My Pregnancy Blog
*This blog was started in, like, December 2018 and is being updated little by little throughout* *I finished it in 3 different edits. Final one April 2020 LOL*
Hiiii!!! I am so excited we are out in the open! I have so much to share about this exciting new chapter.
I'm going to organize the hell out of this blog with many, many categories so feel free to read it all or skip around!
But first, my thoughts on becoming a mama!
Honestly, I've always had mother-like behavior. I dreamt of being a mom and doing it my perfect way. I also always knew I didn't want to enter this chapter until I felt prepared/ready (yeah, yeah, I know, "you're never ready") but what I mean is I had certain goals I wanted to achieve before intentionally stepping into motherhood/taking on a LIFE! I just so happened to be lucky that "my plan" worked out in my favor.
WHEN DID WE FIND OUT?
We found out Thursday. July 5, 2018! My period was 9 days late at this point aaaand I.am.NEVER.late.
I finally got up (HAHA) and washed my hands (very sanitary, I am) and we hugged and kept saying “what? This is so crazy! Is this real? Wait, is it really? Do we still go see the purge???” LOL so I mentioned to him the test came in a two pack, so just to be sure, let me try again....and yup! Second one read positive, too.
HOW LONG WE INTENTIONALLY 'TRIED'
WHY WE WAITED 7 MONTHS TO ANNOUNCE
I don't think there was any one reason we waited THIS long to announce (online).
We felt satisfied telling those that we are personally close to prior to online. It began with both of our parents, siblings, and then we went into friends. It was actually really exciting individually telling our loved ones because we got to have that special moment about 30 times over and over. I also get easily over whelmed and to avoid this x100 I was very happy I had already shared the news with people who have my phone number, that way once it was out in the open I wasn't being bombarded with a million calls or texts at once.
We really wanted our maternity shoot to be the online reveal, and as most do, our shoot was scheduled for when I was showing more which was December 2018 at around 7 1/2 months.
A lot of people were shocked we were able to keep it hidden for so long! I am super creative so photos we shared online (before people knew) I placed myself in very strategic ways. It was honestly a really fun secret and the reveal was really nice, too. Everyone was continuously showering us with so much love.
When/If we are pregnant again, I don't think I will wait that long. Once I was out in the open it was super fun sharing appt's and photos and different parts of my pregnancy online <3
NAME CHOICE
I've always loved 'A' names, so during year 2 of dating (LOL) I found out Donald was on board with our future daughter being "Aleena" and I was on board with future son being Donald the IV.
It means a few diff things and has a couple of diff backgrounds; but I just simply love it. No one thing attracted me to it.
SO YEAH! We've had her name picked out since 2011.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
We plan to have 0% religious affiliation in our home. When she's older and has any curiosity or wants to visit/attend certain worship centers, we will fulfill those desires.
HOW MANY KIDS TOTAL WE WANT?
I think 'ideally' in a perfect world 3 is a number we both are okay with.
However, if I were to get pregnant a second time and it were to be a boy, we may decide 2 is fine. It's something we are open to discussing later on in our relationship.
We intend to give Aleena 100% of our attention and time and love for at least a full year or two before intentionally growing our family!
MY BIGGEST FEAR?
During pregnancy my ultimate, biggest fear was hearing the words 'your baby no longer has a heart beat.' I'm so incredibly thankful and happy I didn't have to endure this, but this was something I was low key 'ready' to hear almost at every appt.
MY MOST EXCITING FEELING?
When we did our first ultrasound (August 2018) and I saw the baby was 'real' and indeed heard the heartbeat, I finally cried and knew I was pregnant-pregnant. (This was around week 10 I believe) It hadn't really 'hit' me or made me emotional until that point.
WORST SYMPTOMS DURING
I was unusually lucky with having what many would see as an easy pregnancy. The worst parts for my 'easy' pregnancy were:
March 4, 2019! (a day after my birthday!!)
