It’s a kind of love I never knew was possible. How could I though? I simply wasn’t capable. I wasn’t capable until Sophia was born about 8 weeks ago…

As expected, new parent life hasn’t been all peaches and cream, and those of you who are veteran parents are probably nodding your head now. But it’s been an experience I wouldn’t trade for anything else. You see, I expected a lot of the bad. But what I couldn’t anticipate was the love and affection that would emerge and how it would carry us through the long and late nights, the 5th diaper change in a row, and the pain associated with postpartum recovery and breastfeeding. Now, in typical Cubicle Chic fashion, I am here to share some DETAILS of what transpired 8 weeks ago. Also, I want to talk a little bit about why we decided to hire a doula and how that changed our labor and delivery experience for the better, especially when we compare stories with friends. If you are considering to hire a doula, read on!

Why We Decided To Hire A Doula

I knew pretty early in my pregnancy that I was going to hire a doula. I’ve had friends that gave birth with the help of a doula, I’ve also read many books (one of them being my favorite pregnancy book, Your Pregnancy Your Way) that recommend having a doula. My personal philosophy is that if you can pay to have an expert walk with you as you go through something new and difficult, why wouldn’t you? People hire personal trainers to get fit, life coaches to live better… doulas are essentially birth coaches and I definitely wanted a coach with me as I embark on the labor and delivery journey. I browsed on www.DoulaMatch.net for a good while and interviewed 4 doulas before I decided to work with Christal Quick (Radiant Heart Doula Services). We felt that Christal had the right mix of flexibility and confidence when it comes to the way a doula would add to a family’s birth experience. She has a very empathetic and understanding vibe about her but it was also clear that she’s an experienced expert, and would be able to provide unwavering advice in times of need. But all in all, I would summarize our reasons we hired a doula as follows:

1. Pain Management: I wanted to labor naturally for as long as I could. This meant that I’d be dealing with contractions with no pain management for as long as I could. During our consultation, Christal talked about a variety of methods to help the laboring woman cope with the contraction pains. During labor, Christal would apply counter pressure to my pelvis whenever a contraction would take place. She also taught my husband how to do the same thing so they could alternate.
2. Your Labor and Delivery Advocate: If I learned anything from all the pregnancy books I read, it’s that the birthing process is unpredictable. Every woman’s physiology, medical history, and pregnancy is different and therefore the best way to prepare for it is simply to be open minded. Throughout your hospital stay all the way until you are discharged, you and your partner may have to make medical decisions that will affect you or your baby. Having an experienced birthing coach by your side when you are speaking with medical professionals may give you a bit more peace of mind. For example, when I finally got to 9 and 3/4 centimeters dilated, the midwife on shift was very enthusiastically suggesting that I started pushing. She made the suggestion to us. Christal, as well as the nurse on shift, said we will think about it… then the midwife left the room. Both my nurse and Christal thought that it wasn’t time to push yet and that I should labor down until I was 10 centimeters dilated. The reason is that sometimes if you push while your cervix isn’t completely open, the baby could rip through part of the cervix that’s in the way (*shudders*). So, at their suggestion, I “labored down”  until I was fully dilated, then I began pushing.
3. Support For The Husband: This wasn’t something we had thought about previously, but turned out to be a critical role that Christal played. Labor is a long process, especially for first-time moms. But as hard as it was on for me, my husband was there every step of the way. In the beginning, before my real contractions set in, we were chit-chatting, watching shows on my laptop, just having a chill time (around the time this photo was taken). But as soon as contractions start and after Christal arrived, there was no rest for my husband… he and Christal were alternating to provide counter-pressure for me, and let me tell you… it’s a full-on arm and back workout! It was around 3 AM when I got my epidural, after which I quickly fell asleep. My poor husband stayed awake the whole time, because he’s a light sleeper and there were nurses/other medical professionals coming in and out of the room to check on me and also the hospital guest bed is CRAP. Thank goodness we had Christal that could come and stay with me while my husband could go out and get a cup of coffee and some food. One time when my husband was away (out of the hospital actually) getting food, I started vomiting. There was no one in the room but Christal, so if it wasn’t for her, I would’ve vomited all over myself!

