12/30/14 Pregnancy tips

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IN HONOR OF MY LADY FRIENDS WHO ARE EXPECTING, I give you this:

I am by no means an expert on pregnancy now that I've gone through it and come out the other side a mother but there were, in retrospect, a few things I think truly helped me avoid some of the more uncomfortable aspects associated with a burgeoning baby bump. I figured I'd share them here in case by chance they may help you or someone else you may know. Also, if I ever find myself in the bun baking business again, it probably isn't a bad idea to note what worked the first time around. 


First, drink lots and lots of water. I'm talking 3 liters of the good stuff...daily. The best advice my doctor gave me was to literally measure it out. Go buy yourself one of those liter size bottles of water and re-fill it 3 times a day. You'd be amazed at how much water it is but also how quickly you get used to drinking said amount of water. Besides the medical benefits of doing so, drinking such a significant amount really helped me avoid cankles and constipation. Towards the end of my pregnancy, I saw one of the nurses quite frequently during my weekly visits to the office, and I recall her telling me that she always knows which ladies aren't drinking enough by the size of their ankles. I can't make this stuff up.

Speaking of constipation, do NOT overdose on bread. Be mindful of how many carbs you're eating. For instance, cereal for breakfast, a sandwich for lunch, a piece of bread and butter as a mid-afternoon snack and pasta for dinner (because who feels like actually cooking?) will not do wonders for the time you spend in the loo. If by chance you have a bad day (meaning you've practically overdosed on carbs), just make sure it's not followed by a string of very bad days. Maybe tomorrow have a salad for lunch instead of the sandwich? Or soup? Or try to, at the very least, make sure it's whole wheat. I made the mistake of buying a loaf of potato bread once and proceeded to go on a bread and butter binge for a few days. It was glorious tasting but also led to the one and only bout of extended time in the bathroom I experienced. I think I may have used the expression "birthed a bowling ball" afterwards. TMI? Okay, yes, that was probably a TMI moment. Anyway, you get the picture. I learned my lesson reaaaally quickly after that experience. Avoiding the terrible C also allowed me to avoid the even more terrible H you hear women complain about - hemorrhoids!

So that's water and food. Now let's talk poundage. I'll be real here and tell you that I gained 26 lbs over the course of my pregnancy, which is right on par with what my doctor's office recommended. Even more miraculously, I was able to avoid an emotional breakdown about weight gain. Everyone is different but what worked for me was weighing myself once a week. I didn't get too caught up with the numbers since they'll fluctuate a bit but it kept me in check. Another strategy? Keep an eye on the arms! Your midsection and thighs (and butt if you have a good one... I do not) will become useless indicators of weight gain the moment you find yourself pregnant because that area is busy doing all kinds of phenomenal things. Arms though, they're different. If you're gaining weight in your arms, you're gaining weight everywhere so it may be time to eat healthy for a few days. No one wants a fat arm. You know yourself better than anyone and for me this is just one of those areas I could spot in the mirror every morning pretty easily. If my daily splurge on ice cream started getting out of hand, I just made sure to eat a bit healthier for the next few days to keep things in check. Eating healthy is not the same as doing on a diet, mind you.

Ok, the other bit if I'm being honest, is that I didn't use pregnancy as an excuse to eat as unhealthy and as much as I wanted. Truth be told, the first three months I let myself eat whatever I could because nausea had pretty much stolen my appetite. I'm pretty sure I lived on an excess of sugar - all fruits and ice cream - because nothing else sounded remotely appetizing. Once that second trimester hit though and I started feeling more normal (it really does happen!), I tried to eat like I did pre-pregnancy with maybe a daily splurge thrown in for good measure. 300 extra calories a day is not that much people. And remember, whatever you eat is what the baby eats. I'm pretty sure baby would benefit more from a healthy, organic mix of foods than the stuff they serve at those drive-thru's. Not sure if I was just blessed or if it was due to all of my healthy eating habits, but I never dealt with heartburn. Now, no one said a splurge here and there is terrible, but let's not get carried away and eat gobs of grease and fat every day! Plus, who doesn't love hearing someone tell you how great you look? I'd much rather enjoy a pregnancy where I feel good about myself everyday than one where I feel like a beached whale. You still do have to get up and get dressed when you're pregnant.

