I'm Not Glowing with Motherhood

I'm glowing thanks to my Laura Mercier SPF 20 Tinted Moisturizer and some cheap blush I bought the last time I was in a Target.

Pregnancy has not been kind to my skin. Just when I felt like I'd found the right combination of skin care products, blam-o, everything changed with hormones and stuff. My expensive special-occasion product has been called in for everyday use.

And here's why. My crying jags tend to be first thing in the morning. I've also been sleeping fitfully and look tired every morning. But I have to go to work and I don't want to do that with red, splotchy, tired-looking skin. I tried cheaper brands of foundations and tinted moisturizers but I kept coming back to Laura Mercier, which transforms me from tear-stained mess to natural (looking) glow in under five minutes. And that's why, for me, it's worth the price.

The SPF 20 is extra nice. When I moved to California at the age of 25, after growing up in New England, I started using daily moisturizers with at least SPF 15. The California sun was harsh to my skin. I can't believe that was nine years ago and I think it's due to my daily moisturizing and sun protection that people mistake me for being under 30. (Yes, I'm proud of that.)

As an added bonus a tube is only 1.5 ounces, so I can keep it in my carry-on bag for traveling, duck into the bathroom before the plane lands, and emerge from a red-eye flight looking as fresh as when I departed. So, double-score for me in two months when I take a 30-hour trip while 34 weeks pregnant.

*I was not compensated for this post, however if you click the Amazon button and ultimately decide to buy the product, a few cents will be thrown my way. I purchased this product for my own personal consumption.

Crafty: Simple Blouses

Several years ago I bought this pattern, Simplicity 3887, for easy, breezy lightweight shirts to bring to Africa with me. I made a muslin of that white shirt, the middle one on the left-hand side. I really liked it, but for some reason never got around to making wearable versions of it.

Fast forward to now, when I'm busting out of my largest shirts. I dug into my sewing stash, found the muslin, tried it on, moved the tie up so the shirt has an empire waist, and voila! -- the perfect shirt not only for my growing tummy but the tropical heat as well.

Because these shirts are not fitted and don't have careful tailoring, they are quick and easy to make. You just have to make sure it fits around the shoulders so that it doesn't slide off (if you have small shoulders like I do). The puffiness around the neckline and sleeves cover up a lot of mistakes!

I have lots of cottons and linens in my fabric stash and I even had some elastic for the sleeves so I didn't have to worry about shopping (and shipping). I cut out three shirts in different fabrics, so that it's not quite as obvious that they are exactly the same. But by using the same color thread for all three, I could sew them all up at the same time, speeding up the sewing time. I went from zero shirts to three in a few days. I want to make more, with some of the locally printed fabrics from here, as reminder of my Africa pregnancy. One of the most time-consuming parts of making the shirt for me is making the tie, because I hate turning such a narrow strip right-side-out. I've got some extra wide ribbon that I've been using, and you could use any ribbons, narrow scarves, or anything else appropriate that you've got laying around (saving time and using something you've already got).

And when I'm no longer pregnant and have back something resembling my original waist, I can move the tie back down to my middle, making this a cost-effective, versatile shirt.

The finished product (one of them, at least), covering up my 24 weeks' pregnant stomach:

Pattern envelope image from Simplicity.com.

"I wouldn't want to be pregnant in this heat."

That's what the regional American doctor told me on Monday at my check up. Thanks, Doc. He's traveling through, so I did my monthly check up with him instead of the local nurse. He's leaving his post soon and he wanted to see the pregnancy for himself. (While he's seen me before in person, that was pre-pregnancy. He's been handling my pregnancy via email.) His replacement will be just one more member of my pregnancy team, spanning several countries and two continents. (All for one of the safest, healthiest, most boring pregnancies ever, aside from where it's happening.)

When the doctor asked how things were going, if I was having any problems, the only thing I could find to complain about was the heat and that's when he agreed that it must be rough. I generally run cold and I've been finding the equatorial climate quite pleasant actually, until just a few weeks ago. Yeah, I have some achiness and tiredness sometimes, but it really has been the heat that knocks me down and makes me useless. I try to be grateful that I work in an office with air conditioning, but that air conditioning really only works about twenty percent of the time. The electricity fluctuates so much that the air conditioner is always the first thing to die when the flow weakens. I strip down to as few clothes as appropriate for an office, try to drink as much room-temperature water as I can, try to catch any sort of breeze, and wish I knew a magic spell to get the air conditioner running again. As soon as I get home at night I lock myself in the bedroom with the air conditioner on a high as possible without blowing a fuse at the house.

And this air conditioner obsession is all new for me. I usually can't stand them and prefer windows open with fans. But fans aren't cutting it right now.

Today was a surprisingly, blessedly, rare sunless day. It rained for several hours and stayed cloudy all day. Now I have all the windows open, letting the cool breeze blow through the house. I wish I could bottle this cool air for tomorrow, because it's not going to last for long.

Book Review: Didn't I Feed You Yesterday? by Laura Bennett

I was a big fan of Laura Bennett's on Project Runway. She was a finalist in the third season, and she was pregnant with her sixth child at the time of taping. Shortly after I found out I was pregnant, I rewatched my season three DVDs to see how this glamourous woman handled the pregnancy and the unusual pressure of reality television. I resolved myself to not necessarily wearing a cocktail dress every day, but to avoiding sweatpants (and other assorted lounging pants, unless I'm getting ready for bed) as much as possible.