OK, let’s rewind to the beginning of this labor and delivery journey… I was past 40 weeks pregnant and running out of my last bit of patience. Starting around 36-37 weeks, I was having regular Braxton Hicks contractions (aka “practice” contractions that entail tightening of the abdomen but no pain). I felt like my body had been priming itself for a long time. But baby Sophia apparently didn’t agree with that. I had my membrane swept at 40 weeks and 1 day to hopefully speed up the onset of labor… it was NOT a pleasant experience. Actually, I would describe it as pretty traumatizing even compared to giving birth because the membrane sweeping was done without anesthetics. I googled and googled and most people seem to have no problem with their membrane sweeping experience. But mine turned out pretty painful and traumatizing. And it didn’t trigger labor… On top of that, I was eating spicy food, doing squats, talking multiple walks outside, and taking castor oil. Nothing triggered real contractions. And all the while, my Braxton Hicks continued.

The day before my last OB appointment (40 weeks and 5 days), I had a few micro-gushes of fluids down there. I thought maybe it was my water breaking, but since I didn’t have any other symptoms associated with water breaking (continuous leak of fluid and/or the onset of real contractions), I didn’t think much. The next day in the Dr’s office, I was undressed from the waist down sitting on the exam bed/table when I realized my water definitely broke. Because after just a few minutes sitting on the little doggy pad, I had a puddle underneath me… a puddle of clear, odorless fluid like they describe amniotic fluid to be! And of course, my doctor confirmed it. It was Tuesday at 11:30 AM, and by 1 PM, I was settled into my labor and delivery room, where the most life-changing event in my life would take place.

What transpired next was a long and arduous 25 hours of labor. It started with me being induced with an oral dose of Cytotec. I was a bit over 1 centimeter dilated when I was checked in, and it took 3 doses of Cytotec, a dose of Pitocin, and 20 hours to finally get to 9 and 3/4 (I know… the platform to get to Hogwarts!) centimeters. It was a long process, to say the least, not to mention I vomited about 5 times during this time which I mistakenly thought was a reaction to the epidural I got. Upon confirming with the anesthesiologist, it turned out that it’s just part of the birthing process, and that some women just throw up, *insert palms up + shrugging emoji*. I spent the last hour of labor “laboring down”. In case you’re wondering what it means, here’s a good definition and explanation on why you should labor down. During my last vaginal check, the nurse confirmed I was 10 centimeters dilated, and that I was given the “go” to start pushing. Earlier that day, at around the 20th hour of my labor process, I was joking with the nurses saying “watch me push this baby out in 10 minutes” because I was so frustrated with the long labor. Well, I actually kind of did it! It took me 10 minutes of 2 or 3 pushes until the nurse was telling me to stop because the baby was crowning! I was told I am a phenomenal pusher. At this time, the nurse asked if I wanted to touch the baby’s head and I hesitantly said yes. And I reached down there and I felt the top of her head with lots of hair!! It was an incredible experience (also incredibly weird/gross feeling?!).  The OB on shift was still tending to another patient when this was going on, so the nurse told me to stop a while and wait for the OB to come. The waiting took another 5 minutes… and finally, the OB arrived, scrubbed in, and 2 more pushes… Sophia was born!

The moment they pulled this purple, slimy, slightly alien-looking being out of me and placed her on my chest, I couldn’t help but break into years. I was sobbing. It was tears of shock, wonder, and joy and other inexplicable emotions. Shock because, honestly, it does not matter how many birth videos you watch, when it happens and you’re in the midst of it all, it’s a new experience in every way possible. Wonder because I was instantly in love, SO MUCH in love… I could never in a million years imagine the way I felt the moment I saw her. Joy because she seemed so perfect and so perfectly healthy; she came out with lots of hair, a loud cry, and clean/clear skin. We could not ask for a more perfect baby.

The hours that followed the birth of Sophia were a bit hazy in my memory. Not because I was drugged up, but because I was intoxicated with a sense of wonder. When I recall everything that happened, these memories all have a dream-like quality associated with them. Two or three hours after Sophia was born, we were moved into a recovery room where we spent the next 48 hours. It was a tough 48 hours with a lot of difficulties and not a lot of sleep. We fumbled through our first diaper changes, struggled with breastfeeding, fought extreme fatigue and all the while had some families that came over to visit. They always recommend new parents to decline visitation from friends and family during this time, but we could barely wait to show her off and share our excitement. During this stay, Sophia also was pre-emptively prescribed phototherapy for jaundice because her bilirubin level was borderline. She never crossed the threshold to be diagnosed as having jaundice so we were grateful. She was and continues to be a very cooperative, easy-going and mild-temper baby.

