Thursday, November 19, 2015

Baby #3 Sex Predictions

A lot of people are starting to take a guess as to what sex Baby #3 is going to be.  This is one reason why I LOVE to not find out before baby comes.  This isn't our first rodeo of not finding out the sex either.  It's been fun in the past, plus it's so much fun to hear all the predictions.

I decided, since I love guessing myself so much, that I'm writing this post to tell all about the wife's tales that are out there and give you the low down based on how my pregnancy has been going.

Here we go!

As some of you might already know, there are a TON of website and things on the internet that want to help you predict what the sex of your baby is going to be whether you know already or not.  I decided to take a few of these surveys to see what they would say about #3.

The first survey I took was from Parents.  These are the questions that they asked me, and what my responses were.

1. Stand in front of the mirror and turn to the side.  When you look at your profile, is your baby bump high and directly under your chest?  Or does your pregnant belly sit low on your abdomen?

LOW (have you seen my bump?)

2. Next time you go to the ob-gyn, ask what the heart rate of you soon-to-be newborn is.  Is the number less than 140 beats-per-minute?

No - #3 has been somewhere between 140-150 pretty much the whole time

3. Grab a mirror and check your complexion.  Did pregnancy evaporate your acne, leaving you with a smooth, healthy glow?

Yes - I'm saying yes because usually when I'm pregnant I get ALL the acne

4. Time to check your partner out.  Is he gaining weight along with you -- or packing on even more pounds than you have?

No - Brett is pretty much exactly the same.  He's never gained with me though

5. If it were up to you, would you skip dinner altogether and head straight for dessert?

No - This is a funny question though, because I LOVE sweets even when I'm not pregnant

6. Do you find that since you've been pregnant you can't seem to stand up without tripping over your own feet?

No - I am just fine with my balance.  Nothing has changed there.

7. Do you feel an overwhelming desire to chow down on anything salty, like a big bag of chips or a salt-crusted pretzel?

No - this was a hard one for me to answer.  At this stage in the game no, but at the beginning of my pregnancy all I wanted was salty foods, which is definitely not my style

8. If a friend catches a glimpse of you from behind, can she tell you're pregnant?

No - but that's been the case with both of my previous pregnancies as well

9. During your first trimester, did you wonder what all the fuss about morning sickness was?

No - I didn't wonder.  Although, I never was actually physically sick, but I sure felt bad

10.  Have your legs become so hairy that you're worried you're morphing into Bigfoot?

No - fortunately


I went through the whole 10 questions and they predict that we're having a BOY.  Then, I felt like i was on a roll so I did a few more surveys.  The next one I took was at BabyCenter.  It had similar questions and it told me that we are having a GIRL.  


So now we're 1:1 boy to girl.

Next, I completed a quiz on TinyPrints, which I thought was interesting since it's a website that sells photo cards, calendars and all that good stuff.  I decided that this made me interested, so I took it.  Similar questions as before, but this time my results said that "they can't determine the sex of my baby...it's a surprise!".  We already knew it was a surprise though...so definitely interesting, but no real results from that quiz.

Then, i ran across another survey at Sanatogen Pregnancy, which is a company that sells vitamins basically.  This one I found particularly interesting.  I took the quiz but it told me the percentage for the chance of a girl or a boy.  Ultimately, it told me that we were having a GIRL, but the percentage told me that it was pretty close to the same results as the TinyPrints quiz.  It was 42% boy and 58% girl.  


So, overall I think the internet quizes are telling me that we are having a girl.  I guess we'll find out in February for sure!  

If you are interested in making your own prediction for me I have started an online baby pool!  I absolutely LOVE doing these things, and we did one just like this for Luke.  I am using the same website called Until it Happens.  I thought it was so much fun last time and the site is so easy to use!  I have added some helpful information to try to make an educated guess, but you just never do know with babies!  They do what they want :)  

If you're interested check out my site and put in your predictions today!  







Wednesday, November 11, 2015

Baby Bump - 27 weeks

We are getting sooo close to the 3rd and final trimester!  I'm actually pretty excited about it, although I can also feel things starting to get more complicated as we progress.  So I decided that since I don't do these every week, I'm going to at least post some of the pictures so that you can see the progression.  I do try to take on every Tuesday when I switch to a new week.



How I'm Feeling:  I've still been feeling pretty good.  I had some kind of sinus thing that lasted for about 3 weeks, but now I'm feeling a bit back to normal.  I'm still feeling a bit tired, but that could either be cold or just because I'm pregnant and running around after two kids already.

