MY PILLOW ARRIVED!!

Posted on January 10, 2014 by playinghousewi

Can you tell how excited I am?

Move over, Mark! The pillow cave is here!!

Last night, the blessed pillow finally made its way to the house. After the cold delayed it by 2 days and we picked it up from our old apartment where I accidentally had it delivered, the fluffy deliciousness has found its way to my bed.

And let me say, it did not disappoint. It hugged my body and I just fell in love. I put my really thin down pillow over the head area, but honestly, it was wonderful. Every position I slept in was great and while I still woke up a couple of times to switch positions, I fell right back asleep. In comparison to the constant tossing and turning I was doing before, this was a very welcomed experience.

I now refer to the fluffy goodness as the pillow cave. I miss my pillow cave.

Also, if you can’t tell, this is the actual pillow I purchased from Amazon. Note: Free shipping with Amazon Prime AND… this is the most important one, it’s returnable!

Leachco Back ‘N Belly Contoured Body Pillow by Leachco

Only $64.99!!

The lovely pillow cave.

On another less fluffy note, my brother has been creating some stress in my life trying to pick a wedding date. Unfortunately, he keeps selecting dates that are uncomfortably close to my due date (ie: 3 weeks before, 2 weeks after, etc.). This morning we got into a bit of a fight because he asked me about the same date he had already asked me about 10 times, which I had already told him was way too close to my due date. Anyway, I of course complained to my husband about the stress my brother was causing.

Fast forward to this afternoon, my husband starts asking me questions about how long after the due date would be okay for the wedding, etc. When I asked him why, he simply replied:

I am respectfully dealing with Matt so you don’t have to. We are being very civil. He has said twice that he respects me for stepping in, so don’t worry.

Reason #965,781 why I love my husband.

Thanks for taking care of me, lovey.

Symptoms

Slept like a baby inside a person inside a pillow cave.

Playing in a Winter Wonderland

Posted on December 9, 2013 by playinghousewi

It was a SNOWY, COLD, and BEAUTIFUL Wisconsin weekend. As with most of our weekends lately, we were overbooked and jam packed. Here’s the update…

Friday we had a lovely dinner with some of our favorite new parents and their sweet little baby. It was great! The pup came with and “played” with their GIANT golden doodle. My friend gave me the book, Belly Laughs, by Jenny McCarthy. I’m pretty excited to read it.

On Saturday, I got my nails done with my mom, sister and niece, then got my hair done. It was a nice little morning. Then, it was off to celebrate my friend’s birthday with some cookie making and dinner!

Apparently this is what 29 looks like… one martini and three waters. CHEERS!

Little Erica making a wish!

The birthday girl.

And look at the sweet little onesie my friend, Carrie, got for the babes…

The apple of my eye.

On Sunday, the snow began. While it’s a pain in the butt and obviously very cold, it’s also pretty darn fun! I think Toby is a fan…

Then, we trekked our way out to have a Santa brunch with my parents, grandparents, sister and her fam. It was delicious and a blast. It’s not every day that you get to hang out with Santa AND his reindeer.

Winter Wonderland…

The Reindeer!

Making sure Santa knows exactly what we want this year… one healthy baby, please!

Of course, I must include photos of my cute little nephew.

And another…

Post-brunch, we went back to my parents house to curl up on the couch, watch a little football a shitty movie (word to the wise, skip Girl Most Likely… it was painful!), and relax. We did watch the show Naked and Afraid, which was pretty awesome. Also, my parents – who are crazy Brewers Baseball fans – gave us a cute little presie for the new baby!

First little sports outfit! Can’t wait to take the tiny child to a game… and eat so many hot dog nitrates 🙂

And now, it’s back to Monday… the work week begins… again. But, on the positive, at least everything is looking beautiful!

Pulling out of our neighborhood. Beautiful snow, beautiful sky.

Symptoms

The biggest symptoms lately have been my emotions and my boobs. Holy smokes are they sore. And giant. It makes me quite sad. I’m not a fan of my growing chest and am starting to worry about just how big (and painful) they’re going to get. I’m going to have to get special bras if they keep this growth spurt up. Yikes. And they are definitely very tender and achy. The other prevailing symptom is my roller coaster of emotions. I am a very snappy, tearful, bipolar version of myself, which is REALLY exhausting. One minute I’m ecstatic, one minute I’m crying, and then the next, I’m threatening someone’s life. It’s too much. This week, my goal is balance and mental stability. Think centered thoughts, think centered thoughts.

The Pregnancy Pillow

Posted on November 2, 2013 by playinghousewi

I’ve been practicing sleeping on my side with little success. To help in my efforts, I’m looking to purchase a pregnancy pillow, but I need a little help. I’ve looked at a ton online and read reviews, and here are the two that have stood out the most to me…

1. Today’s Mom® Cozy Comfort Pregnancy Pillow

This pillow is $79.99 with free shipping, no returns, when purchased here

The Pros:

It’s HUGE – talk about being engulfed in a pillow.
There’s support for your giant belly.
It has a large, rectangular area for your head to rest.
It looks SUPER comfortable

The Cons:

This thing is $80!
It’s HUGE! Thankfully, we have a King-Sized bed, but I don’t see how this and a husband could fit in a Queen-Sized Bed
It doesn’t have the wedge/incline to help relieve pressure on your arm and reduce acid reflux, etc.
No returns.

