19 weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Today I turned 20 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 19th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of a mango, weighing in at 8.5 oz and 6 inches long.  Baby has gained almost 2 ounces this past week, big gains!  Baby is developing the vernix caseosa which is a waxy coating covering the baby's skin protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid.. Baby's 5 senses are forming: never cells for taste, hearing, sight, and smell are developing in baby's brain.

This week we had a regular OB appointment where Charlotte and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Everything is looking good!

Mama: Feeling great!  No back or hip pain. Wearing more and more maternity clothes. Craving fruit again this week, can't get enough. And an occasional pint of Ben & Jerry's (chocolate fudge brownie, YUM!)

Attended The Mom Made Market in Scottsdale, AZ.  Dress from Forever 21

Physical Health: I have worked out 5 days this week!  4 workouts at home and walked the zoo on Friday.  It was so CRAZY busy at the zoo we had to park across the street which increased my overall mileage which was a bit of a challenge.

This week I focused on an amazing Beachbody program called PiYo.  It's perfect for where I am in my pregnancy as it allows me to get in a high intensity workout with low impact.  It's also on SALE this month! So if you're interested in starting a new workout routine at home please feel free to email me at raisingrials@gmail.com.

I also added in some weightlifting with Beachbody's Active Maternity workout for the second trimester.  It's with the 21 Day Fix trainer Autumn Calabrese and is a great workout for maintaining and improving the strength you need get through the rest of your pregnancy as well as after baby comes.  If you're an expectant mommy and would like more info on this program please email me at raisingrials@gmail.com

Last but not least we headed to the mountains for a weekend hike.

St. Patty's Day workout: PiYo. 

Hike at San Tan Mountain, AZ.  Top: Lululemon

Top: Liz Lang Maternity - Target; Shorts: Ann Taylor Loft

Dress: Forever 21; Cartigan: Ann Taylor Loft

Mental/Emotional Health: Another emotional week that I wasn't expecting!  Actually the week was good, but then Friday I had a fellow Beachbody coach and expectant mom tag me in a post about saying goodbye to your only child before leaving to go to the hospital to have your second child.  I thought that was a tough one, but then another mom posted a link to this article that I have saved in my phone and read frequently (although I cry almost every time I read it).

Let me know what you think! You Won't Remember But I Will

18 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Today I turned 19 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 18th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of a pear or large tomato, weighing in at 6.7 ounces, and 5.6 inches long.  Baby is yawning, hiccuping, sucking and swallowing. I remember being pregnant with Charlotte and feeling her have the hiccups ALL THE TIME!

I'm feeling so much movement from this active babe twisting, rolling, punching and kicking. Fingerprints are forming too!

Mama: Feeling good!  Back and hip pain is almost non-existent. Wearing more and more maternity clothes. Craving salad this week which is odd because I am NOT a salad person.

Physical Health: I have been SO LAZY this week! Since getting back from San Diego I haven't put my workouts first and it is definitely showing. 

I've had one of my besties visiting from out of town and we've had LOTS of catching up to do. Isn't she beautiful? And to top it off we're BOTH pregnant and due 1 day apart!

Mental/Emotional Health: Very emotional this week! Everything is making me tear up and cry... Not in a bad way though, I completely understand it's the hormones at this point. 

An old friend from high school posted an open letter to her son who just came home from the NICU within the last month. 

The way she described his entrance into the world, how it turned everything upside down, yet completed their family so perfectly said exactly what I needed to hear. 

I reached out to her and she had some great advice on including Charlotte in the every day process. That this is "our" baby, the family's baby, not just mamas.  I loved hearing that. 

Here are a few of the ultrasound pics from this week. Everything looked "perfect" in her words. 

Baby's heart actually looks like a heart! I absolutely love this pic ❤️

Baby's feet

Baby's hand near face.

Now ... Onto the news I'm sure EVERYONE has been anxiously awaiting.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

We are actually going to hold out on all of you a few more weeks!!  I'm sorry!!!

We have family coming into town the last weekend of March and the first weekend of April and want to share this news with them first. 

Baby isn't going anywhere, promise! You just have to be patient 😉

17 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

This weekend I turned 18 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 17th week with this babe! 

Baby: about the size of your palm, an onion, or an apple. Weighing in at 5.9 ounces, and 5.1 inches long, this babe has gained almost 2.5 ounces in the past week!  Baby's rubbery cartilage is turning into bone, putting on some fat, and growing a stronger thicker umbilical cord too. 

Baby can hear my heartbeat and the sound of my voice as it resonates throughout my body, kidneys are creating urine, and liver is producing bile. 

Mama: This is the best I've felt my whole pregnancy! My hips are still bugging me, but I started a new program called PiYo and as long as I get a workout in I feel great. 

I'm fitting into my bigger clothes I bought after having Charlotte, but finding maternity clothes most comfortable.

I'm continuing to crave fruit but wanting salads more and more, especially Caesar salads! And I am NOT a salad person. 

Physical Health: Like I mentioned above I started a program called PiYo this week. This was the first workout program I did after having Charlotte and it's just what my body needs right now. 

