Daily, OOTD, spiffykermsbaby

How our first prenatal class went…

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The other day my husband and I drove to our first of many (oh so many) prenatal classes. It was three hours long. This course cost us a pretty penny (Bay Area Life I suppose….) and no wonder they don’t give refunds, because it was dumb. I was hoping it wouldn’t be. But no refunds = we’ll continue to go.

I also maybe embarassed myself a little bit during class since she asked everyone to answer out loud what their favourite thing of being pregnant was.

Me: I love how thick my hair has gotten, omgggggg
Every other gosh darn tootin’ person: Aw, I love feeling baby kicking.

Oops? Guess I probably shouldn’t have answered as one of the first people. But it’s true! I love how thick my hair feels, it doesn’t get greasy, and it’s just fantastic.

The instructor insured us she wasn’t going to get all hippy-dippy on us, but by the end we were all on the floor doing that hee-hee-hee-hoo breathing technique that no one uses during labor. I couldn’t even doing it because my husband and I were laughing too much. Luckily a ton of people in the class were also a bit foolish so we didn’t feel like complete jerks for laughing so hard at….mostly everything.

I made one Black Friday purchase and it was this denim vest from Recks & Relle, a shop I found on the explore page of Instagram. But for this OOTD today on the blog, I added an extra layer – the Shop Pink Blush cardigan which is honestly hands-down the best quality item I’ve received yet from them.

Sure horizontal stripes may make me look wider than what I am. But! I am huge fan of them, and I feel like all I do lately is wear grey, black or white striped tops in this pregnancy, with the exception of a few basic tops.

Debating why I thought it was a good decision to take some of these photos on the floor. Honestly it sounds so ridiculous but it’s quite difficult to get up off the floor – especially in the evenings. Where did my abs go? Why do they only work in the mornings and completely disappear at night? All these questions I have.

Long sleeved tops are my jam right now.

I feel so fancy in my monochrome outfit with my brilliant red velvet shoes that are under $15! What a deal. I even bought a backup pair because I’m crazy like that.

Wearing: 
Black Striped Fold Trim Maternity Cardigan ($45)
Target Black non-maternity long sleeved
H&M Mama Leggings (need to be replaced! They are starting to get holes!)
Velvet shoes

Lol pointing to the large and in charge belly, not the delicious iced coffee.

I’m going to see the Nutcracker Ballet soon, and I am totally eying up this Velvet Blazer from Pink Blush, too! I hope it’s on my list of items to choose as an Ambassador next time, eek! :)

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to my pal Megan for hooking me up with PinkBlush to be an ambassador with them too! As a PinkBlush Ambassador I get a point for each piece of clothing to review. Each time I post = 1 point. I did not receive monetary compensation for posting about the brand. 

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spiffykermsbaby

Pregnancy update: Second Trimester

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I’m 26 weeks this week, making it my last week in my second trimester. Time is flying by, and I feel like I’m not ready for my Doctor’s orders to make all these hospital labour and delivery appointments, tours, etc. I suppose everyone feels that way though, don’t they. 

We have a ton of stuff for the nursery, a lot of it thanks to PR samples and pitching. We even have a jogging stroller for when the kid is old enough to be bouncin’ around on the streets with us for our runs.

Here’s an update on my second trimester. Things took a bit of a backburner as soon as Alfie got sick within the last month, so that part is a little blurry. But other than that, stay tuned to the end for another pregnancy outfit of the day.

Week 14-15| TMI: Not sure whether or not to blame the stuffy (kinda bloody) nose on the trip to Idaho, or to blame it on week 14-15 symptoms. I’ll chalk it up to both. But it immediately stopped as soon as we drove back to California. So perhaps it was Idaho? I cried irrationally for the first time this week too. Literally bawled and sobbed for no reason and it made Scott laugh. He asked what was wrong and I told him I was mad and I didn’t know why!? Hormones man. I also think it has to do with me thinking about my Father and him not being alive, hearing about all my baby news. Other than that one out-burst I haven’t been overly emotional. This week is also when I started to wake up 2-3x/night to pee. It doesn’t affect my sleep, but I am definitely wide awake checking my phone at all hours of the night, and feeling completely rested by 6am (I’m not even a morning person!).

Week 16-17| Again, pretty uneventful with the symptoms/updates. An “easy” pregnancy I guess you could say. We told a few more friends about the baby. This is when I feel like I couldn’t wear my regular skinny jeans anymore. Stretchy-Zara-Jeggings all the way. But I still had to unbutton them after dinner. I also went a big wild purchasing a few baby clothes this week. Didn’t want to jinx anything beforehand, so I didn’t buy anything until this week. I started packing up the house this week – dreadful! I emptied out my entire closet (minus the things I wanted to wear for the rest of the month) and purged SO much stuff. What a feeling. I hope I don’t regret some of the stuff I donated, ha!

