Beautycounter: My Why

A few days ago I shared that I have gotten involved with a mission-based company called Beautycounter. Before becoming a consultant I had no idea about the lack of regulation when it comes to the toxic ingredients companies are allowed to use in our everyday products. Products that I use on myself and more importantly on my daughter every day! After doing a ton of reading, watching and listening I learned a few things that I can't really "un-see" and since then, I felt like I had to do something to share this information with my family and friends.

As I said in my Facebook post, this is more than just a thing for me. I'm not a sales person by any stretch of the imagination and I'm not doing this as a way to stay at home, I love my job! But as some of you know, over the last few months in an effort to lose the baby weight I discovered a passion for health and wellness. I've been taking great care of myself in terms of what I put in my body, but I've been missing the mark with what I put on my body.

That being said, I'm excited to focus some of my time and energy helping educate others on the importance of safe skincare while also offering a safe, affordable and high performing option! I am also a sucker for leadership, networking and mentorship, so this is a great opportunity to work along side some bad-ass women and make important change in the beauty/skincare industry.

Some eyeopening tidbits to consider:

• The European Union has spent the last two decades banning over 1,300 ingredients from personal care products while the United States has only partially banned 30 to date.
• There are over 80,000 chemicals on the market today, many of which have zero safety data.
• The United States has not passed a major federal law to regulate the safety of ingredients used in personal care since 1938
• I found at least one or more of the 1500 ingredients found on this list (each of which are never used in Beautycounter products) that are linked to organ toxicity, or known to be carcinogens and/or hormone disruptors in the products I was using on myself and my daughter. One was formaldehyde. GROSS!
  
  

I know what you might be thinking, "we've been using these products for years and we're fine." Well yeah you may be fine now, but how do we really know what those chemicals and toxins are doing to our bodies? After all your skin is your largest organ! Not to mention, times have changed and the ability to research and learn more is now easier than ever. Look at everything coming out recently about Talcum powder being linked to cancer. My grandmother used that religiously and passed away from cancer, perhaps those were linked? If you could possibly avoid it, why wouldn't you?! Check out this quick video to learn more...

If you're interested in learning more about how you can switch your daily routine to a safer, yet still effective option, join my Facebook group or send me a message. I'd love to tell you what I've learned and create a customized regime based on your needs.

15...Scratch That...20 Months

Parenthood in real life. Bath on one side, dirty dishes on the other.

Crazy. That's what time is. It's a crazy fast phenomenon that all of us are continuing to try and figure out. Figure out how to slow it down, figure out how it goes so fast, and mostly figure out how we can get more of it. As they say, "the days are long and the years are short." And it's so true. I'd be lying if I said there weren't days that I'm counting down to bedtime (don't act like you don't do it to).

Mommin' ain't easy, and it's really tough to balance the responsibilities of being a working Mom and Wife. I don't take either of those three roles lightly. I love my husband, I love my daughter and I love my job, but sometimes trying to be the best at all three is really hard. But I think at the end of the day all three are happy, and if I'm doing my best, that's what counts. **Side note: don't take this as an opportunity to get me to sell makeup, wraps, supplements or anything else. I respect the heck out of everyone who does that, but I love my job and the work I get to do.**

For example, this post has been saved in my drafts for 5 months. I meant to write this when Grace was 15 months old. Truth be told I often lose count and mostly just say she's one and a half. But it's hard to believe she's closer to two than she is to one. But hey, we all know I love to plan a good party!

A LOT has changed since my last time writing here (sorry, I'll try not to make it so long next time). Eleven months have gone by which is basically a lifetime of change for a toddler. First of all, we're officially a toddler. As much as I tried to avoid it, there's not hiding it anymore! We've experienced our share of toddler tantrums (wow, nothing prepares you for those), but more excitingly we've got to watch Grace develop such a fun, caring, independent, strong willed, and definitely sassy personality. There's not doubt she's my daughter!

We're still working on saying more words. She totally understands anything we say and knows exactly how to get what she wants, but has no desire to talk. She knows a few words, but I have a feeling here soon she'll be talking like crazy. She's running around, constantly busy, always exploring something new and LOVES to play basketball, play with any of her Little People sets and do anything that means being outside.