The New Chapter Of Our Lives

So, it’s been almost 2 months and she continues to wow us every day. She just started to smile at us when she sees us last week! To say that we are smitten in love would be an understatement. Now, in my next post, I will discuss some of the rather surprising details about my postpartum recovery… so stay tuned!

Professional Photography by Geena Crawford Photography, her Yelp page

The post Our Birth Story // Why We Decided to Hire A Doula appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

As a fashion-conscious pregnant woman with a very limited shopping budget, creating cute, affordable, and sensible maternity outfits has been one of my biggest challenges during this 9-month journey. If you’re lucky, it’s not something you have to think about until you’re well into your second trimester. But if you’re like me, when pants/any clothing for that matter stopped fitting 2 months into my pregnancy, you’ve probably been looking for a solution like I have.

“Just Hit the Maternity Section of Shops!”

It’s easy to think that as soon as your body starts swelling up, you just hit the maternity section of all stores and start stocking up on all things maternity. That might sound like a simple solution, but when you have a limited shopping budget, it’s not a very reasonable one. Not to mention the pile of maternity clothing you have to worry about putting away/donating/storing for next pregnancy once the 9-month journey is over. Life gets even more hectic after the baby arrives. Nobody’s got time for messing with unused maternity clothing hanging around!

After some trial and errors, I’ve derived a few principles that I stick to when I put together pregnancy outfits and thinking about purchasing new items.

Five Principles to Stick with When Putting Together Maternity Outfits using Non-Maternity Clothing

1. Bite the bullet and buy a size (or two) larger

This principle involves conquering a purely psychological issue. If like me, you’ve experienced body image struggles, you know how difficult it is to allow yourself to buy one size larger. It’s like you are giving yourself room to NOT be your ideal self. But having accepted, over time, that my body is changing and changing for good, I let that part of my ego go. I simply opt for a larger size and it’s worked wonders! Like this buttoned henley T-shirt from Hollister, I opted for a size large, and it covers my 36-week belly completely. I paired it with a size small (my regular size) leopard print cardigan also from Hollister, and some loose-fitting joggers from a local boutique in San Diego called Liv3 (see my intro at the bottom of the post; it’s one of my favorite spots to hit up now in North County of San Diego!).

2. Length is everything

To make non-maternity tops work for a pregnant belly, the key is to find tops that are long enough. Rarely would tops not fit in the arms/chest area (if that’s your concern, sizing up solves that problem too), it’s the belly that will be exposed if your top isn’t long enough. For example, this super soft Chicwish sweater is my usual size small/medium (only 5 left in stock as of 10/18!), but because it’s long enough, it completely covers my belly! I paired it with some jeans and it’s a perfect outfit for any Fall-day outing.

3. Mixing up loose and tight fitting items

If you’re wearing a loose top to cover/hide your belly, make sure your jeans/leggings/bottoms are tight-fitting enough. Similarly, a tight t-shirt on the inside of an outfit featuring the loose-fitting cardigan creates the same effect. The point is, don’t overdo it on the loose fitting times, otherwise, sometimes you end up adding unnecessary bulk to your body.

4. Accessorize creatively

I’ve come to LOVE all sorts of statement earrings during pregnancy because this is the one area of my body that hasn’t changed much. LOL. But also, earrings are perfectly fine post-baby so I feel less bad investing in new ones. But another way to accessorize is to incorporate bare shoulders, as in wearing off-the-shoulder tops like this off-the-shoulder sweater from Hollister (size small). Now, we talked about finding a top that’s long enough to cover up your belly. In this case, this sweater wasn’t going to do that very well. So, I found a pair of nice and soft culottes from Liv3, my local boutique store, that goes perfectly well with this top. You can find similar culottes here,  and here.

The secret to these culottes fitting perfectly though lies in the waistband. If you are earlier in your pregnancy, I think any culottes with a flexible waistline will work. But as your belly bulges further, you may need a whole panel of flexible cloth like this one in particular.

5. (For third-trimester preggers) Learn to love buttons

Why? Simple. It’s all about boob access after the baby comes! So yes, start looking for pieces with buttons (that actually work) so when you continue to wear them into your 4th trimester (yes, it’s a thing!) it’s already conducive to breastfeeding. This maroon piece of beauty came from, again, my local boutique Liv3 in size medium. You can find similar ones here, here, and here.