After being such a fan of hers and admiring how strong a woman she is, I was a little disappointed in her new book, Didn't I Feed You Yesterday: A Mother's Guide to Sanity in Stilettos. It was an entertaining peek at her unusual life, but it was less a guide and more an inventory of all the messes her husband and five boys make. There was nothing sane about it; in fact she talks a lot about how boy stuff drives her crazy. I'm all for fun, laidback parenting, but her kids sort of come off as brats rather than free-spirited, creative children. I think she was trying to portray them as free-spirited though. It's hard to tell, as the writing was disjointed and didn't flow evenly from chapter to chapter.

I do like the attitude that women shouldn't give up their personal style and shouldn't give up taking care of themselves so they can take better care of their families. But that was pretty much summed up in one short chapter, toward the end of the book. Myself, I find it just as easy to pull on a skirt as it is sweatpants, and I love heels. I'm not giving them up until I'm so pregnant that I topple out of them. Of course, bare feet are more practical for just around the house. I save the heels for work and nights out.

But in the disjointed Laura way, she talks about what a mess her apartment is with spilled food and ankle-breaking toys strewn about, and that's okay because boys will be boys. But she never resolves how, if she's wearing her little black dress all the time, she's kept herself clean from the general mess of babies. What does Laura wear when she knows she's going to be spit-up on? When she's changing a diaper? That's what I want to know. It's possible that those things don't happen to her. She talks about having nannies and a housekeeper, but it's difficult to know exactly what they do. (If there's a housekeeper, why is the house always such a mess?)

If you're a Laura fan, if you like the reality, tell-all genre, or if you're a parenting-book junkie you'll probably enjoy this book. I get that the "guide" part may be intended to be tongue-in-cheek, but I guess I just didn't find it funny or clever enough to pull me in.

Image from goodreads.com. I was not compensated in any way for this post. Items were purchased by me for personal use.

Why I'm Taking My Malaria Pill

I live in a tropical area where malaria is an epidemic. For most Westerners who don't take any sort of malaria prophylactic, the question is when, not if, will malaria strike you. My husband and I both started taking the weekly mefloquine pill before we arrived here in August 2008. For the first couple doses, Mike had the psychedelic dreams and I had anxiety and insomnia (but we were preparing for a move to Africa; I get anxiety and insomnia every time we move anyway) but after a couple weeks the side effects cleared up, we've taken our pills every Sunday, and neither of us have contracted malaria.

When I became pregnant here, one of the first questions my American doctor asked me was how I felt about continuing with the mefloquine. He and I discussed it and my husband and I discussed it. Mefloquine is the only malaria prophylactic that is approved safe for pregnant women. However, my doctor said that with mefloquine there's a slight chance of miscarriage in the first trimester. The effects of contracting malaria while pregnant can be more severe than normal for the mother and can result in miscarriage at any point during the pregnancy. Living where I do, where malaria is so easily contracted and even with all the precautions I take to avoid getting bites, I decided the risk from the mefloquine was less than the risk of malaria. My doctor, Mike, and other health practitioners I spoke to who know this region agreed. Plus, I was already seven weeks pregnant by the time I found out and had been taking the pill all along with no problems.

I'm generally against taking drugs unless absolutely necessary and just about everything else about this pregnancy has been more organic. I haven't even taken a Tylenol. But sticking with the mefloquine has been the right thing to do for me and my family.

Fave Fashion: Old Navy Foldover Jersey Skirt

This simple knit skirt has been my favorite thing to wear since I started gaining my pregnancy weight. At twenty-three weeks along, I’m still wearing the non-maternity version and I’m curious to see if I’ll be able to pull that off throughout the whole pregnancy. The waistband can be adjusted, folding it down when I want it under my stomach, and leaving it up when I want some tummy coverage.

It’s been a great transition piece for work and weekends. I don’t want to spend a lot of money on maternity clothes for work, especially since I was planning on leaving my job this year even before I found out I was pregnant. My office is somewhat casual; this skirt is appropriate when paired with my camisoles and cardigans (although I’m at the point where I can’t button the cardigans anymore with out them looking like the buttons are about to burst). On the weekends, the skirt and a t-shirt are a perfect casual look for running errands or meeting friends.

Did I mention how comfortable this skirt is? The knit fabric is lightweight and soft. I have this skirt in two different colors and I’m wearing them more often than my track pants, even when I’m sitting at home doing nothing. I’m trying to maintain some of my fashion-consciousness during pregnancy because some days it feels like the clothes I put on are the only thing I have control over. Pulling on a skirt takes the same amount of effort as pulling on sweatpants, so why not look cute?

The fabric content is rayon, polyester, and spandex. The skirt is available in a variety of colors from Old Navy.com. The regular skirt is $15.00 and the maternity version is $16.50.

Image from Old Navy.com. I was not compensated in any way for this post. Items were purchased by me for personal use.

Welcome!

When I first found out I was pregnant, I didn’t think I’d want to share all those personal details with the world. I still don’t want to share everything but I feel the need to discuss a few things. I want an outlet for soapbox rants and product reviews. I never thought I’d be a Mommy Blogger but since I’m becoming a mom in a few months, and I like blogging, it now seems like the natural thing to do.

I created a new blog because I didn’t want to take too much focus away from my other blogs. I prefer subject-driven blogs to catch-alls. Some pregnancy and baby talk will make their way into the other blogs for sure, as it pertains to life overseas or gluten-free eating. But I’d also like a separate forum for some of those pregnancy-baby-family issues. I always found talk of other people’s kids and pregnancies a tad boring if I didn’t know them personally. I’d hate to alienate anyone in my other audiences who might feel the same way.

Thank you for joining me here! Stay tuned for product reviews, crafty projects, and thoughts on the environment, health, and other pregnancy and family related issues.