She's now had her first sleep over with Grandma and Papa, gone to Disneyland (hopefully I can do a catch up post on that), celebrated holidays, got her first ear infection (not fun), traveled down to Phoenix to visit Aunt Teresa and Uncle Bob, experienced Safeco Field for fan fest (Go Mariners), spent tons of time at the Zoo, Toddler Gym, Wiggle Works, the museum and anywhere we can go to keep her busy ;) and really just grown a TON.

These days she can't stand the doctor's office, doesn't really love to get dressed, loves most foods but it really depends on the day, We're just doing our best to really enjoy each moment with her, because soon we'll have a TWO year old.

Here's some pictures form the last few months:

Daddy's girl. 

Our first fan fest! We'll be back every year, such a great time!

She's got her Grandma Meredith in her. Loves playing the drum!

Shoppin' in style!

She LOVES Aunt Teresa and Uncle Bob's pool!

Celebrating being 18 months old by having ice cream with Auntie!

First ride on Dad's softball bag!

Way too cool for school.

Love you more than words.

Oh yeah and remember how I was going to do that photo a day challenge? Well you saw how far that got. I'll work on it, I promise. 😁

It's Been Too Long...Project 365

It really has. I mean seriously if I didn't know better I wouldn't have thought I've ever blogged at all. But truth be told, I sort of miss it! It's a fun way to express myself and share our family adventures, stories and more. SO I'm going to try and make 2017 the year of blogging, starting now!

The holidays are such a special time and have always been my personal favorite. I'm actually quite bummed that I wasn't better about blogging last year, it would be fun to look back on Grace's first year of life. But hey, stuff happens right?!

So to kick start this effort to blog more I'm going to join my friend Megan in Project 365. An effort to take more and better pictures using my fancy camera I got last year but forget to take out. I've been honing in on my skills using the manual setting and they say practice makes perfect so this will be a good way. This isn't only to become a better photographer, but to capture the every day moments in the life of the Slusser family (or mostly Gracie) that I know I'll miss or forget about as she grows up.

Lets just be really clear for a second... This definitely doesn't mean that I'm ready to ditch the professionals for family photos and other major life events. That's just crazy, because lets face it, I'll never be able to get those precious newborn shots like this:

BUT I do want to be able to capture better everyday moments so I can cherish those, along with the professional photos my family has taken. So starting January 1st, I'm going to attempt to take one photo every day with my camera. I'll try to post them nightly, but we all know how life is and sometimes that just isn't possible, so if anything I'll do weekly/monthly recaps when life gets crazy. I'd love to hear any tips you have or if you can see through photos how I can get better. One thing I've definitely learned is that when there isn't great lighting and you have to turn your ISO up too much, your pictures get grainy. Learned that the hard way!

So anyway, here's a few I've shot over the last few weeks while playing around with manual mode:

Time is Fleeting: 35 Things I don't Want to Forget About the First 8 Months

Everyone says your life changes when you have a baby, and I'd be lying if I said that wasn't true. It does change, but in our case it has changed for the better. When Grace was born, we both filled a hole in our hearts we didn't know was there. What has changed the most in life is the concept of time. From the moment you discover you're pregnant you begin counting time in weeks and months. It's almost as if you stop counting days but just skip right to weeks.

Then just like that 40 (give or take a couple) weeks goes by and you're now counting days for the first week or so, then you start counting weeks and months. And you quickly realize how fleeting the quiet moments of each day are, and how fast time goes by. Everyone you know and even the random people in the grocery store will tell you how fast time goes, but you don't truly realize just how fast until you're staring at your EIGHT MONTH OLD asleep in her crib.

The days are long and the years are short. And those first few weeks at home were some of the hardest yet most wonderful of my life, and they literally flew by. I just don't know how we got here so quickly, how I'm already planning our daughters first birthday or how we've already started putting toys away that Grace is "too big for."

Because I already feel like I've forgotten parts of the first few weeks and months, I'm making a list of the things about Grace I don't want to forget. Before I know it she'll be 1, then 2, then 10. So here goes.

