Chic Bump Watch: 5 Months

We are halfway there! I have been feeling great for the most part. There are some days when I have horrible fatigue but other than that I feel pretty normal. My next appointment is at twenty four weeks. I am hoping that my doctor schedules my C-Section during that appointment so that I can start letting friends and family know when we can expect our little guy. 

Savannah was delivered via C-Section too. It is pretty standard for women with a septate uterus to deliver via C-Section. I delivered Sav at 37 weeks 3 days and she was a perfectly healthy baby girl. The doctors are planning to do the same thing this go around. So I actually have a little less than twenty weeks left. I have to admit that sometimes I feel like I'm missing out on the whole birthing experience by not being able to wait around for my water break and go through the whole labor and delivery process. Then I have to remind myself that everyone has their own path to motherhood and this is mine. 

I'm going to start doing some shopping for him this weekend. Maybe I'll do a vlog to show you all some of my first purchases, we'll see! Enjoy you the rest of your Wednesday!

Baby Preparation: It Begins

First I want to sincerely thank everyone for all of their advice and motivation over these past couple weeks. It has really meant a lot to me. I finally cracked the lid on her bins this morning. I decided to take it one bin at a time. My plan for selling her things is to group like items, brands or sizes together. This will allow me to do "lot" listings as opposed to selling individual outfits. 

This was the first "lot" that I put together. It was a carter's sleepwear listing. I use eBay as a pricing reference. I listed this "lot" on the yard sale page for my neighborhood and it was sold within thirty minutes. Great, right? I still have a long way to go but at least the ball is rolling. 

I'm gathering all of her shoes before selling any of them. These are all of the shoes I've found so far and I still haven't gone through all of her bins yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to approach selling her shoes. I think I might do a mix of individual listings and "lot" sales.

I will be saving these along with her white "walking" shoes for our baby boy. I had completely forgotten that she even had these. I also found bibs and a couple other things that her brother will be able to use. Yay, for hand me downs!!! Her clothes are in such great condition that I really hate to see them go but I can't keep everything. Our military nomadic lifestyle doesn't really allow you to be a sentimental hoarder. I'll keep some of her things but the majority of it has to go. Tear.

Wish me luck! So far my collective sales total is twenty five dollars. I sold one of my dresses on the yard sale page too. "A dolla makes me holla honey boo boo chile!"

Friday Funny

- posted from my chic iPhone

Baby Preparation

To say that I am starting to feel overwhelmed would be an understatement. I feel like there is so much that I should be doing. Should being the operative word here. I should be doing so many things. I have a shared nursery or a nursery to start working on. I have eBay auctions that need to be hitting the net. I haven't even cracked the lid on any of those tubs or boxes. 

There is so much to be done around the house. I didn't realize Sav had so much stuff until now. This little guy deserves some closet space or at least a drawer or two. I need to get moving. Really I do. I'm ready to start doing the fun stuff like shopping for all his clothes and bedding. I've been trying to find a checklist that would give me an idea of what a starting wardrobe looks like. With Sav, I had so many different baby showers that I didn't have to worry about this. I really have no idea where to even start with shopping. We don't need any baby gear since all of our baby gear was gender neutral. So all I'm expecting to shop for is clothes and a couple small items.

I'm going to use the checklist above as a starting point. It looks trustworthy enough. I think I'll crack the lid on one of those bins tomorrow. There's no time like the present to get motivated. Times like this make me realize why famous people have assistants. Sometimes you just need a little assistance. I could use the help or at least an accountability buddy. Does that checklist look pretty reasonable Mama's? Or is it missing something? 

Breastfeeding

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend. A nice long weekend is always a treat. We had a blast at the couple's retreat and I'll be doing a recap post this week to share what we learned. Every day I try to do a little more around the house to prepare for the baby. Slow and steady wins the race, right? I've been trying to refresh myself on all things newborn. Today while I was browsing Facebook I came across a video that a friend of mine posted. It was about breastfeeding and how our country views this natural ability. Check out the video below. It may not be safe for work due to nudity.

As I have mentioned on this blog before I am an advocate for breastfeeding. I breastfed Savannah for thirteen months before transitioning her to organic milk. I plan to breastfeed again. There are several reasons as to why one should breastfeed. I made the decision to do it because I couldn't understand why I'd buy milk when I was already making it for free. (See. Swiper wasn't swiping back then either.) So yes. My reasons for breastfeeding started out because it seemed crazy to spend money on something that I could get for free. After doing more research and attending a breastfeeding class I learned that there were so many other incredible benefits for choosing breastfeeding. 

