Lesson learned: say no to blousy tops...

I was 27 weeks yesterday, so I went to take a picture of myself in the bathroom. I was shocked when I looked huge in every picture. I will admit that sometimes I may have reverse body dismorphic disorder - meaning I believe that I am thinner than I actually am. But I couldn't accept what I was seeing.

27 weeks, but looking more like 270 weeks...

 I changed every direction and angle possible, until I realized that it wasn't me, it was the blousy disaster that I had chosen to drape over my pregnant body. Proof...

See? I magically lost like 100 lbs. This confirms everything I have felt about maternity clothing from the beginning. Wear things that hug your body. Lately it feels like I have been wearing full body unitards in the form of leggings and a fitted top. It really is the perfect outfit: covers all your new cellulite, confirms that yes you are pregnant and not just fat, and keeps the extra bulk out of your clothes. You just definitely want something that hugs the bottom of your belly so that it doesn't look like you are wearing drapery.

*Note. The top I am wearing isn't even maternity - just a regular chiffon Cynthia Steffe blouse that I found at TJ Maxx. Also, these pictures make it look like I have crazy roots. I don't in real life - just normal ole plain jane brown hair.

Love,

Lauren

How did this happen...

Seriously. I remember seeing gross swollen feet pictures of pregnant women and thinking pshhhhhh NOT ME. NEVER. Well, feast your eyes...

This is a picture of my feet in their normal state from when I was like 6 weeks preg...

Here they are the first time I noticed swelling while wearing strappy sandals which was 2 weeks ago. I remember thinking OMG they are crazy swollen!...

But they were just getting started. This was taken after getting off the plane from our DC trip. In this picture, you can see that the swelling has spilled over my shoes up into my legs. I promise, I do not usually have cankles or fat legs...

Got home and took my shoes off. I swear they look like someone in a TLC show about outrageously obese people. Who knew your feet could have a muffin top?...

After a full night of sleep, they usually go back down. I hadn't even taken one step on the floor yet to assure I was capturing them at their skinniest...

I was worried for a while that the swelling was here to stay. That I would have to deal with this BS for the rest of my pregnancy. THANK GOD that it seems to be getting better. Maybe it was just really bad from the stress of my dad, going back and forth to the hospital for a week, and then taking a trip to DC. I need at least one part of my body to still look normal, so feet, please don't fail me now.

If you have any awesome swollen feet or hands pictures, please send them my way! I'd love to do a post with yalls best pictures! My email is in the talk to me tab at the top.

Love,

Lauren

Now that you know what happened...

Here is everything that I missed...

Fathers Day.

Happy Fathers Day! I hope you all had a great one! Thomas and I spent ours hanging out with my dad at the hospital, and then having dinner with his parents. Luckily, I arranged all of my husband's gifts pretty far in advance, so I was still able to make it a special Fathers-to-be Day for him.

PRESENTS!...

Thomas got some pretty classic fathers day gifts: socks, boxers, a golf putter thing, etc.. My parents got Thomas (the baby) the stroller as a fathers day slash early birthday gift. The gift being that we don't have to spend money on a stroller. It's the Bumbleride Indie, and after a lot of research, I believe that this stroller rules. Plus, it's all black, which is not as easy to find as you would think. The grand gift finale is a set of tshirts I got for Tom, the dogs, and the baby. Tom has always said that the dogs are his "minions" because, well they are. He has more than established his alpha role with the dogs, and they act accordingly. They still behave for me, but they know mom has a slightly harder time following through when it comes to certain things. So when we found out we were having a baby, Tom then began saying that, like the dogs, the baby would be his minion and follow him around. Time will tell. 

Either way, I had matching tshirts made for all of them with the Dougherty crest and their title...

Washington D.C.

