21 Week Update - Baby Moon

Hey family! 

ba·by·moon

ˈbābēˌmo͞on/

noun

informal

1. a relaxing or romantic vacation taken by parents-to-be before their baby is born.

   "on the eve of my third trimester, we boarded a plane for a week-long babymoon among the quiet canals of Amsterdam"

   • a period of time following the birth of a baby during which the new parents can focus on establishing a bond with their child.

     "a babymoon is regarded as a crucial time for a family to establish itself"

     
     

     
     

     
     

B and I just got back from our Baby Moon!

I am so lucky to be married to a man who is always finding new ways of making me feel special and loved. He planned the entire trip from start to finish without asking for any help. We left from our current home town and traveled North towards Oregon. We stopped at our parents house to drop off the pups and then we were off. 

The first night, B had planned for us to go to a community play in Weaverville, but I wanted to spend time with our family instead, so we stayed in Redding for dinner. Brandon has grown so much, two years ago he might have had a conniption with me changing the plans. After dinner, we left around 9 p.m. and B drove on one of the windiest roads I've ever been on. I was supposed to keep him awake, but my body was busy making a baby all day and I couldn't keep my eyes open. Poor B had to drive, trying to keep himself awake until midnight -- He told me the next day that he almost killed 7 deer on the 3.5 hour drive. AHHHHHHHH. 

The next day we had breakfast at the hotel and set off towards our destination. Let me tell you, planning a road trip while pregnant was not our brightest moment. Poor B had to pull over multiple times so I could use the restroom. I'm pretty sure baby is using my bladder as a pillow (or punching bag).  We met our friends in Bandon, OR and after a quick lunch drove to our resort. Brandon booked us a stay at Bandon Dunes -- I guess it's a super fantastic golf resort that everyone who knows how to golf should golf at or should want to golf at or something like that....  Here is a picture of B golfing! He was able to check that off his bucket list. 

The first night we walked to the beach. I tried to run. I almost passed out. Seriously, I saw stars. Brandon wouldn't let go of my hand after that. But we made it to the beach and back without serious incident. I CANNOT wait to be able to run and over-exert myself (when I want). Let's be honest, that will probably only be a few times after Baby Smith comes, but just having the ability back will be soooo awesome!

The next leg of the trip was to Bend, OR. I'm not sure if I've ever been to a more magical place (Disneyland aside). A few hours after we arrived, a snow storm hit and Brandon and I had to leave our Kia in the shopping district parking lot. Yes, we were at a shopping district. I'm not sure why anyone would be surprised. 

Even with the snow, we were able to go to a few breweries and we were even able to go on the Deschutes Brewery tour (Baby Smith is going to be a beer expert). Before arriving, I was hoping to go on a hike or explore the outdoors. However, the snow storm added to perfect romantic element to our time there. We barely got to explore the town, but I had so much fun with B. 

Updates: 

 Stretch Marks? I still don't have any stretchies. My mom told me that she didn't get any on her belly, so maybe I won't either. Here's to hoping. 

Sleep? I have been sleeping through the night. Growing a human is hard work. 

Movement? I finally felt Little!!!  Little has been moving so much and I can now see movement on my belly. I absolutely love feeling the movements and it helps my crazy anxiety. 

Cravings? Anything that someone else is eating. I still haven't had any crazy pickles and ice-cream cravings though. 

Gender? I still can't say... One last set of parents to tell. 

Belly Button In or Out? It's popping out! Not all the way, but it's getting there. 

Symptoms: I am back to being exhausted...which I am sort of bummed about. I thought that would be in the third trimester. 

Best moment of the week? 4.5 months pregnant and I have not felt beautiful once. Brandon was starting to sense that my self esteem has been plummeting and has also noticed that he rarely sees me out of yoga pants and sweatshirts.  When we were on our vacation, he took me to a store called Maurices and told me to pick out a new outfit for our date. 

The sales associate helping me was so kind and brought me 10 different outfits, because it's hard to dress yourself when your body is constantly changing. It took an hour, all the while B was waiting patiently in the store full of girly things. It's hard to explain the sense of relief I felt when, for the fist time in months, I felt beautiful. 

