18 Week Update

I'm a day late on this post because yesterday was crazy and I worked until 7:00 p.m.  I was so exhausted when I got home last night.

Week 18 - Baby has doubled in size over the past 2 weeks and is now the size of a sweet potato! This little sweet potato enjoys sitting on my bladder these days making me feel like I have to pee really bad all the time when I really don't have to go that bad. I'm continuing to feel her roll around in there when lying really still in bed at night or first thing in the morning when I wake up. Yesterday I felt the biggest movements from her, she was pretty much nonstop all day. I usually feel her every other day or so and it's such a refreshing feeling. I'm still feeling really good, although I do feel a bit more "weighed down" this week as everything on my body continued to grow. At the beginning of this pregnancy I started noticing changes in my boobs, thighs and butt first. To this day, both continue to grow and I'm ready for the growing to stop now LOL. I have continued to not only run at least 4/5 days a week but workout legs/glutes once a week as well, in hopes that my lower half at least stays somewhat toned while growing. At this rate my belly is going to be the last thing to catch up. A lot of people seem to think carrying a girl/boy makes a difference as to where and when you gain weight but I asked my doctor and she said it has nothing to do with that and everything to do with your own body on how you carry. Jamie Eason is pregnant with a boy right now and I'm having a girl and I've noticed that I'm carrying very similar to her. I truly think it has everything to do with the shapes of our bodies. I know having a shorter torso is one big reason why I'm carrying the way I am. My mom carried both my brother and I the same way and she also said she didn't even start showing until she was near 6 months.




I have a doctor's appointment next week. It's just a check-up and I think we are also starting blood work that week as well. It's crazy to think I'm almost half way through this pregnancy already. Although I was dreading being pregnant during summer, I'm extremely excited that I'm going to be on maternity leave during my favorite time of the year (winter) and during the holidays. I plan on working as long as I can until this baby is due so that I can enjoy more time off after. I've always debated on going back to work part-time as my boss said he would not have a problem with that at all, but as I thought about it more I decided I rather continue to work full-time. I have a great schedule now and my boss is so accommodating if I need to leave early, come in late or take days off so why not continue to make more money rather than less.

How far along: 18 weeks

Symptoms: Nothing new really other than right knee pain/leg pain I get every now and then.


Clothes: Living in maxi dresses and if I do wear pants I use the rubber band trick, but let's be honest pants really are not that comfortable these days and when i do wear them I cannot wait to take them off.


How I’m feeling: Feeling great, missing my summer body though when I read about how everyone is getting ready for summer. It's crazy looking back at pictures of my body this time last year. I never realized how hard I worked to have the body I wanted until I look back at pictures. I cannot wait to get back there again after this baby is born. I'm actually looking forward to the challenge!

Cravings: Crackers and cheese and mangos.

My Fears of late: Having everything ready when the baby arrives.

Movement: I feel her every other day or so, her movements get a bit stronger every time. If her nonstop movements are any indication of her future sleeping schedule, we are SCREWED lol she is so active all day long when I do feel her.

Excited for: My mother in law said she wants to start talking about planning my baby shower, I'm excited to start planning that with her! I also just booked our maternity photo session for September (I had to book way in advance because this girl books fast). Super excited about that too!

Missing: Nothing much, I can't wait to have champagne nights with my husband again though : )

Sleep: It was really good at the start of this week and then towards the end of the week work became stressful and I had one awful sleepless night. I stayed up all night thinking about WORK UGH! I felt horrible the next day for not having slept.

I know I posted a picture 2 days ago, but here is an 18 week picture taken exactly when I hit 18 weeks (yesterday).  I also attached a picture of what my belly looks like sitting down.  If I had a dollar for every person that said there is no way you are 4 1/2 months pregnant right now, I would be one rich girl!  My belly will pop eventually!