A little bit about Liv3 Boutique

This is not a sponsored post! I chanced upon this little gem in North County of San Diego in San Marcos very serendipitously. If you live around the area, you have to visit them! They sell the cutest clothes at very affordable prices (I’d say between $15-$50 a piece depending on what it is) and the cutest interior design/decors (think trendy plants and vases). For expecting mamas and mamas out there, you’d also find their selection of baby/kid products very irresistible. I personally have to restrict myself on how many times I visit them per month because as it stands, I’ve never walked out of their shop empty-handed… kind of dangerous for my budget/wallet.

The post How to Create Chic Maternity Outfits Using Non-Maternity Clothing appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Outfit: Women’s Button-up Split Floral Print Flowy Party Maxi Dress; Size Small 

Accepting The Changes Happening To Your Body

I have a confession to make. I hated my pregnant body in the first 3 months. No, I mean, I really hated it. “How could you not love your pregnant body, you are creating another human being inside you, a life!” I get it. The glory of pregnancy, the cheery anticipation of something that is meant to be the pride and joy of your life, and the amazement of life being created in me out of a bunch of cells and tissues… I get it. It’s all supposed to make me gaga about the baby and consequently, appreciate the preparation my body goes through to bring it to the world. But to some people,  the connection isn’t always readily apparent. My brain couldn’t seem to grasp the reason behind these changes, I mean DRAMATIC CHANGES, my body was going through.

It really just felt like I was gaining a bunch of weight, lethargic all the time, losing interest and motivation to do things I normally enjoyed. I’ve always dealt with body image problems… all it takes is a little bit of crack in the overall self-image I have, everything sort of comes crumbling down. If anyone ever says anything like “wow your feet look really bloated” or “those pants don’t look like that fit anymore”, it would throw me off for a day or two. If it wasn’t for the fact that I KNEW I was pregnant, I’d probably think I was going through an episode of clinical depression.

But around month 5/week 20, things started to take a turn. It wasn’t so much a conscious effort. Something within my mind just shifted. Perhaps it was when I started to feel the baby move and when my belly really started to “pop”. It was around the time that we took our babymoon trip to the Cayman Islands.  Below are three pictures that I took of myself around that 20-22 week mark. You can see that my belly started to pop and I think it was during this trip that I felt the baby’s first kicks! I would say this was around the time I started to accept the way I looked and all the associated changes.

But the emotional saga did not end here!

Outfit:Women’s Button-up Split Floral Print Flowy Party Maxi Dress; Size Small 

Dealing With The “Advice” From Others… Good And Bad

This came as a surprise to me. As a pregnant woman, you are constantly being told what to do and sometimes even how to feel. Everyone (especially all the women around you) seem to have an opinion about everything pregnancy related because either they have been through it themselves, or they read it somewhere. I guess it’s such a natural part of human life, people don’t think twice about volunteering their opinions/advice/experience to you. Most of the time, they’re well intended and carefully delivered. They could even be really helpful. But once in a while, you’d get a piece of advice you’re simply not quite sure what to do with. “You should be happy!” …don’t you think I know that? Who in their right mind would consciously, voluntarily, and knowingly choose to be unhappy? This is probably the one most well-intended piece of advice that annoyed me the most.

Outfit: Women’s Button-up Split Floral Print Flowy Party Maxi Dress; Size Small 

Trusting That Things Could Change For the Better… Including Your Perspectives

If I learned anything in this pregnancy, it is to never say never in the face of mother nature, i.e. your amazing female body. So many foreign thoughts, feelings, and sensations have emerged and occurred to me in the last 8 months, none of which I could’ve possibly imagined going through. For example, I was never a kids person. I could be friendly with kids but I never really thought I liked kids much. Ever since becoming pregnant, when I see kids (especially infants) I have this affection that just oozes from within the core of my being. All of a sudden I couldn’t help but feel like I am drawn to these cute, warm, and vulnerable beings. It’s the strangest thing!

Outfit: Women’s Button-up Split Floral Print Flowy Party Maxi Dress; Size Small 

To Workout or To Not Workout

(Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional. I am sharing my personal experience here. Please don’t take my advice instead of a physician’s. When in doubt, always seek out the expert opinion of your OB!)

Hopefully, you have always maintained a workout regimen pre-pregnancy and this isn’t even a concern to you. If you had an on-going and regular workout regimen, most healthcare providers/experts will tell you to just keep it going. Of course, listen to your body and don’t over-exert yourself, and if need be, modify things for your changing body. On the other hand, if like me, you had semi let yourself go between getting ready for the wedding and becoming pregnant (I can’t be the only one?!), do not despair. At the very least, taking a 20-30 minute walk every day seems to suffice, according to most online articles. This may sound ambitious for those of you who are going through that infamous first trimester morning sickness, daily nausea, or the incapacitating lethargy. If that is you, just let your body be. Exercise when you start to feel better.

