My Pregnancy (Healthy Living) Routine

I figured that I would go over some things that I love to help me stay healthy throughout this pregnancy. The first 18 weeks were extremely hard for me because of the nausea, throwing up and major food aversions. I worried about what I was eating, because I couldn't stomach any type of meat and looking at the leafy green vegetables that I needed to eat for calcium (since I cannot have dairy), made me want to run out of the house. After a while, I wasn't just feeling sick because of the nausea, I was feeling really run down because I wasn't getting enough protein, iron and calcium (amongst other things).

Luckily my meat eating abilities returned before my iron levels dropped too much, but the lack of calcium still made me nervous. I've taken a supplement since the beginning, but I still believe that food should be your number one source for your vitamins. Enter my husband, the maker of my amazing green smoothie (he still makes these for me even though I can look at veggies again...love him for that).

While I couldn't look at cooked vegetables without feeling sick, for some reason I could handle them in blended form (maybe because the berries over-rided the vegetable taste?). Here is what you can usually find in my smoothie: 

- 2 handfuls of kale (steamed) 

- 2 handfuls of spinach (steamed) 

- frozen blueberries & raspberries 

- an apple 

- almond milk or water and some ice 

I found steaming the vegetables to be key, as your digestive system is already running slower when you are pregnant and this helps alleviate the chance of stomach cramps/ bloating/ indigestion. No reason to add any more discomfort to yourself. Also, a green smoothie a day helps keep the constipation away (yeah I went there).  

I usually get 2 large shakes out of this, which means I only have to make them every other day. Sweet!

This is the calcium supplement I take in case you were wondering: 

For my prenatal vitamin, I went with the Rainbow Light Prenatal One. I love these because they don't make me nauseous (they have a ton of really good reviews in this respect), you only have to take one a day, and they are gluten and dairy free (score!). They are also free of yeast, eggs, so, nuts, fish and shellfish if you were wondering. Love, love, love these. 

I also take Vitamin D3 supplements (since I live in the northeast and it is winter and I'm a pale, pale person), along with Super Omega-3 EPA/DHA supplements. I use Carlson Vitamin D3, because it is a quality product, and LifeExtension Super Omega-3 EPA/DHA with sesame lignans & olive fruit extract. I love this product because it does not smell or taste fishy at all. I've taken other fish oil supplements, which ultimately went to waste, because could not handle the fishy aftertaste. This one is pure awesomeness. 

Then there is my beloved water bottle. Everyone knows you have to drink lots and lots of water especially when pregnant, but I was finding it tricky keeping track of just how much I was drinking since I have a job where I am on my feet or driving most of the day. So I went in search of a water bottle that met the following criteria:

- Had measurements on the bottle 

- Was BPA Free

- Was thin enough to fit in a cup holder 

(You can get so much water drinking done while stuck in your car! Why are so many water bottles ridiculously wide?!?) 

- Had a straw

( I am clumsy enough... I don't need to spill water all over myself. Also straw = easier to drink in the car)

Enter the winner: 

CamelBak BPA Free Better Bottle

This sucker goes everywhere with me.  

With regards to exercise, I've mostly been sticking with walking every day, since prenatal yoga actually made my weird hip pain worse. I did just buy a prenatal bellydancing dvd in the off chance that it helps relieve some of the pain. I haven't tried it out yet, but will make sure to review once I do. 

So, that about sums up my healthy pregnancy regimen. Let me know if you have any question! 

**I was not paid to review any of these products. These are just what I found to help after a lot of research. 

Our Love Story

I decided to jump on the "Our Love Story" bandwagon started by From Mrs to Mama. So, here it goes!


This is my version. I think I'm going to have Ryan tell his version later this week :)

1. How long have you and your significant other been together?

Since September, 2006. I'd tell you an exact date, but I'm horrible with dates (except for all of our friends' wedding anniversaries. 3.5 years in the wedding planning business, and I remember every. single. one.) Ryan on the other hand remembers even the most obscure dates. I'll have to ask him tonight!

