• Pregnancy

    First Trimester Recap: Weeks 3-13

    January 28, 2020

    Hi friends. Today I wanted to share with you how my first trimester went with this pregnancy. Overall I would say it was a little bit easier than with Shane’s pregnancy. (Although I also had it easy with him when compared with how hard others have it.) I do not take this for granted and am so thankful for the blessing that this pregnancy and babe is.

    I thought it would be fun to just copy and paste how I’ve been tracking my symptoms. I’ve just been keeping little notes in my Notes app on my phone.

    Finding Out:

    But before we get into that I wanted to give a little bit of background. We were very fortunate to get pregnant very quickly. We had only been trying for one month. Since we were actively trying I started taking pregnancy tests very early on and found out at only 3 weeks, 4 days!

    Then I took these cheap pregnancy tests until I ran out of them lol. I took my first bump picture when I was ten weeks. It’s definitely true you show faster with your second.

    Symptoms:

    Inside my mind during the first trimester of pregnancy:

    3 weeks- a little more tired than usual. craving pizza and potatoes. sometimes feel like twinges of queasiness if I’m really hungry but nothing serious.
    4 weeks- craving salad?? Sent tommy out for a crispy chicken Cesar salad from BK. Feeling a little tired but able to push through if I have to. More hungry than usual.  Switched to decaf coffee for second cup
    5 weeks- had a few days where I was extremely tired but not debilitating every day. Not too many cravings this week. Nachos one night and Cesar salad again. Not any strong aversions which was weird because I had some last pregnancy. Still drinking coffee surprisingly as well. Dropped the second cup because decaf has tons of chemicals in it. A day or two I had a small cup in the morning so I could have another cup in the afternoon. Feeling relatively normal though. 
    6 weeks- very tired, slightly nauseous on day 1. 6.5 weeks super nauseous one morning. Had a really hard time sleeping a few nights and couldn’t stomach coffee. Next day feel a lot better though. Also taking naps almost every day. End of week felt relatively normal. Mild nausea but nothing crazy and wasn’t super tired. 
    7 weeks- first day or two felt pretty good. 7w2d woke up at night super nauseous and with a headache and couldn’t sleep. Had to eat goldfish and wait for nausea to pass before going back to sleep. Stopped drinking coffee this week. Was only drinking a couple sips anyway. 
    8 weeks- still exhausted. Craving French fries. Nothing tastes good though. Not even baked ziti. 8w4d- have been feeling relatively normal the past few days. Coffee hasn’t tasted terrible and I have had like no nausea. Belly hurts if I try to eat too much though and still not eating meat. Ultrasound went perfectly!! Baby measured right on track with a heart rate of 180! Had some gas pains and tummy issues. Some foods just really don’t taste great. Made cheesesteak quesadillas tonight and was able to eat it but it didn’t taste very good. Have still been tired but seems to be lessening a tiny bit but still am very unmotivated to do anything 
    9 weeks- first day super nauseas. Couldn’t eat much. 9w1d feel normal, sort of worried. 9w4d yesterday I felt completely normal, was able to drink coffee and this morning I also don’t feel pregnant. Hoping everything is okay. Still having terrible nursing aversion though. 9w5d occasionally still feel pregnant. Mostly just my belly feels off. Nothing really sounds that great to eat. My belly is getting bigger. Craving yellow starburst today?
    10 weeks- feeling more normal this week. Still taking naps though and have been feeling mostly unmotivated. Food aversions have been a lot less too. Starting trying to drink coffee but still not totally enjoying it
    11 weeks- almost normal but still feel unmotivated and tired a lot. Still taking some naps and sleeping a lot at night (9 hours). Still haven’t wanted to drink coffee really. Been drinking tea for the caffeine. Food is starting to taste more normal though. Having trouble drinking water still and my skin is super dry
    12 weeks- FINALLY FEEL NORMAL AGAIN. I woke up on the first day of 12 weeks and felt GREAT! I drank a cup of coffee and cleaned the house for the first time in forever. Day 2 of week 12, also drank a cup of coffee, enjoyed pasta and sauce, and chicken and broccoli, which are things that I haven’t enjoyed in a long time. I craved Chinese food on this day too so Tommy brought it home for lunch! Also had a craving for onion dip and chips and Tommy went out one night and bought me some. Took a few naps this week because I just couldn’t stay awake. But was able to consistently drink coffee each morning and even had a second cup one day.
    13 weeks- I’m only 13.2 but so far this week has been pretty mild still. I was a little more tired than usual but nothing crazy. Still drinking and loving my morning coffee again. Didn’t think that would happen. I have an appointment this week. I can’t wait to hear the heartbeat again. Ever since feeling more normal, I don’t feel like I’m pregnancy anymore. It feels super weird. Got super sick this week. Had a low fever for 24 hours. Took Tylenol twice to keep it down. Was scared something happened to the baby. Ended up being okay. Had my doctors appointment at 13.5 and heartbeat was 151! 💗 It made it feel more real and I’m actually going to allow myself to get excited. Haven’t had really any pregnancy symptoms this week because I’ve been so preoccupied with my cold symptoms which have been terrible. Shane’s 2nd birthday was this week and I weaned him completely off breastfeeding. The end of this week I’ve been having to wake up early morning to pee and have been having a hard time falling back asleep.