However, if you are wanting to take your pregnancy fitness up a notch, I highly recommend getting a personal trainer with a specialty and appropriate background in training pregnant women.  My trainer Drea, who I have been working out with since I was around 18/19 weeks pregnant (I am 35 weeks now) is nothing short of amazing. Not that this should be your goal, but with my OB’s blessing, I have healthily stayed away from gaining any weight in the last 3 months.  Mind you, I was also diagnosed with gestational diabetes around the 25th week, so I’ve been watching my diet like a hawk on top of working out twice a week with Drea. (Not a sponsored post whatsoever!)

I personally attribute all the positives from my pregnancy to working out with Drea – no stretch marks, good energy, no backaches or any aches for that matter. In total, I’ve gained about 20 lbs so far since the beginning of my pregnancy, and most of what happened in the first trimester… It simply means before I worked out with Drea I was gaining a lot of weight, and since Drea, my weight has been managed very well! If you live in North County San Diego and are looking for a personal trainer, you should definitely contact Drea!

Click here to see these workout clips live on my Instagram archive:

https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/17934652129169189/

Conclusion

Mamas, what was your pregnancy journey like? Did you struggle with weight gain and body image issues? I’d love to hear from all of you who have gone through this and feel like you came out of it a better, stronger woman. Or not! I would love both perspectives. I have about a month left of this pregnancy so I am trying to soak up all the knowledge around me that I can get. DM me on Instagram or leave me a comment here!

Professional photography by Natalie Alverado 

The post Weight Control During Pregnancy || Talking Body Image, Weight Gain, and Pregnancy Workout appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

• I started and finished an online class on Child Development through our local community college.
• The husband and I traveled to Hamburg, Germany for my cousin’s wedding ceremony for a week and spent a lot of time with families from all over the world.

• Earlier this month, I finished doing a maternity shoot with my trusted photographer friend Natalie (NatalieAlvarado.com) it was a ton of fun! Stay tuned for the photos later <3 but here are some low-resolution sneak peaks!

• Last weekend, we just wrapped up our baby shower with our dear friends (35 adults and 12 kids and 3 infants lol) and had a blast. I’m very proud of coming up with the idea of hiring a florist (Flowers A La Carte in this case) to have a flower arrangement workshop as my party favor!

Now, I am back today with a new post! In view of our recent trip to Hamburg, Germany, I learned of many hacks (some through painful lessons) that make a pregnant woman’s travel much more comfortable & easier.  That’s what I’d like to talk about today:

6 Pregnancy Travel Must-Have’s for Flying

1. Compression Socks ($15.98 via Amazon)

This is a common and self-explanatory tip. Get them anywhere you can, just not last minute at the airport because they’re always a rip-off at the airport. The reason behind wearing compression socks is to keep your pregnant lower limbs from accumulating so much fluid and from swelling. When you have a lot of swelling combined with long periods of inactivity, that’s when you risk for developing a DVT  (deep vein thrombosis) goes up.

2. Resistance Bands ($25.97 via Amazon)

If you read up online, you will find that it’s commonly recommended that you get up and walk around when you board a flight. Really, you should do that from prolonged periods of sitting, regardless of whether you’re on a flight. But space is limited when you are in flight, and that’s why the resistance bands come in super handy! To get some exercise (especially leg and quad exercise), you simply have to pop one of these on. In the discreet comfort of your own seat, you can get some leg exercise in without troubling your fellow passengers!

3. Babymoov Pregnancy Belt ($30.75  via Amazon)

This is maybe the SINGLE MOST LIFE-CHANGING pregnancy product I’ve purchased so far. It’s my most recommended pregnancy travel must-have. After about 28/29 weeks, I haven’t been able to live without it (outside of flying too). But when we went to Hamburg, I found this belt to make all the difference when I was trying to get comfortable in flight. What it does it make you ROUND around the middle of your torso so that it’s easier for you to lean against any surface. We had the luxury and privilege to board the flight in business class this time (thank you, United points!) and to my surprise, I still needed the Babymoov belt and was not comfortable without it. Now in my 33 weeks, I cannot sleep without this belt around my waist, and I have been able to do without a pregnancy pillow which is much bulkier and harder to store post-pregnancy!