2. How did you meet? {What's your "love" story?}

During the summer of 2006 I hung out with a group of friends in D.C. mostly made up of VT/UVA/JMU and WVU alums. For the most part we participated in "summer series," which was a schedule (yup, we had a schedule) of happy hours in (mostly dive) bars around the city. Classy. We also did fun things like go to 80's cover band concerts (in bars), camping & tubing in Harper's Ferry, and attending Nationals baseball games (they never won...no surprise there). 

One night we were all out in Arlington at Whitlows on Wilson (for any D.C. folks) and The Reflex, my favorite 80s cover band, was playing. In walked a very cute guy. He instantly caught my attention, and needless to say I was quite excited when I realized that he was a friend of someone in our group. We spent the entire night talking, but never exchanged phone numbers. I didn't think I would really ever see him again. 

Fast forward one month later, and the group had a tubing trip in West Virginia/followed by dinner at my apartment/ followed by another Whitlow's outing (The Reflex was playing again) planned. We liked to keep our days busy I guess! I was hoping that Ryan might join his friends for this, and was pleasantly surprised when he did. I decided to ignore him for a bit (I was a bit miffed that he spent an entire night talking to me without asking for my number), but that lasted all of maybe 10 minutes. He was too good looking and I caved. We spent most of the day and night talking and then he kissed me. In a bar. I think the band was playing "Walk Like An Egyptian." Somewhere out there, there is even a picture of this kiss. 

Needless to say, this story will definitely be edited when our little ones ask how mommy and daddy met. 

I made sure that he got my number after he pulled that one. I even put myself under the VIP section of his contact list.

He called the next day to ask me out on a date. A few days after that he asked me to be his girlfriend. 3 weeks after he kissed me in the bar, he told me he loved me (in Spanish...(he lived in South America for a while)...aaannnnddd I had no idea what he was saying at first). 4 months after that kiss he told me he wanted to marry me while we were watching "Walk the Line." And a whopping 9 months after we started dating, he asked me to be his wife. 

I said yes. Hands down the best decision I ever made. 

 The 1st time we met. 

Nothing says romance like the sweet, sweet sounds of "Don't Stop Believing" playing in the background. 

The night Ryan 1st told me he loved me.

 I believe his actual words were, "Te amo muchisimo." 

3. If married, how long have you been married? 

We were married on July 26th, 2008...so a little over 3.5 years. 

4. If you are married, where did you get married at? 

Our ceremony was at Saint Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, followed by an outdoor reception at Bellevue Hall (an old DuPont Mansion). 

5. Do you have any nick-names that you call one another? 

Not really. We'll use the occasional babe, and I'm one of the few people that call him Ry. However, in our cell phones, we're listed under our full names (first, middle and confirmation). A bit quirky I guess!

6. Name 3 things you love most about your honey

- How much he takes care of me (especially now). He forever puts me first...even during the last six weeks when I've been stuck sleeping in a recliner (which we have to keep in our living room because of our narrow old house steps), he makes sure to sleep next to me on the couch in case I need something or have a bad dream. 

- He's always a gentleman. He still opens car doors for me even after 5 years of being together. 

- His unbelievable cooking skills. I always joke with him that I married him for his guacamole. But seriously...marrying someone who is an amazing cook is one of the best things EVER. Especially when you find out shortly after getting married that you have crazy food allergies. I probably would have starved that first year if not for my husband.  

7. Tell us how he proposed? 

He took me on a scavenger hunt around Virginia Beach (his hometown), which ended with him getting down on one knee on the beach. Followed by a yummy dinner at Steinhilber's. 

Thanks for the rock, Ry!

Engagement Photos: 

8. Is he a flowers and teddy bear kind of guy for v-day, or strawberries, champagne, and rose petals?

 Neither. I'm weird and don't like Valentine's Day or New Years (guess he lucked out with that!). I'm a huge fan of the 4th of July though (I believe the latest this baby can come is July 3rd which better be true because I am going to eat hot dogs like no other on July 4th). OMG HOT DOGS. (sorry pregnancy craving). 

