Author: ALONG WITH B.

My First Trimester Experience:

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I’m now well into my 2nd trimester, but I still thought it was important to document how my 1st trimester went for other women reading this to get another perspective of what the first 3 months are like. Also, this blog serve as an online diary of sorts to revert back to when I want take a stroll down memory lane. If you haven’t read my previous post: “Well… We’re Having a Baby!” prior to this one, I suggest you start with that… it’s the cuter and more romantic side to pregnancy. This, on the other hand, is the raw side of the story:

As I may have previously mentioned, I decided to take a pregnancy test before I even had the chance to miss my period (2 days early to be exact) and when I got that BFP (big fat positive), I immediately thought that the next morning I would start having all the awful first trimester symptoms (aka morning sickness/ all day sickness). Fortunately, I didn’t, but that’s not to say I never got sick because from time to time I got the occasional queasy-spell, but never did it get in the way of anything unlike some of my family and friends who were sick all day for the whole 9 months (hats off to you ladies). Knock on wood, I haven’t really gotten THAT sick as of yet.

What I did feel though was extreeeemely tired, and not the regular tired where you feel like you didn’t get a good night’s sleep, but the kind of tired that any little task; like doing groceries, making dinner, or even walking up the stairs felt like I had just run a marathon and needed to lie down and rest. For me, that had to be the strangest symptom. Since I’m a very driven and motivated person by nature, when I set my mind to something I’m very go go go, but instead I felt ZERO motivation to do anything. I had gotten a cold/flu twice in this time, probably because I tried pushing myself when my body was clearly trying to get me to take it easy. If you’ve been pregnant or even if you haven’t, imagine already feeling like crap! Now imagine not being able to take anything to make you feel even remotely better… wahhh! I have my tried and true method and remedies and instead I just had to suffer and wait it out (which took 3 times longer) that was torture… ok, a bit dramatic but… well, hormones! Also, funniest symptom of them all… the extreme heightened sense of smell. Like I mean I felt like I had a super power. One time Sean was making coffee one weekend morning, and I literally yelled from upstairs for him to stop whatever he was doing because he was stinking up the house with the smell of wet dog. Thankfully, I got over the coffee aversion fairly quicky, however, the smell of eggs will still set me off.

I consider myself very fortunate to have had the first trimester experience that I did. I didn’t have much of an appetite though which did worry me a bit. I was afraid I wasn’t getting enough nutrition to feed my baby and therefor wouldn’t be growing as it was supposed to. Which brings me to the next point, my worst symptom of all was probably the anxiety. I didn’t vocalize it at all, maybe just to my husband, but even at that not at all to the extent that I was actually feeling it. I was TERRIFIED something horrible would happen to our sweet baby, the thing I longed for most my entire life. I would pray so hard, but oddly enough, inversely, I wouldn’t allow myself to fully believe and connect to this dream of mine. Even after hearing the heartbeat at 10 weeks, as much as it felt more real, I still had a hard time letting myself fall in love with this tiny human. Even after the ultrasound photos and the positive news we received from our DNA testing… I still wouldn’t. It was only a couple days or maybe even weeks after the gender reveal that I allowed myself to finally cry over the realization of how lucky am that I to get the chance to carry this beautiful little nugget.

I’m now at 23 weeks, and getting to feel her wiggle around is the coolest freaking feeling in the world and it’s as if she knows when I need a little reassurance and let’s me know “I’m here Ma!”. So I guess i’ll leave you with the fact that it’s totally normal to feel nervous, anxious and downright scared until that 15 week “safety zone” (and even a little bit after tbh). We feel like if we vocalize how we’re feeling and say it out loud that something bad will happen, but I choose to believe that’s just our maternal instincts kicking in.

Stay tuned for my next post about the gender reveal and my experience finding out.

Thanks for following,

alongwithb.

Well… We’re Having a Baby!

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I’ve been MIA because, well… I’ve been making a human (the start to one anyways) and I’m not one to hide a big secret like this one, so I decided to keep my mouth shut. Here’s how it all went down… at least the PG parts, you guys should know how the rest happened.

Some back story, Sean and I have been married now for 3 years and a bit and we got married relatively young for this day in age. We wanted to enjoy each other’s company for a while before bringing in some more commotion in the mix (although everyone thought we were just saying that and that we’d be pregnant by the end of the year). At about a year and a half/ two years into our marriage, you get into a routine and I started getting the itch… and I mean REALLY getting the itch to have a baby, but Sean didn’t feel ready so I respected that, I wanted it to be something we were both “ready” for (I put that in quotations because I don’t think any first time parents really know what they’re getting themselves in to). At first, I’ll admit that I was a bit disappointed but looking back, I’m so thankful for that extra time we had. At the two year mark, Sean and I both got into a career rut and that came to challenge us as a couple a bit, so I couldn’t imagine adding the stress of a new baby or a pregnancy into that mix.

Come the end of 2017, we sat down, booked a somewhat impulsive trip to Las Vegas (I say somewhat because if you know Sean… he’s not the impulsive type when it comes to $$$ but it made sense) and a couple months later, in October – our 5 year dating anniversary, we were in VEGAS BABY! We were dubbing it our last “hoorah” before starting to try for a family (unfortunately it wasn’t the “hoorah” we were hoping for considering we landed the same day of the Vegas shooting). I started taking prenatal vitamins when we got back, 3 months before stopping the pill (per my OBGYN’s advice) and in January of 2018 it was all systems go.

