Pink or Blue?

Will I have a bouncing baby boy or a precious little princess? This question has been taunting me for weeks!

My looooooong awaited 20 week ultrasound is Friday March 1st (I'll actually be 19 weeks & 2 days). If Baby B isn't timid and shows the tech his or her "goods", then Dan and I will be revealing the gender together on our vacation in Arizona - which we coincidentally leave for the following day!

The Reveal
This is how I picture it in my head - although reality isn't usually as magical. A party store will blow up a handful of small pink or blue helium balloons using the tightly sealed envelope from our ultrasound (considering I didn't tear into it on the flight over), and wrap them in a box like a present. Dan and I will then trek our way into the Grand Canyon where we will open the gift together revealing either pink or blue balloons; and ultimately the sex of our little bambino. The balloons will float up peacefully through the steep canyon walls where I will capture the most beautiful, National Geographic worthy photo.

Whether the above happens, or we just end up opening the envelope together on a little hiking adventure, it will be one of my most memorable life moments - yes, I already know this. I get excited and teary eyed just thinking about it.

So what do I think I'm having? BOY! And this is why...

1. Most everyone is adamant that I am having a girl - so I am going to be stubborn and disagree
2. I sometimes inadvertently use the terms "he" or "him" when referring to our baby
3. Every silly gender test I've taken has said boy
4. A few old wives tales true of me, point to boy - like carrying low and craving salt over sweets

I would be absolutely thrilled with a boy - but as equally excited for a girl. Our only wish is that he or she is healthy and happy. I can't wait for the reveal!

What are your guesses?!

Feeding the Bump

I luckily grew up in a home that was very health conscious. I thank my parents for this imperative environment. Nothing is more important than your health. We are given one life - one body. I strongly believe that ones quality and length of life is directly influenced by what one eats!

It's no surprise that I am addicted to photographing my food. If you follow me on Facebook or Instragram (@LaurendaMarie) you may have noticed this consumes a majority of my posts! I love food - and I've always been interested in creating nutrient dense, healthful meals. Lets be honest, though - I get cravings like everyone else and I DO satisfy those cravings. If you deny yourself foods you want, you'll end up binging on them later. It's all about balance and I'm happy to have found that.

Now that I am carrying a precious, growing baby - it's more important than ever that I make a conscious effort to consume nutritious meals. I shoot for 6 small meals a day - every 2 to 3 hours. This keeps my blood sugar stable and my energy up!

Here are a few examples of my healthful eats!

Veggie Frittata & Fresh Fruit

One egg, one egg white, red pepper, green pepper, white

 onion, guacamole, and fresh parmesan cooked in coconut oil.

Side of orange slices and half a banana.

Caprese Salad

Fresh basil, fresh mozzerella, compari tomatoes, olive oil, 

balsamic vinegar, sea salt, pepper.

Yogurt, Granola & Berries

Fage plain Greek yogurt, 1 packet truvia, fresh strawberries

whole grain peanut butter granola by KIND.

Berry Banana Smoothie

Plain Greek yogurt, frozen strawberries, frozen blueberries,

frozen banana, raw honey, coconut milk, and flax seed.

Greek Pasta Salad

Penne pasta, white beans, feta cheese, cucumber, grape tomatoes,

scallion, chopped kale, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Greek seasoning, sea salt.

Green Juice

One honey crisp apple, one green apple, two oranges, one lemon, 

and five stalks kale. Made enough for two servings - my husband loved it!

Who's hungry!?

Grow Baby Grow!

One of my favorite parts of pregnancy thus far is watching my belly grow. With that said, I feel like I'm in that awkward stage where it looks like I had a giant burger with a side of chili cheese fries for lunch. I look forward to the day where I finally "pop" and strangers aren't thinking I just need to hit the gym! I haven't purchased one maternity item. Most of my pants fit perfectly aside from some skinnies where I started utilizing the clever "rubber band trick". Everyone tells me to enjoy these days because soon I won't see my feet. Despite my current belly gripes, I have still been documenting each week to see the progression.

12 Weeks

14 Weeks

  14.5 Weeks

 15 Weeks

Grow Baby Grow!!

First Tri, Goodbye!

Dear First Trimester,

You suck.

Your Friend Enemy,

Laurenda

The Symptoms

 

Nausea 

I'll start by saying I had NO early pregnancy symptoms. Sore boobies? Nope. Nausea? Nope. Exhaustion? Not me. I almost begged for symptoms so my pregnancy felt real. It wasn't until week 5 that I noticed a specific change; my appetite was suppressed. This started a day before Thanksgiving, the one time of year you WANT a big appetite. Nothing sounded good, and I could have cared less about eating.

Everything went downhill from there. Around week 6, severe nausea set in. Not just "morning" sickness, but "all-day-long" sickness. This lasted until week 12 (and I still get bouts of it today). The foods I routinely ate looked like garbage on a plate. I couldn't have my daily bowl of oatmeal for breakfast, my grilled chicken salad at lunch, or my quinoa and veggies for dinner. I couldn't even look at avocados. AVOCADOS! They were my favorite. What was happening to me?!

So what did I eat, you ask? Well, I had to stray far far away from my health conscious diet. Carbs were the only thing I could eat without thinking I would heave. I ate peanut butter cheerios, english muffins with cream cheese, spaghetti, saltine crackers with cheddar, and fruit. One day I really wanted Velveeta Shells & Cheese, so my wonderful husband made sure this happened. The pre-pregnancy Laurenda would not have even allowed a box of that processed junk in the house (sorry Velveeta, it's true), but there I was shoveling forkfuls into my mouth. I started drinking Ensure for more calories as I was dropping weight pretty consistantly. The number I saw on the scale was the lowest I'd seen since my Freshmen year of high school. I wasn't eating for pleasure anymore, I was eating for survival.

After 7 weeks of battling nausea and a very skewed diet, I started to get my appetite back. Thank goodness too, because I was dying to feed my body and baby healthful meals. Anyone who knows me knows I'm a little obsessive compulsive about my diet. I'm a health and fitness junky and the aforementioned paragraph describes a person I thought I'd never be.

Exhaustion

Aside from the nausea, exhaustion set in. My 10pm bedtime turned into an 8:30pm bedtime. I wasn't affected during the day, so was able to work without my head nodding. I can't really complain about this symptom, however. Who doesn't like sleep? I often had problems falling asleep before a baby nestled into my belly, so this was very welcomed.

Pregnancy Rhinitis

I didn't know this even existed until I googled it after weeks of random sneezing fits. I only sneeze if I'm getting a bad cold, or my allergies are awakened (usually in the Spring). Since the two pink lines, I started sneezing frequently and out of no where. Sometimes I would wake up at 3am from a dead sleep just to sneeze. From my own research, I found that pregnancy rhinitis is most common in the first trimester and symptoms include sneezing (hey, that's me), runny nose (yup), nasal congestion (have that too) and sinus pressure. This is also a very manageable symptom, but one that came as a surprise!


I can't say the first tri was magical - but I would prefer to be nauseous, sneezing, sleeping, and pregnant...than not carrying at all. I know it will all be worth it in the end!

Baby B at the end of First Tri!