bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

i’m lacking in baby bump selfie creativity this morning after being out at a birth until late last night. i thought i’d just do an updated version of this previous bump day to see how we’re progressing here. i can still see my feet! but you can tell there’s a roundness and fullness now that reaches up into my abdomen.

sitting here looking down at my rounded and mounded body has me filled with such gratitude that i am a woman. in a world where women can be portrayed as jumbles of sharp angles and points, i’m happy to be here with curves representing the circular properties of womanhood that i cherish deeply.

30Apr2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

don’t judge. it’s so good.

my old friend, poptarts-with-butter-pregnancy-craving, is back. it’s not so bad because butter is a health food again, right?

there’s only so many leafy greens and carrot sticks a mom can eat before she breaks down and gnaws a poptart.

29Apr2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

here’s how i did with avoiding maternity clothes this week.

^^^let’s get a close-up of that fringe belly^^^

my go to move is to throw a floral print over this bod and call it a day. but i also included some shots of what i look like on my normal mom days = disheveled hair, stretch pants and a doula tee. that’s my mom uniform. that was taken after i attended a comfort techniques mini-workshop this weekend so yes, i’m quote unquote keeping it realziez here. people see me like this. often. more often than i would like. in fact this series might be based in the fact that i want people to see me looking somewhat put together but usually no one is around when that happens and i am alone shouting into a mirror “hey, come see how good i look!”

lastly, you will be horrified to find out that husband was going to give away this turquoise jumpsuit! more than that, we’ve had this for years in our basement and i’m just now finding out about it. COLLECTIVE GASP. this will now be my maternity jumpsuit and you will probably see me in it often. my rescuing of this gem lead to the rest of my family donning coordinating turquoise outfits to our local diner. it made me oh-so-happy.

but in the end, i always come back to my wallpaper florals.

let’s see how i do for this week…

24Apr2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

“as we grow older we should become not less radical but more so.” margaret laurence ~ author

flowerpower

so i was struck with inspiration after seeing this in the feed of one of my instagram faves. i thought i would include this here for a little context and sort of as a warning sign.

if you think this photo is objectionable then you should probably “turn back while you still can. this is not the way. take heed and go no further.”

if you think this photo is awesome, incredibly poetic and quite humorous then you’re probably ok to proceed for this weeks bump day photos.

versions

are nowhere near

as good as that gorgeous

photo up there though.

i absolutely love that quote. i feel that one of the gifts of womanhood is that many of us regain that whimsical and wild as we get older. i envision myself as an older woman, wearing about 15 turquoise necklaces and driving an el camino at age 75 just because i want to, dammit. but at this stage of my life what i can achieve is to radically and unabashedly love my body the way it is at this moment. a friend of mine once spoke about not bashing the way you look in photos right now because some day those are the photos you’re going to pull out and say “oh, if only i still looked so good.” i know that even though i think i look unbelievably huge in these photos, i’ll be pulling them up in the future saying “oh, if only my belly was still so taught and full of life!”

my belly has really bloomed over the past week so the symbolism of the flower and this time of year combined with the quote held a special magic for me. i know these are really just pretty lame selfies i took in my bedroom but i love them just the same.

thanks for indulging my radical.

23Apr2014

getting reconnected

Posted in Momma Needs a minute..., pregnancy by ElaineMarie

until this past week of glorious weather i had no idea how essential being out of doors would be for me to feel connected to this pregnancy.

being outside has always been an essential part of my well-being, i think. i remember choosing hours of play outside over television or indoor play. in my motherhood, i’ve tried to get darla outside and into the wild as much as possible. i feel more at peace outside and my brain functions differently than when i’m cooped up inside.

beginning this pregnancy at the start of this very long, harsh winter was pretty rough on me. darla was a january baby born in a slightly warmer climate so i was out and about for the first 2 trimesters with her and still pretty active during the last trimester, heck we even walked down to the Obama inauguration 2 weeks before I was due. it seemed a little more normal to have lots of activity in early pregnancy and to hunker down a bit more during the last stretch. having the opposite happen with this pregnancy has not been easy.

