21 Week Bumpdate

When I got pregnant I had every intention of doing monthly “bumpdates” both to share the journey with y’all and as a diary for myself. Oh boy was I wrong- haha! Somehow I’ve done ZERO updates yet but that changes today! I really do want to record this special journey so let’s do a bit of catch up today!

Name: Eliza Ann Blackwood!

We’ve gotten lots of questions on how we picked her name- so thought I’d share a little more! Originally I loved the name “Eleanor” and both Rob and I agreed that we liked it and would call her “Elle” for short. And then no joke, within one week three girls I know had baby girls and named them Eleanor. Since I grew up with a unique name, I didn’t want baby girl to be one of the many Eleanor/Elle’s in her class (although I still love the name to kudos to you if that’s your little one :)). So Rob and I went back to the drawing board and he came up with Eliza- and I fell in love with it! It was unique, different, spunky, and just sounded like “us” 🙂 Ann is her middle name and honor’s Rob’s mom who passed away when he was in college- we love that she will be with our sweet little girl even though she can’t physically be with her.

Movement: Eliza kicked for the first time at 19 weeks and it was the sweetest feeling in the whole entire world!! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect (I had heard it would feel like butterflies or indigestion) but for me, it truly just felt like the sweetest little kick! She’s still less than a pound, so sometimes I feel her flip around in there and it’s so much fun! Now she’s kicking up a storm and Rob has even been able to feel her a few times. We LOVE it!!

Pregnancy Symptoms: As I shared in our pregnancy announcement, I had a really rough first trimester/early second. I had gotten to the point where I couldn’t keep anything down and had to go on a prescription just to be able to keep some food in for our little one. But around week 16/17 I noticed things getting a little easier and started to ease off my medicine. By week 18 I was totally off my meds and keeping food down. Happy that I now feel so much better!

As far as second trimester symptoms- overall I feel great! Small “issues” include some bouts with heartburn (oof that hurts!), my feet and fingers swelling, and getting up 1/night to pee. I’m normally a solid sleeper so I miss sleeping through the night! But in my first trimester I was getting up as often as 3/night so once is a big improvement!! Overall no real complaints right now and I am beyond thankful that I’m healthy and so is baby girl!

Cravings: Buffalo Chicken! Anyone who knows me knows I love spicy and I love buffalo chicken, but these days I could literally eat it for every meal! I crave it all the time! And funny story, one of my only pregnancy breakdowns happened when we were going to Chili’s to get buffalo wings and the wait was an hour- I almost lost it! We ended up driving across town to Buffalo Wild Wings so i could get my fix! Haha.

Most Excited For: I was really excited to feel her start kicking- it makes it feel SO real when your baby is flipping and kicking! And I also loved the anatomy scan- it’s about 45 minutes and you get to see everything on your baby. Getting to spend all that time with her, and knowing that she looks great & healthy, was so very special. Since Rob hasn’t been able to come to my appointments due to COVID, we also scheduled a private 4D Ultrasound at Baby Scene in Tampa and it was one of my favorite moments we’ve had. Getting to see Eliza together, and seeing Rob’s face when he saw her live for the first time, was a memory I won’t forget!

Looking ahead, I’m really excited to start getting to work on all the baby things we will need! We’d been holding off on diving in to all things baby until after our sequel wedding, and now that we’ve said “I Do” (again) we are ready to read all the reviews and learn all the things and pick out special pieces that she will grow up in!

Least Excited For: Weight gain has been hard for me (even though my doctor has said I am right on track!) but it’s been a mental battle and I know I’m just getting started. From here on out I think it’s normal to gain about a pound a week- so I am preparing myself for that! I just continue to remember that I’m healthy, Eliza is healthy, and pregnancy is a huge blessing!

Nursery Updates: Oh man, we had done nothing yet!! But that changes this weekend 🙂 Rob and I have an appointment at Buy Buy Baby this weekend and we are spending the day shopping and researching for baby girl! Since our house is still in flux we are also trying to figure out where her temporary nursery will be vs. her long-term room once our new house is built in July/August. Whew!!

Maternity Favorites:

I am obsessed with these maternity overalls! I paired them with this basic maternity tee for the outfit above 🙂

I’m also living in these maternity leggings– got them on sale for under $20 and they are so comfy!

These maternity tanks are a great basic for layering.

I’ve added some fashion to my wardrobe with these non-maternity pieces that work with the bump: this leopard dress & this great tunic.

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