    So all in all, the first trimester wasn’t that bad at all. I’m very fortunate that Tommy comes home around lunchtime most days so I was able to take naps when I needed to. I also stopped waking up early and just woke up when Shane woke me up. I definitely was going to bed earlier than I normally did too. I couldn’t make it past ten, which is super rare for me.

    Now that I’m in the second trimester, I don’t feel pregnant at all anymore. It’s very nice to have my energy back and have motivation to get things done. But mostly I’m thankful for a healthy, growing babe. I’ll be back in about a month to do another update. Thanks for following along! 🙂

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  • Life

    Shane’s 2nd Birthday

    January 21, 2020

    Last Sunday was Shane’s second birthday and we had the best time celebrating our sweet boy. I wanted to recap the day on the blog for memories sake but also to share with you guys too. I still can’t believe we have a two year old!

    When Shane woke up I had balloons blown up and ready to dump into his crib! He loved it and we played with them for the next 30 mins or so. It was so much fun and a great start to the day!

    We then remembered that Shane loves donuts so we decided to go to the local marketplace and order some breakfast. As you can see Shaney thoroughly enjoyed his donut! And yes he ate the whole thing! I couldnt believe it lol!

    After breakfast, our big two year old requested to watch his favorite movie, Frozen. How could we turn him down?

    On his birthday it was insanely warm for New Jersey in January, it was over 60 degrees! Normal temperatures are anywhere from 0-40ish? Sixty degrees was a dream and even though we all had colds and weren’t really feeling super well, we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and went for a walk around the block! It felt really nice to be out in the sunshine.

    After Shane woke up from his nap, it was time for the thing we we’re most excited about! We took Shane to his first movie in the theaters and saw Frozen 2! He currently loves watching movies and absolutely loves Frozen. He was the absolute sweetest in the movies and loved it and the whole experience so much! Tommy and I both said watching him enjoy the movie was the most fun we’ve had in a long time. He was just so cute!

    After the movie we went back to my mom’s house and ordered pizza and had a very small party to celebrate our two year old! It was a really sweet time celebrating with everyone.

    I kind of fell off the picture train at this point. My cold started getting really bad and I felt feverish so I forgot all about taking pictures. I’m pretty bummed I didn’t get a picture of his cake. I made this one for him and put a little Olaf on top with a little “2” candle. It was simple but really cute.

    We just loved celebrating our sweet boy and it was such a fun, special day!

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  • Baby

    Baby Zin #2 Coming Soon!

    January 20, 2020

    Surprise, surprise friends! Baby Zin #2 expected July 16th, 2020!

    I am currently 14 weeks 4 days and feeling back to normal, which is such a blessing. We are all so excited to add another one to our family and I can’t wait to share the journey with you guys! I will be back later on this week with an update on how weeks 3-13 went! Thanks for following along with our family. It means so much to me!

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  • Coffee Dates,  Life

    Let’s Have Coffee | Vol. 17

    January 16, 2020

    If we were having coffee, I would tell you that it was Shane’s 2nd birthday on Sunday! I would tell you all about our day and share that it was such a special day and that we had so much fun! I would also share that I can’t believe we have a two year old! Time goes by so so fast!

    If we were having coffee, I would likely talk about how I am just itching for summer to come back already. We are just dying to get back to the beach. The winters are just so long and we always feel like we are just stuck inside with nothing fun to do. I would ask what you do to get out of your house during the cold dreary months.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask how your new year is going. I would ask if you set any goals this year and would love to hear about them. I would share that I don’t really do specific goals but would really like to start. I would ask you how you stick to your goals. I struggle with even really remembering what my goals are and have a hard time really picking what’s important to focus on anyway.

