Top

ON THE EDGE w/ missstephanieb

Oh, BABY! 3rd Trimester Milestone – Maternity Jeans

Made it 6 months today!

I have fought tooth and nail for the last 24 weeks of my life to accept the fact that I, miss Stephanie, would EVER wear mom jeans or the dreaded maternity jeans. Just the look of them on hangers repulsed me with their spandex flap hanging over the hanger, and I would RUN in the other director for a nice, loose babydoll dress to accent the “better” parts of a growing body.

Well, as you’ve heard me say over the last couple of weeks, it’s harder and harder for me to even tie my shoes let alone bend over to paint my nails, so it really wasn’t a shocker when I just couldn’t squeeze into my last pair of normal jeans. I stood there in the mirror, pants unbuttoned, let out a sigh, and then nicely folded and tucked them away in my closet as I reached for my size large cozy black leggings. Again.

As we were finishing up baby shopping for the registry this weekend (FINALLY! and again, hold the suspense this post will come haha)…we made a pit stop to finally return a few Christmas items at Kohl’s. Yes, I am aware it is now April, that was not a misprint. LOL. Well as Claudio waited in line, I decided to just peruse the maternity section when there they were – staring me down like a western gun fight. I quickly turned around and causally oooed and awwwwed over some marked-down sweaters while pretending to not feel the pressure of the rack of maternity jeans behind me. But I have NEVER backed down from a fight, why would I now. Facing my fear, I turned around and walked up the rack and reluctantly grabbed a couple pairs, one small, one medium and marched my way to the fitting room.

*********NOTE TO READER – What is to follow may be dramatic and of shock, so if you aren’t prepared, you may want LOOK AWAY!!!!**************

Standing there in the most FLATTERING of light, I stripped down and stepped into the stretchy blue material that awaited me. What came next was more of a shocker than seeing that initial “PREGNANT” sign flash on the pregnancy test – these pants melted to my body like butter. My ass never looked better! These even LOOKED like designer jeans and best of all – i could BREATHE! I COULD BREEEEEEEEEEATHE! and sit and jump and bend over, and I RAN out of that fitting room and right to the cashier telling Claudio to never breathe a WORD of this moment to anyone. haha.

Plus, they ended up being free with the gifts we returned. This might have been the best day of my pregnancy so far. Don’t worry – the jeans will make an appearance soon 🙂

THE BUMP – FROM WEEK 1 to WEEK 38 PHOTOS (UPDATED AS WE GO!)

I wanted to post photos of the bump so I can see how I am growing, but realized it is hard to compare unless they are next to each other, so I am going to put new photos in here every time we take one 🙂 This should be cute at the end!

JUST FOUND OUT! Looking at this still makes my heart stop.

At the beginning. Just found out the day before Thanksgiving. Took this photo in the Juarez casa before anyone knew 🙂

12 weeks. (3 months.) The day we announced it to everyone! Still in the old apartment. Looks like a beer keg belly!

16 weeks. (4 months.)

POP! 17 weeks. Happy Valentine’s Day Baby Barnez!

18 weeks. In Belize. Baby Barnez working on his tan with mom! (February 21st)

20 weeks. 5 months and half way yay! The day after the gender reveal! (March 10th)

23 weeks. Yikes. Really growing. And still have a long way to GO!

25 weeks. In the Dominican Republic on our baby moon! (6 months, 1 week: April 9th)

27 weeks. In Pittsburgh, at Connie’s 🙂 (1 week shy of 7 months: April 24th)

29 weeks –photoshoot on the balcony

30 weeks! Holy moly time is FLYING! Only 10 weeks to go… (7 1/2 months, May 15th)

20120517-124139.jpg

32 weeks – getting creative on our morning walks

33 weeks – Pittsburgh Baby Shower and Maternity Shoot!

34 weeks – NYC baby Shower.

36 weeks at Jones Beach – 4 weeks and counting!

37 weeks – Roxanna’s bachelorette party! Maximo living it up at 9 months!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

38 weeks – could be the last photo of the bump!!!

Zeta Baby

Went to Zeta Day today in Jersey with the NYC Alumni Group and had to pick up this cute little piece for Baby Barnez.

xoxo #zetaisforever

Pregnancy Perks

Well, I feel like I have been letting it know how many “surprises” will sneak up on you in pregnancy – jean sizes, hair color, heartburn….