I don't want to forget:
- When you first came home and hardly opened your right eye so I called you "one eyed willy" for a couple of weeks. 
- How seeing you with your Daddy made me love him even more. 
- The way you stare at your Daddy in awe and light up every time you see him walk into the room
- Your big belly laugh when we play peek-a-boo.
- The giant smile you get whenever you see your Grandma and Papa
- The way you can hardly contain your excitement sometimes and have to burrow into my arms.
- The way you look at your cousins and how much you already love them.
- Your sweet demeanor.
- How you can make a complete stranger smile. 
- How much joy your Grandparents had the moment they first held you, and still have every time they see you. 
- How much you've taught me about patience.
- The way you cuddle in close when I need it the most.
- How you shake when you see your bottle in the morning, as if you haven't seen one in days.
- Your love for avocado.
- How much you already love books and get so excited to read before bed.
- How skinny your feet are - I swear you’re never going to fit in shoes!
- How long it took you to finally roll over and how much we can’t stop you now.
- How proud of yourself you are each time you figure out something new.
- Your smile in the morning when we get you out of your crib.
- The way you talk and coo in your crib before naps and bedtime.
- How small you were the first time we put in you in the sink for a bath.
- How much you love the color red.
- The grunting noise you make when you're frustrated.
- Your big smiles and endless talking in swim class. 
- How you laugh when Lucy gives you kisses.
- How you had zero interest in holding your bottle until you were about 7 months old. 
- How singing "When The Saints Go Marching In" can calm you down within seconds.
- How most mornings we chase Lucy around the kitchen and you laugh so hard.
- How you already want to be independent but also want to be close to the action.
- How much you LOVE sleeping in your crib (even if that means refusing a nap anywhere else).
- Your leg rolls and arm chubs. 
- The way you stretch you're entire body every morning and let out a giant yawn. 
- How you kick your legs at night until you fall asleep, it's even earned you the nickname "Thumper."
- How fast you went from barely crawling to racing around the house.
- How I think I couldn't possibly love you more and then you smile at me or giggle and my heart grows in size. 

Some nights I wish I could just hit pause, so on those nights I hold you a little tighter and rock you to sleep. Some days I wish I could have a few more "newborn cuddles" but then I start to see your personality shine through and I realize how fun it is to watch you grow. Everything seems to be going so fast and I know the time of you needing your Momma will come and go, so for now I'm promising my self to enjoy the little moments because they quickly become the big moments.

11 New Parent Must Haves

I remember when I was pregnant and spent countless hours at night searching the web for information about new baby necessities to help myself feel prepared for what was to come. The beauty about technology these days is the unlimited amount of information available, but unfortunately that's also the down fall. During pregnancy and my first few weeks of motherhood I cannot even begin to count how many times I googled something to make sure I was doing it right and then seconded guess myself because of what I read online. Here's a couple real, honest tips before we dive into my favs:

• No matter how much you read or how much stuff you have, you're not going to be prepared for the change you're about to experience. I know that sounds scary but that is the beauty of it all. Becoming a Mom is everything I expected and so much more. I love it and embrace the crazy, stressful and exhausting moments but I also thought I was prepared. Nothing can prepare you for the emotions your heart will feel and it's truly the most wonderful thing in the world. 

• Despite whatever you've read, even this list, all you need for that baby is formula if you choose not to breastfeed, some bottles, a whole lot of love and some diapers and wipes. You do NOT need a fancy schmancy $400 baby swing, or a wipe warmer, or a baby spa. BUT if you want those things than get them! My favorite part about motherhood is that we all get to do it how WE want and that's the best way. Do what's right for your family but don't be overwhelmed by everything you'll see at your local baby store, you really don't need a lot to properly care for your little one.

Ok now lets get back to business... Here's a few of my favorite gadgets, gizmos and other tid bits that helped me survive my first 8 months of motherhood!

