Baby B Gender Reveal!! My thoughts, feelings and reaction

For as long as I can remember I have always wanted a girl. A little mini me that I could do all the girlie things with like manis and pedis. Do her hair and paint her toes, raise her to be strong and independent like mommy but kind and super smart at the same time. I had it all planned out in my head. But you know what they say about plans.....tell God and he laughs. All the while I was planning and praying for a little girl, God was preparing and planting the SON who would be just for me. Touché  God, touché. 

How I found out I was having a BOY?

When I was 8 weeks pregnant I had a VERY VIVID dream of my future son. He came to me in my dream with his cute little face and introduced himself to me. He told me he was so happy to have me as his mommy and he couldn't wait to meet me. He told me his name and said he'll see me soon. 🥰🥰 I know, is that not THE CUTEST! 😩 I woke up the next morning and called my mom and a few friends and told them about my dream. My mom believed me right away and she already knew. My mom has been saying I was having a boy before I was ever pregnant. 🤷🏾‍♀️ I guess Moms just know. My friends assured me I would have my girl and the dream was just a pregnancy dream. I still hoped for a girl but deep down I was already preparing for this man child. At 15 weeks this was confirmed via ultrasound. 

My initial reaction to knowing I was having a SON. 

So I will be 1000% percent honest here, after my dream I cried for 3 days straight. I cried AT LEAST 5 times a day for 3 whole days. There is a whole different vision that comes to my mind as a black mother in America about raising a son in today's society. There were no visions of mommy and me manis and pedis or visualizing my future feminist. Instead I had visions of George Floyd, Travoyn Martin and Tamir Rice. The pressures of societal and cultural norms that are placed on young black boys. And of course the most obvious of them all, how can I, a SINGLE WOMAN, raise a MAN? I don't know how to be a man but I surely know how to be a woman. All of these things combined sent me into a tailspin of emotions. I was a WRECK you hear me. On the 4th day, I wiped my tears, stood up straight and got my mind right. You WILL be the BEST DAMN BOYMOM to this baby, period! *in my city girl voice*😁 

As of today, I couldn't be more excited to be having a boy! I can't imagine another baby besides him and I look forward to the journey of being his mommy every step of the way. I know it will be hard but hey, I'm made for hard things. After all, I'm a Diamond dear, nothing can break me. 😉 So to all of you that guessed BOY, you were right on the money. Baby B is a BOY and coming Feb 2021, stay tuned!!

First Trimester Recap: Symptoms and MUST-HAVES

Good Morning dolls! Popping in today to write a quick recap of my first trimester, the good, bad and the ugly. To be honest, before getting pregnant, I envisioned loving pregnancy. I had visions of glowing skin and a perfectly round bump and slaying all the pregnancy looks effortlessly. I figured the ones that made pregnancy look easy were the norm and the ones that had a difficult time pregnant were rare and that surely wouldn't be me! Now don't get me wrong, I'm so very thankful to be pregnant but there are some days (or weeks for that matter), where it is NOT very enjoyable at all. The aches, pains, tender breasts and body changes are all very real. I now understand more than ever the ladies who say growing a human is HARD WORK, it's both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Each week is something new but I'm learning to enjoy the journey overall. 

Here are a few of my favs from my first trimester and hopefully it will help any ladies out there going through the same thing.

Preggie Pop Nausea Candy: While I didn't experience major nausea or tons of toilet hugging my first trimester, I did have that awful quesy feeling constantly. Because I didn't have a constant need to vomit I felt like I was winning overall. However, the constant quesy feeling was quickly subdued when I popped one of these Preggie Pops. I literally kept them by my bed, in my kitchen and at my work desk. I've tried several other pregnancy candies and not only do these taste the best but they worked. Now if you have extreme nausea with vomiting and all I'm not too sure how these would fair but they are surely worth the try. 

Waiting in Wonder Pregnancy Journal: As I was searching for a journal to capture all of my pregnancy ups and downs I came across this faith based journal. It is a daily devotional as well as journal but it helps you along your journey with prayer and bible verses. In times I was doubting my decision or struggling with pregnancy discomfort being able to tie it back to my faith has been very helpful. I prayed for this little one for years and then when the reality of actually being pregnant hit me it hit me hard at times. That and your emotions and hormones during this time are all over the place. This journal helps to center me.

Prenatal Vitamins: Prenatal Vitamins are a must while pregnant but honestly there are so many on the market to chose from it can be very overwhelming. I picked this particular one found at Target because of the organic and whole food ingredients. 

Badger Belly Butter: You guys I have been borderline psycho with the stretch mark routine. I DO NOT want stretch marks and have been trying everything to prevent them. My bestie sent me a bottle of  Bio Oil and I was in love, go bestie 😘! Then came this butter, also amazing. I love it for it's organic ingredients and creamy texture. It spreads easily and lasts a long time, a little bit goes a long way. I snagged this guy off Amazon and so glad I did. 

Pregnancy Pillow: Listen, you need this pillow....period. I can end this point right here just trust me on this. That first trimester I was going through it ya'll. Peeing every hour it felt like and weird body pains. For some reason all of a sudden sleeping in my perfectly comfortable bed suddenly felt like sleeping on a pile of bricks. I was miserable. Until I discovered this pillow that is. It just makes sleeping so much more comfortable. I use this thing while lounging on the couch, in bed and even when I travel. I've only been to family's house but my pregnancy pillow comes with. Period. 

I'm curious to know what were some of your MUST-HAVES or FAVS while pregnant. Leave them in the comments for me, I'm 19 weeks and well into my 2nd trimester but I'm still trying out new products and things constantly. Please do share!