So today I thought I’d let you know the pregnancy perks are starting to kick in and thought I’d give you some of the advantages that you’ll face while pregnant that you can NEVER get away with otherwise. Like remember when that cop pulled you over for speeding and you faked tears and said you REEEEEALLLY had to go to the bathroom? Yeah, it’s sort of like that. Only honest.

1. Expectant Mother Parking. Yay for this! Now normally I wouldn’t even care cause I don’t mind walking and getting my exercise. But lately, I have been huffing and puffing as this little man shoves my stomach further into my lungs, so the closer for me to waddle, the better. Last night Claudio and I attempted for the first time, our registry (which is a WHOLE OTHER POST), and for the first time in my life, we parked in the expectant mothers parking space! Which usually I avoided like the plague in my 20s as not to jinx myself. Oh how things  have changed.

2. Working From Home. Today, they were repainting and fixing an enormous hole in the ceiling at my office in the Upper West Side. I am pretty sure I could just SMELL asbestos pouring out as well, if it had a smell. Anyways, my boss being the loving mother she is herself, told me to go home immediately, and my doctor agreed. So my morning consisted of walking back home getting some exercise on one of these amazing first days of spring in the city. Sure, I’ll take it!

3. Free food. Everyone loves pregnant women. There must be something about us that people just can’t say no to. I mean, I guess it’s one of those things you don’t want coming back to haunt you – you didn’t help the preggo – look out KARMA IS COMING. But lately, I can get anything I ask for. Now, I’m not asking for millions of dollars here, but when I called to ask where my food was today that was an hour and a half late and stated that I was just really hungry and pregnant and waiting sadly, Seamless.com didn’t hesitate to credit me $10 on my next order. Score! And thanks Seamless for helping me get my food to show up! (If you don’t use seamless web to order food online, you’re missing out by the way!)

4. Assistance. From cutting lines, to seats on the subway (haha see previous post) people are always offering me something, and usually I don’t even need or want it, but it’s nice to be offered and poured over. I can see how it’s hard to bounce back after pregnancy. You get so used to free food, close parking, seats on the subway and Claudio rubbing my feet, I mean, come ONNNNNNNNNNN. No WONDER ladies get knocked up right away again and then start popping out shows like Nina + 84 kids. If you live you’re whole life pregnant, you’ll always be in comfortable clothes, eat whatever you want, have an excuse to get weekly pedicures and massages….hmmmmm. lol. jk. I actually like my size 4 jeans and a few glasses of wine. Like Arnold Schwarzenegger said… ILLLLLL BE BACK!

Pregnancy Etiquette and The City

I don’t expect people to do things for me. I’ve always been extremely independent and it is a hard acceptance for me to learn I can barely bend over already to even paint my toenails these days (well, I guess more pedicures! yay!) I do however have a new found respect for pregnant women and new moms in a bustling city like NYC. If you’re a mom or mom-to-be in the city, you know we deserve medals for surviving obstacles that normally moms don’t have to overcome. Take this Manhattan Mamma for instance. New Yorkers have a reputation, this is true, but we’re not ALL assholes —but for those FEW who might still be, let me just clarify a few etiquette tips for you:

1. Offer your seat to the pregnant lady. I don’t usually even take it. Unless I’m carrying 50 bags and traveling for 18 stops. But, it’s nice to see that someone recognizes that the preggo carrying some extra baggage just MIGHT be tired. In my research, I’ve actually had more MEN offer than women. Apparently chivalry is NOT dead and  YES! You, the young Asian sitting on the N/Q train every morning I’m talking about YOU. You who looks right at me and NEVER gets up or even offers even though you’re like 100 pounds and 21 years old. I am pretty sure you don’t need the seat. Respect your elders. (haha.)


2. For GODS SAKE, if you see a single mom trying to lift and carry a baby AND a stroller down subways steps by herself TAKE A MINUTE TO HELP HER. Claudio pointed this out to me the other day. He said he watched numerous people rush past her, annoyed she was in THEIR way, and it was only him who actually stopped to help her carry it down. That’s just embarrassing. TSK TSK I’d think you’re better than that people!

Those are my only two rants for today. Pregnancy hormones in action. I’m sure there will be more…”to be continued…” or feel free to add your own addition in the comments…

THE INFAMOUS GENDER REVEAL PARTY – and the results are…….

