When I quit caring..

As you all know, I'm still struggling with my weight gain in my pregnancy. I know, I know..I've heard it all, but it's not just a feeling I can turn "off." My due date is in 30 days!! Excited is an understatement :) All is pretty much ready for my sweet boy's arrival.
So, the point of this entry is that I'm actually glad that I'm still caring about my weight and health.
When I was at my heaviest weight, I was not caring about..pretty much anything. I had no energy, was sleeping more than a newly married 22 year old should, and tipping the scale at 250lbs. Not cool. Then, one day it "clicked" and I started caring. And the rest is history. I'm actually glad that weight gain and my health is still on my mind because the moment I do stop worrying about it is when it's all going to go downhill.

In a way, I am "starting over" in my weight loss journey after Brad is born. I'm all but roughly 15lbs away from my heaviest weight in 2010 :-/ I'm still working on my "plan" for post partum. I'm not going to rush it, but my goal is to be the best and healthiest wife/mom I can be! I know that when I feel better about myself, everything around me is better. 

30 days 'til Due Date!

Circus Baby Shower

At the end of September, my bestie and 2 sisters hosted a baby shower to celebrate my baby boy Bradley with a circus themed shower! It was a great time with family and friends. I love party planning so naturally I helped out too. I loved the vintage circus theme, everything looked great and I was so thankful for everyone who attended.

Best hostess ever!

Details:

Colors: red, turquoise, yellow

Invitations (not pictured): Etsy

Water Bottle Labels: Etsy

Food: Meat and cheese tray, funfetti dip with animal crackers, popcorn, fruit, cupcakes, root beer

Favors: peanuts

Games: Guess how many gumballs in a jar, baby advice mad lib..pretty entertaining :)

The shower was a great time!

Words of wisdom

Alrighty, I never really thought I'd say this, but I'm just going to go ahead and share this: I REGRET not getting to my goal weight before becoming pregnant. NOT that I regret my pregnancy at all but seriously? I feel like my body is breaking down!
I'm 3 days away from turning 35 weeks pregnant and I've gained 37 pounds now. The whole gaining weight part has been the worst part of being pregnant. If you read my last post you'll understand that I feel very blessed that I'm pregnant, so don't get me wrong. I just feel like maybe, just maybe, If I would have started my pregnancy at a lower weight, I wouldn't be so uncomfortable now. Here are some issues I'm facing in the final weeks of my pregnancy:

• joint stiffness
• heartburn
• restless nights
• lower back pain
• Constantly out of breath

Of course, I'm sure those are just pains of pregnancy in general, but I know that being overweight has not helped at all. So, words of the wise, lose the weight FIRST then get pregnant.
I'm so anxious to have my sweet baby and get back on the weight loss bandwagon. I will do a post soon on my post pregnancy plans! Happy hump day :)

Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness

Today is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness day. Today (and every other day) I'm remembering my 3 losses before my successful pregnancy and everyone else I've known who have lost a child. What a crazy and emotional journey of infertility it has been; I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. Luckily, I've been really fortunate to have a great support system between my husband, family, friends and of course this blog.

5/3/09

9/11/09

6/12/11

32 weeks pregnancy with Bradley <3

Bucket List

My friend Brittany over at Deliciously Healthy posted about making a bucket list. I realized I've never really made one. I remember making a "baby bucket list" (a list of things I wanted accomplished before we had a baby) right after I got married and pretty much checked everything off that list..sadly, I have no idea where that is :-/
So I figured I'd make a list of things I'd like to do..and have completed by 2014. Maybe one day I'll put together a bucket list with an indefinite deadline. (Btw, these are fitness and lifestyle related)

1. Spend Christmas in a cabin in the mountains with Jordan and Bradley.
2. Have $20k saved by the time Jordan enters Medical School (2014)
3. Complete the full Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred
4. Take a cruise
5. Learn how to use my Canon Powershot..correctly lol.
6. Take my son to Disney World for his 1st Birthday
7. Run in 3 races in 2013
8. Make a month of freezer meals
9. See my husband get accepted and enter Medical School
10. Get to my goal weight of 150lbs.

I think 10 goals is acheivable! What's on your bucket list?
Here's a sneak peek from my maternity session, I will post more pictures as I get them:

Pinterest Recipes

Alright, I'm addicted to Pinterest. This is nothing new :) I thought I'd share a few recipes that I've tried in the past week or so. Feel free to follow me: amarshall627 :)

#1.

  Italian Crockpot Chicken

Very easy to throw everything in the crockpot and then dinner is ready when I get home from work. Easy leftovers too.

#2.

 

Crescent Pepperoni Rollups 

I made these a "skinnier" version. I substituted turkey pepperoni and really just used a pinch of cheese. Unfortunately, these didn't really fill me up for a meal, but more of a snack. I calculated the Weight Watchers points at 9pts+ for two rollups. So, not the healthiest either. But they were super easy and good. I would probably pair two rollups with a Progresso soup or something next time.

#3.

  Weight Watchers Chicken Bacon Ranch

Jordan actually made this one because we haven't had a good pasta dish in awhile, besides spaghetti. This one was just OK for me. Maybe it's because I'm not a huge fan of wheat penne, I don't know. But I don't think we will make this one again!

I'm excited to start making and freezing some healthy, hearty soups in the next week. I will be sure to share those as well :)

 

Nausea

So last week I switched my pre-natals from this:

To this:

Because I had a coupon :) I've been taking the gummy vitamin since I found out I was pregnant in March, but I basically got the capsule kind free so I figured what the heck. I always take my vitamin at the same time, right after my shower and I take it with water and some peanut butter crackers when I get ready in the morning.

Anyway, in the past week as I'm driving to work around 7:30 I start feeling nauseas..the whole dry mouth, upset stomach bit. Sometimes I ended up throwing up, sometimes I didn't. I thought, surely at 32 weeks pregnant I wasn't getting morning sickness still? Who knew, stranger things have happened.

This weekend when I was grocery shopping I decided to just buy a bottle of the gummy vitamins to see if that was my issue. And sure enough, this morning..no nausea whatsoever. Crazy, right? Has anyone ever had a bad experience with changing vitamins?

In other news, I had my baby shower over the weekend and it turned out wonderfuly. I will post about it this week :)