DELIVERY ROOM PLANS
HAHAHAHAHA. I know, I know. It's okay to make plans, just know that it's veryyyy possible nothing will go accordingly.
...And that's actually exactly what happened to meeee.
My PLANS were:
Nothing special! For 5 months I had 0 appetite. Then, suddenly, I wanted to eat everything!
Finally, 31 weeks in I find out I have gestational diabetes (umm???) there's a lot more to THAT but I'll spare cussing out companies / organizations online. Just NOT SURE HOW MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS DON'T HAVE THIS PERTINENT INFO UNTIL 5+ WEEKS LATER....anyway, I didn't die, I'm fine, I am A-okay it's all good, not really, but you know. (This test was done Nov 14, 2018....yet I was 'diagnosed' in January 2019...)
The cravings I had were few and normal. No weird combo's. I wanted gold fish snacks for about a month straight, diet coke (which was unusual for me) for a month straight, and the rest was regular foods I was used to eating (when my appetite came back)
SUPPLEMENTS I TOOK DURING
I still to this day take these because when I don't, I've noticed my hair comes out more frequently.
BEST ADVICE I RECEIVED
WORST ADVICE I RECEIVED
THINGS I WANNA SAY TO OTHER FIRST TIME PREGNANT PEEPS
Umm, enjoy every single day. I know if you're sick and barfing you will roll your eyes at this part, I will def allow it. Move away from this section. But, no, really. Take each day as a blessing. A lot of people want a pregnancy and family and struggle. If you've gotten pregnant, it's a blessing.
Know your support system. Don't bombard people with updates who don't give a shit. Love and go to the ones who are genuinely there for you and just as happy about your news. It's okay to have diff circles for diff things.
Make your plans loud and clear to you and your partner. If you don't want other people in the hospital room/visiting right away let this be known. It's what YOU want mama, not what others want. It's your time.
WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A MOM
Being Aleena's mom... she is everything right
Thanks for reading! Love and light to all, always.
-S
Hiiii!!! I am so excited we are out in the open! I have so much to share about this exciting new chapter.
I'm going to organize the hell out of this blog with many, many categories so feel free to read it all or skip around!
But first, my thoughts on becoming a mama!
Honestly, I've always had mother-like behavior. I dreamt of being a mom and doing it my perfect way. I also always knew I didn't want to enter this chapter until I felt prepared/ready (yeah, yeah, I know, "you're never ready") but what I mean is I had certain goals I wanted to achieve before intentionally stepping into motherhood/taking on a LIFE! I just so happened to be lucky that "my plan" worked out in my favor.
WHEN DID WE FIND OUT?
We found out Thursday. July 5, 2018! My period was 9 days late at this point aaaand I.am.NEVER.late.
MY MIND WAS LIKE...WHAT THE FUCK!?
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
The typical negative line (that I had seen for the last two days) was turning into a little + and I knew something had to be wrong with my eyes. I mean, I wasn’t shocked that we GOT pregnant, I was just days of testing where I kept seeing negative, negative, so I didn’t expect this day to be any different.
I was definitely not able to keep this a secret; my 'extra' self normally would've had some cute way to reveal this huge news to Donald. INSTEAD, as I'm sitting on the toilet and unable to believe this exciting news I yell for Donald (who had NO idea I was even taking a test) and I said "BABE, COME HERE, LOOK AT THIS!!!"
Donald was outside the toilet door washing his face (preparing for our date night) and I pass him the not-even-wiped-or-anything-stick.
He was in disbelief. He gasped (LOL) and said WHAT? BABE, THIS IS POSITIVE, IS THIS REAL? And he began to tear up. (so fucking sweet)
I couldn’t believe my eyes!
The typical negative line (that I had seen for the last two days) was turning into a little + and I knew something had to be wrong with my eyes. I mean, I wasn’t shocked that we GOT pregnant, I was just days of testing where I kept seeing negative, negative, so I didn’t expect this day to be any different.