One of the best things that has happened to me is the heartburn has subsided!  It's been a miracle for sure.  I thought I was going to die for real.

Sleep:  I have still been sleeping fairly well and without a body pillow!  That's the best part.  I used my body pillow when I was pregnant with Luke, but I hated every moment of it.  I didn't like having to move it around with me when I wanted to switch positions, and I always felt like I was taking up the whole bed...poor Brett :(  So, needless to say, I'm happy with my sleeping with #3.

I have woken up with one pretty bad charlie horse, and I have had some pretty strange dreams...but I think that's just pregnancy.

Movement:  Still lots and lots of movement.  I've been trying to figure out what position #3 is in based on kicked and punches, and now a new development over the past week or so, hiccups.  Because of these things, I think #3 is head down now.  I guess we'll find out for sure in about a month when I go back for another ultrasound.  Everything is definitely more like a jab now.  No more cute little movements.

Food Cravings:  I want ALL the chocolate.  Every piece of chocolate I see, I eat.  I don't know how much this varies from just normal life for me though.  It was killing me with the heartburn because when I would eat just a bit of chocolate it would flair up.  I CAN'T give up chocolate though!

Maternity Clothes: I'm still bored with my clothes, but getting my new sweater in my latest Stitch Fix has made me feel a bit better.  I'm actually really looking forward to our Christmas parties that we will be attending next month, just to be able to dress up a little bit.  I bought a maternity dress when I was pregnant with Luke and I'm thankful that I will be able to wear it once again with this pregnancy.  I knew it would be worth the money ;)

What are you looking forward to:  I am looking forward to next Tuesday (Nov. 17th) because I have another doctor's appointment.  Hopefully things are still going well.  I would guess that they are since baby is so active.

I'm also really looking forward to my birthday next week!  Not that I have anything planned but It's always fun to celebrate even just a little bit.

Pregnant with Luke at 27 weeks; Pregnant with #3 at 27 weeks

Here is my comparison picture for 27 weeks pregnant.  I should really dredge out my pictures with Alyssa too.  I'm just not 100% sure where they are right now.  I'm thinking I'm carrying a bit lower this time if that's even possible.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Halloween 2015

I know most people have already shared about Halloween, so I'm a bit behind, but it's only November 5th.  I count this as a win :).  We started the day off with great anticipation for when Trick or Treating was going to happen.  It was finally here!  

Alyssa this year wanted to be Elsa which was really easy because she already had an Elsa dress.  So for her costume I literally had to do nothing.  It was excellent.  I'm not banking on that again for next year.  I had a really cute penguin costume for Luke, but when we told him we were leaving the house to go Trick or Treating he was hardly into it.  Instead of making him SUPER mad, I dug this Sully from Monsters Inc. costume out of my Halloween box from a couple of years ago.  So both of my kids have been Sully for a year.  It's a very simple costume and he was ok with it.  

The first activity of the day was Downtown Trick or Treating.  After Luke took a quick nap, we headed downtown to see what was going on down there.  


It was really busy, which it always is, but it was also kind of disappointing this year.  I've gone downtown for the past 3 years, and this time was the worst by far.  Now, don't get me wrong, I totally understand that there are hundreds of kids coming downtown to Trick or Treat so it costs local businesses a lot of money for candy and stuff.  A lot of them were really stingy though.  They gave out like one little tootsie roll or hard candy.  It was just disappointing.  Alyssa kept asking if she was going to get more candy.  We told her that she would definitely get more when we went out after dinner.  


Once we were done with Downtown Trick or Treating we headed back home.  For dinner we have a wonderful pumpkin pizza from Papa Murphy's.  Alyssa loved it b/c it had a smiley face and because it was mostly cheese pizza.


We also got our pumpkins ready on the porch.  This year we actually grew our pumpkins in our garden, so we were pretty impressed with how big they grew.  Brett carved Luke a scary pumpkin and Alyssa a kitty pumpkin.  They both turned out really cute :)


Oh and one of the friendly neighborhood squirrels got a hold of the scary pumpkin and started to eat its mouth...I guess we're helping everyone for Halloween.



Once all that was done, we decided to get our costumes on once again and head out.  This was the best picture I could get of them together...


Luke was really excited to put his costume back on because this time he know what it ment...CANDY!  He really got into it too.  Instead of saying Trick or Treat he just said Treat as he walked up to the doors.  And here is my clan out Trick or Treating.  The weather was actually half way decent.  It wasn't too cold, but it was VERY windy.


