outfit linked here

What do you eat in a day?

I pretty much eat the same pregnant as I have pre-pregnancy.  My sister is a nutritionist and told me that a pregnant woman actually only needs an extra 300 calories a day!

I’ll have a banana, smoothie, yogurt or bowl of cereal for breakfast.  Confession: I’m extra hungry in the mornings so sometimes I’ll have a banana at 6:30AM and a second breakfast at 10AM.

String cheese, a honeycrisp apple or some crackers for a snack.

Lunch is usually last night’s dinner leftovers or a pb&j.

I’ll cook dinner for Christian and have a sparkling water, caffeine free soda, SodaStream concoction, pomegranate juice or something fun to drink.

For dessert, I’ve been eating one of these a day.  My favorite holiday cookie… lethal!

Favorite maternity brands?

I shared my pregnancy must-haves here and some of my go-to’s in the Second Trimester Q&A.

Baby gear and products you’ve bought?

We have two strollers (one for travel), two baby monitors (one for travel), a travel crib, a bouncer, etc., and I’ll be sharing these products on the blog and social media in our nursery reveal and as we begin to use them.  I want to have more intel on convenience/functionality and that will require actually using them first!

How did you pick a stroller and car seat?  There are so many options!

Christian looks at Consumer Reports for basically everything.  Definitely every gadget or tech item.

What were your sister’s tips when you came to visit?

They were mostly in regard to organizing the changing table and dresser.  Folding baby clothes a certain way, organizing by size and style into drawer organizers, etc.  She is more of a minimalist and just made me feel better about not having a ton of stuff.  I don’t want three bouncers and 30 swaddles.  It’s too much!  She said she only had six bottles with her daughter and it’s all she needed, she just washed them and that’s that.  It’s honestly so true… who really wants that much stuff in their house!?

She went through the clothes I had for him for 0-3 and 3-6 months and recommended I buy a few more of this and that to have enough but not too much.

We set up a second changing station downstairs and organized a little basket of diapers, wipes, creams, etc. for that station.

If you have a mom friend or sister who can walk through your nursery like this for you – they really have the best intel into what you actually need and don’t.  It’s kind of specific to what you already have going on if that makes sense!

I took my sister-in-law with me instead of Christian to register for wedding gifts back in the day and it was one of the smartest things I did.  She walked around with me in each store and knew what I would and wouldn’t actually use.  It was incredibly helpful!

Tips for flying while pregnant?

I shared some international travel tips here!  For long flights I bought compression socks, made sure to have plenty of snacks and water, hand sanitizer and airborne and just tried to get up and walk around on 10+ hour flights.  I also opted for dresses over pants or leggings as the waistband would become uncomfortable after sitting for many hours.

I know they say to travel in your second trimester but is it impossible in your third?

Everyone is different, so I do think that answer is relative based on how your pregnancy is going.  Personally, I was uninterested in traveling in the third trimester.  Christian tried to get me to go to the mountains with him a few weeks ago and I was like… you can go by yourself!?  Ha!  Some of that had to do with us being super busy getting settled into our home and getting the nursery ready + baby prep and nesting.

I think weekend trips or travel by car would be totally do-able, but most airlines aren’t going to want you to fly past 36 weeks and your MD likely won’t want you traveling after 35-36 weeks.

Can you do a blog post on pregnancy outfits?

I have tons of pregnancy outfits tagged as ‘maternity outfit’ – just search for maternity outfit or click here!

Can you still fit in all of your shoes?  My feet got bigger.

Thankfully my shoe size hasn’t changed.  I was wearing heels at 38 weeks, this belly won’t keep me from my beloveds!  Somehow I can still put my shoes on and off myself.

I also haven’t dealt with much swelling so my rings have all fit the same.  Very thankful for that!

Do you plan on nursing?

Yes I plan on trying to nurse and we will see how it goes!  I have all the accessories and am going to do my best, but I firmly believe a fed baby is a happy baby.  We’ll do whatever we have to do.

Are you going to do any belly wraps or postpartum belts after the baby gets here?

Yes! I shared the one I bought here.

How did you find a doctor since you moved mid-pregnancy?

I always find my doctors by word of mouth first.  I asked all the women I knew in town.  Then I did my own research on their training and education.  I really love the practice we chose and have now rotated through almost all of the partners so that I have met them all, and they’re all wonderful.  I would feel confident having any of them deliver our babe!

Did you have back pain and if so, what did you do to ease it?

Everyone in my family has bad backs.  As in one has had surgery, one has thrown his back out numerous times throughout his 20’s and 30’s, one has a pinched nerve and the other just recently went to a specialist to inquire if they needed surgery.  Now that I’m thinking about it, I have the best back of the group and that’s not saying much!

I have loved my heating pad in the bed on a two hour setting to help me fall asleep.  I try to do prenatal pilates to stretch as well as walking and staying active to keep my core strong so it will support my back and additional weight. Keeping your core strong makes a huge difference in supporting your back.  One of the many reasons I love Pilates.