2. Bump Nest Relief System

This pillow is $199.99 with free shipping, 30-day money-back guarantee, when purchased here

The Pros:

Again, this pillow is pretty big!
The wedge props you up to help reduce acid reflux.
The wedge has a cut-out for your arm so your poor arm doesn’t have to support your body weight.
Love the colors.
30-day money back guarantee.

The Cons:

If you thought $80 was bad… this this is almost $200!!
The area for your head is rounded, which isn’t always the best.

Has anyone out there tried one of these? Or have you tried a different pillow that you’ve loved? I want to buy one soon, so any help you can provide is MUCH appreciated!

Goodbye Gummies, Hello Horse Pill

Posted on October 24, 2013 by playinghousewi

As I mentioned before, beginning a few months before my pregnancy and up until Monday, I was taking Target brand Gummy Prenatal Vitamins with the VitaFusion Prenatal DHA + Folic Acid supplement. I can’t remember exactly what prompted me to look further into vitamins (maybe a babycenter.com email), but either way, I got to Googling. Pretty quickly, I came across this list of suggested prenatal vitamin ingredients from WebMD:

After comparing my gummy vits to WebMD’s list, I discovered that my supplements were falling short. There was no iron whatsoever in them and other values were too low. This prompted further Googling and the eventual purchase of Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multi Tablet and Oceans Mom Prenatal DHA from the Vitamin Shoppe.

Here’s my reasoning…

Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multi Tablet

PROs:

All requirements are met or exceeded
All ingredients are 100% natural
Only one pill per day (some vitamins required up to 6 per day!)
Rainbow Light is a well-reviewed brand
When I went to the Vitamin Shoppe, the guy confirmed my research – this brand is the most purchased at the store for Prenatals

CONs:

The pill is GIANT – make sure to take it during a time when you’re not feeling like you want to throw up… because this thing is big and smells funny.

Oceans Mom Prenatal DHA

PROs:

There weren’t a lot of options for DHA supplements, which are essentially Omega 3’s, so this choice was pretty simple.

CONs:

As with all fishy Omega 3’s, this thing smells like shit. The box says something about a “yummy strawberry flavor,” but I’m calling bluff. Just toss it in and knock it back.

As of now, I’m happy with my vitamin choices. However, I must mention that the first day I took the new vitamins, I was super shocked to see that my pee looked radioactive. I almost had to Google, “why is my pee so yellow pregnant.” (FYI: that’s my Googling technique… question and throw in the word pregnant.) Thankfully, before I could worry too much, I remembered I had switched vitamins and knew that this was just my body’s way of releasing the unneeded nutrients.

So, at this point, everything seems to be working and I’ve actually been feeling great. Maybe my new vitamins are part of my recent chipperness? Or maybe it’s just because I’m pregnant and beyond excited! Either or…

Symptoms

I’ve been feeling pretty darn great lately. I think I’m getting used to the faint nausea and it’s not really bothering me so much anymore. I’ve even been feeling way less bloated and way more myself – weight and everything is pretty normal. I’m guessing this has to do with the fact that I’ve been back to my normal diet which includes between 1200-1500 calories / day depending on exercise. (Yes, this seems low, but I am 5′ nothing. I’ve looked this number up and it is what it should be! Also, as an FYI, turns out you don’t actually get to “eat for two” when you’re pregnant. More like, increase your diet by 300 calories starting in your second trimester – sometimes first depending on your current weight situation. Google: “how much should I eat when pregnant” or check out this link from WebMD)

Last night after work – on my way to my bi-weekly mani with my mom and sister – I was feeling so uncomfortable. I wish I could have videoed the ride because I was literally using the automatic seat decline to move up and down for about 15 minutes, trying to find a comfortable position. I wasn’t crampy or anything… just achy and uncomfortable. I think the discomfort was mostly in my lower back. Again, it wasn’t pain at all… just couldn’t find a comfortable position. Thankfully, the joy of mani-time distracted me from any and all discomfort.

In terms of sleep, I became exhausted around 8 pm. Finally, just before 9, I had to call it quits. I collapsed in bed, and slept decently well. I turned on a few songs to fall asleep to and only remember hearing about 15 seconds of one. I woke up at around 1 to go to the bathroom and then I was out of bed around 5:45. All in all, pretty successful. Although I will say, I notice I’m not sleeping in the same way anymore. I’m a total back-sleeper normally and actually sometimes cross my arms over my chest to take full mummy form and then lay still for the complete duration of my sleep. This is not my reality anymore. I am constantly tossing and turning… from my back to my side and even onto my stomach, searching for a comfortable position. I think I’m going to do some research and invest in a pregnancy pillow. I feel like I want to be in a cocoon of pillow, totally nestled in. Keep you posted on any purchases.

Lastly, this morning I woke up feeling insecure about the fact that I’ve been feeling so great. Does feeling great equate to something happening (or not happening) to the baby? Or should I just relax and enjoy it while it lasts?