Bump Date: Baby P Does Amsterdam

Greetings from Amsterdam!

How far along: 18 weeks

Size of Baby: a sweet potato / 5.5 inches

Gender: our  u/s is scheduled for June 18th and fingers crossed baby cooperates... I seem to be carrying low so it feels like another sign we will be welcoming a baby boy.

Symptoms: I have a new one and it's weird: body odour. People's scents are so very strong and even though they generally aren't bad, they are overwhelmingly strong so I have to force myself not to put space between me and whatever person I am speaking with. This is especially hard right now while I am overseeing a training seminar for 35 of our sales affiliates from all over Europe and Asia. 

Stretch marks: Nothing yet but I keep forgetting to lube up the belly so need to get on that.

Sleep: I am so exhausted at end of the day right now that I pass right out, no sleep problems right now!

Husband: not enjoying being on his own right now but probably just because I'm not there to make his lunches and feed the animals ;)

Belly Button: in

Movement: Nada. Zip. Zilch. Starting to doubt it will ever happen.

Cravings: nothing really and thank goodness because who knows if I could get it! 

Maternity Clothes: I can't wear my maternity jeans yet so rocking my belly band like a champ.

Best Part of The Week: I'm in Amsterdam, it's awesome.

Worst Part of the Week: Flying here. Dreading? Flying home.

Missing Most: WINE! BEER! 

Looking Forward To: getting home on Friday night with two full days ahead of me to relax. No plans and none will be made. I might grocery shop. I will sleep.

Question for other Mamas out there: how did you figure out what diapers to use? Did you buy a pack of each brand to try out as newborn? And does Amazon Mom deliver to Canada?

I have been working on the mirror bump photos and (I think) am getting a bit better, but what do I do with my face?? I always look miserable...

Can't Live Without It: Ice Relief

My Can’t Live Without It item this week was originally purchased for one function but when my sciatic decided to start making my life miserable two weeks ago, I quickly grabbed onto it for dear life and it has been my constant companion ever since.

My ice sheet. Target pulled through again my friends!

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I bought this last summer because it is perfect for wrapping around two bottles of white wine (in a figure 8 so they don't crack against each other) to keep it a perfectly-sippable temperature. The flexibility originally won me over in the store and then I actually wrapped a couple bottles of Pinot Gris in it, I was super impressed with how well it chilled the bottles.

Now I find the flat and flexible shape perfect for positioning under my butt and leg for relief from sciatic pain! Because of the shape it’s super comfortable to lay on and I actually forget it’s there a lot of the time. And because I can really only take one extra strength Tylenol (and I hate to do even that) I need to try everything natural for some relief. This really helps.

Needless to say I am super happy with my dual purpose purchase… although I am counting down the days until I can use it for the wine purpose again only! Actually I’m sure it will also be my best friend in the summer heat when I’m 7-8 months pregnant. I may actually need to buy more… you need to get one too and they’re on sale right now!!

Happy Friday friends! I am headed to Amsterdam tomorrow for a week with work, not quite a vacation as I am overseeing a sales seminar for 35 of our affiliates but we have some fun things planned.

Linking up with Stephanie, Laura and Cait for Can't Live Without It. 

Bumpdate: 17 Weeks!

I'm not doing so great with this whole steady blogging thing am I? I can't believe I completely missed my bumpdate last week (I even had a super cute graphic!) but I haven't really taken any cute bump photos anyway... I still haven't popped so I hate any pics right now.

*Update: a colleague at work took my picture today so am adding it, you can kind of see bump!

How far along: 17 weeks

Size of Baby: an onion (bump.com) or a turnip (What to Expect) - 5 inches!

Gender: literally counting down the days until June 18th!

Symptoms: My sciatica is f***ed up. I have been in so much pain the last two weeks so visiting a chiropractor, icing, stretching and resting are pretty much all I can do. If anyone has a miracle cure please share!

Stretch marks: Still nothing but again, haven't actually popped so fingers still crossed.

Sleep: I am enjoying my snoogle a lot more now but that's probably because it helps with sciatica. Jinx also loves it but that makes it less comfortable for me! I am back to sleeping pretty well but the middle of the night bathroom trips are annoying.

Husband: he finally got to hear the heartbeat and I think it's made baby all that more real for him. A few days ago when I came downstairs in the morning he first asked how I was doing and then asked how his baby was doing. Heart melt.

Belly Button: in

Movement: Nothing yet and I can't wait... I almost bought a doppler off facebook last weekend because at least then I could hear the heartbeat! But then what if I couldn't find it? I would lose my shit. And apparently baby can hear now so that wouldn't be cool. Thankfully I messaged my group text with my mom and sisters and they talked some sense into me.

Cravings: No cravings but I have a couple aversions. I don't really want coffee anymore so I drink tea in the morning. Also not a fan of the look or smell of sushi.

Maternity Clothes: Still rocking my maternity leggings but it is summer hot here now so about time to start wearing dresses.

Best Part of The Week: the mini massage I got at chiro yesterday, so good.

Worst Part of the Week: I have to get blood taken tomorrow for a few tests boooo.

Missing Most: Relaxing with a cocktail and being able to take real painkillers for my sciatic.