Week 18-19| At 18 weeks I finally I made my announcement on the blog! Week 18 I did a lot of eating as I was on a press-trip (lol). Then week 19 lead to a lot of me feeling impatient and angry for some strange reason! Perhaps the baby loved all the food the previous week and started realizing that wasn’t a normal every-day occurrence and got hangry? Jokes…

Week 20-21| I started having to wake up 2x a night to use the washroom (so annoying). I also noticed it was more difficult to roll out of bed, and come to a seated position. Guess the belly is in charge! At 21 weeks I was at the point where I was sitting in the midst of moving boxes on one of the stairs, stuck between boxes and a wall and I could NOT get up. I started laughing, and Scott had to give me a lending hand to literally get up off the floor. Alfie had been getting sick around this time, for about 3 weeks at this point. At week 21-22 I spent the entire week home with him (well, I normally do but you know sometimes I made coffee-date plans, etc.).

Week 22| Feeling like time is flying by. On the day I turned 22 weeks was also the move-day to our new home. A few friends discussed whether or not I’d be having a baby shower – and me not knowing those answers!

Week 23-26| Yep, time is flying by. Alfie unfortunately got sick around this time so I didn’t chime in and document all I’ve been feeling. But the belly is literally like a bowling ball (Scott’s words, not mine!), and it sure feels that way too. I have to put my underwear on in the a.m. a certain way. I have to rest one hand on the bathroom counter, or the bed, swing the undies on with one leg, and vice versa. It sounds funny, but it’s really annoying. And at the end of the days now, I feel a bit of mild back pain and the belly sometimes needs to be carried. Ugh I’m one of THOSE people who hold their belly while walking! It’s a necessity for me right now to distribute some of that weight into my hands when we do our walks with Alfie. Starting next week I’ll be going to my ObGyn every 2 weeks, instead of once a month!

As for baby names, we do have it pretty narrowed down and I kinda love it! But for now, I’ll leave you hanging there, and give you another outfit of the day featuring my go-to maternity top brand, Shop Pink Blush.

Wearing:
PinkBlush Olive Striped Suede Sleeve ($36)
H&M Mama Leggings ($12) (told you I lived in them)
Target boots (from last year)
Rebecca Minkoff Mini Moto Satchel (that I won, and got signed by RM herself!)

You could easily wear this baseball tee when not pregnant either, since it’s just an empire style top. It’s so fun!

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to my pal Megan for hooking me up with PinkBlush to be an ambassador with them too! As a PinkBlush Ambassador I get 2 points for 2 pieces of clothing to review. Each time I post = 1 point. I did not receive monetary compensation for posting about the brand. 

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Daily, Fashion, spiffykermsbaby

Maternity clothing: yay or nay?

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Up until week 18-19 my clothing fit fine, for the most part. A lot of my jeans would feel tight around the belly area, but the Zara jeans (which I really hate to wear frequently since they honestly don’t last very long especially considering I only have 2 pairs of jeans at a time) were the only one’s that I’d been wearing from week 13 on wards, besides my Joe Fresh velvet-like leggings which are so incredibly comfortable.

Then I got my Cuddl Duds velour pants, which I was living in, waiting for my online H&M order to arrive with all my maternity pants (I bought 6 pairs of pants/leggings, trying to decipher my preg-size, the style I wanted, etc). They arrived, I kept 2, and I returned 4 of them earlier this week. For ages I didn’t think maternity clothing was worth it. I would only be wearing them for a few months, and if/when I get pregnant again, it might be opposite seasons — thus “wasting” my money. I thought for the longest time I could do without, and buy bigger sizes in regular-wear. However I did indulge-if-you-will, in some H&M maternity jeans to get by. You’ll get sick of only wearing 2 pairs of pants for the past few months, I tell ya. I wanted to feel like I was wearing clothing that actually fit me, and I didn’t have to unbutton each time I sat down. Ha! I honestly think you can simply get away with up-sizing your tops, but for pants — I’d prefer maternity style, just for the comfort and not having anything dig into my stomach.

I also received some items from PinkBlush Maternity (thanks to my pal Megan!) that you’ve seen on the blog already, which are cute, comfortable and most of all — affordable. I don’t spend much on clothing honestly, and these I’m sure will work during, and after pregnancy.

Wearing:
Pink Blush Lavender Striped Colorblock Sleeve Maternity Top ($33)
H&M Super Skinny Maternity Jeans ($34)
Fossil Campbell Crossbody ($138)

How long did you use/wear your maternity clothing for? As in, post-pregnancy? I don’t have any qualms with wearing it for as long as it takes, but I’m interested in learning and hearing some feedback!

Also — has anyone bought pregnancy bras? I don’t know where to look, or where to go. Why are they helpful? I think my bras pre-preg were too big to begin with, so I haven’t had to size up (yet?). Haha!

Disclaimer: Huge thanks to my pal Megan for hooking me up with PinkBlush to be an ambassador with them too! As a PinkBlush Ambassador I get 2 points for 2 pieces of clothing to review. Each time I post = 1 point. I did not receive monetary compensation for posting about the brand. 

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