He's more likely to send me flowers on a random day to let me know that he's thinking of me, or surprise me with a cleaned house and a wonderfully cooked dinner. I'll take these things any day of the week! 

We're also not really big gift people (we like traveling and experiential things more), so we're more likely to put our money towards those things. 

 Mostar, Bosnia & Herzegovina 

Cliffs of Moher, Ireland

9. Are you a sunset dinner on the beach kind of girl, or pop a movie in and relax on the couch?

Again, not really either. But I'll go with sunset dinner on the beach because I love food and the beach. I tend to fall asleep during movies, so that is a waste. 

10. Tell us one thing you'd like to do with your significant one day. If you could do anything? Go anywhere?

I'd spend the morning in Croatia, the afternoon watching VT play UVA in football (at Lane Stadium of course), and the evening eating dinner in Anguilla (because that is where the majority of Ryan's "favorite meals of his life" were). 

Eating in Anguilla 

11. Tell us what you plan on doing on this Valentine's Day.

Well I'm home with a bad cold, and since most cough medicine is a pregnancy no-no, there's no chance of this happening (which Ryan is probably thankful for ;) ): 

12. Are you asking for anything this Valentine's day?
Nope. But if somehow Ryan had the power to take away my crazy hip pain so I could sleep in a bed again, I would totally cash in on that. Oh bed...I miss you as much as a 100 hot dogs in their mustardy-relishy glory. 

13. Give us one piece of advice of keeping a relationship strong and full of love.

Always be each other's number one priority. 

14.  Show us a picture of what love means to you.

McNugget's very 1st picture at 5.5 weeks. 

I had to go to the hospital because they thought I may have had appendicitis (luckily I didn't). It was a crazy night, but we got to see our baby (who was just a flickering little heartbeat at the time).

 It was amazing. 

Ohhhhh We're Half Way There (Insert Baby Fist Pump)

Yes, I had to bring the Jersey as 1) We just got back from the Jersey Shore (Sea Isle City in case you are wondering...which is wonderful, and not anything like the trashy tv show) and 2) I heard this song on the radio today, which was fitting since mcnugget is officially 1/2 baked. Baby totally fist pumped. I mean he or she is a product of two parents who met in a bar with an 80s cover band, so it is required. Welcome to your future baby, welcome to your future.

Anyway, Ryan convinced me to take a 1/2 way picture this weekend for the baby book that I'm hoping to put together sometime before the grand arrival. The chest to belly ratio is still a little off, but closing in. My arms and legs have gained nothing so far, and my face has actually thinned out. But everything in between.... oy vey. So worth it though. And, since I'm feeling generous today, I've included the picture below:

And for comparison, here is the only other pregnant picture I have at 4 weeks: 

A friend of ours told us that hitting 20 weeks is awesome, because you can start counting down. I have to agree...it feels pretty sweet. Even though I'm still having fairly bad hip pain and sleeping in a recliner, just knowing that we're on the downhill trek to meeting our baby is a huge deal mentally. I've even noticed a little bit more energy (although this could be due to work starting to finally slow down a bit), and my love for brussels sprouts has returned! They are by far my favorite food (cooked in olive oil on the stove with onions and sea salt), and I was so sad that the thought of them made me nauseous. But alas, all is good in my brussels sprout loving world again. 

20 more weeks to go baby! Can't wait to meet you (but in June...stay in there until then)!

My Boys & The Beach

This pretty much sums up our weekend. It's nice having the entire beach to yourself...

(even if it is in January).

Roller-Coaster Week

Phew. This week has definitely been a roller coaster! Husband was offered a new job that doesn't involve a 2 hr. commute each way (which he has been doing for the last 3 years), we purchased a new car since both of our cars hit the end of their (very long) lives, and we got to see McNugget on Monday at the anatomy scan :) Yay, Yay, Yay, Yay, Yay!