Part of me thought it would have been quick because, well… we were no longer using precautions. The other part of me was nervous it was going to take a while because I had been on the birth control pill since I was 17. When I make my mind up on anything (my husband can strongly attest to this) I want it like NOW, which made the 8 months it took to get pregnant very tough on my mental state. Month-to-month, when Aunt Flo came around, it was a blow to the chest. Some months I felt so strongly that I was pregant… and then the negative tests, and in the grand scheme of things, I’m aware that 8 months isn’t that long, but try telling that to any woman who’s trying for a baby.

Finally, come beginning of July – Sean and I came to the realization that we can’t be putting plans on hold in the hopes of getting pregnant. So we were looking at putting our house on the market and looking to buy a new (AMAZING) single family home and we were going on a big family cruise at the end of the month. Sean and I made a joke to ourselves that “watch, right in the brunt of it all that’s when it’ll happen because well, we’re all or nothing type of people” and sure enough… end of August (the 28th to be exact) I got what felt like my long-awaited BFP (big fat positive) and no… it was not a vacation baby.

So on August 28th, I was so sure (again) and while at work, ran down to the pharmacy and couldn’t wait any longer and took the test in the bathroom stall, and it was faint… I mean almost inexistant, but still had a feeling it was positive but wasn’t confident enough to tell Sean that night not to get his hopes up and then after all was another negative.  So after reading some forums, as anyone trying to get pregnant gets sucked into, followed their advice and waited a day (or 2, but ain’t nobody got time for that) before I bought an electronic YES or NO reading pregancy test – you know… just to make sure and so it would be more evident to tell Sean. After waiting the dreaded 3 minutes, I came up off the floor, looked at the screen and the stupid clock was still flashing… I was about to throw it out until… YES! I was shaking, thanked God a couple times and cried a bit, but then went into “How am I going to tell Sean?” mode. So I ran into our room where a month prior we had bought a “good luck” onesie (I guess it worked), wrote him a little note and wrapped the 3 in a Michael Kors box to try and throw him off, and left it at the top of the stairs for when he got home. When he got home and went upstairs to get changed, as he usually does, I was patiently and anxiously waiting on the couch until I heard “HUH?”… “NO!”… then I hear his heavy feet running down the stairs as he asked “ARE YOU SERIOUS?”. We hugged a lot, we cried and ultimately just felt so grateful… and so the adventure begins!

xoxo,

b.

My Current Morning Skincare Routine

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Let me start by saying that I am not blessed with good skin… and since I’ve stopped taking birth control… well, it’s only gotten worst. When I look for skincare, I look for products that are going to penetrate deep, hydrate and calm skin.

Quick preface to why my skin is so bad. I started taking the pill at about 17 because I couldn’t handle the acne, and when in highschool – that’s the last thing you want to worry about. Even controlling the hormones – I was never/ have never been pimple free. I guess part of it is hereditary, part of it is hormonal and the other parts… well, I have no freaking clue! I eat balanced, drink mostly only water (and coffee… and alcoholic beverages from time-to-time), tried eliminating lactose (#cheeseiscrack) and not much improvement, I feel like i’ve tried everything.

I have combination-dry skin with texture (pimples) and uneven complexion and here are the products I use religiously every morning that I’ve noticed THE most constant improvement with (Like on good skin days I can get away with tinted moisturizer):

  • Cleanser: Drunk Elephant – Pekee Bar: This cleasing bar doesn’t look like much but let me tell you, it may be tiny but it’s mighty. I like using this in the morning especially because it doesn’t strip my skin of it’s natural oils thanks to it’s perfectly calculated lower PH level of 6.51 (compared to other cleansers that are at about 9). It also tones and promotes moisture retention, while improving the feel of elasticity and firmness… I’ll take it!
  •  Toner: Kiehl’s – Ultra Facial Toner: Another gentle and super effective product is this toner. It doesn’t contain alcohol, so it won’t give you that burning feeling (which, contrary to popular belief, doesn’t means it’s working ), it’s suitable for all skin types and feels refreshing.
  • Serum: Kiehl’s – Hydro-Plumping Re-Texturizing Serum Concentrate: I have seen the MOST improvement in my skin with this moussey/gel-like serum (which rationalizes the price-point for me). It’s SUPER lightweight, absorbs quickly and penetrates deep into my skin. It makes my skin look and feel plumper thus deminishing the look and feel of textured skin, which is great before applying makeup.
  • Concentrate: Kiehl’s – Daily Reviving Concentrate: This is an oily product. Although it does absorb into the skin, I prefer to use this when I’m not going to apply foundation because it tends to make my makeup slip all over my face, which is it’s only downfall because it gives me the most effortless and beautifully natural glow and helps with evening out my skintone and reduces some excess texture. (It doesn’t hurt that it smells like a spa in a bottle).

    or

  • Serum: La Roche-Posay – HYALU B5: When I am going to be putting on makeup (which is pretty much everyday) I grab for this guy. I was sent this to test out by Topbox and (tbh) was really skeptical to try because the scent is quite perfume-y which made me nervous with my sensitive skin. It’s a thick serum formula that turns into water as your working it into your face. It’s combination of hyaloronic acid and vitamin B5 makes it great to lock in moisture all day and plump skin making it a bonus for keeping away wrinkles.
  • Moisturizer: CeraVe – Moisturizing Lotion: Besides the fact that it’s very inexpensive, this is my FAVORITE daytime moisturizer. Again, it’s lightweight, which is important when wearing makeup all-day. My skin gets that replenished feeling. There’s no scent, it’s great for sensitive skin and is very moisturizing! Can’t beat this moisturizer!I know this seems extensive, but for me, taking care of my skin is super important! If it makes me look and feel better about my skin then it’s worth the extra minute every morning. Top it off with some SPF in my foundation and my skin and I are ready for the day!

Let me know what products you guys use in the AM and why they’re your tried and true and maybe i’ll have to try them out for myself.

Have a good morning,

alongwithb