i don’t function so well indoors. i get a little crazed about organization and overwhelmed by how many items are in our household. i have it in my heart hopes that i’ll move to a warmer climate someday that allows for outdoor adventure year round. but let’s bring it back to the fact that this week has shifted me back into focus for preparing for this birth.

so we’ve been out every day since it’s been possible. i can say without a doubt that sunshine, fresh air and green living things are going to be quite necessary for me to bring this baby into this world. and now i’m feeling oh so happy to be having a summer baby.

i’ve gotten my mocs out on walks. alone. it seems essential to my spiritual being to spend time alone in nature. i think it’s always been part of my personal faith practices to spend time alone in the wilderness, contemplating the small habitats of the tiny creatures juxtaposed to the vastness of the earth and the heavens. it’s important to my spiritual being to feel connected to it all. i just find that hard to do cooped up inside walls.

i feel it all coming together and it feels good. the reawakening of the earth is resonating deep inside me and i feel more connected now than ever before. how wonderful it was to feel this life quicken and grow inside me just as the earth started to do the same. how wonderful to feel this baby gain strength and see my belly bloom just as the blossoms appear in our world. and i can only imagine how wonderful it will feel to have life burst forth at just about the time when all life in the northern hemisphere is at its peak.

i’m so thankful that the world within me is connected to the world without me.

23Apr2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

these first two photos are just to show how fruit crazy i have been this past week. i am so excited for farmer’s market season to be starting up and for fresh, local fruits to flood our life. i’m hoping i can get this pregnant belly out to the strawberry fields before the babe joins us earthside.

my real pregnancy eats post is really a pregnancy drinks post. i’ve been having this drink for my heartburn lately and thought i would share. apple cider vinegar is rumored to help with digestion and stomach acid. i find this to be a healthier alternative than over the counter antacids.

mix 2 Tbsp of 100% cranberry juice with 1 Tbsp unfiltered apple cider vinegar.
fill the rest of the glass up with water and top it off with pure maple syrup to taste.

i tend to fall on the salt & vinegar side of cravings so i don’t mind mine a little tart but adding a little extra maple syrup will sweeten it.

it’s really refreshing and i’ll be counting on this drink to get me through this final trimester. plus, it might just keep me from making late night runs for salt & vinegar chips.

22Apr2014

avoiding maternity clothes

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

i avoid maternity clothes almost as well as i avoid eye contact in my mirror selfies.

fleece lined leggings and thermal shirts. you know, for when it snows in april.

my coven issued black skirt, black shirt combo.

and stretchy pants for days and days, plus a wide brimmed hat to cover unbrushed hair.

so yeah, lots of skirts and stretch pants happening over here. but i only have a handful of these items that i’m switching out and dressing up in different ways. i try to use loud prints and distracting accessories to draw attention away from the fact that i’m huge and still have a couple months to go. i’m keeping my eye on forever 21 and target for some new maxi dresses to add to this rotation. let me know if you see a sale.

well, that’s all. let’s see how i do next week!

19Apr2014

momswimz

Posted in pregnancy, Shopping by ElaineMarie

it looks like i’m going to have to get myself an alternative swimsuit for the summer. i thought my normal suit would work out but it’s not looking good. given how hard it is to find a suit for my non-pregnant body i thought it was going to be the same for my preggo body but one google search and BAM this little number turned up, from Target nonetheless.

i’ve been in love with this color lately so i’m crossing my fingers they’ll still have my size when my next paycheck rolls around…

although, i may just take this summer as an opportunity to rock a bikini since i don’t pull that off well in my non-humangrowing days.

