October 2019 | Where your heart is now

My Baby Shower

October 25, 2019


Hi girls! I am so excited to share my baby shower with you! This was seriously one of the best days. I am surrounded by so many people that love our baby so much already! I can't believe he'll be here in just 3 short weeks! 

I want to give a SPECIAL thank you to SURROUND. This is the location where we had our baby shower. They are an interior design firm and furniture showroom located in New Albany, Ohio. Their team is made up of four amazing ladies who all have a passion for cultivating beautiful spaces. They are all gorgeous inside and out and might I add, EXTREMELY TALENTED. By seeing the photos of the inside of SURROUND throughout my post, you will realize their unique eye for picking out the most timeless and sophisticated pieces. I want my entire house decorated by them!  

They host showers, corporate meetings and event gatherings. If you are interested in their services, you can email info@surroundindesign.com. 


My invitations were courtesy of Minted. They have hundreds of designs you can choose from and all you have to do is enter your information and they design the invite. They sent me a proof via email and once I accepted it, they were shipped to my house asap. You can also add stamps, return labels, thank you cards, etc. I love them and would recommend them to anyone! 


First of all, how incredible is this light fixture. Like I said, all of the furniture located in SURROUND is an absolute dream. They hand select every piece so everything is unique. Shoutout to my amazing stepdad for creating the charcuterie table of my dreams. I didn't want to have a 5 course meal considering my shower was from 2-5pm so I just wanted healthy snacks for everyone to munch on the whole time. This was perfect! 


Romper: Gallery of Dreams, similar here
Earrings: Red Dress Boutique c/o
Bracelet: Victoria Emerson c/o
Heels: Target

I could not have asked for a better shower. The space, my family and friends, the food, photos, outfit, everything was perfect. If you have any questions about anything message me on my Instagram ! I made sure to link the outfit details I could but my exact outfit is from a boutique called Gallery of Dreams located in my hometown. Hope you babes have a great weekend! XO

Photography: Lindzy Lee Annis

Thank you so much to SURROUND for hosting my shower! XO

My First Trimester Recap

October 24, 2019


Our very first doctor's appt. Justin took it without me knowing. Seeing our little bebe for the first time!


We're having a baby! 


Our announcement pic! We announced at 14 weeks. 


This was at a Bath & Body Works press trip I got invited to. I remember being so sick but no one knew so I had to suck it up. I also remember sending this to Justin and saying look at my bump...lol. 


Snapchat I sent to my sister & mom. I was exhausted and had 0 energy. 


2 months! 


I forgot I had told a brand I would post a photo in this workout set and I think I was at the very end of the first trimester. I tried to suck it for the photo! 


13 weeks- did a try on at American Eagle and I didn't want anyone on social media to know yet! 


I traded in my car for a "Mom car!"



Hi babes! This post has been a long time coming. I am currently almost 37 weeks so I'm a little behind on my pregnancy posts but super excited to share as I know there are a lot of other first time mamas out there/ girls who are trying to get pregnant. The most important thing I want you guys to know while reading this is that - I am not a medical professional. I am not telling anyone to do what we did or that we had the magic solution. Always consult your doctor with any questions you have! PS- if you have any questions at all or just want to chat, send me a DM on my Instagram: HERE!

WHAT WE DID TO GET PREGNANT

I never thought we would have trouble getting pregnant. The thought never even crossed my mind. We were both excited to start a family but thought that the second I got off birth control it would happen so we waited to start trying until I was 28 and Justin was 30. I was healthy, Justin was healthy, we both workout frequently and thought it would be super easy. The first month passed without taking birth control and I was so shocked I wasn't pregnant. However, I had been on birth control for 11 years and had heard it takes your body awhile to adjust after you stop taking it. Little did I know that was just the beginning...

Month after month of negative pregnancy tests, I was starting to get discouraged. I went completely off all my medication I was taking. Around 8 months of trying I decided it was time to look into some other things we could do. I started taking Premama Wellness supplements. They have different stages of vitamins that you take to help you get pregnant. While these were great and may helped a lot of women get pregnant, after months of using them we still weren't. I started to get stressed but had heard from everyone that doctors wouldn't even start to be concerned until you had be trying for a year. 

A year rolled around and we still weren't pregnant. I didn't want to be stressed but I was so sad every month. I honestly can't remember at what month I started doing this but I had downloaded an ovulation and period tracker app called Flo. Flo was my godsend. Not only did it track your period but it told you the days you were ovulating and those days were obviously the days we had to make sure to have sex. Also, yes I held my legs in the air after for at least 5 min. The most TMI sentence I've ever put out. 

On top of the app, I was also using ovulation strips. You can buy these over the counter. I wanted to trust the app but needed to know for certain when I was ovulating. I made sure I was eating healthier and working out to get my body in the shape it needed to be in to have a healthy baby. I started taking a prenatal vitamin. But unfortunately, none of these were working, I still was not pregnant. 

I asked Justin what he did and he rattled off a list of probably 20 different things. What actually did the trick we will never know. But it may have been a hormone called Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (hCG), which has been known to increase sperm production. But we are beyond thankful. His advice is to do as much research as you can, read clinical studies, talk to doctors and make your own decision as to what you are going to put into your body.

HOW WE FOUND OUT

It had been a year and a half of trying. I would religiously check my app (Flo) to see if I was ever late. January of 2019 came and I checked the app. I was 6 days late on my period. I remember freaking out and being so beyond excited. I texted my sister immediately and she was like NICOLE TAKE A TEST! I took one test and it was negative. I told myself it was in the middle of the day and it's always best to take a test first thing in the morning so I waited until the next morning and took another. It was negative again. I was so sad. 

March came and it was right after my birthday. One night Justin and I were watching tv and he said, have you started your period? I realized I hadn't and it had been awhile. I checked my app.....in big bold letters it said 9 days late. I was happy but after January I did not want to get excited. He said go take a test! 

I grabbed a test from the closet and took it. It was a generic one and after I took it I looked at it and sighed. I told Justin it was negative. He said let me see it. I gave it to him and he said BABE. You read the test wrong, you are PREGNANT. I said no I'm not. No way. I just remember smiling so hard for so long. I said we don't know for sure I am. I'll take another test in the morning. The next morning I went to a boxing class then stopped at Walgreens and picked up the two fanciest tests there was. You know, the ones that say PREGNANT or NOT PREGNANT, lol. I came home and took 2. Both immediately said pregnant. This was the best birthday present I had ever received...we were having a baby. 

FIRST TRIMESTER RECAP

Symptoms- I went to Memphis with my mom and remember telling her I was so frustrated because I had gained 5lbs. I know this sounds so stupid but I have been the same size for years. I remember being so exhausted and then my boobs started hurting. So so tender. 

Cravings- CARBS. Bagels, cereal, mexican food.

Food aversions- coffee. yogurt, chipotle. 

Sickness- I only threw up twice my whole pregnancy and they were in the first trimester. Also- I don't know why they call it morning sickness. I felt sick more in the afternoon/evening. 

Mood- tired, weak, giddy. 

Favorite pregnancy apps- the bump, babycenter and kinder (this helps you pick names!) 

Best parts- knowing I was actually pregnant. Seeing him at the first ultrasound. Hearing Justin talk about him. Seeing how big he grew every week on the app The Bump. 

If you are currently pregnant, congrats! If you are trying, I am praying for you. I hope this post can help to bring some, if any peace to you that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Love you girls! 

Gotta go, I think my water just broke. Jk. :)




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