17 Weeks Pregnant

I forgot to do a 16 week update last week, however, my 16 week update was basically that baby girl is suppose to double in size over the next couple of weeks! I am now at 17 weeks yay. Baby girl is now the size of an onion and 3 nights ago I felt her move for the first time! My husband and I had a late dinner and after dinner we were laying down watching The Voice when all of a sudden I felt a little squirm that made me jump. It freaked me out and first until I realized it was her moving around. Shortly after I felt a few little pokes about five minutes apart and then she stopped. It was such an awesome reassuring feeling. I didn't think I would feel her for another few weeks but either the Caesar salad I had, the one bite of chili cheese fries my husband gave me or Adam Levine's voice excited her : ) The next day I didn’t feel her at all and then yesterday morning after eating breakfast and while I was eating lunch I felt her again! I felt little jabs (felt like popcorn popping in my belly) about every 20/30 seconds for about 5 minutes straight. Little girl must have been loving the bananas and blueberries I had for breakfast and the french fries I got into at lunch time because she was on a roll, it was so cool to feel her once again. It’s crazy because once you know the feeling of feeling them move around, you can identify it right away when you feel it again. I cannot wait for these movements to get stronger and I cannot wait for my husband to be able to feel her move, it's so awesome. I've also started feeling a lot of stretching in my abdomen/pelvic area. If I get up too quickly/sneeze it feels almost as if I'm going to tear my lower stomach muscles. I haven't had this pain since the start of my first trimester. I have also gained a little bit of a belly now. It’s pretty safe to say my stomach is no longer flat, it still has muscle to it, but it’s not flat and it definitely looks bigger at night after I have had all my meals than it does in the morning. I tried fitting into my biggest pair of size 0 pants this morning and they no longer fit without the help of a hair tie/belly band. My boobs are also going through another growth spurt right now and they hurt and itch constantly (TMI – I know). They have already doubled in size and I am not looking forward to them growing any more. I went shopping at Lululemon this past weekend and wasn’t very happy when my boobs wouldn’t fit into the size I would normally wear. I had to ask for a bigger size (size 6) and I was still squishing my boobs to fit in that size *sigh*. I’m going to need a boob lift after this baby lol.



I’m happy to report that my skin has been clearing up, however, I do have a few pimples that have been there for about a month and won't go away : ( The migraines have also stopped, woohoo! I find myself hungrier a bit more often but nothing too extreme. I’ve become really picky with my meals and pretty much only want to eat salads loaded with veggies and cheese but have a hard time eating the meat in them, homemade tacos topped with Greek yogurt, spinach, tomatoes, avocado and cheese and cold sandwiches with spinach, cucumber and avocado in them. Oh and cereal and fruit for breakfast every morning! I want everything cold and as fresh as possible. Anything hot/too much meat sounds gross to me. As far as snacking goes, I am obsessed with crackers and cheese right now and always keep Ben & Jerry’s frozen yogurt (Half Baked) in my freezer for nights : ). My workouts have felt amazing lately. I have the same amount of energy I had before I was pregnant which is awesome because it makes my workouts more enjoyable. I’m still maintaining about 4 days of cardio and 5 days of lifting (I usually skip cardio on leg day).


On another note, one of my pregnancy updates just told me I shouldn't be sleeping on my back at night after my first trimester. I wasn't aware of this and have been totally falling asleep on my back, it's the only way I can get comfortable at night. I haven't been able to sleep on my stomach for a while being my boobs from day one have hurt really bad and sleeping on my side hurts them too. Although I normally fall asleep on my back, I do end up on my side sometime during the night. I don't know how I'm going to avoid sleeping this way, ugh!


How far along: 17 Weeks. Going on month 5 already ahhhh


Symptoms: None really I feel great.


Clothes: Wearing a lot of long dresses and skirts these days, anything loose and comfortable. I feel most uncomfortable in pants and I think that’s because I’m not really showing yet and in the morning when I put pants on I feel fine but as I eat throughout the day my stomach starts to expand and I start feeling uncomfortable in them.


How I’m feeling: I absolutely love this trimester, I hardly feel pregnant most days, I feel great!


Cravings: Cracker and cheeses, MY homemade tacos and fruit.


My Fears of late: I do not fear a whole lot just more so hoping we get through these next few crazy busy months ahead of us. So much to do so little time!

Movement: At 6 weeks and 5 days I finally felt her move, love feeling her presence!


Excited for: Feeling her movements get stronger and for my husband to get to feel her too : ) Also excited about making another ultrasound appointment in a few weeks, love getting to see her.


Missing: I really don’t miss much other than when we have a big event coming up that everyone will be drinking at and I can’t drink : ( We have two weddings to go to next month. One is in Vegas and this is the first time we will be making a Vegas trip and won’t be able to party, boo! Speaking of weddings, I’ll be 20 weeks when we go to the first wedding and I need to find a dress that will look flattering on me. Any suggestions?!? Oh and I also miss fitting into my normal pants. Right now I can fit into them with the help of a hair tie/belly band but I just feel like I look extremely bloated not pregnant. I’m so use to being in great shape that I’m having a hard time adjusting to the way I now look in my pants, blah! I’m sure once my belly looks more like a pregnant belly I’ll feel much better about it.