They both filled up their entire bag with candy, which is definitely way too much candy so I had to put it in ziploc bags and hide most of it for a later date.


I hope everyone had a Happy Halloween, and enjoyed time with their family.  Next up...Thanksgiving! 



Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Stitch Fix Review - November


It's been a LONG time since I've done a Stitch Fix review, but I'm really excited that this time it's a maternity Stitch Fix, kind of.  This is my first time receiving a maternity one, and I definitely told them in my note to my stylist that I didn't want too many true maternity pieces, so I really had no idea what to expect.  I have checked out other maternity Stitch Fix posts on the internet, and they all seem very different and unpredictable.  So here we go!



This was my note to my stylist this month:

"I am definitely showing now, but this is my last pregnancy.  I could use some layering pieces though.  I don't want to spend a lot on actual maternity wear, but if there's something really cute I will consider.  I'm very much into plaids right now for the fall.  Cardigans would be great for now and after baby.  I'm a sucker for elbow patches, and I've been doing a lot of pinning on my Pinterest board."


Here is her note back to me: 


"Hi Amie!  I'm sorry I couldn't find any plaid for you in this next Fix.  It's a very hot trend right now and we keep running out of pieces!  I'll try my very best to send you a cute flannel or button down top in your next Fix.  Instead I added a variety of tops that you can wear throughout the rest of your pregnancy and after the baby arrives as well!  They're all on the longer side so they'll look wondreful with leggings.  The Daniel Rainn blouse has a flowier cut.  Add on a belt to accentuate your growing baby bump!  I though the Pixley cardigan looked similar to one of your pins.  It has an earthy boho look that I thought you'd love.  I hope you enjoy this Fix and would love to hear your feedback! -XOXO, Tina



To start off my Fix, I have to say that I was sooo very excited to see that Tina was once again my stylist.  She was my stylist for my last Fix (which I didn't end up sharing), but I kept all 5 pieces!  She did a really awesome job at listening to what it was that I wanted.  She did a really great job this time too, but I'd say there were some fit problems this time.  So overall, I actually LOVE all of the pieces that she picked out for me this month, but I'm just not sure about how they fit or about how they're going to fit once I'm not pregnant anymore.  None of the clothes that she sent me were actually maternity clothes, which is basically what I asked her for.  I was kind of surprised that they didn't try to sneak one in actually.

So, here are the 5 pieces that I received in my Fix this month...


RD Style Calandri Contrast Sleeve Poncho - Small - $68.00
Status - Returned

I have to admit that I took a sneak peak at what was coming in the mail.  I really try not to, but it's been awhile since I've gotten a Fix so I just wanted to know!  Anyway, now that that's off my chest we can get down to business.



When I found out that this piece was in my box, I had mixed feelings.  I've never owned anything like this before, and it definitely had me excited.  I like the fact that it has contrasting sleeves built in...so awesome and convenient, and I really don't think you can go wrong with grey and black for the fall/winter.  It also had fun buttons on the side.  Plus, with my baby bump I figure this would definitely cover it up for the rest of my pregnancy.



Then I tried it on...now, I'm a small person, 5'2", so I have to be worried about too much bulk/fabric.  This poncho DEFINITELY was too much.  It made me sad though.  If there was less of it, I definitely would have kept this piece.  So I'm sad to say that I still do not own a poncho.



Daniel Rainn Camulos Henley Tunic - Small - $68.00
Status - Returned

When I took a peek at my Fix, I was not very excited about this shirt.  I saw it on someone else and I just thought to myself that's way too boho for me.  I'm totally not going to like it at all.  Well Tina, you've got me again!  I actually love the look of it.  The pattern is really nice, and the buttons are these really cute little metal balls (which I later discovered came undone very easily).  It is also a high-low, which I'm really starting to love! The fabric is nice and heavy, which is also great since we're heading into winter.  There is actually a button on the sleeve so if you wanted to roll them up you could wear it that way as well.  I just opted to wear it as a blouse this time.  


Here is a close up of the fabric pattern.  I thought it was really neat.  The green spots are like little leaves.  Probably not for everyone, but I was into it.


I put on some skinny jeans and boots to go with it, and since I have a bump I decided to belt it, and it turned out really cute.  I love this as a maternity outfit, but that's also the problem.  I don't know if it's going to transition well to non-pregnant Amie.  Once again...there is a lot of fabric and that works when you're pregnant, but I'm kind of convinced that it's going to make me look pregnant when I'm not.  Since there was so much thought having to go into my decision, I just decided against it.  It's kind of an expensive shirt to be gambling on.  Maybe if the shirt was less than $50, I would have struggled a bit more.



