16 Week Preggie Update

I know, I know....I just said I was going to post weekly updates and then fell off the face of the earth!  I don't even know what to say.  I could say life got in the way, but I really wasn't that busy haha!  I have been really tired after getting off work though and falling asleep at the drop of a dime.  I thought you were supposed to get this great energy surge in your second trimester?!  I'm still waiting...

Went to the doctor last week and heard the baby's heart beat again.  It was in the 150s.  I swear, that's like the best thing to hear to settle a girl's nerves.  I am always on pins and needles when I arrive at the doc's office, with dread in my heart thinking that I won't hear it. Then, I hear the familiar sound of a horse galloping in my uterus and then I'm a-ok!  I also love to see the smile on my husband's face and that "I told you so" grin.

Fast forward: I went for my blood draw today to complete my 1st Trimester screening.  I honestly don't know what this blood test is for, I was just asked to come back in 3 weeks after my NT (neural tube) screening to complete to still screen for Trisomy 18, 21 and Spina Bifida!  I haven't seen the baby since Week 13 so it kind of freaks me out when I can't.  

Last week, I bought a fetal doppler to ease my mind and help me to not freak out so often.  The first time I used it, the heart rate kept coming up at 119, which kind of freaked me out (yes, I know the reason for me buying it was to not freak out).  I put it away because I knew that it was just in the 150s two days previous.  I checked again on Saturday and the only change I made was to press down a little harder.  This worked wonders.  Baby B's heart rate fluctuated between 147 and 153, which told me that I was doing something right!!  

I'm still trying to find the best background and lighting for my pictures so please bear with me!! :)


      

Here is my survey for the week:

What Fruit are you?   Navel orange last week, avocado this week

Due date:  October 18, 2016

How far along:  16 weeks 

Next appointment:  Today for blood draw, May 27 with my OB

Gender:  Still #teamgreen

Total weight gain/loss:  6 pounds, currently 115.  I'm starting to gain weight in my face and butt

Exercise: Nothing other than daily walks with the dog.  I'm also participating in an OT (occupational therapist) challenge with my students, doing daily exercises!

Stretch marks:  Nope

Swelling: Nope

Maternity clothes:   Nope, although I feel like I should be in some!!!

Belly button:   Innie

Sleep: Sleep was a little better this week, however, I'm finding it more difficult to sleep on my tummy

Food cravings:  oranges and cherry coke

Symptoms:  Still tired and now I'm constipated!!

Movement:  Week 15, Day 4 I thought I had a tickling sensation that felt different from the usual gas, but I'm not sure because I don't have anything to compare it to

Labor signs:  None

What I miss:  Morning caffeine, however, I've put a little more in my diet the past 2 weeks....don't judge me. Still waaaaay under 200mg and not daily...about twice a week

Food/Smell Aversions: Still not not missing any meals!!

What I'm loving:   Being able to eat as much as I want, healthy of course and not be judge for eating as much as I am, haha

What I'm looking forward to:  Buying baby things and designing the nursery

Best moment this week: I haven't really had anything exciting happen this week except the Fetal Doppler coming in the mail

     
News: Milestones:  None Scratch that, I broke down and bought a belly band.  I was starting to notice some push back from my belly saying "stop stuffing me in pants"...
     

Words of wisdom:  Try not to freak out!

13 Week Preggie Update

Nothing has really changed since last week so this will be really brief!  This week, we had our NT (nuchal translucency) screen to check for amount of fluid behind the baby's neck and to also check for Down's Syndrome, Trisomy 18 and spinal disorders, such as Spina Bifida.  It is two parts and we just did part one this week.  This includes an ultrasound (2D and 5D ultrasound, for me at least) and a finger prick to take blood.  Then we have to go back 3 weeks later and I get a blood draw for the second part.  I have been so nervous during this time because we haven't seen the baby in a while so you never know what's going on.  I was so happy when I looked up at the screen and our little Baby B was wriggling and kicking....just made us so happy and I could breathe a sigh of relief...for now!  

The picture is terrible...sorry!

13 weeks

Baby B being shy!

Here is my survey for the week:

What Fruit are you?  Peach, peapod, jalapeño, depending on the app

Due date:  October 18, 2016

How far along:  13 weeks (13 weeks, 2 days while actually typing this)

Next appointment:  April 26 with my OB

Gender:  Still #teamgreen

Total weight gain/loss:  3 pounds, haven't gained any since last week

Exercise: Nothing other than daily walks with the dog.  I'm also participating in an OT (occupational therapist) challenge with my students, doing daily exercises!