1. Swing. Grace LOVED our swing and I was lucky enough to have a friend who had one sitting in her garage and is letting us use it. Swings can be pretty expensive and not every baby likes them so if possible wait until baby is here and see if you have a friend or family member who has one collecting dust in their garage.
2. Boppy. Seriously, don't become a Mother without having one of these, or some sort of other nursing pillow. Even if you're not going to nurse, they making bottle feeding easier, holding the baby in the middle of the night when you're exhausted easier, and they're perfect for propping baby up or for tummy time!
   
3. Sound machine. I feel like this is the only thing I didn't know to get, despite all of my pre-baby reading. The first night we had Grace up stairs in her bassinet next to us she had a really tough time falling asleep. We both quickly realized it was due to the lack of noise. Babies spend 9 months inside Momma's tummy where there is a ton of noise and then they come out where it's again very noisy but then we expect them to sleep in complete silence! Here's the one we have and we still use it nightly!
4. Feeding App. Much like the boppy pillow, download some sort of  app (here's what I used) before you head to the hospital. As much as you think you'll remember which side you nursed on last or even what time they last nursed or had a bottle, you won't. Trust me. Those first few weeks are a blur and sometimes I wasn't even sure if I remembered my name.
5. Video monitor. We love that we can always see our little one as she sleeps peacefully and I feel like it really helped me with the transition from sleeping next to our bed to sleeping in her crib in the next room. Here's the one we picked after talking to a few baby store employees and reading reviews. It's affordable and probably my two favorite features are the ability to zoom and being able to talk to through the monitor. I can just hear myself saying "Grace it's time for a nap" as she gets older and refuses! ;)
6. Blooming Bath. Am I the only new parent who thinks the bath is totally terrifying? Seriously I think jumping out of a plane would be less scary than those first few baths. The bath petal definitely helped alleviate those fears and Grace LOVED it!
   
7. Burp rags. LOTS and LOTS of burp rags. You can purchase them, but if you know someone with a sewing machine they're super easy to make. And, if your infant is anything like my daughter, they'll come in handy for more than one reason!
8. Butt paste. I'll let you guess why that's important. We loved this kind and still use it. It helped fight off some diaper rash while Grace was a few weeks old and has kept it at bay ever since!
9. Pacifier. We were told at the hospital that we shouldn't give our daughter a pacifier until she's at least 4 weeks old or it may affect her latch. Well about 9 days into motherhood I caved. She needed something for comfort and we had no issue with her latch. Here's our favorite kind, but I suggest having a couple on hand because you never know which one your baby will like. 
10. Bumbo seat. We love this seat, and it's so great for when your little one gets tired of laying on their tummy or back and wants to feel more independent. It also allows you to get a little more done. We were lucky enough to buy ours from a friend so we saved a lot of money. You can really do that with most of these things, for example we borrowed our swing from my friend Megan, saving us at least $150! Note in this picture Grace was on the counter on her seat which I'm sure is frowned upon but we were standing right there the ENTIRE time. As with anything, you shouldn't leave your baby unattended! ;)
    
11. COFFEE. LOTS and LOTS of coffee. If you are breastfeeding or want to breastfeed there are lots who say this is a no-no. And I know there are a million articles online of why you shouldn't drink coffee, but remember what I said above. Do what's right for YOU. I was really good about not drinking it while pregnant but let me tell you a little secret. When you haven't slept in 2 weeks, your baby is crying, you haven't showered, and you're wearing clothes that got spit up on (yesterday but don't tell anyone), you will need and want coffee. Talk to your husband or significant other and tell him one of his jobs during those first few weeks is to make sure you're properly caffeinated. Now there is a disclaimer here, and that's because caffeine affects every Mom and baby differently so watch for signs that it makes your baby gassy, or perhaps keeps them up at night because NO one wants that! I'm lucky and my little one doesn't seem to care if we have coffee in the morning or not!

I am sure as Grace gets older I will have even more essentials! I'll also be posting soon about the feeding essentials we've loved since starting Grace on solids.

What did I forget? What would you add to the list for Moms to be?

Grace's Birth Story

Well I was hoping I'd get this published long before now, but what can I say... Life is crazy with a newborn, but crazy in the most beautiful way. It's hard to believe our amazing Grace is already 2 months old. Time is going by WAY too fast. While she peacefully naps in her swing (the greatest invention known to man a.k.a all parents) I thought I'd finally share her birth story. I'll try to keep this as short as possible and spare all of the tiny details...