Well, I know everyone was anticipating this moment! This I know because I had over 30 people crammed into our tiny NYC apartment to watch Claudio and myself cut a cake. As well as many texts from out of town asking where is the video! Well here it is! The official  reveal!

What is a gender reveal?

Well I had read about it in some preggo groups, but it was Stephanie Riddle who convinced me to do it! We went in for our 20 week sonogram and had the nurse put the results into a sealed envelope (seriously, we DID NOT PEEK!) and dropped off to our baker the next morning. Regina at Artopolis is amazing btw (and you should check her out if you live in NYC and want a cake for ANY occasion), and she was perhaps more excited about that cake than we were! She created us this masterpeice of French vanilla sponge cake with French pastry creme and would put blueberries in the cake for a boy, and strawberries in the cake for a girl. So when we saw the cake, we had NO idea, until we actually sat down to cut into it, and find out with everyone there!

So with that, I’ll leave you with the videos to find out what happened!

THE PREDICTIONS

THE REVEALING!

THE CONGRATULATIONS TOAST

Baby Barnez: World Traveler

I must say this unborn child of mine is living quite the life. Not even 5 months old in the womb and has traveled the world just in 2012. Let’s recap and highlight:

– a Superbowl in Indianapolis and met the executives of the NFL

– the Rolling Stone VIP party and LMFAO concert
– Fat Head’s in Pittsburgh on the drive back to NYC

– Tulum Mayan Ruins in Mexico

– private island in Belize

– Royal Caribbean Cruise
– Ft. Lauderdale pool time

– LIVES in NYC (two different apartments)
– has rode planes, trains, buses, automobiles and boats

– Nevis. My favorite place on earth. haha well, we were there LAST summer, but this is just because we PLAN to take baby here again. When we buy our time share 🙂

And in April we head to the Dominican Republic.

UNBELIZABLE! Where NOT to Babymoon for Preggos

Every pregnancy website I have come across boasts the bliss of a babymoon. HURRY!!! You need one last getaway! It’s your last chance to alone time with your DH! (that’s darling husband for you non pregnancy website worshipers), or more for me, my darling domestic partner in crime! It’s your last chance for freedom! Run RUN I say to your closest beach!!!!! I am pretty sure these website editors get kickbacks from the resorts (hmmmmm IDEA!! —> my OWN photo from Belize is for sale :)).

I mean, these sites are convincing enough to make you max out your credit card like the apocalypse is only 5 months away…So, naturally, I booked two.

The first was a 4-day cruise to Belize and Mexico. Actually it was a 60th birthday family cruise for my DDP’s father, but I mean I was 18 weeks preggo so hey, it counts.

I found out  prior to leaving that cruises had a cut off limit for pregnant women at 25 weeks, and now I realize it’s for a reason. Anytime past a pregnancy test and kiss all your money away. Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful, but cruises are not exactly “pregnant friendly.”  (NOTE TO READERS: I went along to spend time with the family and spent most of the time with them so it was a great trip, this post is more if you plan to go ALONE as a babymoon!) They have great nightclubs, and rock climbing, a surfing wave, and $300 massages—lots of fun things for preggos! In fact, I cried (thank you hormones) when they wouldn’t let me do any excursions. I wasn’t trying to do white water rafting down the Amazon, I was just trying to see the jungle and beauty of the countries. If you know me, I love adventure! Apparently pregnant women have no business touring third-world countries. haha. No seriously.

Thing is, I didn’t REALIZE Belize was third-world. We decided to take the ferry to the mainland to at least walk around.  I figured they’d at least have a Hojo’s? No. Well, 5 min of being hassled by locals and I was ready to swim my way back to to the cruise ship. So we decided to give it at least an honest shot, and asked about any close beaches. Well, here’s stinger #2 – Belize HAS NO BEACHES. Only private islands. So $100 later, we were being (earmuffs to my OB/GYN!!) whisked 40 minutes out into the ocean to a private island.

This is what I was waiting for! Only 1,000 square feet, 4 palm trees, a local BBQing chicken on a split keg listening to Bob Marley and us. That’s living!

Even though I was already burnt to a crisp having not seen the sun since August, it was worth every blistering minute.

DDP and I on our private island.

The WHOLE island. <3 Goff’s Caye, off the coastline of Belize City, Belize.

