photography c/o {Rachel B Photo Studio}
Thanks for sending in your questions in DMs!! Some of the questions were the same so I combined a few of them to make them more broad and general. I'm going to do a lot more posts and updates so comment below or DM me anything you want me to add to the next post. I will obviously never disclose your IG handle or name!
Q: How did you know you were ready?
To be totally honest, I still don't know if I'm fully ready, but I am SO excited to be a mom. I've been pretending to be a mom with my barbies and dolls, and playing house with my little brother since I was 3 years old. I know you can only prepare yourself so much, the rest you learn by experience and taking advice from trusted people. Everyone always says you're never ready until there is a baby in your arms, and I fully get that now.
Q: Did you do anything differently or out of the ordinary before you got pregnant?
The only thing I really did differently was take prenatal vitamins. I took these {Nature Made Prenatal Tablets}. In the beginning of my pregnancy, I was taking a very expensive prescription vitamin (VitaPearl) and my doctor said that those are great but the exact same as the Nature Made Prenatal Vitamins. She told me to switch and save my money. I also started working out a little more than normal before I got pregnant. My doctor told me that whatever you do before you get pregnant you can continue to do during your pregnancy. I was running 2 miles a day before I got pregnant, doing the stair master, and lots of weights...however, when I actually got pregnant, I modified my workout.
Q: Do you eat really healthy?
Honestly no, but this is going to be one of the number one things I try to change ASAP. So, as weird as it sounds I eat REALLY healthy and REALLY shitty at the same time. I eat all of the healthy foods--fruits, veggies, protein, etc., but I also eat the not so good foods. I never turn down eating pizza, donuts, sweets...I could keep going. I know it's great to treat yourself when you have a craving, but the second half of my pregnancy I am going to try to stick to an 80:20 plan. 80% healthy, 20% give into cravings. An example of one of my cravings is Sprite. Although I know there's no caffeine in it so its technically safe, it does have a lot of sugar in it. I am going to try to keep it in the 20% department. I'm also a vegetarian which has been a little bit of a challenge. I have to find other ways to get my protein (such as eggs, cottage cheese, peanut butter, etc.) I still eat fish, and, now that I'm past the half way mark, I occasionally eat Sushi. Before you freak out!!... my doctor told me that as long as I'm not having grocery store sushi and its from a trusted place, she doesn't have a problem with it. Obviously every doctor is different!
Q: Where do you buy maternity clothes?
So I am really struggling with this! I REALLY don't want to buy very many maternity clothes, but I know eventually I will have to, especially for the last couple of months. I've been avoiding buying maternity clothes so badly that I actually cut slits in the top of some of my leggings so that I can continue to wear them. I've bought a FEW maternity jeans and leggings, but when it comes to shirts and sweaters I am going to try to wear my own for as long as possible.
Here's what I have...
{Spanx Maternity leggings} {Koral Activewear maternity leggings}{Rag & Bone Maternity skinny jeans} {Maternity dress}
Q: How did you know you were pregnant?
My cycles are VERY long (most peoples are 28-30 days). Mine have been up to 45-50 days, so I found out way later than most people that I was pregnant. Sorry to be graphic, but my breasts were way larger than normal, and, all of the sudden, I started having food aversions. I remember at the very end of September going to my favorite restaurant in the world, Athenian Room, and not being able to eat my meal...that's when I knew I was probably either dying or pregnant. The other weird symptom I had was that I was constantly SO thirsty. No matter how much water I would drink, I could not quench my thirst.
Q: Did you experience morning sickness?
I was REALLY nauseous up until 12/13 weeks, and then I literally woke up one morning and was completely fine. I really only got sick one or two times, but felt nauseous all day every day for a couple of months. The only things that would help was gum, sour candy like Preggie Pop Drops, crackers, and Sprite. You know...all of the really healthy stuff. There was one night in November that I got SO sick that I actually had to go to the hospital for an IV. They still aren't sure if it was food poisoning or the 24 hour stomach flu that was going around at the time, but that was a night I will never forget.
Q: How are you going to dress your baby?
I'm not sure yet but it is seriously so fun to look at little boy and little girl clothes. One thing I do know is that I'm not really a collared shirt and pearls kind of girl when it comes to style, but who knows how I'll feel when the baby gets here.
Q: Did you get pregnant on purpose or by accident?
Not that this is a bad question, but I've actually been asked it more times than I would have ever imagined, and it still makes me laugh every time. (I don't know why) I think it's because we've spent our entire lives trying to NOT get pregnant, that it is so normal to think that it would be an accident. I definitely wanted to be a mom and I was not not trying if that makes sense. I had done a pretty good job for 27 years of not getting pregnant, but this baby was not an accident! haha. I am going to do another blog post soon about my experience with getting pregnant. I had a complication in the beginning of the pregnancy that was very scary and that many people may not know about, so I am happy to talk about it to help anyone else who is going through that now. More to come on that later...
DM me or comment on this post any other questions you have that you want me to answer in the next post! xoxo PS if you missed my baby post from yesterday on my favorite products click {here}
photography c/o {Rachel B Photo Studio}