It's a 60 day program, Pilates and yoga inspired workouts that are high intensity but low impact. I'm getting my much needed stretching in, but still strengthening without needing weights. 

Chalotte and I also met up with a few coaches frim my team and their children at the zoo on Wednesday.  So I pulled three 30+ pound toddlers around in a wagon for 4 hours which was no small task!

Mental/Emotional Health: feeling this little one kick inside me is one of the most amazing feelings on earth. With my introduction of PiYo and prenatal yoga I'm feeling more and more connected to this baby every day. 

I've been orecticing mindful meditation when I wake up each morning. Placing one hand on my heart, the other on my belly and setting my intentions for the day. It has helped me stay present in this pregnancy so much more and I'm loving it. 

Can't wait to tell you all about my trip to SD this past weekend! It was amazing 💕

16 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Today I turned 17 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 16th week with this babe!

Baby: Size of a avocado, weighing in at 3.5 ounces, and 4.6 inches long.  Baby can hear my voice, thanks to tiny bones forming in his or her ears.  Baby's growing hair, lashes and eyebrows, and forming taste buds

Mama: Feeling good!  My hips and back were achy this week, but some prenatal yoga helped with that.  I'm "fitting" into my pre-pregnancy clothes still with the help of hair ties to hold buttons together and I've introduced the belly band. Craving cold, juicy fruit especially mangos... and ice cream ;)

Physical Health: I got a few workouts in this week.  Chalotte and I met a few friends at the zoo on Wednesday.  So I pulled two 30+ pound toddlers around in a wagon for 4 hours which was no small task!

I did a Beachbody OnDemand workout (which is like Netflix where you're able to stream from any device, but workout videos instead of movies) from Yoga Booty Ballet: Baby On The Way.  I actually REALLY liked this workout!  It incorporates yoga, ballet, and sculpting moves; fast paced and fun.  I also did this Prenatal Yoga video from YouTube.  I'm going to try out a few different ones and decide which I like best.

My plan for March is to clean up my eating habits with my clean eating challenge starting Feb. 29, and then start 21 Day Fix again with modifications when I return from SD March 7.  I'll be adding 300 additional calories when calculating my bracket for my container count.

Mental/Emotional Health: I have had a really great week emotionally.  I actually told my husband I'm anxious for the baby to get here... in a good way :)  I want to meet this little one, nurse, hold, love on.  I can't wait to see how Charlotte is with the baby.  I know she'll be a little mother hen and pretend like the baby is her own... so we'll have to see how that goes.

I'm in a REALLY GOOD place with this pregnancy right now.  Trying very hard to focus on the here and now and not get too caught up in the future/unknown.  That's where my anxiety likes to hide.

I've been nesting ALREADY!  We bought a few new cube cabinets to surround our TV in our living room.  I'll post pics next week.  They have storage bins for me to put some of the baby toys, diapers, etc.  Bought a few newborn diapers at Target too... they're SO TINY!!

Anyhow, here are a few more pics from the week.  Check out my IG account @tessrials for more detail on these.

13 Weeks: Baby Rials 2.0 - Emotions

We just turned 14 weeks, so today I'll be reviewing our 13th week pregnant with this sweet babe.

13 Week Update:

Baby: Size of a peach, weighing in at .81 ounces, and 2.9 inches long.  Baby's vocal cords and teeth are forming.  Even though baby's still teeny, he/she already has fingerprints.  Finished up the last week of the 1st trimester, which means we've completed one whole third of the pregnancy!

We had a doctor's appointment this week and baby's heart rate was 168. 

Mama: There is definitely NO hiding this belly anymore! Still fitting into my pre-pregnancy clothes.  I've gained nearly 4 pounds already (thanks to some Girl Scout cookies... I won't name any names haha).  Craving cold, juicy fruit especially strawberries... and cookies ;) 

I've been getting sharp shooting pains around my belly button and my OB said my abdominal muscles are being overworked.  I've been unconsciously holding my belly in which is causing them to be over used and spasms.  Round ligament pains have also made an appearance, OUCH!

Physical Health: I got one workout in this week... which was more than last week, so I'll take that.  I did a Hammer and Chisel workout at home where I lifted weights.  I also walked 3 miles pulling Charlotte in the wagon one day this week.

My goal for this coming week is to workout Mon, Wed, and Friday.

Mental/Emotional Health: As I stated earlier I had a doctor's appointment this week.  We talked a lot about my anxiety with labor, delivery, and recovery.  I LOVE my doctor, she really let me lead the conversation, asked all the right questions, and what I came away with was that I'm letting my emotions control me WAY too much... in a negative way.

So today I wanted to discuss my 6 Steps To Controlling Emotions.  Emotions are the most present, pressing and sometimes painful force in our lives. We are driven day by day by our emotions.  In my case, it's the negative emotions that must be handled with extreme care.  It's the negative emotions that tend to spiral out of control for me, especially when triggered.