So the moral of this story is ….. even though ANY vacation seems like a great babymoon destination, make sure you remember you ARE pregnant and be aware of any restrictions and/or upsets that can occur. Even though we still had an amazing trip, just do your homework before booking the “getaway of a lifetime!” haha…Make sure you’re not venturing into uncharted territory in a third-world country so YOUR babymoon will be UNBELIZEABLE!

OH! and on a side note… my debit card number was stolen in Belize as well. I only used it once, and I KNEW better than to use it, but I did, and the day I got back, Chase Bank (MAD THANKS AND PROPS!!!) was blowing me up checking fraud charges for purchases of international internet phone cards. Ummmm.what? So people travel smart!

1. pack sunscreen
2. take travelers cheques. they’re made for a reason
3. look into your location before booking for American or top-rated hospitals in the area you are visitng
4. check that the location is pregnant friendly! so you have options unless all you want to do is lay on the beach and be fat (which i will be doing on my SECOND trip to the Dominican in April….stay tuned!)

Maternity Clothes Shopping – I’d rather pluck out my fingernails

I like being a girl. I like shopping, I like getting my hair done, and I LOVE pedicures. I even like to pull the damsel in distress here and there to get a free coffee. I do NOT however, enjoy shopping for maternity clothes. I understand “your body is changing and is in a beautiful transition for creating life! Embrace your new curves!” But I don’t know ONE female who enjoys having to up-size her closet. Especially someone who hasn’t in years, and has been content with being a 2 (ok 4, size 6 when PMSing).

So the moment I couldn’t button my Express work shirts anymore, we had a problem. In fact, I had a full-blown breakdown complimented with tears in front of C who just didn’t understand why I couldn’t find “one thing to wear.” After greasing myself up into some leggings and a make-shift dress turned tunic, we finally headed to dinner, eyes still puffy.

The next day, I headed into the world of “maternity shopping.” Now let me preface again that I ALREADY had a breakdown. So mothers-to-be PREPARE yourself before walking into Pea in a Pod. Nothing in there is under $200. Such as, a-plain-white-tee-with-glitter-that-you-will-never-wear-again-and-is-ugly-and-would-only-be-sold-at-Fashion-Bug. (yes, please Google “Fashion Bug” as I am sure you’ve never heard of it – for a reason). Ok ok, they do have some cute clothes, but I mean, not worth $200. Maybe a dress I would see at Target and allow $30 for. I was fighting back tears again. Giltter? Teddy Bears and checkered dresses for the price I used to pay for designer jeans? Heartbreaking.
So I gave up and went to the mall—for a piece of pizza. And decided to walk into one of my staple stores, H&M. Well, let me just let you in on a little secret.  If you’ve never been pregnant, you’ve never noticed before that H&M is a wonderland of long, stretchy items; from dresses to tunic to tank tops to work shirts—all under the price of $30 each! I was in heaven again. I triumphantly marched to the fitting room with an arm-full of animal prints, bolds, and textures. Needless to say, I now award myself an H&M walk through once a week if I walk all the way to the store on 57th and Lexington from work. Winning!
I also want to point out that, yes thanks to Regina for pointing out, I live in leggings. It’s winter, and I have a belly. Jeans are reserved for fun nights out only, which these days are less than more. But thanks to American Apparel, you can rock leggins in style. IN EVERY color. I have bight red, bold blue, and the traditional black. So let it be known! I HAVE prevailed as an up-and-coming mom! I can still be trendy AND pregnant AND comfortable—all for a price I don’t feel bad about.

P.S. I also found this amazing RED SCARF at American Apparel. If you’re looking for the perfect red infinity scarf, this is it. Color, texture and size all come together to create this beautiful, flawless scarf of infinite capabilities. And you can use it for Valentine’s Day. (or a superman costume…)

Leggings – Totally Cute or Totally Lazy… When have you crossed the line?

Leggings – Totally Cute or Totally Lazy… When have you crossed the line?.

I have to repost this article by my girl Regina. Being preggo, I LIVE in Leggings, and literally laughed out loud at how I can relate to everything she is saying. Except that I think I can get a pass cause I’m preggo 🙂

Oh, and Regina – just a note of advice, you’ll still be wearing leggings everyday in NYC.

Cheers!

GET IN TOUCH

stephanie@socialmindedmediagroup.com

FEATURED ON…

footer Logo

FOLLOW ALONG!