I was definitely not able to keep this a secret; my 'extra' self normally would've had some cute way to reveal this huge news to Donald. INSTEAD, as I'm sitting on the toilet and unable to believe this exciting news I yell for Donald (who had NO idea I was even taking a test) and I said "BABE, COME HERE, LOOK AT THIS!!!"
Donald was outside the toilet door washing his face (preparing for our date night) and I pass him the not-even-wiped-or-anything-stick.
He was in disbelief. He gasped (LOL) and said WHAT? BABE, THIS IS POSITIVE, IS THIS REAL? And he began to tear up. (so fucking sweet)
I finally got up (HAHA) and washed my hands (very sanitary, I am) and we hugged and kept saying “what? This is so crazy! Is this real? Wait, is it really? Do we still go see the purge???” LOL so I mentioned to him the test came in a two pack, so just to be sure, let me try again....and yup! Second one read positive, too.
HOW LONG WE INTENTIONALLY 'TRIED'
One.Mother.Fuckin.MONTH.
Which threw me off because I was so sure it would take us years.
We know what a blessing this was so we don't gloat, we were just sincerely shocked and excited.
I downloaded the App on my phone called FLO because I don't know anything about ovulation and in April 2018 I put in my info. and it worked for us.
Which threw me off because I was so sure it would take us years.
We know what a blessing this was so we don't gloat, we were just sincerely shocked and excited.
I downloaded the App on my phone called FLO because I don't know anything about ovulation and in April 2018 I put in my info. and it worked for us.
WHY WE WAITED 7 MONTHS TO ANNOUNCE
I don't think there was any one reason we waited THIS long to announce (online).
We felt satisfied telling those that we are personally close to prior to online. It began with both of our parents, siblings, and then we went into friends. It was actually really exciting individually telling our loved ones because we got to have that special moment about 30 times over and over. I also get easily over whelmed and to avoid this x100 I was very happy I had already shared the news with people who have my phone number, that way once it was out in the open I wasn't being bombarded with a million calls or texts at once.
We really wanted our maternity shoot to be the online reveal, and as most do, our shoot was scheduled for when I was showing more which was December 2018 at around 7 1/2 months.
A lot of people were shocked we were able to keep it hidden for so long! I am super creative so photos we shared online (before people knew) I placed myself in very strategic ways. It was honestly a really fun secret and the reveal was really nice, too. Everyone was continuously showering us with so much love.
When/If we are pregnant again, I don't think I will wait that long. Once I was out in the open it was super fun sharing appt's and photos and different parts of my pregnancy online <3
NAME CHOICE
I've always loved 'A' names, so during year 2 of dating (LOL) I found out Donald was on board with our future daughter being "Aleena" and I was on board with future son being Donald the IV.
It means a few diff things and has a couple of diff backgrounds; but I just simply love it. No one thing attracted me to it.
SO YEAH! We've had her name picked out since 2011.
RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION
We plan to have 0% religious affiliation in our home. When she's older and has any curiosity or wants to visit/attend certain worship centers, we will fulfill those desires.
HOW MANY KIDS TOTAL WE WANT?
I think 'ideally' in a perfect world 3 is a number we both are okay with.
However, if I were to get pregnant a second time and it were to be a boy, we may decide 2 is fine. It's something we are open to discussing later on in our relationship.
We intend to give Aleena 100% of our attention and time and love for at least a full year or two before intentionally growing our family!
MY BIGGEST FEAR?
During pregnancy my ultimate, biggest fear was hearing the words 'your baby no longer has a heart beat.' I'm so incredibly thankful and happy I didn't have to endure this, but this was something I was low key 'ready' to hear almost at every appt.
MY MOST EXCITING FEELING?
When we did our first ultrasound (August 2018) and I saw the baby was 'real' and indeed heard the heartbeat, I finally cried and knew I was pregnant-pregnant. (This was around week 10 I believe) It hadn't really 'hit' me or made me emotional until that point.