Here are some tips that I use, often daily, to control my negative emotions:

1.  Don't react right away. Take a deep breath and stabilize the overwhelming impulse to react, you'll most likely regret something later if you do. Continue to breathe deeply for five minutes, feeling as your muscles relax and your heart rate returns to normal. As you become calmer, affirm to yourself that this is only temporary.

2. Ask for divine guidance. When burdened with emotion, close your eyes, envision a positive solution to your problem, and ask the universe to illuminate the best path forward.

3.  Find a healthy outlet. Now that you've managed your emotion, you'll need to release it in a healthy way. Emotions should never be bottled up. Call or go see someone you trust and talk to them about what happened.  Exercise, meditation, or taking a relaxing bath are other ways to release.

4.  See the bigger picture. Wisdom means being able to see past the moment and figure out the greater meaning of any given situation. You may not understand it at the moment, but as time goes by, you'll begin to see the bigger picture falling into place.

5.  Replace your thoughts. Negative emotions bind us to recurring negative thoughts, creating cycles of downright negative patterns. Replace those with a different thought. Imagine the ideal resolution to your problem playing out, think about someone who makes you happy or remember an event that makes you smile.  Concentrating on what I can control is my biggest sense of relief.

6.  Forgive your emotional triggers. Your emotional triggers may be your best friend, your family members, yourself or all of the above.  When you forgive, you detach from the resentment, the jealousy or the fury lingering within you.

I hope these steps can help you, as they've helped me, to take more control of your emotional well being and live more in the present, happy, and healthy.

12 Weeks with Baby Rials 2.0

12 Week Update:

We'll have to thank my professional photographer hubby for missing the bump in this shot ;) ...and with a toddler, another pic was NOT going to happen!

These updates will be a week in review.  I turned 13 weeks pregnant this weekend, so today I'll be discussing how my 12th week went, make sense?!

So far this pregnancy has been relatively easy (I hope I'm not jinxing myself by saying that, but I'm pretty confident things will continue on this path as we're heading into the 2nd trimester!).

Baby: Size of a plum, weighing in at half an ounce, and just over 2 inches long.  Reflexes are developing, most critical systems are formed, and baby can open and close fingers and curl toes too. 

Mama: They say my hormones have started to calm down a bit, but my husband might have a differing opinion on that one.  There is NO hiding this belly anymore!  My body is VERY aware of what is going on, has been down this road before, so out popped the belly.

Physical Health: I'll be honest, I did not get a single workout in this week and I have no good excuse except to say I just didn't make it a priority.  Although, we did go to the zoo one morning where I pulled two toddlers up and down the hills.  We also did our weekly Parent-Tot Gymnastics class which is 45 min of me huffing and puffing, chasing her around, helping her tumble, balance, hold her on the rings and bars, and thankfully rest a bit during the last 5 min of open play.  She ABSOLUTELY LOVES gymnastics and I'm so happy we are able to provide her with this activity.

Mental/Emotional Health: I've been really struggling with this department, to the point where I cry when ever I start to think about the future.  We have an OBGYN appointment on Wednesday where I plan on discussing things more in depth with my provider, as my gut says this isn't exactly a healthy response to being pregnant. 

To put it simply, I'm scared that all the hard/tough/bad stuff is going to happen again, and it will only be more difficult this time around as I'll have a little toddler to look after at the same time.  I'm not really looking for advice or encouragement on the subject at this point.  It's just some really tough emotional things I have to work through to get to a point of peace, acceptance, and gratitude.

I do know that I have come a REALLY long way from the person I was when I was suffering through PPD with Charlotte.  I have an absolutely amazing support system, I'm stronger on so many levels, and have much more resources and tools to help me get through the tough stuff this time around.  I'm able to self evaluate and know that I need extra support right now and that it's imperative I ask for that help and not suffer through this silently thinking I'm going through it alone or that I'm not normal and no one will understand.

My goal with my blog this time around is to not be so superficial with my journey.  But talk about the tough, scary stuff; celebrate my successes proudly; show gratitude for where I am in my journey; and possibly help someone else out there going through the same thing know they aren't along.

Thank you for taking the time to read my story, I appreciate the support and encouragement you bring to me and can't wait to see what unfolds.  Happy weekend!

Our BIG Announcement

Well I guess it's time for the world to know ... Charlotte is going to be a BIG SISTER!!

We found out just before Christmas and couldn't wait to share the exciting news with our close friends and family. 

Mommy has been feeling really good for the most part, even able to keep up with her new workout program 4-5 days out of the week. Still in normal clothes, but loving stretchy yoga pants and pj's. Pregnancy pillow (The Bump Nest) has a so re-entered the picture, and Charlotte is loving it more than momma!

This week, Sweet Baby Rials is the size of a plum, just over 2 inches and weighing in at 1/2 an ounce. Most of baby's critical systems are fully formed. Baby's about to enter the growth and maturation stage, in which organs and tissues will grow and develop rapidly. Baby is now developing reflexes, if you poke Baby, likely will move.

Stay tuned as I'll be doing weekly updates again during this pregnancy, excited to share this experience with all of you!