Trying to avoid that emotional breakdown? You know the one, where you throw an adult tantrum because nothing in your wardrobe fits. Planning in advance helps. I made the mistake of buying a bunch of cute maternity tops pretty early on in my pregnancy but didn't actually get around to wearing them until I hit 5-6 months. There will be quite a window where you'll probably be able to get by wearing loose fitting shirts like flowy blouses. I never had one of those tear-filled "but nothing fits me anymore!" moments because I had taken the initiative to stock my closet with a few looser alternatives ahead of time. I think this was a lifesaver and probably spared my husband from quite a few eye roll moments. Also, if you're blessed enough to be able to fit into your regular jeans throughout your entire pregnancy, bravo! I still suggest you go out and try a pair of maternity jeans on because you really don't want to miss out on how heavenly comfortable those babies are!

A few last random thoughts - invest in shaving cream and new razor blades. It will help you avoid skin tags. They do happen and can happen ANYWHERE.

You don't need to buy a $55 pregnancy pillow if you're okay barricading yourself in with regular pillows.

Your boobs are going to change. Sure, you've read that it happens but when it actually does, and you're all pumped full of those extra hormones, it may still freak you out a little. Just know that everyone experiences it. Try less mirror time until you've gotten used to your new ladies in waiting.

UPDATE: All of the above was written way back when I was still pregnant and waiting to welcome little Miss Evelyn Rose to the world. I would also add to this list, in retrospect...do your kegals mamas! There was an incident where I sort of, kind of, totally peed myself laughing a few days after the birth. Not a tinkle either. Full blown peed my pants. It was more funny than traumatizing but still, if I could go back in time, I would have done a few more kegals in my baby baking days. 


Hope this helps ladies! If you have any other pieces of advice, I'd love to hear them :) And in the end, just remember, it's all worth it!






Three super healthy, summer approved favorites: ToneItUp, The Honest Company & some coconut oil.

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ROSYRILLI.COM Healthy lifestyle
I feel a little bit like I'm late to the party. Seriously. Am I the only one just learning about ToneItUp.com now or are there others out there like me? One of my favorite bloggers, who does an amazing job of trying to work up a sweat daily (or at least, so she claims...since I mean, it is blogging and all) mentioned TIU a few times on Instagram. I hopped on over to the website and WOW, I'm in love. Well, to be honest, at first I wasn't. I'll totally admit that the first time I visited the website I thought it was really confusing and overwhelming. There's just SO much going on. To break it down, they provide a weekly schedule which includes both free workouts but also references their paid workouts in case you happened to have already shelled out the moolah for the DVDs they sell. They also have paid nutrition plans as well. I've just stuck to the free weekly workout schedules so far. The only items required for most of the free workouts is a yoga mat and dumbbells. There are a few that feature exercise balls or kettlebells (I just substitute my dumbbells) but I haven't quite gotten around to purchasing extra gear yet. The best part about the videos though is that they're almost always less than 20 minutes long! You're talking to someone who has never, ever exercised on a regular basis but I've been following along for 8+ weeks now and I feel GREAT. I swear even my complexion has improved with all of the extra blood circulation. If you're like me and are new to breaking a sweat (or glowing, as Karena and Katrina call it!), I would recommend that you follow along by just doing one workout video a day and then after a week or so, try going for a run. I promise you'll be amazed at how much easier it'll feel. You can see the results of all your work fairly quickly but it's the strength and endurance that will subtely sneak up and surprise you. Running always made me feel like I was dying in the past but after a few weeks of doing these videos, I can run 2+ miles with ease! I promise this isn't some gimmick either. I'm certainly not being paid to fawn over their website or products but am just super excited to share the information.