Just like most Moms out there I was met with my own set of challenges while breastfeeding. I didn't know if I was producing enough milk. I wondered if she was getting "enough". I was frustrated because it seemed like I couldn't nurse then pump like some Moms do. I never had a supply of milk in my freezer. These things frustrated me because I thought it was going to be easy to nurse and then pump to build a supply. I was wrong. My body just wouldn't do it. After speaking with friends and lactation consultants the one thing they all said was to not stop breastfeeding. They encouraged me to stay with it. I'm so glad I did. These are one of the many instances in life where you can actually see God working. It was an amazing thing. To know that my body was made for my baby, and that I would always be able to give her exactly what she needed. What a blessing.

I give breastfeeding all the credit for my daughter's health. She's hardly ever sick and she's never had a fever. I haven't had to take her to the doctor for anything other than her regular milestone check-ups and shots. Now. I know there will be bottle feeding Moms out there who will say the same thing. I'm not bottle bashing at all. I think you should do whatever works best for you and your family. Breastfeeding is an amazing thing and I encourage everyone to try it. Every little bit of breast milk helps your baby. What are your thoughts on the video and breastfeeding?

Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I hope your day has been filled with so much love and happiness. Then again, I hope all of your days are like that. That's the thing about Valentine's Day that I've never really liked. I still don't quite get what all the hype is about. Maybe it's because I'm not easily impressed by flowers or balloons. Or maybe it's because my husband is so good to me that Valentine's Day just doesn't seem "special". I prefer it that way. Show me love all year and whatever you do, do not buy me flowers or balloons. Anyone else feel that way?

So true! We'll be watching tonight!

I love love. I love everything it means. I love everything it stands for. We'll be attending a couple's retreat this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I read over the schedule for the weekend and the "classes" or "sessions" sound very fun! I'll be sure to post a recap next week. Enjoy your Valentine's Day. Remember to demand love all year long. You deserve it.

Pregnancy Update: Gender Reveal

Yesterday we had our "big" ultrasound. Everything went well and we are so excited to meet our newest little bundle. There aren't too many updates to gush about. I've gained five pounds and the baby is measuring perfectly (actually a little bigger) for where we are in the pregnancy.

Now for the gender reveal. I have to say that I am pretty excited to share that baby number two will be a very handsome little boy!! You couldn't tell my husband anything after our appointment yesterday. We are both over the moon with joy. Since everything we own is for a little girl I will be having a serious yard sale or several eBay auctions soon. I've saved everything Savannah has ever owned and some of it has to go to make room for the new baby's things. Not to mention it would also be nice to have a little extra cash to start getting both of them ready for the hot summer season here in Texas.

Does anyone know of a reliable second hand baby clothing website that works like eBay? Got any yard sale pricing tips? You know I'm open to hearing it all! Please keep my little family in your prayers as we become a family of four.

Stylish Saturday: Date Nights

As you may have seen on social media yesterday, I celebrated my twenty-ninth birthday! I am so excited to see what the last year of my twenties will be like. As you may also know, Valentine's Day is next week so it's kind of like my own little personal holiday season. I have to admit that I am not big on Valentine's Day but this year we are going to a couple's retreat stay-cation type thing and I'm looking forward to that. 

As soon as I learned about our Valentine's Day plans I immediately thought about what I was going to wear. Of course. My husband gifted me with some amazing shoes for Christmas that I haven't worn yet and I figured next weekend would be a great time to debut them. Then I decided to try on a skirt that I purchased for a girls night out last year. I never got to wear it because I got really sick and pretty much killed GNO, haha!

                                                                             Source: express.com via Tia on Pinterest

I really love this skirt. I initially had a one shoulder blue top to wear with it. Since it's February I'll wear it with a black top and my flesh tone pumps. This outfit isn't quite out of the maternity department but as I said before I plan to wear much of what I already have. The skirt is banded and provides some stretch and it was pretty comfortable when I tried it on. It actually fit better than I remembered. I'll post some pics of my overall look next week. What will all of you be wearing next week for VDay?

Chic Bump Watch: Week 17

Why hello there second trimester. Savannah and I had a great trip to Atlanta and we're back in San Antonio. Not unpacked but we are getting settled back into our routine. I can officially say I am done with being sick. I only have sick episodes if I allow myself to get too hungry. Or if I eat chicken. Or smell chicken. Or even hear someone mention chicken. Thank goodness this is a written post and not a video. I can't even say the word without getting that weird feeling in my throat.

Anyway. I'm getting my stride back. If it wasn't for fatigue I'd feel practically normal. I'm not sure what my weight gain is at this point. During my last appointment I learned that I lost the three pounds I had gained. My next appointment is Monday so I'll see what the scale says then. We'll also learn the sex of the baby too. Very excited about that!!

I finally started wearing some of my maternity stuff. Just jeans for now. Welp. We're almost half way there now. Time flies when you're hovered over a toilet I guess. Here are some bump pics. Remember when I mentioned that thing about having a "special" uterus. Because of my "special" uterus I only carry my babies on my left side. If you look at the pics close enough you can see that one side of my bump is slightly larger than the other. I know, I know. You wish your uterus would do that too, right?