17Apr2014

bump day

Posted in pregnancy by ElaineMarie

i couldn’t pick just one image for bump day this week so i just decided to include both. i feel they gel together nicely by highlighting new things happening to my body. darla likes to keep track of how far her finger *doesn’t* go into my belly button anymore. thanks, kid. i never got an outie with her but it did get pretty darn flat. we’re getting there.

i really like the second image because it shows how my body is folding over and resting on itself in new ways. well, in truth, it always folds over and rests on itself in more places than i would like but at least when a baby is in there it’s for a purpose. and i was wearing my Frankie Says Relax shirt as a reminder…hey, relax…it’s only a baby belly on the internet. no biggie fries.

mmmm biggie fries…

photo 38E7E382-72F3-4AD1-A8BE-EA94A66C8F80-14096-00000959235F7A63_zpsa1cbaf5c.jpg

16Apr2014

pregnancy eats

Posted in pregnancy, yum yum eat good by ElaineMarie

i’m going to attempt to venture into the perilous realm of prenatal vitamins with this pregnancy eats post. sigh.

i feel this qualifies as a pregnancy eats post because when it comes to prenatal vitamins i try to get most of them from my diet. my family has been in financial hardship for a while and the first thing i did was give our food consumption a big overhaul. i think normally the quality of food is one of the first things to go when money becomes an issue but here i try to remember that food is our first medicine, the old “pay the farmer today instead of the doctor tomorrow” line of thought. i really put a great deal of effort into crafting healthful diets for my family. and guess what, if you scrap all the stuff that is processed and bad for you then eating healthy is relatively cheap but requires more time and effort.

so, when it came to choosing a prenatal vitamin the skeptic in me reared her head. vitamins are controversial. my brain is not really ready to make a call on whether they are actually effective or not. but better safe than sorry, right? ugh, well, now we’re getting into whether or not they’re safe which some researchers claim they are not. if you decide to take a vitamin then you have to decide which kind to take and that’s a whole issue on it’s own.

and guess what, the ones that seem like they’re the best cost a fortune…for vitamins…that should really be sourced from our food in the first place.

so i’ve come up with a system that seems to work for me and my pocketbook and hopefully for my nutritional needs but who is able to really measure that on a daily basis anyhow?

i started with a high quality vitamin. originally i was taking Garden of Life’s Raw Prenatal Multivitamin but that cost me the same amount as one week’s worth of groceries and only lasted 2 months. you see, it says 180 count but the serving size is 3 per day so barely two months worth is all i got out of it. {actually, it looks like they are on a pretty decent sale of them over on amazon right now.} as i mentioned, i’m not willing to risk real nutrition for pill nutrition so i did some more research and settled on Rainbow Light Prenatal One Multivitamin which my body seems to like really well, has probiotics included and is easier on the pocketbook since it’s a once daily pill.

i added a calcium + magnesium supplement daily. i chose the Trader Joe’s version because it seems decent enough and the price was right. i would put a link for it here but it’s way more expensive on amazon than at the store so just get thee to a TJ’s if you’re interested in incorporating that.

i lucked out and was gifted a DHA supply and take that daily. a gal pal passed along her Country Life Omega Mom tablets that she was done with. if this child has superior brain function as a result i will make sure he/she knows who to thank.

so now things get interesting…

i also picked up a generic drug store prenatal vitamin which cost me about $3. and i have a Trader Joe’s Probiotic that seems pretty effective for my body that cost me $6.

What i have come up with, which is probably way too over thought and crazy, is i take the Rainbow Light one day and then take the cheaper version along with the TJ’s probiotic the next day and keep in a rotation. I take the calcium & DHA everyday. By using this system I’ve got enough vitamins to cover me well into my breastfeeding relationship with this child. I tell myself that my good nutrition more than compensates for the days when i’m taking the cheapo vitamin.

does this all seem crazy? it all seems a bit crazy. let’s just admit it’s crazy. but it makes it affordable for me to get those high quality vitamins in there at least every other day since i can’t afford the daily {or thrice daily} versions. i honestly don’t feel a difference between the days but feel pretty good overall so i think this plan is working. but it’s probably due to the very healthy REAL food we eat.

so, i’ll keep this up until my Rainbow Light stash runs out but then i don’t think i’ll be re-upping on them even though i think they’re really good. when i think about all the REAL food that could be going into my body with that money it just seems so silly.

because it is.

momjeanz

Category Archives: pregnancy

bump day

pregnancy eats

avoiding maternity clothes

bump day

getting reconnected

pregnancy eats

avoiding maternity clothes

momswimz

bump day

pregnancy eats