Sleep: Sleep has been amazing, I’m a light sleeper normally but somehow this stage of pregnancy has allowed for some great sleep with no waking up to go to the bathroom or tossing and turning – I wonder how long this will last haha

How long it took us to get pregnant

I wanted to address another question I have been getting a lot via personal messages. A lot of people may think this is really personal but I'm a very open honest person and do not mind sharing my experiences with you all. A lot of people have asked me how long it took to get pregnant and if my husband and I had trouble getting pregnant.

My husband and I decided that we wanted to have kids after 5 years of being married. We have said this from day one. Last summer we celebrated 4 years of marriage in South Africa. We knew that would be our last big vacation as we were ready to settle down and start a family. We decided that I should get off birth control two months after returning from vacation to allow my body to clean out. We also thought it could possibly take us a year to get pregnant so it made sense to get off it right about then.

Now let me rewind back a little. About 6 months before going on vacation I had stopped having a period. Two months had went by and no period. I freaked out and made a doctor’s appointment. My doctor told me that my body fat was that of an athletes, it was basically too low. She indicated that there was nothing wrong with that, however, if my husband and I wanted to get pregnant we would not be able to without upping my body fat. She suggested upping my carb intake and working out a little less. Even though we were not trying to get pregnant just yet, it scared me to know we could possible face problems getting pregnant if I continued to maintain that low of a body fat. I listened to the doctor and upped my carb intake and allowed myself more rest days.

Even after upping my carb intake and working out less my period still didn’t return right away. When it did return, it would be a one day period that lasted about 4 hours and that was it. This went on for about 6 months. When we returned from Africa and I got off the birth control I was on my period returned 2 weeks after being off birth control and it was the NEVER ENDING PERIOD lol. I had a period for what felt like 2 weeks straight. The next month we got pregnant. Most of you know what happened with that pregnancy (I did a blog on it not too long ago), unfortunately I miscarried. Two weeks after miscarrying, without having a period, we found out I was pregnant again. So even though we got pregnant right away, it took us about 3 months to get pregnant and have it be a healthy pregnancy.

All in all it wasn’t hard for us to get pregnant, but it could have been if I continued to keep my body fat too low. I’m so glad I listened to my doctor. If you are no longer having a period, please go see your doctor!

I do recommend being off your birth control for a good 3-6 months before trying to get pregnant. I feel like I got pregnant so quickly after being off of it that it may have caused complications for me.

Nothing ever goes as planned. Everything happens when you least expect it, so have patience and remember everyone is different.

Mother Day Recap - It's a GIRL!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Mother's Day!


My husband and I had an ultrasound planned for the morning of Mother's Day to find out our baby's gender. Originally we had it booked for the following weekend but not everyone could make it so we had to change the date and it just so happened to be on Mother's Day. We went to a place in Redondo Beach called First Look Sonogram that was recommended by a family member. This place was so awesome because you can bring as many people as you want to watch the ultrasound. It's done in a large room full of couches and a big screen on the wall so everyone can see a bigger picture of the baby. Originally we thought we would go alone and do a gender reveal party but after doing some thinking we thought this would be even more special. Afterall, this will be the first grandchild and everyone already wants to be apart of every part of her life. I'm so glad we did it this way and that everyone was able to join us, it was unforgettable and so exciting!


Two weeks prior to our appointment my husband and I made little props so we could do a photo of everyone guessing the baby's gender and then another photo revealing the gender with the same props. We made lips for a girl and mustaches for a boy. When everyone arrived at our house Sunday morning we had them pick either a mustache or lips. Once everyone made their choice we snapped a photo. Everyone picked lips except my mother-in-law and two brother-in-laws. As bad as they wanted a girl, they had a feeling it was going to be a boy being their family is all boys.