However, today went a little crazy starting with the moment I walked into my physical therapist's office at 7:30 AM. Let me preface this by saying that before I began appointments with the office three weeks ago, I provided my insurance information and a prescription from my doctor. I also provided my insurance card my first visit (they photocopied it), and I asked if I had a co-pay to which I was told no. I have had 6 appointments prior to today. This morning they told me that they are actually considered an out-of-network provider by my insurance company, and that all of my visits cost $75.00. I'm fairly certain my heart stopped for a while. I mean if I had known that from the beginning I would have gone elsewhere. I'm planning on fighting it tomorrow, but if you have any advice it would be greatly appreciated. I also got home and realized our oil heater is broken. We're hoping to be able to get someone who can come out and fix it tomorrow. Craziness!

Deep Breaths. Deep Breaths.

I'm going to try focus on all of the pluses from earlier this week, and stare at pictures of mcnugget. Happy thoughts! The scan was a bit of a wash, as our baby decided to curl up like a burrito and stay feet to chin so that the technician couldn't get most of the needed measurements. Baby also didn't cooperate during their 12 week ultrasound, and we had to come back a week later. At the 13 week ultrasound the technician had to poke and prod fairly intensely, and no lie our little bugger lifted their fist and shook it. Needless to say, we didn't have very high expectations this time around, and mcnugget proved once again that they really, really dislike the ultrasound paparazzi. So, we have to go back again in 3 weeks to see if they can get the rest of the measurements. I'm not gonna lie...I kinda secretly like that our baby is waging a war with the maternal fetal imaging department, because it means I get to see him/her a lot :)

The "Thinker" Pose

Hmmm...methinks you should stop taking my picture.

Trying out for the 2028 Summer Olympics? 

Look Ma, my feet can touch my chin! 

Hopefully tomorrow goes back on the upswing! We're heading to the shore for the weekend, so it'll be nice to get away for a bit. Have a great weekend everyone!

What I Didn't Expect While Expecting Pt.1

I don't necessarily have anything planned for part 2, but I'm quite certain there will be a part 2, and probably a 3, 4 and 5. But for clarity sake, this will cover the first trimester and the first half of the second trimester.

Anyhoo, lets be honest, pregnancy and child rearing is the equivalent of climbing Mount Everest everyday for the type A personality girl. Everything is one big massive question mark. I knew that it would be a toss-up for some symptoms...morning sickness or no morning sickness, fatigue or no fatigue, food cravings, etc., but somewhere in the back of my head I thought I would have it fairly easy. I mean, my mother had four kids in six years and never once was sick. But, she also walked out of the hospital in size 6 jeans after each one of us, so that right there should have been my number one sign that she's part alien or something. But I digress...most of my cousins come in sets of 3 and 4, and my both my grandmothers had 5 kids. I mean, isn't in in my Irish-Catholic bloodline to have easy pregnancies?

Then the universe laughed in my face.

I should have seen that coming.

From week 5 to week 17 I threw up in more places than a hungover college student after a night at an open bar event. I saved plastic grocery bags to store in my car so I could toss my cookies in random locations. I'm sure there are more humbling experiences to come, but this definitely knocked me down a notch or two. Morning sickness was a lie. It was all day, especially between the hours of 2 AM and 4 AM. Also, did I ever tell you that I walk through a kitchen multiple times a day while setting up for events for work? Nothing makes a nauseous pregnant girl feel better than seeing raw chicken and beef being chopped. The hardest part was that no one at work knew for the entire first trimester. All I wanted someone to hug my secretly pregnant self and tell me that I never had to look at raw meat ever, ever, ever again.