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to telling our last set of parents the gender, so I can stop feeling like I have a giant secret and so I can post things about Little! :)

XO - Megs

18 Week Update

Well ladies and gents,

We found out the gender! WE FOUND OUT! WE FOUND OUT and I want to scream it from the rooftops, but I can't post about it until we are able to tell our family!

Luck has it that my side of the family is visiting this Wednesday, so I am able to tell a few of them. :)


I  have to brag about Brandon. I have been really struggling with my weight gain, nothing fits me! Ack! I was crying to myself and B asked what was wrong. I told him about my struggle and he looked at me with the sweetest eyes and said, "Honey, you are the most gorgeous I have ever seen you; you are carrying our child." What a perfect husband.

Updates: 

 Stretch Marks? Still no stretchies on my belly! I am using Vitamin E oil and Burt's Bees Mama Butter. My pregnancy brain won't allow me to remember my pre-pregnancy weight...I think I have only gained 10-25 pounds. So we will see what happens! 

Sleep? The pregnancy pillow I bought has been wonderful. I bought it on Amazon. It is called the Snoogle and is absolutely perfect. It helps me keep on my left side while I sleep, although I keep waking up on my back. I'm trying. :/ Last night was the first time that I turned onto my stomach in my sleep. I woke up immediately due to extreme discomfort. I guess I can no longer lay on my tummy. 

Movement? I think I have felt little. I can see little from the surface (tiny waves across my belly), but I'm not sure if I have felt movement yet. It feels like butterfly wings, which I read is what fetal movement feels like at first. I can't wait to know for sure if it's little. 

Cravings? My cravings are silly. It's anything I see someone else eating. The other day at school I saw a little girl eating Doritos and I had to have them! I almost took some from one of my students during lunch....I mean if she offers, it's ok right?

Gender? I can't say yet!!! 

Belly Button In or Out? It's in, but it's starting to get shallow (if that's makes sense). It will most likely pop out. 

Symptoms: I am no longer nauseous. Just anxious, but getting better. Weight is adding fast and I no longer have any food aversions. :)

Best moment of the week? The best moment was finding out the gender! We went to a 3D/4D ultrasound place for an early reveal and I let the technician know that I did NOT want to know. (I didn't want to find out there. I wanted to find out from Brandon in the comfort of my own home). The technician was super nice and thought it was awesome to be included in our little plot to keep the gender secret from me. 

She turned the monitor away from me while they were checking the gender. It was the most exciting time of my life. I was shaking with anticipation the whole time. After what seems like FOREVER, she says they had found out the gender and now I could see little on the big screen without finding out-- she was going to stay away from the "revealing area". 

She turned on a large screen TV and showed us our precious baby. Little was moving so much, little fists were moving and legs too. The head was moving a lot and I watched Brandon stare up at the screen in amazement. His eyes were tearing up while he watched our little baby moving around. He kept squeezing my hand every time little would make a big movement. He couldn't take his eyes away from the screen. After a few minutes, B turned to me with an amazed look and asked how I couldn't feel all the movement in there. 

I would say the best moment was watching our little move, but honestly, it was seeing the look in Brandon's eyes while he was watching our baby. I have never seen Brandon look at something with such love and it was so overwhelming. EEK, ok now I am crying again...

After our appointment we drove home. It was so fun trying to grill Brandon to tell me what little was! B was so excited that he knew and I couldn't wait to find out. 

Finding out at home was so much better than having a stranger tell me. Brandon had purchased both a boy outfit and a girl outfit for the appointment and after he found out the gender, he wrapped the outfit in the cutest little box for me to open. After the 15 hour drive -- just kidding, it just felt like it-- we set up the camera and he gave me the gift. I got to unwrap little's first outfit and find out that little was a __________!!!!! YAY!!!!!!! 

I will post the video of our gender reveal once we tell our families. :)

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to our move! We found a lovely 2 bedroom townhouse in a better area. My family is coming down on Wednesday to help us move! I am so excited to have a place for Little's nursery! 

I am also looking forward to telling our parents if Little is a boy or a girl! 

EEEEEEEE!!!!

XO - Megs

12 Weeks and Counting!

The secret is out!