4. Evian Mineral Water Spray ($12.75 for two via Amazon)  (1.7 oz, TSA compliant)

This water spray serves two functions, one more obvious than the other. It helps with moisturizing your skin during the ever-so-drying cabin air (and always works better in conjunction with lotion). But the pregnant body (at least mine) goes through these fluctuating temperatures… on our flight to Hamburg, I woke up multiple times feeling super hot, which never happened before I was pregnant. So the spray actually helped to cool my skin temperature down, and in turn, had an overall cooling effect.

5. Wired Headband (4 pack for $9.99 via Amazon) 

There’s no other time than during pregnancy that you need simple, easy-to-use, and quick methods to look put together. These wired headbands happen to be one of these shortcuts! I can totally see myself carrying this into my post-partum days. Basically, this is a way to keep your hair (esp. the pregnancy hormone induced little whispy hairs!) out of your face. It’s a little bit of a something that adds a bit glam to your ensemble. For me, I couldn’t wear my usual clothes anymore, so I needed new ways to add more glam to my looks.

6. Slippers/Sandals ($40 via ASOS)

Again, one of those no-brainers because you will probably not fit into anything else at this point. You lower limbs will also swell to some extent while you are in the air, due to the reduced gravity and cabin pressure change. Get comfortable shoes that you can slip in and out of easily. You will appreciate it so much… One additional thing is that if you expect a lot of walking on your trip like my Hamburg trip turned out to be (which I was not anticipating), get shoes with cushions. I didn’t, and I was OK the first day (we walked at least 10K steps around the city center in Hamburg). But on the second day, my lower back started to hurt and it was not fun…

7. Means of hydrating + access to snacks

I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes around my 26th week of pregnancy. So on top of all the forbidden food and drinks for pregnant ladies, I’ve had to REALLY watch the type of food I consume. But even if you are lucky to have avoided GD, keeping yourself hydrated and fed is super critical during pregnancy. When traveling via flights during your pregnancy, I would definitely encourage you to pack granola bars, protein bars, dried fruits, anything that are small and compact and can provide some quick calories. And of course, bring a water bottle. Many airports are equipped with water fountain these days, so you don’t have to worry about buying water or finishing it quickly before passing through security.

Make sure you do before departing for your trip:

• Check your airline’s policy and limitation on when you may not be able to travel with them anymore
• Obtain a doctor’s note, depending on the stage of your pregnancy
• Check to make sure there are no on-going epidemic like Zika
• Get an aisle seat, if possible.

The post Pregnancy Travel Must-Haves for Flying appeared first on Cubicle Chic.

Why We Chose The Cayman Islands for our Babymoon

My idea of a perfectly relaxing vacation, which is everything a babymoon should be, involves 1) nothing on the agenda 2) clear & blue water & white sands 3) short enough flights (pregnancy-related swelling is not fun). Pretty simple, right?? I thought it was. But ZIKA has to be wreaking havoc almost everywhere in and around the Americas that offer the kind of beach destinations we are interested in. So, I found this website that lists out 10 Zika-free beach destinations to visit in 2018 and went from there. We narrowed things down to Bermuda and the Cayman Islands and ultimately picked the Cayman Islands because it’s a shorter flight from San Diego. Here’s why we picked the Cayman Islands for the babymoon, in summary:

1. Short enough flights from San Diego, CA. We flew to Houston for 2.5 hours, and then from there flew to Grand Cayman for another 2.5 hours.
2. The Cayman Islands has been declared Zika-free & safe to travel to by the CDC in 2017.
3. In the summer, the beach water in the Cayman Islands is consistently in the 80’s.
4. The Grand Cayman is a relatively small place. From the airport to the Kimpton Seafire resort was a 15 minutes Taxi ride (that cost $32 USD), and most of the restaurants/other major hotels are located off of the Seven Mile Beach which in reality is about 6.5 miles. It doesn’t take much time to see things in and around the resort.

Why We Chose the Kimpton Seafire Resort 

I’ll be quite honest, it was through the blogs where I came across the  Kimpton Seafire Resort + Spa. Especially the VeganMos and Bonv0yage Bitches. We were looking for a hotel that 1) has the right aesthetics 2) is relatively new or recently renovated 3) has their own private beach. Ritz Carlton, which many travelers tend to compare the Seafire Resort to, was simply too expensive. So we picked the Kimpton Seafire knowing that 1) it was built and opened in 2016, 2) it’s located at the northernmost end of the Seven Mile Beach and away from the hustle-bustle of the cruise tourists, and 3) it’s super photogenic. Just look at their Instagram account.