I'm pretty sure this is the healthiest I've ever been in my life. No lie. I've been aiming to do a few short workouts per week, mixing in a healthy dose of running and eating exceptionally healthy. I've been avoiding dairy (say goodbye to cheese, pizza and ice cream) for months now since it doesn't seem to agree well with the little one. I hope that's not TMI. Sorry folks! But anyway, between the healthy eating and exercising, I've been feeling pretty amazing lately. And then there's The Honest Company. I'm sure you've all seen the Facebook ads by now for a free trial of diapers or is that just constantly on my news feed? Well, well, well... did you also happen to know that they sell everyday items like sunscreen, toothpaste, and dish soap too?! I was inspired after reading the Forbes article on Jessica Alba to check out the company website. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised to find that their products are quite reasonable AND they ship them right to your front door, which for a mama like myself, saves me a lot of time not having to tote a baby to the store. I'm super excited too because remember when I explained that one of the symptoms of MTHFR, which we believe caused my miscarriages, is my inability to absorb folic acid? Well, I'm not doctor here (that's my disclaimer), but from everything I've read online, it's best to consume l-methylfolate instead of folic acid. Basically, it's just a broken down form that we with MTHFR supposedly can actually absorb. It's super healthy, probably for everyone, and The Honest Company actually sells a prenatal with it included!

Lastly, I'm completely late to jump on the coconut oil bandwagon. I've seen its praise pop up from time to time and decided to finally pull the trigger. This is the organic brand I bought but you can find it at pretty much any grocery store. I will never ever waste my money on lotion again. Try using the coconut oil instead! It's AMAZING and it feels so much better knowing that I'm not slathering my skin with chemicals. It'll give your skin a nice glossy look which is perfect for summer. I should mention the texture is actually kind of amazing as well. Below a certain temperature, the oil will be a solid. A few seconds after it hits your fingers though it'll melt into a liquid. Interestingly enough, if you leave your AC off for the weekend and return to your apartment, you may find the entire jar has turned liquid but it'll quickly turn back to solid once it cools. I found out by accident and from what I've read, it's completely okay to continue using it. Pretty interesting, right?

Anyway, those are my three super healthy, summer approved loves right now!

Evelyn Rose's nursery 2.0... a re-do!

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So although I love my nursery, I'm definitely cringing inwardly at sharing these photos because the quality is so poor. Nice opening right? Ha!

As a quick recap, my original nursery had to be torn down approximately 2 months after my baby girl was born due to our relocation. I was definitely eager and oh so excited to put her room back together again once we unpacked but knew in my heart that I wanted to tweak a few things. First. since the moving company's packaging job was less than stellar of my original flower mobile, it broke into about five separate pieces (insert tear drop). It was such a focal point for the last nursery that I knew I wanted to remake it...and then I got a bit carried away and made a handful more! The one featured in the photos below is actually currently for sale on my RosyRilli etsy shop if you're interested ;)

Next, it was obvious that I needed to replace my soft, pretty curtains of yester-nursery with some new blackout versions. Evelyn's current room has a rather large window which makes it bright and beautiful (and awful to try and photograph with an iphone!). All of that bright light makes it kind of miserable trying to put a young babe down for a nap in the middle of the day. I tried HomeGoods, which was my go to for all other apartment curtains, but wasn't impressed with the quality of their stock. After some extensive online research, I ultimately chose the Best Home Fashion's brand because they received such positive reviews. It's deceptively difficult to find lighter colored blackout curtains that will actually do the trick and, I must say, this brand's didn't disappoint!

During my shower, I received a cute bird cage shaped wrought iron hanging piece (what would you even call this???) and  decided to use it to display some of the details of our daughter's birth. A pocket watch to show the time, a cloth measuring tape to reflect her height and a cute calendar month page to display the birth date. As a quick side story: I had originally purchased 2014's calendar seeing as our baby girl was due in December but when I went over my due date and realized she was going to be a 2015 baby, I immediately reached out to the ShannonPix etsy shop I had purchased the 2014 version from to see if I could buy the new year. Shannon was such a doll and sent me the month of January for free of charge! Her photography is absolutely stunning (unlike my own, as clearly displayed below) and I highly recommend her shop for anyone looking for adorable calendars. Ok, so back to this hanging piece. A little section of our Christmas tree from the season Evelyn was born in is also pinned up, as well as her birth announcements from Minted.com. Still haven't quite figured out a way to portray weight in a unique way though so if anyone has any cute ideas, let me know!

Hmm... so what else? Well, let's see. I still use my original changing pad cover from Carousel Designs but also use the one featured below from the same company. It's the Rose Pink Damask pattern if anyone's interested. 