Now, maybe the nausea and sickness wouldn't have been so bad if I had some sort of pregnancy food cravings. A craving for anything would have been just awesome. But my body took a more creative, less travelled path and went for full on food aversions. I literally hated all food, except for one thing that my stomach deemed ok for a period of 3-4 days. Which is extra awesome if you have food allergies. After that period ended, the specific food previously deemed ok was relinquished to the "never to be seen again unless you want me to throw up on you" pile. And of course, the food I did want was never easy food like rice pasta or berry smoothies. Oh no it was hard to find, off the wall stuff... like stuffed grape leaves or chicken pad thai with gluten free sauce. Needless to say the husband is quite happy that this phase is over, and our little Mediterranean/Thai child (who seems to have issues with their actual heritage) seems to have developed a more expanded palate.

Also, did you know that is possible if you aren't having cravings for food, to have cravings for really weird stuff? Because I did. All of the sudden I regressed to my 16 year old self, and felt the need to listen to Britney Spears and the Dave Matthews Band. All the time. To the point that I would play the Britney station on Pandora on my iPhone while taking a shower. Some babies hear Bach and Beethoven while in the womb. Mine will come out of the womb knowing all the words to "Hit Me Baby One More Time." Mothering fail. Additionally, I began to hate all of my favorite tv shows, and instead felt an overwhelming desire to watch Jeopardy, Antique Roadshow and M*A*S*H. I have no words for this really, as I'm not quite sure how to describe the fact that I'm a 16 year old one second, and a 60 year old the next. Needless to say, turning 30 isn't looking so bad now.

On to the next topic. I didn't know that by week 16 I'd be sleeping in a recliner instead of a bed. I don't know if it is because I had surgery on both of my ankles when I was younger, because I was on my feet working 80+ events during the month of December, or because I'm a weirdo who was born with hypermobility. What I do know is that something is very, very not right with my hip. For four weeks straight I was up every 15 minutes in excruciating pain. Then I borrowed a recliner from my parents, and now I sleep for 4 hours straight before the every 15 minutes of pain thing starts. I'm not quite sure how to explain the pain, but it's probably along the lines having an abscessed tooth in your hip. I'm seeing a physical therapist, and that has helped some. I'm also trying to get an appointment with an osteopathic doctor that specializes in hip pain. Fingers crossed. Because pain is a gazillion times worse when you are feeling it on zero sleep. If  I could recommend anything, it would be that if you have ever had any sort of back, spine, hip, leg, foot issue please, please, please start doing lots of stretches and maybe see a physical therapist before you get pregnant. I will most certainly be doing this if we are lucky enough to be blessed with more kids.

And finally...oh goodness...pintrest pulled me in with those cute pictures of pregnant girls taking weekly pictures of their adorable baby bumps. I swore up and down I would do that when the time came. So I took a picture at week 4, and then promptly stopped. Want to know why? Because I'm fairly certain that the first 7 pounds I gained went directly to my chest. I literally went up two bra sizes in two weeks. This would be totally awesome if I started out as an A or a B, but for the love, I was already a D. Instead of a cute pregnant belly, I just look like an overweight person with boobs 5 x bigger than my head. I might be able to make this look cute if I had a lot of time/energy/money, but lets be real...I haven't slept in 18 weeks. Looking cute is not on my list of priorities right now. So until my stomach goes out farther than my mega chest, there will be no pictures.

Week 4. Before the Boob-strocity took over. 

Obviously, I am very, very thankful to be blessed with mcnugget, and I'm sure I'll probably laugh about this one day (like 50 years from now), but I figured I'd lay it out there for anyone who isn't having the easiest pregnancy...because you know, it just makes you feel better when you know you're not the only one throwing up in the parking lot of a McDonalds :)

First Comes A McWedding, Then Comes A McNugget...

Also known as the story of how Ryan found out he was going to be a dad...

First, thanks everyone for the congrats! We're super excited for our newest addition in progress.

Ok, so where to begin. It was Tuesday night, October 11th. I was sitting down watching TV, while eating some of my husband's famous guacamole (no lie, I'd list that stuff in the top 5 reasons of why I chose to marry him...it's just that good). Then about 20 minutes later I realized I ate the entire bowl. Yup, 8 avocados worth of limey, tomato-y, onion-y goodness. A bowl big enough to easily feed, I dunno, about 4-6 people. Something was definitely up.