Thursday August 6th (3 days before my due date) was a day like any other. I worked, then that evening I went with my Mom and sister-in-law to visit my Aunt Teresa's house. We were visiting while my Mom and Aunt were coloring their hair I started getting cramps that would come and go randomly. During one my Mom looked at me and asked what was wrong, then said "oh sis you're having contractions, I bet things are starting. You may want to start timing them". I told my Mom they are no where near regular so I wouldn't need to time them just yet. Well, after about 25 minutes I already noticed them getting closer and closer together so decided to download a handy app on my iPhone (thank goodness for technology) and started tracking.

About 7:30pm I texted Scottie who was at home to let him know I thought things might actually be starting but that I wasn't going to get my hopes up. Contractions at this point were about 7-10 minutes apart, lasting 30-45 seconds which wasn't even close to the 5-1-1 rule we learned about in our birthing class (5 minutes apart, 1 minute long, for 1 hour).

Another hour goes by and by this point the contractions are starting to get more and more intense and closer together. NOTE for any soon to be Momma's out there, I remember being in your shoes and wondering how I'd know if I was having contractions. Trust me, YOU KNOW and when the most painful part of the contraction starts lasting longer than the beginning and end you definitely start to realize things are really happening.

At this point contractions were about 45-90 seconds long and about 6-8 minutes apart so I decided it was time to go home but because of their intensity my Mom drove me home just to be safe. I won't ever forget that car ride... Mom was so giddy with excitement, but also anxious and nervous and I could tell she couldn't get me home fast enough. I remember holding her hand at one point and she telling me "this is it Messy (Mom's nickname for me), I promise this is it".

Once I got home we texted the doctor to let him know we thought things were starting. He told us to go in once they become more intense and to "make sure baby is moving well". I decided to do what I've read on every blog and mom-to-be article and shower, finalize our hospital bags, eat something and just lay down for a bit to see how things progress. After finishing all of that it was about 10:15pm and I kept replaying the doctor's text message- "make sure baby is moving well", and thinking to myself "I've never done this, what does 'well' mean?"

Scott and I decided it was better to be safe than sorry and headed to the hospital. Here I am that night, excited, anxious, terrified and a million other emotions.

I still can't believe I had 7lb 12 oz baby in my belly!

We walked out of house and I remember telling Scott that the next time we come home, we may have our baby and life will never be the same. On the way to the hospital we talked about what was coming, how excited we were and how crazy it was that everything was finally happening. It felt like it took forever to get here, but then suddenly we were in labor! Scott was calm the entire time and the whole drive, he helped me stay relaxed which was just what I needed.

About 11:00pm we arrived at the hospital and were checked into the Labor & Delivery triage by about 11:30pm. When the nurse checked me I was at 3cm and 85% effaced. The hospital doesn't check families in until they're in "active labor" which is usually 5cm dilated or more, so the nurse asked us to go walk around for an hour and see how much things progress.

We walked, and walked and walked some more which if you haven't been through labor before let me tell you that it looks much different than what you see in the movies (duh). Walking doesn't make the contractions feel better like those movie makers portray it. In fact you walk at probably the slowest pace you ever have and every few feet you double over and breath like you've been practicing (trust me, you really should practice).

Here's where your partner comes in. My hubby was seriously the best labor partner I could've asked for. He constantly reminded me to breath (which paid off in the end), rubbed my back and shoulders (unless during certain contractions it didn't feel good at which point I promptly told him and he stopped), got me ice chips, and reminded me that I CAN do this, in moments when I didn't think it would be possible.

After an hour of walking I was only at a 4 but 90% effaced. Talk about being disappointed. At this point contractions were really really intense, lasted what felt like forever and were happening every 2-3 minutes or even closer together. The nurse told us we'd have to walk for 20-30 more minutes and see if we could get my body to progress a little bit more. I remember looking over at Scott once she left the room and nearly crying because I was terrified to have to go back home. The pain of labor is intense and I told him if this wasn't "active labor" I was terrified for what was.

