Second Trimester | Q+A

Friday, July 31, 2020


As my second trimester is ending this week (OMG!!!) I figured I would give our friends & family an update on how everything is going! Fair warning --- it's a long one! 

We decided to do a little 'Gender Reveal' party with family just after our 20 week ultrasound and it was so much fun! I was so nervous to find out and share the news with everyone. A few people kept telling me they were having dreams I was expecting twins, but NOPE just one in there ;) I wrote a blog post about our party here if you'd like to read more about our celebration! 

I've mentioned this a little bit on my Instagram, but we might be selling our home! We would love to move closer to our families once baby comes so we thought it might be a good time to list. There were a few things we needed to get done though before then so we had new carpet installed throughout the upstairs and we painted the entire interior to have a cleaner modern look. It was definitely exhausting moving furniture back and forth but we were able to get a lot out and really started to declutter our home - early nesting! Now that everything is done, our home is officially listed! We're in a great position where we don't need to sell our home but it would be nice to sell before the baby comes so we can get situated before then. 

UPDATE: After being on the market for less than a week, we're in escrow!! Feeling so thankful and blessed.

  


During our painting and carpet install we took the time to get out of the house a do a little "staycation babymoon" at Green Valley Ranch. We would have loved to travel somewhere out of state, but just to be safe we stayed close to home. When we got married (almost 4 years ago!!) we stayed at Green Valley Ranch so we thought it would be fun to stay there again. Seth booked us a room that overlooked their vineyard with an outdoor patio. So we enjoyed breakfast out there in the morning and even did take out dinner one night so we could sit outside again. We took our First Look and Bridal photos in that vineyard so it was extra special to be back and feel all the feels again! We also decided to test our luck in the casino and ended up walking out with an extra $700! It seemed so weird to think that would probably be the last time in a while where we were alone "traveling" at a hotel. But we can't wait for baby girl to arrive so we can travel with her and bring her to our favorite places to create new memories as a family. 

  


At my 26 Week doctor's appointment we did another ultrasound so they could check on her spine. She wasn't cooperating at my 20 Week ultrasound so they just wanted to double check again and they said everything looked great! Soon after the nurse walked in with the dreaded ORANGE GLUCOSE DRINK. I've heard so many horror stories about the Glucose Test and how horrible the drink tastes, but to be honest it really wasn't bad! I was kind of surprised. It tasted like a flat orange soda. I had to finish the drink within 5 minutes and then wait an hour for them to test the glucose levels in my blood. I felt like that was the most annoying part was sitting in the waiting room. We weren't prepared so we didn't bring anything with us. So future moms - bring a book or something to pass the time! If you don't know the blood Glucose Test is a way for doctor's to check if your blood sugar levels are in a normal range which can determine if you'll have Gestational Diabetes. There's really no "trick" to passing this test from what I've read. It all just depends on how your body handles it while pregnant. 

UPDATE: I passed the test! Woohoo! 

Overall my Second Trimester was a dream! My bump was growing more so it was fun to see her start to poke out. I did start buying more clothes in the next size up and I grabbed a few maternity options that'll hopefully get me to the end. She's definitely moving a lot more! I'm not going to lie... before I was pregnant the thought of a baby moving around inside me made me nauseous. It seemed weird to think of another human growing in my belly but as I've gotten further along all I want to feel is her move! Seth has even felt her multiple times. We think she loves when he sings to her! :) She also seems to like chocolate covered raisins LOL but we love feeling her move! We're just getting so excited to meet her and see who she'll be. 

  
From 15 weeks ... to 15 weeks left!