After the birth, when my parents came to visit us, my dad brought the original scale his parent's used to weigh him as a baby! It was too precious to pass up so I decided to use it in the nursery. It's now a placeholder for Evelyn Rose's stuffed animals. It matches perfectly with the whole soft and vintage vibe. Oh, and my childhood dollhouse has made its grand entrance into her room as well. How funny is it that the only piece of furniture I still have for it is a tiny crib that looks like a small replica of the one I ended up purchasing for Evelyn Rose!

I'm aware, by the way, that I've been terrible lately at posting photos on here of my sweet baby girl. I've been a little obsessed lately with instagram and find it so much easier and faster to upload them there. If you'd like to follow along, my name is rosyrilli... surprise surprise!



The many faces of Evelyn Rose at 5 months old.

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Is it that time yet again? My, my. Sweet baby girl has hit yet another milestone. She giggles. She sleeps longer stretches at night. She's begun to quietly entertain herself playing with toys. She bounces like a little maniac in the door jumper Mema let us borrow. She's had her first tast of rice cereal (organic!). She's been to the ocean, to the lake and across state lines. She's my partner in crime, day in and day out. She's got her own little determined personality and I'll never tire of staring into those big brown eyes of hers or tickling that little round belly. Oh, Evelyn Rose, how I do so adore you!
My 5 month photo favorite:
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
 And some floor shots because... well, why not?! :)
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
Tell me this does not look like a baby bouffant!!!
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
ROSYRILLI.COM Evelyn Rose at 5 months old
Onesie: Carter's (comes in white, mint and teal...so cute!)
Bow: Carter's
What can I say, I'm a sucker for their adorable clothing :)

P.S. I did NOT forget about the nursery. Pinky swear it's coming up shortly.


What selling half of your belongings looks like: A tour.

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ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
After we sold two storage units full of our belongings through Craigslist and many more items at our yardsale, we were left with only about half of what we started with, if that, and a pretty sizable pile of cash. It was all pretty exciting actually and I toyed with the idea of investing the entirety of our profits but ultimately decided to spend a portion on making our new place feel like home. We have no intentions of moving for at least two years and I wanted to ensure that our new residence felt cozy instead of temporary. My first priority was to utilize what we already owned as much as possible. If I was going to purchase new items, I made sure to do it with a lot of forethought and intention. Only items I absolutely loved were able to enter our place and I made sure that anything bought would have the longevity to function in future residence too.

I'm not going to pretend here that I'm a fancy interior designer, own a camera worthy of taking magazine-like photos or have done anything particularly phenomenal with our place but I do love how it all turned out. I'm excited to share the end results! In all honesty, there are still many items I long to buy - an empty wall which would just look so good with some new wall art or a pretty rug beneath our kitchen table - however, I try to remind myself that there's a big difference between wanting and needing. But anyway, enough chatter! Let's get to those photos :)

Let's take a little walk down memory lane, shall we?  Showcased below are a few photos to highlight how our place looked when the movers unloaded most of the boxes from our house in Ohio to our apartment in New Jersey. Keep in mind, you can't tell from the pictures what our closets looked like or the fact that a lot of boxes were waiting to be moved over from our storage units. When I say we were drowning in our possessions, I mean literally, we were being drowned and dwarfred by all of our things. The overwhelming number of belongings made me miserable in our new place even and caused a frantic dash to try and unload and sort everything, which isn't always so easy with a baby so young! It was truly eye opening to see just how much we had lazily held onto for all of those years. I've since vowed NEVER to put us in that situation again.

ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
When it was just boxes stacked high in each room and the closets, it actually wasn't too terrible. The real nightmare occurred once we started unpacking those boxes. You can see the evolution of our family room below to get a better idea. Keep in mind, this is pretty much the entire living area in our place, with the exception of our small bedrooms. Yikes!

The Living Area

ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
And the living area today. Insert sigh of relief.
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
Okay, I know you're wondering about that bright orange side table. Don't even try to deny it. I'll admit it was a total painting fail. I lovingly refer to him as Tic Tac and I have grand plans for him to undergo a new face lift soon. Perhaps a brand new coat of some yellow paint? We're just going to go with the orange for now and pretend it fits.

