This post is sponsored by A-Thread Apparel. As always, all thoughts, opinions, and experiences are my own.
Happy final days of November!!
I know we still have a couple of days left this month, but can I just say it felt like I blinked and this month was over?! I mean I did spend like 2 weeks seriously out of commission between injuring my foot and some eventful baby news (you can read about that here). This also means we are in the final month of 2018! And what a year it has been! I'll hold off on reflecting though for another month! And then in January The Confused Baby will be here with us!! AH such exciting times! I'll be sharing more about what to expect from the blog and me in the coming weeks so stay tuned! But first, let's look back at…
8 Things I Loved In November
Pregnancy reflections!
So last month I shared all about my second trimester symptoms and this month I shared my checklist of things to do during the second trimester! I officially hit the third trimester technically in October, but this first month in the third trimester definitely put me through my paces like none of the trimesters before. I don't know if it was stress from the unexpected health stuff that came up (read about that here), or just that I am really showing finally (seriously I hit the third trimester and it was like POP!), or because I hurt my foot and couldn't work out for a couple of weeks (working out is a huge help for my mental health)… but I've felt this pregnancy more this month than I did the last six.
I'm feeling great now though! I think it was just a combination of everything and having to learn to do things a little differently. For instance, this is the trimester my midwife told me to stop sleeping on my back, so I had to find alternative sleep solutions and I developed a little heart burn for a week or two. I'll be sharing more about the symptoms next month though and what else is changing!
We also took our prenatal class this month: hypnobirthing!
I have a full post coming on it after the baby is born so I can share how it worked for us! Basically we decided to do hypnobirthing at The Orchid Nest because I want a birth without interventions. For me, what we see in TV and the movies never made sense about birth. For instance, when they tell you to “push” the baby like you push a poop out – that doesn't make any sense to me. This may be TMI, but I don't “push” my poops out, my poop just comes out. My body does what it needs to do and I just breathe. Hypnobirthing is kind of the same concept of breathing your baby down, not forcing it out. There's loads more to it and I'll have a post up after baby is here. If you have any questions about it before then feel free to reach out!
Sleeping well with Coop Home Goods!
Like I just mentioned, the third trimester has led me down a path of finding new sleep solutions and I'm loving Coop Home Goods! They share a similar belief on pillows as me: one size does not fit all! Which is why I loveeee them! They make a variety of pillows in different shapes and sizes (both your traditional bed pillow and support pillows). More than that though, their pillows are all adjustable! Meaning you can take stuffing out or put more in! This is huge!!
They make it really easy to adjust your pillow. You just unzip the outer cover and the inner liner, and then add or remove the filling to your desired level. Personally, I would normally take some out of mine because most pillows as they're traditionally sold over extend my neck. However with this whole third trimester business, I've been having to sleep on my side more, so being able to adjust the pillow to be thicker is a huge win! It's one pillow that easily transitions between different stages of life!
With Coop Home Goods you can save the stuffing and even get replacement filling (which they offer in a few different fill options). Once you sleep on your pillow for a while, just like any pillow, the filling is going to flatten out a little so you'll probably want to add more back in or get replacement filling. Lastly you can actually wash their pillows! It's recommended to tumble dry low for 3-5 hours, so it definitely takes some time. But when you think about it, we all really need to be washing our pillows. I mean we sleep on them and have dead skin cells flaking off every day! Their pillows also come with a 5 year limited warranty and are manufactured in California (not overseas!).
They also have a silk pillowcase that's definitely going on my Christmas wishlist since silk pillowcases have been know to keep frizzy hair at bay and supposedly help prevent wrinkles (a few of my friends literally bring their silk pillowcases with them everywhere they travel). They have free shipping and a 100-night sleep trial. They'll be rolling out big discounts through the holidays so be sure to join their newsletter to receive updates about upcoming sales
Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving isn't necessarily one of my favorite holidays – but it's probably the most personally empowering holiday in my book. You see, there was a period earlier in my twenties where I found myself leaving every single family holiday in tears (and we're Jewish so that's a lot of family holidays in the fall months). About four years ago, Thanksgiving was the holiday I finally stood up for myself and said no more. I politely declined to attend where I'd spent it my entire life. Did that ruffle some feathers? You betcha! Have I been enjoying the holiday more these last few years than I have since 2009 (the last Thanksgiving with my dad)? You betcha!
I know everyone has a different situation, but I think the idea of figuring out where to spend the holidays comes up for all of us at some point which is why I loved answering this reader's Q and sharing my top tips for figuring out where to spend the holidays! It's so important to find what works for you and keep doing more of it! IMO, Life's too short to dull your truth and please others. On the same note of pleasing others and meeting everyone else's demands, I also answered another reader Q on how to handle unexpected Thanksgiving guests when you feel alone (which really applies for any holiday)!
Getting our finances holiday ready!
November was all about the festive feels around TCM! I shared what you need to know [and do] to get your finances holiday ready too if you're interested! The holidays can be such a crazy make-or-break time for your future. It's easy to get caught up in impulse buys, FOMO of all the experiences, festivities, and new things popping up on the ‘gram. Especially with baby on the way and being on one income, we are being extra diligent about taking advantage of holiday savings while not over doing it.
Personally, E and I actually don't do gifts. We haven't for anything in years really. I always have a hard time with it since we share our money and it's like I bought myself the gift or vice versa… so at that point we might as well both be involved in the purchasing process, IMO. We talk about this concept more during this podcast episode. I'd much rather he surprise me with a clean kitchen or night off cooking than some random gift or item.
Expanding gratitude with this challenge
An attitude of gratitude is where I love to be – but can easily fall out of if I'm not careful. Which is exactly where E and I found ourself this month and why we decided to do a hard reset and record this podcast episode on 6 ways to cultivate more gratitude in your life. LBH, it's easy to get caught up in the daily monotony and forget how rich we actually are. A lot of you know I've been struggling in our current home – and since I basically spend 24/7 here (#workfromhomelife) it can take a toll.
In October I started this practice where I note three things I love about our place each day. It started to really help and inspired me to put together a 30 day Gratitude Challenge to help you guys expand your gratitude too! This time of year where we can get pulled in a million directions and feel deflated from all the expectations and demands that I hope this challenge gives you a little daily practice of self care during this chaotic time of year and all the times!
Getting our home Christmas Ready!
I told you it was festive AF around here in November!! Normally I put up my Christmas tree the first week of November. However this year, I didn't take my tree down until May. Oops! With all the stuff mentioned about with the pregnancy I wasn't feeling it right away. On Thanksgiving I decided to put the tree up while blasting Hanson's Snowed In. It totally shifted my mood to bring on alllll the festiveness December holds! I also shared this cheap and easy DIY tablescape for the holidays!
ALL The Christmas Movies!!!
Once the tree was up on Thanksgiving day all bets were off! I started binging all the Christmas Movies and let's just say my heart grew three sizes that day. If you're looking for some festive flicks check out my list of over 50 of the best Christmas Movies to binge this holiday season!
Unboxing my first stroller!
I also had a major mom milestone in November and unboxed/assembled my first stroller! And I took it out for a test spin! I recorded it all in a youtube video and shared 10 things to look for in a stroller here!
