gracefully.... :)
Some pregnancy tips and thoughts to share today. I am nearly 22 weeks (more than halfway done. yay!) and no stretch marks yet. What my body is lacking in physical appearance I am certainly making up for in symptoms! D: Morning sickness has plagued me from week 2 or 3 and hasn't let up since week 9 full-blast. I take a prescription medication now multiple times daily if I need it, just to keep food and liquids down. It's been a real treat! Thankfully I'm still gaining weight and keeping hydrated enough not to be hospitalized. Some days are worse than others. I can't imagine going through this again, thankfully both DH and I are okay with an only child or maybe adopting later on. The whole pregnancy has been really hard on us both and has handicapped me for months now.
All the freaky symptoms I have too, even ones that are not so common. Pregnancy is not glamorous. I never thought it would be but that truth needs to be circulated a bit more than it is right now with all the baby and pregnancy hype that is the becoming a mom industry in America. Now parents can have ultrasound parties where the focus is literally to watch a sonogram screen for hours- not to mention exposing your baby to the rays of the sonogram without anyone really knowing how good/bad for the baby this over-exposure may be. Gender reveal parties are another craze. Moms now ask for push gifts- gifts (often expensive ones) that they demand from their significant others just because they are having the baby(diamonds, rings, etc). Things my mom would only scoff at and think ridiculous as just 20-something years ago when she was pregnant, it was common for a doctor never to schedule an ultrasound if the pregnancy were progressing normally. Not even to find out the gender. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with mamas who choose to do these parties. It's just not me. I don't like a lot of attention and feel for me personally, pregnancy is one of those things left more special if it's between me and my husband and my doctor who will be there at the birth.
We're finding out the gender today! I decided on only telling my best girl friend (my baby's adopted aunt) when we find out and keeping it a secret for a while. I'm worried I'll be saddened if it's a boy because of my desire for a girl. I pray I'll be happy no matter what and DH's excitement will rub off on me even if I'm less than thrilled to put my dreams of shopping for little dresses aside.
Apart from my best friend who lives away, my husband is really the only person who has been there for me from day one (and rightly so!). Outside the three of us I feel the special-ness of the baby is just faked. Apart from my parents that is. Another reason I'm not so eager to tell the world what we find out today. I like the idea of relishing the secret for a little longer. I may post here but for my personal life- probably not so much.
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One thing about me: I love going natural. No, not nude haha. But whole foods and chemical-free things all the way. To me, there's nothing better than whole organic items to replace even the most expensive beauty treatments. Having a husband who works in the beauty business (chemically) has given me insight into just how to recreate some of the super expensive treatments at home for next to nothing without all the chemicals involved. I'm planning on breastfeeding only, making my own baby food and lotions, etc. I recently recreated my own chemical-free version of a super expensive belly butter that has done wonders for my stretched, dry skin! I don't have a recipe exactly but I can tell you what concoction I use to rival one of the best's version of body butter for moms at $45 a pop!
It all start with a base. I used:
Coconut oil
raw shea butter
both in equal parts. I mash this together in an empty jar or container, or an empty body butter jar if you have one on hand.
then I add:
vitamin E oil (at least a few drops, tsp?)
sweet almond oil
I mix these all together until it really is a mixture. All unscented and nothing extra added. The mixture melts together at body heat so no worries if it's lumpy or imperfect. I use a big handful all over right after my morning shower and then again at night. It doesn't stain clothing but I'm still careful to wear old pj's or undershirts as it takes a while to soak into the skin. Best applied after a warm bath or shower!
That's all. Paraben-free, Phthalate-free and petroleum-free body butter. All natural- no fillers or additives. The ingredients are VERY close to the body butter I mentioned at $45 a pop that's supposedly the best on the market right now.
Gotta love being a thrifty mama! Now grease that belly up and shine like the sun! This also makes for an especially good lotion for dry winter skin and rough places like heels and knees. Exfoliate in the shower and put on to be summer-ready in no time.
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