How Kimpton Seafire Resort Truly Wowed Us 

With nothing on our agenda for this babymoon except relaxing and enjoying ourselves, Kimpton Seafire turned out to fit the bill more than 100%. We were given a room on the 10th floor, and apparently, the Seafire Resort building is the tallest building in all of Grand Cayman, so we had the view of the entire stretch of the Seven Mile Beach.  The resort staff and the service they provided was impeccable. For example, when we arrived in the Taxi, bellman Paul greeted us with our first names as we stepped out. We were truly impressed that they customized their service to this level. Another example was regarding asking for extra water for our room. I phoned them ahead of time to let them know I am 22 weeks pregnant and with the heat in the Caribbeans, need to hydrate very often. When we checked in to our room, there were  8 bottles of water already in the room. Two days into our stay, we called and asked for more water, and this time what showed up was a whole case of it – 24 bottles, LOL. Needless to say, we didn’t need to ask for more water for the remainder of the trip.

Activities During Our Kimpton Seafire Resort Stay

With nothing on our agenda, here’s how we enjoyed the 4 days and 3 nights stay at Kimpton Seafire Resort, on our babymoon in the Cayman Islands: we took advantage of every corner of this beautiful resort!

• 1st (half) day // Took a breather and checked out the facilities and the beach. We arrived at around 4:30 PM that day, and Seafire Resort’s main restaurant, Ave, doesn’t open until 6 PM. So, we kept busy by touring the resort and the beach, and came back to Ave and enjoyed a meal of Mediterranean style seafood goodness.

• 2nd day // This day was dedicated to beach activities. We slept in, got to breakfast (in Ave as well but this time it was their breakfast buffet) at around 10:30 AM, and got all the food we wanted by 11 because that was when they stopped serving food. We made the mistake of starting the day a bit late because by the time we got to the beach it was somewhat crowded (still much better than other hotel’s beach) and super hot already. Nevertheless, we frolicked by the beach, swam, snorkeled, and chilled by the beachside on lounge chairs and hammocks.

Outfit: Forever 21 Duster Kimono in Medium

Outfit: Forever 21 Duster Kimono in Medium; Target “A New Day” Sandals in size 9; also available in royal blue

Outfit: ASOS maternity swimsuit size 8

Outfit: Forever 21 Duster Kimono in Medium

• 3rd day: Spa & lounge day // I had the opportunity to enjoy a prenatal massage at the Seafire Resort on the morning of the third day. So we woke up around 9 AM, got ready for the spa (meaning I didn’t have to do anything to get ready) and showed up at the spa at 9:45 AM. I am a regular resort spa partaker but I haven’t done prenatal massages before. So to my surprise, the message bed they had for me had a little cushion on it, molded in the shape of a belly and 2 breasts. I could lay on the massage bed face down and not have to worry about squeezing the little one! How considerate is that!

For lunch, we ate at Coccoloba, their beachside restaurant. It was great food and the variety that we get a lot in San Diego. It was refreshingly delicious!

Disclaimer: A sincere Thank You to Seafire Resort for gifting me the prenatal massage session. It was truly wonderful and one of the best massages I’ve had.

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Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

As we go through life, we cross important milestones that mark different stages of life. Puberty, going to college, falling in love, working your first job, getting married, raising kids, and getting old… are all important phases that we encounter. We often hear about what it’s like to be in a particular stage that we are about to enter, and we build up anticipation, get ready, so we can transition smoothly into and get the most out of each stage.

As naïve as I was, I thought pregnancy was going to be one of these milestones. I thought, mistakenly in hindsight, that I would just naturally slide into being pregnant and smoothly navigate out of it. Boy, was I wrong.

Oh, by the way, in case you haven’t guessed it – yes, we are pregnant! As of the writing of this blog post, I am around 4 months pregnant. It’s been quite a ride, let me tell you. First off, if you’re a long-time reader, you probably sensed something from my lack of productivity (i.e. lack of published blog posts) in the month of March all the way to this month. I even left my full-time job in February to focus on my blog. On top of that, my Instagram activities have plummeted to an all-time low. All of this is to say that the pregnancy was a curveball that life threw at me. I can’t say that I was prepared for it.