    If we were having coffee, and we were really close, I would probably talk about my struggle to really find my footing as a stay at home mom. I would explain that its hard to explain but that I do really love staying home and being the one to care for my son. I don’t ever seriously consider that as not an option and am incredibly grateful to be able to have the opportunity to do it. But at the same time there is just a longing to be able to help more financially and to have another “part” of my life.

    If we were having coffee, I would share that part of challenging myself to 90 days of no social media was to help me hear from God and to get some clarity about my struggle as a stay at home mom. I would say that God has shown up a lot so far and that I’m eager to share more once it makes more sense.

    If we were having coffee, I would ask about how you’ve been, really been. I would want to know the exciting things happening in your life as well as what you were struggling with. There’s something so special about sitting together in a coffee shop and sharing our hearts with each other.

    Linking up with Lecy. p.s. friends, I have some exciting news coming to my blog on Monday! Don’t miss it! 😉

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  • Book Reviews

    Recent Reads: 2019

    January 9, 2020

    I read ten books last year and I thought it might be fun to share with you my thoughts on them. I’m hoping to read more books this year, especially as I won’t be on social media for the first three months but we shall see what happens.

    Affiliate links are used in this post.

    The Confident Parent by Jane Scott – 4/5 Stars
    My original plan was to read this before Shane was born but honestly never really felt like I needed to. I mistakingly thought I knew enough to take care of a baby with no stress. I think this would have been a great book for me to have read before he was born though because it really helps you remember to find time for yourself and your marriage and not get lost in being just parents, which is a reminder I think all new parents can use. The author is a pediatrician who has lived all over the world and has seen how different mothers are from how they are in the US, and helps you to see that maybe certain things that are normal here might not be as normal as we think.

    The Breastfeeding Mother’s Guide to Making More Milk by Diana West and Lisa Marasco – 4/5 Stars
    I’m pretty sure I started this book last year and finished it this year. I decided to read this because as some of you may know, I had a very hard time nursing Shane. He had a stage 4 tongue and lip tie, as well as cheek ties that weren’t caught until he was 7 weeks old (!). As you can imagine, nursing was very painful and my milk never fully came in, which was devastating for me. I picked this book up to hopefully learn some tips/tricks to help next time.

    All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire – 5/5 Stars
    Oh man, this book. It was so good. Definitely my favorite of the year from this type of book. It’s about a girl from a troubled family who meets a book from out of town who ends up having to go back to his home town right when she needs him most. All of their secrets come out at the end, specifically ones about her family that leave you hanging on to the edge of your seat. Definitely a must read in my opinion.

    The Story of Channon Rose (Part One (4) + Part Two (5)) by Channon Rose – 4/5 Stars
    These are actually two books split between two parts. They are autobiographies by a Youtuber who used to be a porn star. This one may be a little bit surprising to see on my list but I love psychology and learning how people chose the lives that they did. Channon’s story is honestly amazing and I can’t believe the things she has gone through in her life. The first book is about her family life and the second is more about how she got into the porn industry. Both books were super interesting. I discovered her because I watch a lot of Youtube and learned of her through other Youtubers that I watch.

    To Hell With the Hustle by Jefferson Bethke – 5/5 Stars
    If you only take away one book from all of these, let it be this one. This book is life changing. I actually was lucky enough to be on the launch team for this book and read this book before it came out. I’m super grateful for that because Jeff’s insight on how our culture is over-connected and overworked is eye opening. I have been Jeff and Alyssa fans for a long time now but this book is by far my favorite. Jeff actually starts questioning and unpacking how our hustle culture is affecting us and let me tell you, it definitely makes you want to stop and reevaluate the priorities in your life as well.

    Winter Stroll and Winter Storms by Elin Hilderbrand – 4/5 Stars
    I read the first book in this series two winters ago so I decided to pick up the next two this year. I have heard so many good things about these books and I think maybe my hopes were a little too high for them. While I do really like and recommend these books, I don’t think they are quite as good as they are hyped up to be. They are about a family who lives on Nantucket and run an inn together. There are a lot of moving parts in this series, such as a cheating spouse, a son who is a POW, another who is in jail, and a wife who gets addicting to pills. It flashes back and forth between all of the characters points of view and is very interesting. My only complaint is that it is a little predictable.

    Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman – 3.5/5 Stars
    This is another book that I felt didn’t quite live up to the hype although I did think it was very good. It’s about a very socially awkward woman who has kept her distance from others, believing that her life was completely fine with her usual Friday night pizza and vodka guzzling. However everything starts to change when she meets Raymond who very much pushes her outside of her comfort zone to finally realize that things have to change in her life.