I think moving and constantly working on house projects has also kept me on my feet and moving around.

How’s the name process going?

We have been torn between two names ever since we found out we were having a boy.  We both can’t commit!  So much so that I haven’t allowed anyone to personalize anything.  I think we’re leaning toward one… but I won’t feel 100% sure until the hospital forces us to name him.  God bless this mess!

The good news is, if we have a second son one day – at least we know what his name will be.

In Dr. Barnes’s time in med school and beyond, did he ever participate in a delivery?

Yes!  During medical school Christian was a part of many deliveries during his OBGYN rotation and actually delivered a baby once himself!  He said it was something he felt he needed to do to complete his medical education to be a well rounded doctor.

But he says he would not like to do it again and would prefer to leave that to the professionals from here on out.  Ha!

Did you have any baby showers?

I did not.  Come to think of it, I actually didn’t have any bridal showers either and opted for two engagement parties with no gifts in each of the towns we grew up in.  I’ll be honest… I never look forward to going to a shower on my Saturday.  I mean, does anyone really?

I feel like often times at these showers you get a lot of things you don’t necessarily want or need, and I would rather have a “sprinkle” or something once the baby is here and ask for donations to a local children’s charity (we already love Extra Special People).

We also moved across the country halfway into my pregnancy to a brand new town and have been making new friends, so it’s just not the usual situation for a first time mom.  This baby has more than enough and we are fortunate to be able to provide for him both ourselves and through projects and partnerships in my job, which we are really so thankful for.  Because of this… I don’t have any hostess gift suggestions, I’m sorry!

What’s on your registry?

So because of the above, I didn’t really register for much.  I did make one small one online with some practical stuff for my mom’s sweet friends, but that’s about it.

Therefore I don’t foresee a big registry reveal post coming soon however I will share my hospital packing list, newborn must-haves, baby essentials and so on just like I have with pregnancy essentials!  I just have to become a mom first to know what exactly those are.

I think some of this depends on how young you are when you have your first babe.  We are in our early 30’s and both work full-time, so our emotional and financial maturity has made the preparation much easier than it would have been if we’d had this baby in our mid-20’s.

What trimester were you the most tired in?

I feel like I had a good amount of energy throughout my pregnancy, but month nine has definitely forced me to slow down.  I’ve been going 90 and now 35 is honestly about as fast as I can go.  I just can’t move around as quickly and the additional weight feels… heavy.  It’s definitely motivating to get back to my old self after baby.  We are getting a treadmill and I am so excited!!  I’ll be reserving all my Bravo! show watching for basement treadmill time.

Have you thought you were in labor yet?

YES!  At 38.5 weeks I had contractions for around 30 hours but they weren’t consistent.  Thankfully I coincidentally had an OB checkup during that window where they confirmed I was dilated but the contractions could stop or get more intense and I could go into active labor.  After 30 hours they stopped.  And here we are!

Christian has always been a big prankster, so now I’m convinced this kid has that gene is just messing with me already.

Do you have a birth plan? You seem so calm about that piece of the journey!

I don’t have a birth plan.  I really trust our doctors to do what is best for both me and our baby.  I’ll follow whatever instructions I’m given.  I see how hard all the doctors in my family work to best serve their patients, and I really trust that my doctors will do the same for me.

I also keep telling myself that millions of women before me have done this. Many without the luxury of medication and hospitals, so thank God I can take advantage of modern medicine!  Women that I consider stronger and weaker than me have had beautiful, healthy babies.  And they continue to have more kids… so it has to be worth it, right!?

Are you taking maternity leave?

As for maternity leave… I’m trying to figure out what that might look like.  I’ve never had a baby, so I don’t know exactly how much time I’ll need or how I will feel.  I do have some fun holiday projects I plan on sharing in December that I have worked on ahead of time.  I also love working and think that staying somewhat plugged in will invigorate me and mentally help me feel like myself.

We have hired a wonderful NICU technician to help us for the first two months as our families live many hours away.  My mom will also be coming to help for a little while, and Christian is able to not only take some time off but also be more in control of his work schedule, which is exactly why we waited until now to have our first baby.  I’m beyond grateful for that.

We all tend to unplug a little for the holidays so I’ll be taking advantage of that as well.  January and February are typically slower months for me anyway, so we’re just going to take it week by week and see how everyone is feeling!

Thank you so much to everyone who sent in these questions!  If you didn’t see yours answered here, it may have been answered in the First Trimester Recap or Second Trimester Q&A.  Some questions were more fitting for a doctor or medical staff, and please never be embarrassed to ask your doctor’s office questions.  I ask them all kinds of questions and they’ve never made me feel silly or small.  That’s what they’re there for, and no one knows more about trying to conceive and pregnancy than OBGYN’s and their helpful staff!

Thank you for reading – XO –