Well that 20-30 minutes turned into another hour, but it did the trick and I was finally a 5! The nurse called our doc and started the process to get us "admitted" to Labor & Delivery. About 2:00am we were being moved I told our nurse I wanted an epidural as soon as they could give it to me. I was ready for relief and some sleep.

After many struggles with an IV, a long wait for someone from IV therapy to come give it a try and finally have success,  I got an epidural around 5am. At this point I was 7cm so I still had a ways to go but I was progressing very well. The secret here ladies is to BREATH. Go to yoga, learn how to take deep, cleansing breaths. Pay attention to those silly breathing exercises they do in your birthing class. IT WORKS! I focused all of the energy I had during each contraction on breathing through and trying not to clench or tense up. Your body needs you to relax and let things "happen" so to speak. The more you tense up and clench the less progress you'll make, ultimately extending labor.

At this point my Mom and Dad had arrived and were great company. No one loves you like your Mom does and while your husband will be your best support, he doesn't understand the pain you're going through so it's nice to have someone there who does. For the next 3 hours we got some rest, but we mostly talked about how excited we were to FINALLY meet Grace!

Our doctor came in at 8am to check my progress and break my water. I was still at a 7 but once he broke my water things really moved along and by 10am I was ready to start pushing! Something else to keep in mind is that once you make it through labor, you may get a little scared about actually pushing your baby out. I started to get worried about the whole process because I know it can be stressful for baby and there can be complications once you start the final birth process. We were lucky to have the BEST nurse we could've ever imagined and she helped alleviate my fears and reminded me that I'd be meeting my baby girl in no time.

Pushing (for me) wasn't as intense as I anticipated it being, but the pressure is definitely like nothing you can imagine. You can literally feel your baby making it's way down the birth canal and while it sounds bazaar, it is an incredible experience. Scott and my Mom encouraged me with every push to keep going and that I was getting even closer to seeing our girl. My sister-in-law was a leg holding, counting champ and counted backwards from 10 with every push. Apparently they don't really count anymore, but I am someone who can power through things if I know the end is near so it worked great for me.

I pushed for a total of 60 minutes (15 of which were mini pushes as we waited for the doctor to arrive) and that's all it took! At 12:29pm on August 7th, 2015 our lives changed forever.

The moment the doctor held Grace up and put her on my chest was one I will NEVER forget. Having a baby is truly love at first sight! I was so proud of myself and of Scott for creating this beautiful and perfect little baby who not only made pregnancy easy on me, but also made labor pretty easy (from other experiences I've heard).

The next couple of hours were a whirlwind. Grace spent an hour on me and then our Nurse took her over to weigh her, get her foot prints, give her a quick check up and then brought her back to me. Eventually we made our way to the post-partum floor where we spent the rest of our time at the hospital.

I'll never forget the moment Scottie held our baby girl for the first time. Seeing him with her made me fall more in love with him than I ever thought possible. Together we created new life and together we brought her into the world. I couldn't have done any part of this journey without him and I'm thankful we get to experience parenthood together.

Family is so important to Scottie and I so we were excited to introduce Grace to her new family. We had lots of visitors and got to watch as they all fell in love with our little one. Grace is blessed to be in a family like ours, who already loves her more than she'll ever know!

Grandma meeting her first Granddaughter

Between visitors and during the wee hours of the night, I couldn't help but just sit and stare at her. I couldn't believe that we actually created someone so beautiful and perfect. Pregnancy and childbirth is truly a miracle and something I am lucky to have gotten to experience. I'm so thankful Grace picked me to be her Mom!

When Grace was born her temperature was 100.4 and the following day she was still at 99.8 so the pediatrician had us stay an extra day in the hospital just to be sure everything was alright. She passed all of the tests, screenings and exams with flying colors and finally on Sunday August 9th (my actual due date) we were discharged and on our way home! We enjoyed our time in the hospital but we were MORE than ready to be home and start our lives together as a family of three. As you can see in the picture below, she wasn't as excited as we were. Once we got her in the car she fell fast asleep! :)

I'm excited to be back to my blog and to use this to help capture some of our moments as a family of three. Soon I'll be posting about my new-momma favorites!