Stretch marks:  Nope

Swelling: Nope

Maternity clothes:   Nope, although I feel like I should be in some!!!

Belly button:   Innie

Sleep: I wake up at random times and stay up for like an hour or 2. I did find that eating 

helps me go back to sleep!

Food cravings:  oranges

Symptoms:  Bloat and constipation

Movement:  No movement

Labor signs:  None

What I miss:  Sushi, margaritas and morning caffeine.  I have a decaf about twice a week and an occasional Cherry Coke

Food/Smell Aversions: Still not not missing any meals!!

What I'm loving:   Eating snacks and my husband kissing my stomach...still

What I'm looking forward to:  Buying baby things...but it's still a little early

Best moment this week: Being able to see my baby twisting and turning and covering it's eyes during my NT screening.  It was amazing to see!

     
News: Milestones:  We finally told the rest of our friends that we're expecting! :)
     
Words of wisdom:  None this week

12 Week Preggie Update

So, as promised, I am going to start doing weekly bump updates!! This is both a scary and wonderful thing watching your body change every week because a little human is growing inside you.  I have practically been the same size since a freshman in high school, making it past 100 pounds! Yay!!  I am totally on board with embracing this pregnancy experience and I can't believe that I'm almost done with the first trimester.

I started my pregnancy journey at 109 pounds at 29 years old (I'm 30 now).  From reading and researching, it seems that no more than 5 pounds is normal for the first trimester, so I'm in the clear.  I'm sure most of it is just bloat anyway!  I'll try to do my updates in the same tank every week so the progression is clear.  Obviously not this one because it blends into my couch!

What Fruit are you?  Lime, plum or ripe apricot depending on the app

Due date:  October 18, 2016

How far along:  12 weeks (12 weeks, 5 days while actually typing this)

Next appointment:  April 12 for First Tri Screen, April 26 with my OB

Gender:  We're not finding out! Surprise!

Total weight gain/loss:  3 pounds

Exercise: Nothing other than daily walks with the dog and walking while with my students

Stretch marks:  Nope

Swelling: Nope

Maternity clothes:   Nope, although I feel like I should be in some!!!

Belly button:   Innie

Sleep: I wake up at random times and stay up for like an hour or 2. I did find that eating 

helps me go back to sleep!

Food cravings:  beef, salt and vinegar chips, and I'm not gonna lie, a lime margarita :(

Symptoms:  Slight headaches, major bloat, some constipation and back pains.  I still get minor "night sickness"

Movement:  No movement

Labor signs:  None

What I miss:  Sushi, margaritas and morning caffeine.  I have a decaf about twice a week and an occasional Cherry Coke

Food/Smell Aversions: I'm not missing any meals! When people talk about alcohol it makes me dry heave.

What I'm loving:   Eating snacks and my husband kissing my stomach

What I'm looking forward to:  My next ultrasound on Tuesday

Best moment this week: Being able to dance and have a good time

     
News: Milestones:  2 weeks until I enter my 2nd trimester
     
Words of wisdom:  So many emotions come with being pregnant...just try to not freak     out!

Let's Get This Started!

Hello all!

So, as stated in my previous post, I am now pregnant.  It has been an adjustment and I don't know if I've ever been this nervous/paranoid/annoying in my life!  Having a baby is definitely a great experience but it can also be very scary.  I feel so bad for my husband...he's the real MVP!

I am now 11 weeks, 3 days and this has not been an easy ride!  I haven't had morning sickness, but when I started out, I had some night sickness and was extremely exhausted.  I also had a little scare and was unsure if Baby B was going to make it.  Here I am now and he/she is doing just fine, heart beating away at 170. We had our first doppler this week and it was amazing!!  There's nothing like a life growing inside you.  I'm starting to stay up a little long and my appetite has increased again.  The only negative I have is back pain! 

I will start with weekly bump updates starting next week!  Here is just a snapshot of ones I have so far. I haven't been keeping up with bump photos..and please excuse my roughness!

6 weeks, 1 day...little bean

7 weeks, 1 day

8 weeks, 6 days...when I had my scare

I'm sure this is mostly bloat

Excuse the mess...I was mid cleaning!!

LeTote Box #1

So I've been seeing this site called "Le Tote" pop up all over Facebook.  I always wondered what it was about.  I'm pretty familiar with the boxed clothing as I'm a member of StitchFix and Rent the Runway. I didn't think I needed another subscription service and another way for me to spend my cash!

