Bump Love {13 Weeks}

Ahhh here it is the very first bump update!! I was actually kind of shocked when I uploaded this picture. This morning it looked way smaller but it fluctuates in size from morning to night for a lot of people I think. I kinda took bits and peices from other blogs to make my own little quiz each week!

Baby is the size of a peach!

Due Date: October 26

Maternity clothes? The above is actually a maternity maxi dress! I don't really need it yet but they are so comfy and cute!  Dressing this little bump is actually quite weird. I've heard people say this and it really is true: This early in the game just looks like you have a food baby! I know it's not and any weight I've gained (or will gain) is not a big deal in the long run and I'm not going to stress about it but I will post more about this subject. For the record, I am eating healthy but not depriving myself either. ;-)

Best moment this week:  This was kind of last week, but taking our sweet announcement photos and having them turn out even better than I imagined. And the zillions of congrats that followed kept me smiling all week!

Miss Anything? Wine and Sangria!

Movement: Not yet!

Cravings: Not a lot this week, but a steady craving has been salty things such as pickles/olives/soy sauce. I have been eating bowls of broccoli with a little bit of soy sauce. Also, anything cold and refreshing, smoothies, fruit, ect. 

Symptoms: Nausea has mostly gone away but I still get it occasionally. Get tired much more easily than normal. Also heartburn haha.
 

Workouts: A bit of walking which has made a big difference. My energy made a reappearance after a few months off and I'm going to take full advantage of this while I can!

Baby Items Purchased: I have been SO good, I keep seeing cute things but they're all gender specific. We're not finding out the gender until mid June (at our gender reveal party!) However, Baby Evans did receive his/her first outfit from Auntie Chloe, a freaking adorable little Christmas outfit. I also bought the baby shoes for the announcement photo and we have been so lucky with people giving us stuff to use!

Mood: Mostly happy and excited! This past week was hard because I had my wisdom tooth out so I was in a lot of pain/discomfort. I also found out today that I had dry sockets pretty much the entire time. It was painful but I just assumed dry sockets would be MORE painful. On the bright side labor might seem a TINY bit less painful after this!

Loving: Having my energy back! No more waking up and feeling like going back to bed after breakfast! I'm also loving my itty bitty bump that's starting to come out!

Looking Forward To: First off, finding out the gender. Then, shopping.  I'm also really looking forward to being able to wear sundresses, especially when I start showing. I think a bump in a sundress is just the cutest thing ever. I apologize in advance for the selfies that may will occur.

Life Lately (Has Been Interesting!)

I normally do these check in posts for random updates. Life lately has been a little different as you may have guessed. 

• This photo was taken at 8 weeks, when I planned to start bump updates. The thing is, I've only JUST started to get a little bump so I didn't bother taking them each week. So this kind of ended up being my last "skinny" picture for awhile. :-P I'm going to start bump updates next week!

• If you are wondering why I barely posted anything on the blog or instagram for the last two months, now you know. I realised that silence on social media can sometimes be followed by a pregnancy announcement. I had ZERO energy up until about 11 weeks. Oddly enough the only thing that made me feel better was forcing myself to get moving. Exercise really is the cure apparently. I slept SO much it's ridiculous. Especially because I got the flu right before I got pregnant and I never really got my energy back after that, until now, thank God!

                                           

• Looking back, I definitely had a few "clues" that I missed. For instance, I polished off an entire jar of olives. I didn't want coffee at all. I made my Grandma's mac and cheese recipe and ate almost all of it myself over the course of 24 hours because it's all I felt like eating. At the time, I had about a week of zero appetite. I also was so convinced that there was a gas leak in my in-laws house that I called the gas company and made them check it out even though no one else could smell it.