WORST SYMPTOMS DURING
I was unusually lucky with having what many would see as an easy pregnancy. The worst parts for my 'easy' pregnancy were:
- Gagging in the shower (I LOVE showering and it became my least fav time)
- Back pain closer to the end (but ya'll know I deal with back pain my whole life sooo nothing "new")
- Extreme constipation in beginning (I am SO regular, so this was SO heart breaking!! and painful.)
- Horrrrrrible pressure on my vagina during week 35-40 (I took early maternity leave BECAUSE of it!!!)
- Dealing with gestational diabetes (this SHOCKED me and sorta triggered my situational depression a bit)
- Night time heart burn from medication due to diabetes
- Realizing HOW many mofo people apparently care and love me and showed me excitement for my baby!? (All types of old friendships were reignited flames!!)
- FREE FOOD!!! I was SPOILED!
- Donald and I growing closer in a magical way <3
- Keeping in touch with a lot of friends more consistently with weekly updates/photos of app
- Learning how strong I truly am
- "Watching" Aleena grow
- Feeling kicks
- Donald's daily/nightly talks to my belly
- Taking photos in the same dress to see belly growth
March 4, 2019! (a day after my birthday!!)
DELIVERY ROOM PLANS
HAHAHAHAHA. I know, I know. It's okay to make plans, just know that it's veryyyy possible nothing will go accordingly.
...And that's actually exactly what happened to meeee.
My PLANS were:
- No medication whatsoever
- Natural errrthang
- Delay cord clamping
- Skin to Skin with me and Donald too!
- Breast feeding
- 24 hour delay on baby's first bath
- Absolutely no c-section unless it was risk related
- Only Donald in room
- Donald cutting cord
Nothing special! For 5 months I had 0 appetite. Then, suddenly, I wanted to eat everything!
Finally, 31 weeks in I find out I have gestational diabetes (umm???) there's a lot more to THAT but I'll spare cussing out companies / organizations online. Just NOT SURE HOW MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS DON'T HAVE THIS PERTINENT INFO UNTIL 5+ WEEKS LATER....anyway, I didn't die, I'm fine, I am A-okay it's all good, not really, but you know. (This test was done Nov 14, 2018....yet I was 'diagnosed' in January 2019...)
The cravings I had were few and normal. No weird combo's. I wanted gold fish snacks for about a month straight, diet coke (which was unusual for me) for a month straight, and the rest was regular foods I was used to eating (when my appetite came back)
SUPPLEMENTS I TOOK DURING
- Prenatals
- Fiber gummies
- Folic Acid
I still to this day take these because when I don't, I've noticed my hair comes out more frequently.
BEST ADVICE I RECEIVED
- Take everything from hospital, because they're billing you anyway
- When the kid is here, be loud, don't be 'quiet' around baby
- Bring men's boxer briefs into hospital bag (easier for ice packs and comfy)
- Bring extension cord to hospital for phone (hahaha truth)
- Remember it's not up to us, what will happen will happen
- I'm allowed to set rules for hospital visitation
WORST ADVICE I RECEIVED
- I don't really know
THINGS I WANNA SAY TO OTHER FIRST TIME PREGNANT PEEPS
Umm, enjoy every single day. I know if you're sick and barfing you will roll your eyes at this part, I will def allow it. Move away from this section. But, no, really. Take each day as a blessing. A lot of people want a pregnancy and family and struggle. If you've gotten pregnant, it's a blessing.
Know your support system. Don't bombard people with updates who don't give a shit. Love and go to the ones who are genuinely there for you and just as happy about your news. It's okay to have diff circles for diff things.
Make your plans loud and clear to you and your partner. If you don't want other people in the hospital room/visiting right away let this be known. It's what YOU want mama, not what others want. It's your time.
WHAT I LOVE MOST ABOUT BEING A MOM
Thanks for reading! Love and light to all, always.
-S
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