Looking Forward To: on Saturday I leave for a week in Amsterdam for work. Not looking forward to the trip over there but definitely excited to see the city again!

Question for other Mamas out there: when did you start registering for things? Also for Canadian mamas - where are you registering? Now that Target is gone I don't know where else to go (except the obvious Babies R Us where I plan to).

This is my super cute graphic from 16 weeks where Baby P was the size of an avocado and had a strong heartbeat of 153! I promise an actual photo for 20 weeks!

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My Half Mother's Day

I have to give props to my husband who on Saturday said to me on his very own, ‘So I guess you actually kind of get to celebrate Mother’s Day tomorrow.’ Why yes, hubby, don’t mind if I do. He called it my Half Mother’s Day and if it means sleeping in and a yummy breakfast feast that I don’t have to cook then I am all in. I don’t think he even knows my blog name so I know that there is no way he read it on my bump date so I am even more impressed that he actually came up with it on his own.

We had a pretty lazy Sunday (shocker) with a sinfully long sleep in, a little Netflix bingeing, and then a family dinner.

My mother went away for the weekend and visited my older sister (pretty sure my nephews were the main draw there and I don’t think my sister minded one bit if it meant she could enjoy a bit of freedom) so we were only on the hook for a date with my mother-in-law. We were thinking of taking her somewhere for lunch and then got a call that there was going to be a big Sunday dinner so we joined his two brothers and their families, his grandma and his mom for one of the best prime rib dinners I have had in a long time. I don’t know if it’s because I’m pregnant but the food was AMAZING, and the mashed potatoes were out of this world – I was told the secret is to add warm milk, not cold. I hope I remember that the next time I’m making them.

It’s so crazy to think that next Mother’s Day I will be celebrating with my own little nugget. And yes I realize that the sleep in will likely be a distant memory… but I will be expecting a delicious breakfast feast!

The weather this weekend was amazing and I managed to get this guy to take a selfie with me!

A lazy Sunday morning... and he would kill me if he knew I posted this but how cute are they??

Bumpdate: 15 Weeks

How far along: 15 weeks

Size of Baby: a navel orange (4 inches!)

Gender: still 99.999% sure I have a sweet baby boy in there and five more weeks until we can find out for sure.

Symptoms: I still get tired quickly but not nearly as bad as a few weeks ago. My stuffy nose and constant sneezing are driving me crazy.

Stretch marks: So far nothing and fingers crossed this doesn’t change when I finally pop.

Sleep: I am not sleeping as well as I used to. I got a snoogle and I love laying down and watching TV with it but I don’t sleep too well with it. Total bummer! I might try the body pillow again and see how that goes.

Husband: Nothing too different here, he helps me out when I ask him to and wakes me up from my naps when I need him to.

Belly Button: in

Movement: Nada

Cravings: Still no cravings.

Maternity Clothes: Living in my maternity leggings. Getting tired of the black and dark gray, need spring colours. I wore a pair of maternity jeans on the weekend but they’re still too big for me. This in-between stage sucks.

Best Part of The Week: Being told that I should celebrate Mother’s Day this weekend because I am already a mommy J

Worst Part of the Week: Going to the bathroom 2-3 times a night… don’t I need a bump for that torture??

Missing Most: Wine.

Looking Forward To: our doctor’s appointment this week – the first one with my hubby!

Question for other Mamas out there: how many people do a 3D ultrasound? My husband wants to do one and I thought I did but after seeing some images, they look kind of creepy to me. Although it is another chance to see baby!

15 Weeks: I wrangled a colleague into taking my (non) bump photo this morning... hoping that I will be more into the photos once I do have one.

Can't Live Without It

So as we all learned from my previous post, I am quite the late-to-gamer. When it comes to make-up, I am a super late bloomer. As in I just purchased my first Naked palette, and it's not because I didn’t like the colours until version 3 came out, no I literally didn’t have a clue they existed until a girlfriend told me the soft colours would suit my makeup style (she’s so sweet because my ‘style’ is non-existent). Anyhoo I bought it and I love it and I have used it like 5 times. That’s a lot for me.

But the Naked palette isn’t my thing that I can’t live without (hello, it still looks new and I still have the plastic on the mirror!) but I did discover another cosmetic product that I LOVE and use every day (that I wear makeup).

My make-up routine goes something like this: wash face, apply BB cream, apply concealer as needed (holy preggo hormones making me break out high school style) and then powder. Curl eyelashes and then apply a couple coats of mascara. Voila, I’m done. Except for the final step.

I now use Urban Decay’s makeup setting spray! If I am going to spend 10 minutes on makeup that I could have spent sleeping then I want it to last allll day – and with this magical spray it does!  And I got a small bottle at Ulta for like $10 and it has lasted a few months. Love it.

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I really should jazz up my makeup routine a bit, add a little eyeliner or eyeshadow… any tips? I guess I could pull out my Naked palette and swipe something on my lid. My eyebrows could use some TLC too. But if I’m honest, none of the above will happen and I’m ok with that because with the help of my friend the little amount I do will stick around.

Happy Friday Friends!

Linking up with Stephanie, Laura and Cait for Can't Live Without It.