I decided to take a test for the heck of it. I wasn't really expecting to see anything because it was really early, so needless to say I was a bit shocked (albeit happily shocked) when I got a positive result.

I ran downstairs and made up some lie about needing to run into work and help set some stuff up for a pop-up event the next morning. This was not completely out of the ordinary, so the hubs actually bought it. Which is a complete surprise considering I am the world's worst liar. Like as in, I would do something wrong when I was a kid and then send myself to my room because I couldn't even lie about it. After patting myself on the back for not raising any suspicions, I jumped in the car and promptly called my friend Steph. She answered, and I'm pretty sure I said something along the lines of, "Oh my goodness, I took a test, blah, blah, two lines,  blah, blah, blah, oh my goodness..." Thankfully, she can read my mind, because any other person would have thought I was crazy. Lets analyze this for a second...

1) Yeah, I told my friend before I told my husband. Wife fail. But lets get real...there was no way I could safely drive my car without telling someone, and for the love of all things good in the world, I wanted to tell Ryan in a sweet way. So it was either a cute surprise, or a crazy wife running down the stairs blubbering incoherently about babies, and a broken car, and a broken computer. Yup, my car and my computer broke the same week we found out. Option one for the win.

2) My conversation with Steph was lacking any kind of normalcy, because OMG... BABY. Yes, this baby was planned, but nothing really prepares you for seeing those two lines. All of the sudden you are filled with intense joy, excitement, love and lets be real, equal amounts of anxiety. You think about cute little baby cheeks, while wondering at the same time if you ate too much deli meat that day. But, maybe that's just me and my neurotic tendencies.

3) Lets be honest. A wonderful girlfriend knows just what to say when you are blubbering and neurotic. They just get it.

So anyways, Steph calms me down so I can be a good motorist, and excitedly asks how I'm going to tell Ryan. Luckily, I had come up with this idea when babies were just a plan for the future, as I'm pretty sure coming up with something that day would have been a complete disaster. My plan had two components...McDonalds and Baby Socks. Obviously those two things go together...

Lets rewind 3.5 years to the day we got married. I believe I've mentioned before that my maiden name was a Mc name (McCoy if your curious. BEST. LAST. NAME. EVER. I still miss it...), and I married someone with another Mc name. Nothing like staying in the same place in the alphabet. Anyway, we jokingly referred to our wedding as the McWedding, and even served McDonald's hamburgers at the end of the night. See below for proof:

Yup, the card even says, "Thank you for coming to our McWedding."

We always jokingly referred to our future children as McNuggets, so I knew, whenever the time came, I would tell Ryan using a McNugget box. Properly calmed down (thanks Steph!), I made my way to Mickey D's and Marshalls (luckily, they were both in the same shopping center). After putting everything together, I made my way home and lied (again) to Ryan about picking him up some dinner since it was late, and I felt bad for having to run out and head into work. At least I'm a caring liar ;) 

I'll let the pictures tell the rest: 

 Holds a better surprise than any kids meal...

 Smells something fishy.

 Yay!

 A McNugget Special. 

I chose these socks because I like dogs, not because I think we're having a boy. 

It's actually a surprise baby, so we have no idea if it will be a he or she until June!

Needless to say Ryan was ecstatic. If you know my husband, than you know that being a dad is like the ultimate life long dream for him. He's total dad material....like t-ball coach, helping out with a science project at midnight, excited to do driving lessons type of dad. This kid is pretty darn lucky to have Ryan as their dad, if I do say so myself. 

And that is the story of how my husband found out we're going to be a family of 3. 

In case you are wondering, baby mcnugget is officially due June 19th. Ironically, that is the same day that my mom was due with me. I actually came a month early, on May 20th, and attended my own baby shower. I have a feeling that this baby is either going to follow in my footsteps, or do the opposite take it's sweet time and come in early July. I think I'll honestly be fairly surprised if I have a June baby.