because I’m not making a commitment, not sure what’s coming for me in the next couple months. My plan is to continue doing blog posts, to be fair it was last year too. But I plan to do some posts about my pregnancy. Before pregnancy, and during, I was super into reading blogs and watching vlogs about pregnancy, and motherhood. I’ve got no experience with motherhood yet, but I do have some stories of pregnancy.

                Back to this blog series though. I do plan to do it again next year (actually to an extent I have it organized already), so watch for that. I also posted on FB already an offer to people who enjoy my series, next year I can share it on  your facebook wall when I post on my pages. This way you’re alerted to the posts and know where to find them. I have a short list of names as it is, but if you’re interested, please let me know.

K, Luv ya, Bye

Nancy, Cale and Alice

Pack it up

              Okay, it’s here…packing up the decorations. This one can seriously bum me out, and can be overwhelming. Last year I decided to take it slow, I turned something on the TV that I enjoyed, and just took my time. This year, I get tired quicker, so I have to take my time more, but I have help.

                I always make sure I take a lot of breaks. If it starts to feel like a lot, stop, because it actually is A LOT. As you put the decorations away, try to organize it too. Another thing you can do is haul out that decoration inventory list you may a couple months back and add things to it, or use it as a tool to help you organize.

                This is really going to be the last thing on our Christmas planning and prep series. I’ll have one more post just reflect and review this year’s series and start to make some plans for next year.

Snap some Pics

               

Alright back on track with the Christmas stuff. So you might be ahead of me for this part, some people like to have Christmas finished quickly…I’m not one of those people. I do however need to put myself on a schedule for it...I’ve had years where I had Santa celebrate Valentines day.

                Today we still leave the decorations where they are. Actually what I want you to do is go around the house and snap pics of how you decorated this year. This is to help with the process next year. You’ll see what you did, what you liked and what you want to repeat. You might also get ideas for what you would like to change next year.

                Your other task, if you haven’t yet, is to put those gifts away. Open gifts like to linger in our house, so they need to be on that schedule I was talking about or they could sit out a while.

These are your two tasks today