39 Week Update

Somehow it's August, which means we can officially say that this month we're having a baby!!! I cannot believe how fast the last 38 weeks have flown by, but now I know what they mean when they say the last month drags on. I've been patient up until this week, but we're really eager to meet our baby girl! Earlier in our pregnancy our monthly check-ups seemed to come and go in no time, now it's like waiting for a year to go by just to get to our next weekly appointment.

There are so many emotions I'm feeling right now. I'm anxious, nervous, scared, happy, reminiscent, and mostly just over the moon excited for what's coming our way. We're officially going to have our own little family and I know this little girl will be the PERFECT addition. What scares me the most about this wild new adventure we're about to start is that I have no idea whats to come. I know that my heart will be filled with a new kind of love I've never felt before, I know that I'm going to fall more in love with my husband seeing him hold his baby girl, and I know we're going to be more exhausted and sleep deprived than any other time in our life. I couldn't be more thankful to experience parenthood with Scott, he is truly my best friend and I know he's going to be the best Daddy.

These last few weeks we've been doing a lot. Some related to baby and some just random projects that suddenly sounded like they HAD to get done. I'm telling you ladies (and gentleman too) that nesting is a real thing and it is NO JOKE. I literally will be sitting at home and suddenly have an urge to clean out the fridge, organize my spice cabinet, rewash bedding, or vacuum the entire house. If you know me, you probably know that I'm not one who enjoys cleaning so for me to have a desire to vacuum means that I'm proof nesting is real. The good news is, thanks to my nonstop nesting we have a pretty darn organized home, a finished nursery (post to come soon), cleaned cars, and who knows what will be next!

Walking and bouncing on the yoga ball have been a couple of my favorite things. Walking has been a daily routine of ours since I started feeling like intense gym work outs just weren't going to happen anymore and I really think its what has helped me continue to feel good even at 39 weeks. I haven't had any long standing back pain, my feet and hands aren't swollen and my energy has been fairly steady given how far along I am. If you're pregnant, or planning to become pregnant in the future I can't urge you enough to stay active! Don't use this time to become a couch potato, you'll thank yourself later and I've heard it helps make birth and postpartum recovery easier.

Here are a few fun questions that I did in my 24 week update. I thought I'd repeat them now that we're at the end (or close).

Maternity clothes? Yep.. Pretty much convinced that at this point I'm going to have to re-learn how to button up and zip regular jeans. Or perhaps I'll just take up shop in yoga pants for awhile. ;)

Sleep: I was starting to think that pregnancy insomnia was a made up thing, but it's hit me. I feel tired about 10pm, then go up to go to bed and am suddenly wide awake until about midnight or 1am most mornings, then of course it's hard to get out of bed in the morning. I think my body is just trying to prepare me for the crazy sleep schedule I'm about to have!

Best moment this week: Going to Target to walk around since it's so darn hot out and scoring a BRAND NEW $140 Graco highchair for $33 after the mark downs and my cartwheel coupon. Can you say BARGAIN?

Miss anything? Seeing my feet, being able to go 2 hours without eating and sleeping through the night without having to get up 4 times to run to the bathroom!

Food cravings: Taco Bell, but I've stayed strong and have only given in one time. I've been trying really hard these last 9.5 months to eat healthy, but these last couple of weeks I've really been craving junk foods like Taco Bell, ice cream and crispy M&Ms.
 
Symptoms: I still consider myself lucky in this department. Pregnancy has been so much fun and I think that's partially because I haven't had a ton of symptoms that most women get. Lately I've been getting a lot of heartburn and this heat is really taking it's toll, but otherwise I'm feeling good. I am definitely starting to get tired a lot easier than I use to but staying active has seemed to help. We're up to two walks a day now just to hopefully move things a long and avoid going too far over due.
 
Have you started to show yet? No hiding this bump, in fact it's hard to remember what I looked like without it!
 
Wedding rings on or off? Still on! I haven't had any issues with swelling thanks to my love for water! ;)

Happy or Moody most of the time? Happy

Looking forward to: Finally meeting our baby girl!

Stay tuned, nursery post to come soon!