Brandon and I are expecting and we are currently 12 weeks along. We are extremely excited and cannot wait for little to make its appearance. We have not found out the gender yet, but we are going to. We are both too excited to not know. J

Brandon wants a boy and I, of course, want a girl. I’m sure Brandon would be happy with a girl. He sent me a link to the commercial below and said it made him so excited for our little. (He secretly wants a girl; don’t tell his friends.)

The Most Adorable Commercial Ever That Will Make You Cry

I have been journaling through my mommy emotions to relieve stress and to remember our first pregnancy. (I normally have hormones that make me irrationally angry throughout the day. Yikes!) My coworker calls it "Hulk Smash", she says she can see my whole demeanor change when the anger comes. 

 Updates: 

 Stretch Marks? None yet! I am using a combination of Vitamin E oil and Cocoa Butter lotion. I have only gained 6 pounds so far, so I am not expecting too see any stretchies soon. 

Sleep? I bought a pregnancy pillow! Thank Jesus for whoever invented it. I have never had such wonderful sleep. The only thing that keeps me up at night are my frequent trips to the bathroom. 

Movement? No movement yet...I read online that some women feel movement as early as 11 weeks. So hopefully I will feel a flutter soon. 

Cravings? None! Food is gross. I am having terrible food aversions. I don't really want to eat anything, so I have been forcing myself to eat. 

Gender? We haven't found out yet. 

Belly Button In or Out? In! 

Symptoms: 

Best moment of the week? Brandon likes to wake me up by saying good morning to the baby. He also will randomly check my tummy, just to make sure I know he's excited about being a daddy. I think he might be more excited than I am, if that's possible. 

What I am looking forward to: I am looking forward to our next appointment which is tomorrow, September 29th. I am also looking forward to being out of the "fat" stage. I don't really have a bump yet, it's more like some extra pounds on my tummy. I want little to poke out! 

Pictures to come!

XO - Megs

Focus on the Good

As a teacher, you have to understand that sometimes students make you angry.

It started last week as I was walking my class out to parent pick-up. We were one of the first classes out, so the hallways were quiet and there were 3 officers outside helping with traffic control.

That’s when it happened.

One of my kiddos, a first grader, spotted an officer and immediately put his hands in the air, as if to surrender, and said, “Don’t Shoot”.

My immediate reaction was anger. I was upset with this child who would say unkind words to the people who are here to protect us. I stopped walking my class to their spot and turned around to talk to the student. I let him know that law enforcement officers are here to protect us and not to harm us. I told him that what he had just done was disrespectful.  I encouraged the child that the job of an officer is not to shoot people, but to protect all of us, including him.

My class went home and I ended my work week.

Now I’m sitting here on a Saturday night and it’s hitting me.

I am not angry; I am heartbroken. I’m heartbroken that a six year old would grow up in a time where he is taught that all officers harm civilians.

I’m heartbroken that the media is choosing to focus on all the “harm” that officers are inflicting on the public. While I am not denying that some officers have crossed a line, I am calling bullshit on the media.

What if, instead of focusing on the negative, the media focused on all the LEOs who successfully complete a shift without incident?

These men and women are putting their lives on the line in order to protect us and what is the media doing? They are  focusing on the negative. So much so, that officers are now second-guessing whether or not they should fight back and instead are receiving a brutal beating.

This has to stop.

Let us focus on the good: the good in every career, the good that the police are doing each and every day, the good in each person.

We need to stop feeding into the lie that all officers are bad. We need to stop devouring every news story that features  “When Officers Attack” or whatever stupid headline they tag each story with.

We need to focus on the good and be better examples to our youth. We cannot have children growing up believing that no one is here to protect them, believing that LEOs are the enemy.  Our children are learning, each day, they are learning. They are sponges. If you are eating up the dramatics that the media is feeding you, then so are your children.

Do your research, inform your children. Support your local Police Department. Support your LEOs. They are keeping you safe, more than you know. They are keeping all of us safe.

Let us focus on the good.

XO - Megs

Day Date With Hubby

Brandon and I both moved to a new city together in order to start our careers. We had been living together in Redding when he decided that it would be best to live in a city that pays a better salary. I agreed because, well, anywhere Brandon goes is where I want to be. You'll notice in my posts: I am a Stage-Five-Clinger.