Next up on our journey is to take some online baby courses! Since the hospitals aren't offering these right now (thanks COVID) we have to get a little creative. I reached out to my fellow mamas and these were the most suggested:

Local In Person
    HypnoBirthing Las Vegas | They are still offering in person class options! HypnoBirthing is a technique for achieving a satisfying, relaxing, and stress-free method of birthing

Online Courses
Taking Cara Babies | Online sleep courses for newborns to 2 years old
Tiny Hood Baby 101 | Courses for breastfeeding, sleep, safety, and newborn care. We took the breastfeeding course and it was extremely helpful - plus it was free! If you purchase any other classes use code AQN8WW for 15% off.
Lactation Link | Breastfeeding and pumping source
Pampers Childbirth Education Free Classes | 9-part series - from contractions and stages of labor to breastfeeding and check-ups
Baby Bump Life Podcast | Nurse Whit discusses tips for new mom and dads - easy quick little episodes I've been listening to on my walks

Questions + Answers

Here are some questions and answers about my Second Trimester...

Eating, Working Out and New Cravings?
I feel like the Second Trimester is when things finally go back to normal. I haven't had any cravings or weird food aversions - which is amazing! I've been trying to keep up on my workouts with ObĂ© Fitness and taking Poppy for walks. It's so warm out now so we've been having to wake up earlier so I don't always make it but I try to go at least 4 times a week. I'm still not super comfortable going to the gyms so I haven't done that since I was about 9 weeks pregnant. So far I've gained about 20 pounds! 

Have you started your nursery?
Yes and no... We have picked out a few things for her nursery like the glider, foot rest, crib and rug. We also purchased a shelving unit for her closet and dresser from IKEA but we haven't put it together yet - knowing it's going to take over 3 hours we keep putting it off. With the possibility of selling our home, we don't want to get too far into decorating just to take everything back down.

Have you decided on a name?
If you haven't seen my social media post yet - YES! I've had an ongoing list in my iPhone notes section forever! Doesn't everyone? Seth and I have always had a top girl name - Merloe. We loved the idea of the name being similar to mine and felt like it was unique, but so beautiful! As for her middle name, we decided to use my maternal Grandma's name - Charlene. My grandma is one special lady! Seth and I both felt this would be an amazing way to honor her and carry on her legacy. I can't wait for them to meet, hopefully soon after she's born.

Maternity Wear
This has been so tricky lately. "Luckily" I'm not working, so I can be pretty casual at home with my loungewear that I already had. Otherwise I'm just sticking to dresses. I've found most of my favorite pieces through Amazon, Pink Blush Maternity and my favorite - Lululemon. I've also been wanting some jeans but I didn't want to invest in an expensive maternity pair so I just purchased non-maternity jeans from American Eagle and then I wear a belly band or tank top over the zipper/button area to keep them from falling down.

Book Recommendations
Seth and I both have a small stack of books on our nightstand that we're trying to go through before baby girl makes her appearance! Here's a list of what we're reading:

It's a GIRL!

Thursday, July 16, 2020

We are so excited to announce that baby Turner is a GIRL!


We ended up doing a little "Gender Reveal" party with our closest family and friends about a month ago at my parent's home. We also had many others on ZOOM for a virtual party so they could join in, too! With everything going on in the world, I was still a little nervous to surround myself with a large group of people so we kept it small and simple.

I decided to go with a 'Twinkle Twinkle Little Star' theme and ordered invites and signage through Etsy. It was so easy to print at my local print shop and curbside pick up once it was complete. I also ordered a lot of decorations through Amazon! We ordered pizza and of course had to have a Nothing Bundt Cake, I just added a gold moon cake topper and glitter stars to the bundtinis for a more custom look.



Seth and I were both surprised it was a girl. I think we just thought the odds of having a boy were greater so we had that in the back of our minds the entire time! Now that I can buy all the cute baby girl clothes it's starting to feel more "real" and Seth has come around to the idea of raising a little girl. He's nervous since he's only been around boys growing up, but I'm nervous too! As first time parents I know it'll be a journey regardless and we are just over the moon about raising a little girl.

I wish we would have been able to have everyone join us in person for this milestone celebration, but all of our friends and family have made us feel so loved and comforted during this time. We've already started receiving many cute gifts for baby girl! Now it's time to work on the nursery!

PS. I ordered this dress for our reveal party, it's not maternity but I just wore a Large and had plenty of room so I can continue to wear it for the next few months. They have so many cute options if you're looking for a Gender Reveal dress or even something for a Baby/Bridal Shower.