• Proving that although life is wonderful and surprising, it's rarely perfect. Amongst my super fun announcement and zillions of lovely congratulations messages, I was in agonizing wisdom tooth pain. I finally went in on Tuesday to get it taken out with only freezing. I'm amazed I stayed as calm as I did, maybe a good sign considering I'll probably maybe be in a tiny bit of pain come October. :-P For anyone that is concerned, it was too much risk to leave it in and risk infection and also not good for the baby considering how much pain I was in. My body felt so stressed and anxious. Minus normal recovery pain it's feeling a lot better.

                                                

• It's actually really surprising how early some symptoms show up, such as difficulty sleeping. I'm trying to get used to sleeping on my side, even though it's not necessary quite yet, it's a huge adjustment. Thankfully my sweet Mom bought me a Snoogle. It's the best thing ever. When I can get my hands on it first that is.

• I'm seriously trying to think of something non-baby related to say but it's damn near impossible because I've been keeping this secret for six freaking weeks and it feels so good to get it out. I don't plan on turning Life of Taren into a baby blog, but my life is kinda about growing a baby right now, so there will be some of that. I also plan to be as open and honest as possible while maintaining a positive attitude about things!

• One of the first thing I realised when I got pregnant was I was going to have to take some time off!  I quickly researched self employed mat leave and found out that although it actually exists now (Yay!) you have to register for it 12 months in advance. Crap. I quickly solved that problem by getting a part time "day job" at my old work, Fuel Supplements! It works out really well since I work in the mornings usually and then have clients at night. It keeps my days going quick when time seems to be going at a turtle pace. Also, I get to feed people. Love it.

• I really love reading other blogs, and I'd really love to know what you guys actually are interested in reading when it comes to pregnancy. I feel like I have a LOT to say about body image/pregnancy weight so expect some of that, but if there's anything anyone is interested in hearing my perspective on, leave a comment!

I hope everyone has a fantastic Easter weekend, I am looking forward to some family time this weekend and some yummy dinners! Also, if the Easter bunny brings me some mini eggs, I won't be sad.

How We Found Out

8 week ultrasound photo

I feel like a lot of this pregnancy stuff is TMI, but at the same time it's all the stuff I want to know about other people. So here goes, TMI and all! If you don't want the TMI, don't continue reading, k? K.

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Leigh and I had not really made a decision about kids. I'm pretty convinced he was born with a grown up heart, and having kids didn't seem appealing to him. I wasn't at that baby craving stage yet. Also, everywhere we went there were screaming kids, we always joked that the universe was trying to send us a message that it wasn't for us. Yet, I could so clearly picture us ONE DAY with a child. Him, me, Layla and a baby. I always said that I didn't want to anything out, I just wanted to see what would happen. That being said we were usually very careful. Except one time, apparently!

So things were coming up in my cycle where I was getting, lets say, a little less nice Taren and a little more monster bitch Taren. Leigh usually braces himself for these few days, and it seemed to be coming. But then it never did. Over a week went by, I had some cramps but nothing else. Finally, after being so nauseated one night when we went out for dinner, after ordering ginger ale and nachos for one I thought I better bring up the conversation. I debated just getting a pregnancy test and doing it myself, but then I thought telling Leigh would give him a heart attack.

I told him that I thought there was a slight chance something was going on and he suggested we stop at Shoppers on the way home for a pregnancy test. I ran in and tried to get one. It was super awkward, as there was someone shopping in the same aisle for something else staring me down. I just grabbed a pack of two that seemed legit and paid.

We went home after that, I drank a bunch of water and went for it. I left the test in the bedroom and went into the living room where Leigh was on the computer and told him to go look in two minutes. He did, and immediately looked at me and said "Wait, did you read the instructions? It has crossed lines, what does that mean?" So I'm trying to pull out the instructions with my hands shaking. He read them over, looked at the test and said "This definitely says your pregnant."

I was seriously so shocked, I think both of us were. We didn't even know what to say. I decided to take the other test in the morning just in case, since they're supposed to be more accurate in the morning. We woke up at 6am and I did another test. It turned to positive seriously within seconds.