When Josh and I first found out we were pregnant everyone kept saying it's the year of boys, you guys will have a boy. After hearing it sooooo many times we started thinking it was going to be a boy. We had our girl names picked out but not one boy name. So we decided we might as well start making a list of boy names. That list didn't get very long. Once my husband mentioned a name he thought would be awesome, that was it, we were set on that name. I'm not revealing that name because if we do have a boy one day that will be his name : ) Anyhow, the first two months of our pregnancy people had us convinced it was a boy. My mother-in-law kept saying how much she wanted us to have a girl but that she knew it was a boy because boy genes dominate in their family. My mom from the very begining said she thought it was a girl. The week before our appointment something clicked in my head, I had this gut feeling that this baby was a girl. Something just told me that we were having a girl and that same week multiple people approached me and said "I think you're having a girl". My husband texted me the day before our appointment and said "I had a dream last night and in our dream we had a baby and it was a boy". I texted him back and said "that's funny, but something tells me this is not a boy, it's a girl ": ) He really, really wanted a girl so much so that he was almost positive it was going to be a boy......


We arrived at the ultrasound place around 10:15 a.m., filed out some paperwork and picked whether we wanted to do a 5 minute unltrasound or 10 minute. We picked a 10 minute one, the longer we got to see our baby the better : ) I loved the lady that did our unltasound, she was so informative and so sweet! Within seconds of doing the ultrasound she said "I know what it is can you guys tell if it's a boy or girl?". I immidetaley thought if she knew that quick it was a boy. My mother-in-law kept yelling out "it's a boy, it's a boy" and my best friend and Josh's aunt kept saying "it's a girl, it's a girl". After 2 minutes of everyone trying to guess, she finally got a clear showing of the baby with HER legs straight up in the air and open! She had no problem showing the world that she was very much so a GIRL! When the ultrasound tech yelled out "It's a GIRL" we all screamed!! Chills ran down my body and the tears started rolling down my cheeks, I grabbed my husband's hand and said "we got our girl"! We were so happy!! We prayed for this little girl and there she was with all her fingers and toes, a heartbeat of 156, moving around like crazy, breathing and looking as healthy as can be! We were so filled with joy, such an amazing feeling! During the ulrasound she had the hiccups like crazy. It was so cute to see her bounce around every time she would hiccup. She was also sucking her thumb and when the lady would tell me to wiggle my hips so we could move her to see her face better she would put her hand on her head like a little drama queen. She melted our hearts. Seeing her made everything feel so much more real, especially since I'm not showing yet. I can't wait until both Josh and I can actually feel her move!


Before leaving we took a few last photos revealing the gender and then went of to BBQ at my-mother-in-laws house. It was the perfect Mother's Day!


I cannot wait to meet this little girl who has already melted our hearts. I'm excited about every bit of this pregnancy (minus the migraines this little girl is STILL giving me) and even more so now that I know I can shop for a girl!! She's going to be one little sassy girl and hopefully a tomboy like her mama : ) We have decided to name her Atiana Nicole. Nicole is my middle name and we thought it flowed just right with her name: )

It's a GIRL!

Sucking her thumb

GIRL, legs up in the air and all lol

15 Weeks!

15 weeks today and our baby is now the size of a navel orange! I’m feeling so good this week and hope I continue down this path for a while. My husband and I are extremely excited for this weekend, when we hopefully find out the gender of the baby and can give he/she a name. Yes, we have names picked out for both a boy and a girl, however, we are not saying any names until we know what we are having. Our boy name is super unique and a name my husband came up with and our girl names (yes I have two to pick between ahhhh) are names that I have loved for a very long time! Girl names are so much easier than boy names! Any guesses on what we may be having?!?
I had a checkup appointment on Tuesday. The doctor had to search around for the baby’s heartbeat for a second and had he scared! It wasn’t long before she found it and boy was it a beautiful sound. Doctor said we are healthy and all is well. I’ve gained a whopping 3 lbs thus far. I know it’s only a matter of time before the pounds start packing on.

Last week I only worked out 4 days out of the week because we were so busy getting our home ready for open house and the migraines I had just about killed me. This week has been a much better week and my workouts have been amazing! One of my biggest pet peeves is when people tell me I shouldn’t be doing this or that while pregnant. I know my body and I listen to it. I workout when I feel good and I rest when I know my body needs it.

My eating is pretty much back to normal. I’m over the Italian food phase and have no problem keeping my meals clean. It’s the little snacks here and there that aren’t clean (Doritos with tapatio and Ben & Jerry’s Ice cream occasionally lol). What’s really weird is I use to eat dark chocolate almost every day before I was pregnant and now I cannot eat it for the life of me! Chocolate in general is something I don’t crave at all anymore! So weird, I wouldn’t have been saying that before pregnancy. I also cannot stand peanut butter anymore.