We have had a trip planned for a while to visit my husband's sister and her family in DC. We left the day my dad got out of the hospital, so it was kind of crazy for me to not have any time to decompress after living at the Marriott across from the hospital. Anyway, the trip was really fun and we loved getting to see our family and our niece and nephew. Kids really do grow so fast and it's almost sad when you think about how much they will have changed before we see them again. 

I had already been to DC three times prior to this trip, so it was easy for me to sit out on some of the touristy things due to my gigantic swollen feet and overwhelming sleepiness. Tom got to take a cool bike tour that went all around the national mall, we did go to one museum together, and on Saturday night, we went on a date just the two of us for some good food and to see Abraham Lincoln. The date ended ubruptly when I started to get blisters from my feet spilling out over my sandals... so we got ice cream instead. 

Some highlights...

Two dogs. One cup.

While my dad was in the hospital and my mom was living at the hotel, we (mostly Tom) took care of Reesie, their australian shepherd. We got Reesie aka "Peeper" when I was a senior in high school, so she is also my dog to an extent and we have a special bond. Recently, when Reesie has stayed at our house she has acted very nervous and insecure, with the worst symptom being randomly vomitting. In the dining room, the in the kitchen, IN MY CAR. Sometimes I even take her back over to my parents' house during the day when I feed her just to make sure her food digests properly without it showing up on our carpet in an hour. 

So one night, Tom came and picked me up from the hospital and brought me back to our house. When we arrived we found three huge vomit spots on the carpet. Three spots, but only one actual pile of throw up. We know our dogs all too well, and immediately put it together that our dog, Eleanor, had eaten Reesie's vomit. Sick. With all that had happened with my dad and with how exhausted I was, seeing a ton of vomit to clean up really amped up my crankiness when I finally got home to supposedly "rest." But Tom and I dealt with it, and then it was pretty much time for bed. When we first got into bed, I was already bitching about Tom wanting to watch TV, because all I wanted in the world was to GO THE EFF TO SLEEP. About five minutes later, we hear a weird noise. Shit. More dog vomit. Imagine our surprise when it was not Reesie throwing up, but Eleanor. We jump up, turn the lights on. SO MUCH VOMIT. So that night, we had to clean up the same vomit from two different dogs. Hence, two dogs, one cup. 

Love you, Peeper...

Love,

Lauren

MIA...

When I go a week or so without posting, it's usually because the dogs knocked the power cord for the computer out of the outlet, and I am too lazy to plug it back in and restart the computer. 

Unfortunately, my recent absence has been for legit reasons: my dad had a heart attack and had to have quadruple bypass surgery. Because my parents are scared of the internet and putting anything personal on it, I'll be brief with the details. I will say that the heart attack was very minor and luckily caused no damage to his heart. However, testing revealed he had blockage that needed to be corrected via open-heart surgery. 

We all live in Houston, which means we have access to some of the best medical care in the world. I believe that my dad was very well taken care of, and because he was otherwise very healthy, his recovery has been relatively easy. 

I want to say thank you to everyone who reached out to my family, sent flowers, brought food, or came to visit during the past two weeks. Your thoughtfulness means a lot, and we'll never forget it. 

We did learn some lessons through this experience that I believe are worth sharing so that other people can hopefully avoid going through this in their own lives.

This is my dad...

Although he is 60, I am sure you can agree that he is not at all what you think of when you hear quadruple bypass. And it must be said, that I absolutely do not approve of those board shorts - or any board shorts for that matter. 

My dad has been thin his entire life, a feat he has worked at through a restrictive diet and intermittent exercise. He does have high blood pressure, but other than that, there were no signs or symptoms until the day he went to the hospital that anything was wrong. 

Not that it is his "fault" in any way, but perhaps this could have been avoided if he was getting thorough checkups and blood work on a yearly basis, which he had not done. Maybe a reg flag would have been raised? Maybe he would have found out that he had some blockage and could have prevented it from getting to this point? And of course, maybe not. But my point is, when you get to an age that it's recommended to start doing all these regular doctor visits and stuff like mammograms and colonoscopies - just do it... If the guy wearing a gold chain in the picture above could have to have quadruple bypass, there is no telling what the hell is going on in any of our bodies. 