RD Style Maureen Twisted Seam Elbow Patch Sweater - Small - $64.00
Status: Returned

In a perfect non-pregnant world, this would be my jam.  I LOVE elbow patches.  Please don't hate on me.  I love the high low cut of this sweater, but since I'm pregnant the high part just barely covers up my bump right now.  I'm only 26 weeks!  This bump is going to become huge.  I keep trying to justify to myself that it will be fine once I don't have a bump anymore, which is probably true.  But there are a few things that I just wasn't in love with.


Once I got over the bump and take a look at the sweater itself, I think the neckline is a little big for me.  Kind of scoop neck-esque even.  I'm not a huge fan of the color either.  It kind of washes me out I think.  If it were maybe in a fun jewel tone I would be all over it.  So sadly...even though it has elbow patches, I'm going to have to return this one too :(



Pixley Kaity Open Cardigan - Small - $78.00
Status - Kept

This was the only piece from my Fix that I couldn't find an image of when I looked online.  I assumed it would just be a open cardigan in a solid color, which I was ok with but not super excited about.  When I opened up my style card and saw a picture of this, I was immediately excited!  This is pretty much exactly what I have been wanting!   An open cardigan that was warmer/heavier than the usual cardigan.  It gets cold here in Wyoming! (sorry for the color variations, it's more like the one on the left)


I put it on and the first thing that came to my mind was how soft it is.  It has an angora/cashmere mix in it and you can definitely tell by the feel of it.  It's so soft!  Just looking at it  you might assume it to be rough, but it is deceiving my friends.  I just want to cuddle up on my couch, drink hot chocolate and watch it snow (maybe not quite yet though).

I wasn't exactly sure about the fit at first because the sleeves seemed just a tad on the long side, but once i rolled the cuff up, I was more than happy with the fit.  I did contact Stitch Fix to see if they happened to have this sweater in an XS and what the difference would be between the two.  They promptly replied to tell me that they didn't have an XS.  So, I'm definitely glad I kept this one!


Besides all of the previously mentioned reasons to keep this sweater, I can definitely wear it now and after #3 gets here.  It's going to be perfect for February while I'm on maternity leave.  Leggings here I come!

And here is a quick pic of my little photo bomber.  He's pretty cute ;)



Market & Spruce Aleah Heathered V-Neck Dolman Top - Small - $48.00
Status - Returned

I know Stitch Fix has a reputation for sending out a lot of dolman tops in a variety of shapes and colors.  I actually kept one with my last Fix because I kept the whole box, so with the 25% off it was cheaper for me just to keep it even though I wasn't in love with it.  Anyway, I'm not into this one either.  It's just not my style.


It's navy blue, which I actually do like the color especially for fall/winter.  I just was not at all in love with the neckline.  In the pictures I actually don't think it looks too bad, but I know it would just constantly bother me all day long.  I would be checking to make sure my bra strap wasn't showing, and that's just so annoying!  The length and fit was great with my baby bump, and I know that I would be able to wear it throughout the rest of my pregnancy and beyond.

My husband took these.  I was trying to get some better light, so it's kind of hard to see the bottom of the shirt and how it fits.  But trust me when I say this could definitely be considered a tunic if you wanted it to be.  It was stretchy enough that you could play with it to make it the length that you wanted it to be, or are most comfortable with.


I don't know maybe I should have kept this one?  What do you think?


Conclusions

After trying on everything in this Fix I'm contemplating changing my sizes to XS.  A lot of the things that I have been getting, I've just been swimming in, but I would hate to jinx myself and get everything too small next time.  So I'll have to think on that for next time.  

Overall, I think this Fix turned out to be a great one.  I didn't keep everything like I did the last time, but I really loved where Tina was going with my box.  I think she has the right idea.  I really wish there was some flannel in this Fix, but it's a popular thing right now, so maybe next time.  

For my next Fix, I'm going to have to tell Tina that I would like some brighter colors.  For some reason I feel like I get a lot of grey and navy.  I would like to see some fun bright colors because I just like them :)  I'm going to start getting a Fix once a month I think and we'll see where that takes us.  I have been getting them just as I please, and that's been fun too.  So we'll see what Tina has in store for us next month!

If you're looking to get a Fix of your own check out my referral link.  It's a lot of fun, and i truly believe that there is something for everyone.  Go check out their website or some other Stitch Fix reviews.  If you try it out, let me know what you think!  I'd love to hear.