my pregnancy essentials

When I found out I was pregnant, I was equal parts excited and overwhelmed. Thank goodness for all of my mommy friends that were always happy to answer my million questions. So now that I am almost at the end of this journey (39 weeks and counting!) I want to share my pregnancy essentials. Below are the items that I currently can't live without.

1. Mama Bee Belly Butter - This is an item that I wish I had from the beginning. Lesson learned: purchase a fragrance-free lotion! Especially during the first trimester. I first purchased Palmer's Cocoa Butter and I couldn't stand the smell. So when I learned about the Mama Bee Belly Butter from Burt's Bees, I was a happy camper. It is a natural fragrance-free formula and makes your skin feel very soft and smooth. I buy mine at Target.

2. Bump Nest Pregnancy Pillow - I am a great sleeper, but around 23 weeks I was having a hard time getting comfy. So I knew it was time to get a pregnancy pillow. As soon as I got my Bump Nest pillow I was back in business and sleeping like a baby. The only downfall is that you can't really cuddle with your partner anymore because you are surrounded by the pillow. But cuddling can wait!

3. Ovia Pregnancy App - I love this app!!! It has been very helpful throughout the whole pregnancy. The two features that I use the most are the Food Safety Lookup, where they list every food item imaginable and they tell you if you can eat it or not. And the Symptoms Lookup where they list all kinds of symptoms that you might feel. It explains if it's normal and why are you feeling it. This App also tracks how far along you are and surfaces useful info every week.

4. Contigo Water Bottle - Before being pregnant, I was pretty bad at drinking lots of water. So once I found out I was knocked up, I knew that needed to change. I went ahead and got this bottle at Target and it made a huge difference. It fits 24oz of water and I can take it with me everywhere.

5. Snacks - One of the things you want to have with you at all times are snacks. I am a big fan of the Kashi bars and I always have at least 2 of them in my purse. Other snacks that I'm a big fan of are: Stonyfield organic smoothies, cheese sticks and bananas.

6. One A Day Prenatal Vitamins with DHA - I can take these vitamins on an empty stomach which is a big plus for me because I can take them right when I wake up.

7. Motherhood Maternity Nursing Bras - My cousin gave me a genius piece of advice: when you are pregnant and it's time to get new bras, just go ahead and get nursing bras. That way you don't have to buy even more bras once you give birth. When I went to Motherhood Maternity they told me that these were their best sellers, so I went ahead and bought a couple of these. I highly recommend them. Super comfy and they come in a variety of colors.

8. MAMA Jersey Tank Tops - These are a must. I was pregnant during the winter, so I would put these under my regular sweaters in case they raised up. And now that it is spring, they go perfect with leggings and a light jacket. Did you know H&M sold maternity clothes? Because I didn't until a co-worker of mine told me and I was SO HAPPY to find out. They have super cute clothes and pretty affordable.

9. MAMA Super Skinny Jeans - I am a skinny jeans kind of gal. I normally wear 7 Jeans but I decided to try the H&M maternity jeans out since they were only $30! Let's just say that I now own 3 pairs. They are super comfortable, they fit perfectly, they come in different colors and the price!!! THE PRICE!

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pre-motherhood thoughts

Happy Friday everyone!!!

As of this Sunday, I am going to be full term. Crazy, I know! I can't believe it's almost time to meet our little man. One thing I know for certain is that our lives are about to change big time. I'm really looking forward to this new adventure, but I'm also terrified of all the unknowns. How long is labor going to be? What type of baby are we going to have? How will I react to the lack of sleep? How is my relationship with Matt going to change? The list goes on and on. So I figured that it would be fun to put all of my current thoughts in writing and in a couple of months, I'll look back and reflect on the way I was feeling pre-baby.

5 things I'm going to miss the most
• Our current Saturday morning ritual: waking up but staying in bed catching up and planning our weekend.
• Sleeping. If you know me, you know that I loooove sleeping.
• Traveling whenever we have the chance.
• Date nights with my boo.
• Being able to sit down on my couch and watch endless hours of TV whenever my heart pleases. Which is often.   

5 things I'm looking forward to
• Meeting our little guy and seeing whom he looks like.
• Seeing how Matt interacts with our son. I bet this will melt my heart.
• Going on nice long walks with my boy while I’m on maternity leave.
• Fitting into my old clothes and being able to buy cute non-maternity clothes again.
• Working out! I am not one of those people that like working out that much but I haven’t done it in 8 months and I am starting to miss it. Say whattt? 

5 things I'm hoping for
• That I will have a fairly easy and safe labor.
• That our baby boy will be healthy.
• That I will have an easy time breastfeeding.
• That our boy will love sleeping as much as I do.
• That all of the maternal instincts will kick in and I’ll know what I’m doing.

It will be interesting to see how everything turns out. We will know soon enough! :) Have a great weekend everyone.