Love,

Lauren

Maternity shopping in the 2nd trimester...

I have basically outgrown everything I own that wasn't completely shapeless to begin with. I knew that my stomach would get big, but nothing could prepare me for the expansion going on in my ass and thighs right now. I'm sure it's not all the baby's fault (I've been eating a lot of Lucky Charms lately), but it's crazy. I have pajama shorts that almost don't fit me anymore. Also, when I first got pregnant I bought a 5-pack of fruit of the loom mens vnecks IN SIZE XL, and I swear my stomach is already putting tension on the shirt.

According to my doctor, my belly is the perfect size for my gestational age, AND I have great muscle tone. I deserve to brag about this to the entire world. GREAT MUSCLE TONE.

The check-out girl at Lowe's today told me that I looked like it was hard for me to breathe. She meant it in a light-hearted way, but I told her that everything is hard when you're pregnant. Including tying your shoes. Yes, it is officially hard for me to tie my shoes, pick up laundry off the floor, walk up stairs, get out of bed, and many other things. Getting off the couch/bed is especially hard because you can't use any of your ab muscles to help you. I basically have to do a combo where I swing my leg to get momentum and then push myself up with my arms. It's as sexy as it sounds.

I have had one breakthrough... as my belly has gotten bigger, it has become less sensitive. There was a period where I couldn't stand to have anything touching or putting pressure on my stomach, but that just kind of magically disappeared. This has made wearing workout clothes (which I am in 90% of the time) much easier.

I have been picking some stuff up along the way. About half of it is maternity, and the other half is still just pregnancy-friendly...

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Black striped aggie top by Joie - I found this on sale at Neiman Marcus this week. I actually purchased it in a light blue color, but I couldn't find a picture of it anywhere online. The top is really deceptive in how roomy it is in the belly.
Pink stingray sandals by Miu Miu - Well, I mean, c'mon. They're awesome and I needed them. I actually have wanted these sandals in nude patent leather since January. But valentine's day and mother's day came and went, and I was still without these amazing sandals. Magically, they were on sale at Neiman Marcus. Tip - they are even MORE on sale at the Miu Miu store, but they didn't have my size.
Navy half placket dress by Vince - Sale rack at Neiman Marcus. For when I need to look a little bit fancy. I actually bought this in a long sleeve version.
White boyshorts by BCG - This blog is all about keeping it real. With the opressive heat and my expanding thighs, I have known for a while that summer leg chafing was upon me. I was at academy and found these super thin boyshorts. I bought multiple.
Coral mariposa sandwashed silk dress by Whit - I got this on sale at Gilt, and I am hoping to wear it to one of the summer weddings I will be attending. It's a little on the short side, but eh, yalls can deal with it.
Red ikat skirt from Old Navy - This is the first long skirt I have ever owned. I don't really do maxi length things. Not that I don't like them, but they just never feel like me. Plus, most maxi dresses are kind of bare up top, which really isn't my thing. I loved the print on this skirt so much (and the elastic waist) that I gave this guy a shot.
Maternity skinny jeans by J Brand - Ok, so this is not the actual pair of jeans I bought, but they pretty much look identical. J Brand makes a lot of maternity denim, and I got my pair on Ruelala for $45. They usually run about $200 per pair, so this really was a great deal!
Denim shorts from Old Navy - Not sure if I really like these yet, but I have worn them a couple times and there is nothing more comfortable than that full panel waistband.

I didn't include a picture, but Old Navy has awesome tees and tanks for pregnancy. I finally get why everything maternity is rouched on the side. It's mostly to be more flattering, which it definitelty it.

In case you were wondering, I still don't have the dark line on my stomach, and my innie is still very much an innie.

Love,

Lauren