I haven’t even thought about taking any pregnancy classes yet…I’m curious to know if any of you took any classes and if there are any in which you highly recommend taking.


How far along: 15 Weeks


Symptoms: None lately, not even tired!


Clothes: Fitting a little tight but still wearing all my pre-pregnancy stuff.


How I’m feeling: I have been migraine free for 3 days and feeling great! No more feeling fatigue and my energy level is up! My only complaint is these damn breakouts I have been having! My face is breaking out like crazy! It’s driving me nuts because I never use to breakout. Anyone have suggestions on anything that helps with breakouts?



Cravings: I really don’t have anything I’m particularly craving. However, I do want and like everything fresh, if it’s not fresh I won’t eat it haha. Fresh fruit and veggies!


My Fears of late: I don’t want stretch marks ahhhh!


Movement: Still too early to feel anything yet


Excited for: Finding out the gender of the baby this weekend. I can't freakin wait!! Any guesses from anyone?

Missing: Sushi!!! I want sushi so bad!!

Sleep: I have been sleeping so good at night. I hope I continue to sleep this good for a long time.

Here I am at 15 weeks, not much to show yet:

14 Weeks - Yay Second Trimester

Hello 14 weeks! Baby is now the size of a cute little lemon awww. I have felt so good this week! My workouts have been amazing, I've been sleeping pretty well at night, my appetite is back, morning sickness has faded and I'm having no problem eating my clean meals again. If it weren't for the sore boobs I would say I don't even feel pregnant I feel like hyper energetic ME. I wonder how long this will last haha. I really hope the second trimester continues to be this good to me.




I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday for blood work and to hear the baby's heartbeat again. We also get to find out the gender of the baby next Sunday. It’s going to be an exciting week for us!



We are in the process of selling our house right now and buying another. It’s time for something bigger for our little expanding family (3 dogs, 1 macaw and a baby on the way lol). We are having an open house this weekend and our realtor has just informed us that his phone has been blowing up like crazy over our house. This makes me happy, sad and scared all at the same time. I'm going to miss our little home we built together and all the wonderful memories we created. On another note, I am praying we find "the one" (house that is) very soon! I’m being extra picky in what I want in a home this time around. After all, this is where we plan on raising our family and living for the next 10+ years. Once we find the right home I cannot wait to put together a nursery with my husband. We are going to have so much fun creating his/her little room.



How far along: 14 Weeks



Symptoms: Nothing really, tired the first hour in the morning and tired again after lunch but what's new : )



Clothes: In my normal clothes, although they do make me feel a little fat. I'm a size 0/00 and my 00's do not fit anymore (they won’t go over my butt haha). My 0's are a little snug and my shirts are a bit small because my boobs have grown so much. Needless to say I have a ton of leggings and dresses I plan on wearing anyway.



How I’m feeling: As of Monday I have been feeling great, no more all day sickness finally (knock on wood), YAY! I've had some tailbone pain but it seems to be easing up a bit. My siatica pain has went away for now and my food aversions have also went away. I can pretty much handle anything this week : ) So far I am loving this week of being pregnant.



Cravings: Hmmm nothing really. Italian food I suppose. I made spaghetti for the week and it hits the spot every night! I also had a glaze donut craving the other day and my wonderful husband surprised me with one when I woke up in the morning. It was so good!!



My Fears of late: Stretch marks! Praying I grow slowly and do not get them! I've been using cocoa butter oil and cocoa butter lotion daily and drinking a ton of water!



Movement: I think I have another month or two before I feel anything.



Excited for: Finding out the gender on Mother's Day! Less than 2 weeks from today yay!



Missing: SUSHI and my nightly champagne : ( Although I do have to brag that I have the most amazing husband who has decided to not drink/eat sushi during my pregnancy. He says it’s only fair that he give up the two things we both enjoy and love if I have to give them up. Where did I find this man hehe…I am very blessed. He is making this pregnancy so enjoyable for me.



Sleep: Some nights I sleep great and some night I get no sleep at all because my boobs and back start hurting. I must invest in that pillow you have all told me about : )


And here I am at 14 weeks.  The first picture was taken yesterday and the second was taken right when I woke up this morning.  No baby bumb yet, abs are still there just a little bit softer : )