Are you also wondering yet where all the baby gear is hiding in our place? I've been very diligent about keeping things minimal but here's a little peak at some of our baby girl's play things in a small corner below. 

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We decided that instead of purchasing a new chair, which undoubtedly would have cost us hundreds of dollars, that we'd just buy a new slip cover for the old IKEA furniture we owned. I picked out one of the cheapest ones from the store and it only ran us $29.99. With the new color, it feels a little bit like we have a new chair anyway! The only other purchases for our living area included the curtains and a curtain rod, after a failed attempt at re-using an old curtain rod we already had from earlier. The area is definitely simple but fresh and cheerful. Have I mentioned yet that I LOVE my table setting? Yes, I believe I did :) But seriously, you can see how having fresh flowers and utilizing the china really adds a lot to this small area. 

The Kitchen

Organization became a lot more crucial than decorating because the bones of this kitchen are lovely to begin with - granite and new cabinets. My process involved placing everything we owned out on the counter-tops before putting anything away. This way, I could see where the excess was hiding. Just how many mixing bowls, measuring spoons or utensils does one really need? Today, some of those cabinets are actually empty which feels like a huge accomplishment.

ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
The Master Bedroom

The room I ended up spending the largest chunk of money on was our master bedroom. When we first moved to Ohio, we packed up two cars full of everything we could fit and drove to a short-term apartment while the rest of our belongings stayed in Pennsylvania. We were trying to sell our house back then and thought it would have a better chance staged with our furniture. One of the first purchases we had to make once we arrived in Ohio was a bed and matching set of box springs. We splurged on a king which meant that we didn't have a frame or headboard to match it. The next item we purchased was a sofa from Arhaus, featured above, which I will love forever and ever even if my husband was less than thrilled with my decision at the time. That's a story for another day. So basically what I'm saying is that for our master bedroom, we never actually purchased a bed frame or headboard. That's right. For the past three years, we've been living like college students with our bed on the floor. I've always focused on decorating the living areas first in all of the places we've lived which is where most of the time is spent.but that has left our bedroom a bit neglected, as clearly seen below.

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Having turned 30, I decided it was high time to be a grown up and buy a bed or, at the very least, to invest in a headboard. I did a lot of searching both on Craigslist and online at furniture stores but either the price tag had me cringing or I wasn't in love with the style. That is, until for a little over $500 with free shipping, I ended up finding a bed (NOT just the headboard!) from Joss & Main that I loved! Can we say AMAZING?! To accompany the bed, I was considering splurging on some beautiful belgian linens from West Elm or Restoration Hardware because they're so beautiful and cozy looking. I knew in my heart of hearts though that bedding is something I end up having to replace somewhat frequently (does anyone else have a sweaty husband too?) and so it probably wasn't a practical financial decision. I was able to locate a more wallet friendly option for both the duvet coversheets and table lamps (score!) at Target instead. And then came the dilemma over pillows. I couldn't swallow the ridiculously high prices for new pillow shams. Both the sheet set and duvet cover came with king size pillow cases so I decided to utilize what I already had and just purchased two sets of king pillow inserts. For the two standard size pillows we were already using, I discovered a Crate and Barrel outlet near our new place and snatched up those grey and white pillow covers for under $9!  HomeGoods saved the day when it came to curtains (both only around $30 per set) and for the throw pillow in the center of the bed. It's all quite simple but it reminds me of an elegant and clean hotel room, not too feminine or masculine, which is just what I wanted.

ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
The Bathrooms

There aren't any before photos available but suffice it to say that they were the ordinary, boring bathrooms which are standard in almost all new construction and apartment complexes. We kept both bathrooms white, clean and simple. Purchases? I'm a huge fan of Minted.com for art prints and it was definitely love at first sight when I first laid eyes on the Tangerines print. Besides that, we used what we had. Do I sound like a broken record yet? 
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
To re-cap, a few quick comparisons...

ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
ROSYRILLI.COM Apartment tour
I know what you're thinking. What about the nursery!? Evelyn's nursery deserves an entire post on its own, mostly just because it's my favorite room. Sit tight. Details coming.