    Everything We Keep by Kerry Lonsdale – 5/5 Stars
    This is also another must read. It’s about a girl who works for her parents restaurant as a chef and is engaged to her childhood sweetheart until everything flips onto its head. Her fiancé never comes home from a business trip and her parents business is a lot more unstable than she could have ever imagined. After attending his funeral though, Aimee is unsure of what exactly happened on this business trip and leads her to start uncovering truths about what actually happened to her fiancé. I really enjoyed this book and the unexpected twists and turns of it.

    Have you read any of these? What were your thoughts? I’m planning on writing these types of posts every month or two so that it will be a lot easier to remember my thoughts on the books. 😉

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  • Life

    Day In The Life: January 3, 2020

    January 7, 2020

    Hi friends, since I want to start blogging more regularly, I decided I want to do a day in the life post once a month. I love reading others’ day in the life posts and I think it will be really special to have these to look back on.

    This was just a regular, very low key day. I hope you enjoy a peak into our very mundane, but special to us, life! 😉

    5:45am: I woke up at 5:45 wide awake but laid in bed until 6:30.

    6:30am- Decided it was time to stop wasting time on my phone and get up. I made some coffee with my new Ninja coffee maker that I got for Christmas and sat down to read my bible and journal.

    7:30am- I started to get hungry so I had a yogurt, paid some bills then made breakfast. I forgot to take a picture of my full breakfast but I made breakfast potatoes and scrambled eggs with cheese.

    I’ve been trying to eat a more balanced breakfast than just cereal because that’s all I’m used to eating and it barely fills me up. Eating a proper breakfast has been such a game changer.

    9:00am- Shaney slept super late this day and woke up at 9! He’s been sleeping a lot more lately, probably because he’s fighting off a sinus infection. Poor bud.

    I made him these waffles for breakfast. I alternate between buying these and Kodiak cake protein waffles for him. While he was eating I let him watch a TV show while I ate my breakfast and read some blogs.

    10:00am- I had lots of laundry to do this day so I folded some and ran down into the basement to put some more into the wash. Noelley just napped all day. 😂

    11:00am- Shaney and I read for a while. This is definitely his favorite activity by far! If he’s not requesting to watch “Froze” then he wants to read lots and lots of books. No complaints here!

    12:00pm- We (I was) were feeling extra sleepy this day so I decided to watch a movie with Shaney while we waiting for Tommy to come home from work. He gets out at 12:00pm most days! I had really been wanting to show Shaney Monsters Inc. since it’s one of my favorites, so that’s what we watched. Shane really liked it.

    Sometime while we were watching the movie I texted Tommy that I was really in the mood for Chinese food so he stopped on his way home and picked us up some delicious lunch that day!

    1:00pm- Tommy came home and we all ate lunch together. Then we put Shaney down for his nap at 1:30.

    2:00pm- I did the dishes from breakfast and lunch, switched over the laundry and while I was in the basement discovered that the pipes under out kitchen sink were leaking (again). We had just bought a new faucet about a month earlier because of the same problem.

    Tommy got to work trying to figure it out. He had to run out to the hardware store to buy caulk, but ended up fixing the issue with enough time to get the dinner dishes done that night. 😉

    3:00pm- While he was working on the sink, I started working on an Etsy order. I painted the decal on this kitchen organizer and got everything else together that we needed to finish it.

    4:30pm- Had to wake Shaney up from his nap otherwise he was never going to go to sleep at a reasonable time that night. So thankful for a boy who loves to sleep! 😂

    We just hung out together for a while until it was time to make dinner. (Yes Shaney did indeed stay in his pajamas all day.)

    5:30-7:30pm- I honestly don’t remember who made dinner or what we ate this night but I think Tommy made dinner. We ate and then Tommy and I talked about changes at his job and then I read some more to Shane.

    7:30pm- Shaney had a bath and then I nursed him and put him to bed at 8.

    8:15pm- Tommy and I cleaned up the house before relaxing. Tommy generally does the dishes while I clean up the rest of the house.

    8:30-10:00pm- Tommy and I talked and caught up for the day without a toddler demanding our attention.

    10:00pm- We went to bed but I wasn’t tired yet so Tommy went to sleep (since he wakes up at 4 am) while I read some blogs.

    11:30pm- I got sucked into reading blogs and went to bed entirely too late at 11:30. It’s really a struggle for me to go to bed early as I’m a natural night owl. I just really would rather be a morning person so I try to go to bed early so I can get up early, but that doesn’t always happen.

    Thanks for following along! What does a typical day in your life look like?

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