With the big move came a myriad of emotions. At first, excitement. Brandon and I loved exploring our new city together. We collected growlers from multiple breweries, we traveled into San Fransisco to see a musical or go shopping, we even decided to try new hiking areas.

Then it hit us. We were homesick. There is just something about being away from your family that can tear a person up. Brandon and I both feel it, but as I stated before, I am a Stage-Five-Clinger. I'm not just clingy with my husband. I am Stage Five with my friends and my family as well. I love being in the company of my people, it makes me feel loved...I guess you could say quality time is my love language.

I think Brandon noticed my shift in attitude because he spontaneously decided on a day date last week. (I love that after 2 years of courtship, he still pursues me like he did when we were dating.) He took me to a walking trail that our city just put in. We don't have a lot of places to walk that isn't next to a busy road, so when he showed me this I was delighted. I know it's not very pretty, but it was everything to me.

We walked for a good hour, in circles mostly because the walking trail was actually tiny. I cannot even express how refreshing it was. I felt like we were back in our hometowns and we were close to our family again. Like at any second I could call my family and invite them to come to dinner. It was bliss.

After our quick walk, we went to BurgerFi and stuffed our faces with parmesan fries and burgers. Yum! Not I am not a "clean eater". I'm sorry if this offends you. I tried and I just don't have that kind of self control. But burgers have vegetables on it...so there.

I wanted to make sure this day was recorded so that I could remind myself how loving Brandon is. I know that there will be times in this marriage that I might take him for granted, so I want something to look back on to remind myself what a blessing he is.

XO - Megs

Bloggity Blog

Hi friends and family!

I am starting another blog in order to keep friends and family updated on our new life as husband and wife. I have always found writing to be quite a calming and wonderful way to remember everything -- more on my terrible memory later -- and have decided that this blog will help me remember all the highs and lows during our years together.

With that being said, this will not be a documentation of how miserable I am, nor will it be filled with lies about how perfect everything is. Brandon and I are a normal couple, with normal highs and lows. This blog really serves two purposes: to help me remember all the joys of living with my best friend and to remind me of prayers that have been answered.

(Photo Credit: Tad Craig Photography)

First off, you should know that I have a terrible memory. I'm not talking about little things, like forgetting to turn off the Keurig. I'm talking major events. I can (and will, on occasion) forget giant spans of time. I forget vacations I've been on, family events, etc. So please don't take it personally when I cannot, FOR THE LIFE OF ME, remember that one time when we did that one thing. I'm not being rude and, in fact, if I could change it, I would.   I'm actually not even sure why this happens...but that's life so I have accepted it. To answer your questions:

Yes, I have gone to counseling.

No, I do not expect it to change.

Yes, I am okay with it.

In order to fight my lack of memory, I turn to taking pictures and to writing in my journals or my phone, or whatever piece of paper I can grab. I will most likely annoy my future kids with my incessant need to take 100 million photos of everyday activities. (Whatever, they might thank me later...especially the embarrassing pictures I will inevitably show their future spouse *evil laugh*).

WHOA, getting ahead of myself. Back to the blog.

 I am so happy that I live in an era where "blogging" and Instagram are a thing. Now, when I am feeling nostalgic, I can look back on my past posts and reminisce, and I can feel hip and trendy while I am doing it, too.

For those of you who don't know me, my name is Megan and I recently married the most handsome man I've ever seen. We decided to get married in Maui and it was the most wonderful day of my life. I will be posting our wedding day (my side) shortly. Mainly so I can remember it.

(Photo Credit: Tad Craig Photography)

Other things that you should know about our family. We live in the tiniest little cottage with our two adorable black spaniel mixes - you will see those angels on my Instagram. My husband works for the city and I am a kindergarten teacher. This blog will be full of stories from my classroom as well as all the craziness that happens at home. I will most likely write blogs about failed Pinterest recipes that I've attempted to make for Brandon, our first year as husband and wife, and the chaos that is teaching.

I hope you enjoy seeing snippets of our crazy and wonderful life!

XO - Megs