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30-week bump update

How far along? 30 weeks and 1 day to be exact. Crazy! 10 more weeks to go :)

Maternity clothes? Oh yes, but I haven't purchased that much maternity clothes. I'm actually proud of how budget friendly I have been! I've only purchased 2 pairs of maternity jeans, a couple of maternity black leggings and about 6 basic maternity tops. Other than that, I have been wearing my regular sweaters and cardigans.

Sleep? After I got my pregnancy body pillow from bumpnest, I have been sleeping great. I'm definitely more tired on the third trimester than I was on my second, but that is to be expected.

Best moment this week? We finally made it to IKEA and since we have been stuck inside the house for days (the snow has been brutal here in Boston!), we were able to put all of the furniture together. I can't wait to finish the room and share it with you guys.

Physical activity? Ha! With all of this snow (84 inches and counting!), I haven't been doing much of anything. I usually walk a half a mile to and from the train station, but with all of this snow I have been driving to the train.

Baby movement? Oh yes! All of the time. It's one of the best feelings in the world.

Food cravings? Mexican food and anything that you would consider a dessert. Ice cream, cookies, donuts... I want them all.

Gender? It's a boy!

Milestones? 10 more weeks to go! It's crazy how fast time has flown by.

Feelings? Getting very excited and nervous at the same time. Trying to "prepare" myself as much as I can by reading and trying to educate myself about how to take care of our little one. I hardly ever babysat when I was younger, so I literally have no idea what I am getting myself into. I bought the husband a couple of "dad books" for Christmas, so he is hopefully doing some reading of his own ;)

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nursery inspiration

We started working on the nursery a couple of weeks ago and it's going to be the cutest room in the whole house. When I am decorating a room, I usually do a moodboard so that I can wrap my head around what I want the room to look like. It helps me think of the color palette, the textures, and the overall theme. It's also a great tool to have. It helps me figure out if pieces that I am looking at (like furniture, art, rugs...) fit with everything else.

The theme for our baby boy's nursery is what I am going to call: happy camper. It is a pretty neutral color palette with touches of gray, yellow and navy. I wanted the room to be peaceful but fun at the same time. It's also a theme that our boy can grow into. I'm really excited about it and can't wait to see how it all comes together.

We also decided to create a mural on the wall where the crib is going to be. It was inspired by this pin.

(Image source)

Isn't it super cute? Can't wait to share it with you guys!!!

Below are the sources for all of the items:
Room sign  |  Laugh pillow  |  Cloud pillow  |  Hello adventure art print  |  Wood camera  |  Baby animal prints  |  Campsite nightlight  |  Crib  |  Dresser  |  Fabric swatches (yellow, gray, navy)  |  Rocker  |  Planter  |  Globe  |  Cloud mobile  |  Animal hamper  |  Side table  |  Rug  |  River photograph  |  Pouf  |  Wood toy

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first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes a...

...a baby boy!!! We are super pumped to share the news that Matt and I are expecting a little boy this April. We are super excited and terrified all at the same time. Haha. Lots of changes will be coming our way next year but we are looking forward to all the new adventures and experiences.

Maybe now you realize why I have been MIA from the blog world for the last couple of months. The first 10 weeks of pregnancy were brutal. I felt like I was hungover every single day. But now I am 20 weeks (half way there yay!) and I feel great. If I could only get motivated to start working out again... Maybe that will come next week or maybe not. I'm just taking it easy and enjoying being lazy for the last time in my life for the next 18 years.

So don't worry, I'll keep posting on the blog here and there. I still have so many pictures to share from my trips this year. If I could just not fall asleep every night at 8:30pm on the couch that would be helpful! Let's hope this baby likes to sleep as much as I do (wishful thinking, I know!). A girl can dream.

Here are some frequently asked questions that people have been asking me a lot when they found out there is a bun in the oven.

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When are you due?
April 26.

How are you feeling?
I currently feel amazing! Can't complain. After the first 10 weeks of pure misery, I am really enjoying being pregnant. It's a great excuse to use in order to have the husband do things for me ;)

Is Matt all excited to have a boy?
He is super excited. I actually thought it was going to be a girl for some reason and he was insistent that it was a boy. So he was right. And we all know how much men love to be right. haha
  
Are you having any food cravings?
Mexican food. All the time. Can't seem to get enough.

Any foods that you are currently hating?
Peanut butter. Super weird since I still love almond butter. But the other day I tried to eat peanut butter on toast and almost threw up.

Are you going back to work after the baby?
Yes I am. I will take 3-4 months of maternity leave and then I will go back to work. I'm one of those people that really like their job. So I think I will be more fulfilled if I still had my career. I bet it will be super hard to leave my baby at daycare but at the end of the day, it's the best decision for us. Plus, Boston is crazy expensive so it will be easier financially if we both worked. 

Did you already think of names?
All we know is that we want it to be a Spanish name. Preferably, a Spanish name that has no English translation to it. So we are still in the brainstorming phase. At least we now know to only think of boy names :)

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