My friend had decided to give up her SF and give Le Tote a try.  Just to give you some background, Le Tote is a subscription service in which you place items in your closet to try and your stylist picks 5 things for you to try.  It's 3 clothing items and 2 accessories.  You pay a monthly fee of $59 and you get to keep the clothes for as long as you would like.  Oh, did I mention that the monthly fee covered THE WHOLE MONTH?? Meaning, you can get unlimited boxes (averaged around 3-4) for the whole month.  Just send back the clothing and a new one will be shipped out to you.  There is also a maternity option for $69, so you could start in regular clothing and switch to maternity wear when the time comes while not being cut off! You also don't have to worry about washing anything as the dry cleaning is taken care of for you...how great is that?!  Like something that was in your Tote...no problem!  You have the option to buy anything that you fall in love with!  The clothing comes from stores like Nordstrom, Lord & Taylor, Nasty Gal, Piperlime, etc. 

If for some reason there is something in your Tote that you don't like that your stylist has chosen, you have 24 hours to switch out things that you don't want sent to you.

I love the clothing subscription boxes because it takes the guess work out of finding clothes and actually going out shopping. It is also great for those who are limited with time.  If you're like me, I DESPISE shopping in stores so it's online shopping for me all the way!  

Here is the preview of my first Tote:

As you can see, I played it safe with this one.  I chose things that I would actually wear to work, and things that fit well together in multiple outfits.  I'm really excited about the pink trench coat!  

UPDATE:  I received my Tote today and here's what it looks like!

My husband was taking these...don't mind the flipped part!!

Paired it with plum tights!

Close up of the shirt...love the pattern

Hid the baby bump well! Love this shirt!!

Overall I would say that this was a great first tote.  I would love to buy the whole thing, but unfortunately, I'm not making it rain like that!  I still have to wear the trench coat but the weather has been so finicky in these parts that it hasn't been warm enough!



If you want to try out Le Tote, here is a referral link and it can save you $25 off of your first box!  Let me know what you think :) 

Guess What??!!

Soooooooo.....wasn't something that I was expecting.  Well, it could have happened, but I wasn't expecting it to happen so soon...

You guessed it, I'm PREGGO!

Yep, we're having a little baby.  What made me test in the first place you ask?? Here's why:

For the past week, I hadn't been feeling like myself.  I was dizzy, really tired and this is probably TMI but I couldn't stop going No. 2....I know, TMI!  To put the icing on the cake, I had 2 very vivid dreams that were so real, and I know that could be a sign of the big fat P!  

On Thursday, February 4, I decided to take a test....it was a BIG FAT POSITIVE!  It was a faint line, but, it was still a positive.  I wasn't convinced, so, I decided to take another test of another brand and what do you know, that one was positive too!  I was going to wait to tell my husband on Valentine's Day since it was coming up but I couldn't wait that long!! When he came in from the store, I told him to come upstairs because I had to talk to him about something.  He gave me his daily kiss and asked what I wanted to talk about.  I pulled the test from behind my back and his response was "OMG, you're pregnant!"  I laughed and we hugged and kissed and all that lovey dovey stuff.  

Then, I thought back to Monday before I found out, in which I had just consumed a bottle and a half of wine with my best friend, lol!  I'm sure I wasn't pregnant then...right??

Anywho, we're so excited for this journey we are about to experience into parenthood.  I couldn't imagine doing it with anyone else besides my wonderful husband! 

Sorry it's sideways!

Who is this chick??

Hello!!  My name is Crystal and I'm the blogger behind The Posh Files!

I am a Speech Language Pathologist by day at a school and pretty much a couch potato at night.  I love photography but I'm not really good at it, haha!  I am obsessed with my dog Spartacus...the cutest Miniature Schnauzer you will ever meet.  I was born and raised in Illinois, the suburbs right outside Chicago, and been here my whole life.  On September 19, 2015, I got married to the love of my life AJ.  We have a pretty interesting story as he was my co-teaching partner (he's a Special Education Teacher) and that's how we met!  Life just took over after that!  I love to travel and have been to Jamaica twice, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and Mexico...as well as more domestic places.  If it was up to me, I'd be in a new place every week.  I also LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to eat and am pretty adventurous.  I'll try anything at least once.  Not only am I an adventurous eater, I'm a pretty adventurous person.  I don't like a lot of down time and am always up for a challenge.  I've been sky diving, zip lining, cliff diving, snorkeling, dune buggying, ATVing...among other things!

AJ and I

Us again rocking our Chucks!

Our Zombie Cake...classy in the front, quirky in the back!

Spartacus