We decided to go to the walk in clinic since it was open that morning. I wasn't sure if they could even do anything different but I think we needed it confirmed and it's seriously impossible to get into our family doctor right now. They confirmed the pregnancy and estimated the due date.

The next day, I went in to get the blood work done so it was all ready when I finally got to see my doctor. I decided to go meet Leigh for lunch. He was so sweet and told me he was excited and he thought it'd be good for us. He also started picking out names! We agreed to think positive and not let anything stress us out, we'd figure it all out together.

We told his parents right away, and they were so over the moon, especially my mother in law. We had to wait to tell my parents because my Mom was still away for another week or so and I really wanted them to find out together. I had some time to think about it, and I wanted to tell them in an exciting way, so I bought a tiny onesie and wrote on it, wrapped it up in a gift bag. We went over to their house for a little birthday dinner for Leigh and I told them I had a little present for them for their anniversary. They started to open it together and when my Mom realised what it was, she let out a shriek to end all shrieks. She ran over and hugged me and that's when the shriek turned into a wail. It was seriously priceless. This pic says it all:

I had a few failed attempts to get my siblings/siblings in law over to my parents so they could find out the news in person, but it did not work out that way. I was dying to see their reactions, so we facetimed them and my Mom showed them the onesie. It was so much fun seeing their reactions! We also told Leigh's brother and sister the following Monday at Leigh's other birthday dinner (spoiled kid) and that was so much fun too! Baby is so lucky to have so many awesome aunts and uncles!

I would just like to add that I am very aware of how many people struggle with infertility and pregnancy complications, and this post is not meant to offend anyone who has suffered. My heart breaks for those who want a child so badly, and I really don't understand why some people get pregnant some easily and some don't. It really doesn't seem fair sometimes, but please just know that I am so grateful that we have been blessed with this baby, and my thoughts and prayers go out to anyone that is having struggles and I sincerely hope that they are next to be blessed with a child!

Sooo....We're Having a Baby!

We are so excited to announce a little person being added to our family - due on October 26, 2014 (My 30th birthday!!!)

Spring Wish List

I love doing these lists! Every year, as soon as the Christmas stuff is put away (which, lets be real is mid to late January) I start checking to see if anyone has spring stuff out yet. And when those happy, bright, pretty colors start to appear, I am a happy girl. Now that it's officially April and was actually sunny today, spring actually FEELS like it's underway.

The first thing on my wish list, which I took care of today, was new sunglasses.

Somehow I can't find any of mine. Last year I bought a pair from Banana Republic and they hurt my head. My super sweet client gave me a gift card to winners so I picked these out today. They're bigger than any sunglasses I've ever had and I love them.

Next is some new clothes, obviously! My wardrobe is a bit weird, because 90 percent of the time I'm wearing trainer/workout clothes, which for me are not that exciting. Cropped tights are the only pants I like now, even in the dead of winter. Usually with a long tank and a zip hoodie or track jacket.

So if I'm not working out or training clients, pretty much all I want to be wearing is a sundress. Like this one.

You always need a new bikini (or five) for the summer season.

I have always felt that a baseball tshirt is the perfect spring shirt. I am not a softball/baseball type person, but I do enjoy park lounging during my friends games.

Especially with some kind of cold delicious beverage, which I happen to have the perfect drinking cup for. 

This thing is amazing. Keeps drinks cold and makes you feel like a southern belle.

Of course, if your at the park or beach, you need a good book (or a hundred) which brings me to the latest thing on my list...some kind of new reading device. I am sad to say that my newest Kobo seems to have kicked the bucket. My first Kobo lasted me a year and a half and I've had THREE Kobo Glo's and they've all died on me. Their customer service is great, they've kept sending me new ones, but the last one they sent was refurbished so somehow I don't think I can send that back to them.

 I'm looking into other options like maybe giving the Kindle a shot. Does anyone have one?