But then again, how prepared are we for most things that happen in life, amirite? So, in the spirit of sharing the most honest, straight-forward, non-sugar-coated truth, here are 6 things that no one told me about being pregnant.

Your Body Is No Longer Just Yours

This is probably the most disturbing and unsettling realization I had. We own our body like we own nothing else in the world – it’s OURS, and we do whatever we want with it. If you want to workout every day and be on a keto diet so you look like The Rock, you can. Alternatively, if you want to sit in front of the TV and eat pizza every day (and look like The Potato or whatever the opposite of The Rock is…), hey, you also can. You can pop a painkiller when you have an ache here or there, and you can deny yourself of a good night sleep in the name of YOLO. Guess what? When you’re pregnant, you can’t do any of that (or have to proceed with a lot of caution). Most importantly, you’re no longer the only person in control in how you feel, physically and mentally. Out of nowhere, you will feel like someone just drained your battery and that you HAVE TO lie down. The urgency to go pee all the time is also something that makes you wonder “has someone been injecting water into my bladder without me knowing??“

Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

You May Not Feel A Shred Of Joy, Happy Anticipation, Or Even Hope.

This was by far my biggest struggle. Like many of you, I have friends that have gone through the pain of IVF. The blogosphere also saw a recent flux of bloggers opening up about the difficult journey of trying to get pregnant (see Lace and Locks and Extra Petite’s stories). I KNOW this is a difficult subject and process for many people. I should be grateful towards how easy it was for me to conceive. But when people ask me how I felt when I first became pregnant, all I could say was that I felt like my future was stolen from me. I made plans, very specific plans, to leave the corporate 9-5 life and focus on my blog and turn it into what I know it has the potential to be. Spending 18 hours in bed and feeling not a bit of motivation to do anything (including getting out of bed) was not how I planned on spending the first month of my entrepreneurial life. On top of that, I was a wreck because of the hormonal changes. I’ve experienced bouts of clinical depression before, so I know when my symptoms set in. Literally, on some mornings I would wake up and I just feel like the world has taken on a layer of grayish gloom. Given my past experiences, I know it’s hormones affecting me. Yet knowing the cause of it doesn’t change the way I felt. On those days, I would remind myself to take it easy, allow myself to feel what I was feeling, and work on being OK. After all, it’s reported that between 14-23% of women struggle with some symptoms of depression during pregnancy. One motto that helped me a lot during this time was this: It’s hard, it’s normal, and it will change. I repeated it to myself over and over again.

Your First Few OB Appointment Will Be Somewhat Underwhelming.

I still remember the first time I saw the ultrasound of my 5-week-old fetus (I couldn’t really call her a baby at that point – she barely looked human!). I was thinking in my head “THAT is supposed to be the bundle of joy that all women rave about? This is such a scam.” I mean really, at that point, the “fetus” was merely a gestational sac, basically a lump of cells in a sac of some sort. Yes, I heard the heartbeat through the ultrasound, but in my head, it sounded like seaweed floating in the ocean. It did not sound like a lifetime of emotional ups and downs and the most fulfilling human experience ever. Maybe I expected too much. But I walked out of the first and second appointments feeling underwhelmed. OH, BY THE WAY, the first two ultrasounds are done ENDOVAGINALLY. It means they stick the ultrasound wand up your va-jay-jay to check on the baby. It’s not worse than a pap-smear but GOSH why didn’t anyone tell me about this?? I wasn’t mentally prepared to take my panties off and get in one of those humiliating women’s hospital gowns that leaves you butt-naked. But I did. *SIGH*

Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

You Start Questioning The Root Of Your Beliefs, Values, And Foundational Understanding Of Things And Wonder Where They Came From.

Who am I to bring another human being into the world? I barely have a handle on my own issues, how am I going to help another little human prepare for the experiences, difficult or beautiful, of life? How do I teach her from knowing right from wrong, good from bad, and everything  else so she can make good decisions? Heck, how did I come to learn to know these things about life and decision making? Did my parents consciously teach them to me, or did they just showed me what was good by embodying those principles? Each and every doubt and question in my head is the beginning of its own rabbit hole. Not to mention the whole nature vs. nurture debate. What kind of personality is she going to have? Is she going to question every decision I make for her the way that I question my mom’s decision for me? (The answer is probably yes. Because KARMA.) What scares me the most is that they say parenting is caught not taught. So, you are going to want to consciously teach your kids certain things, prevent them from doing certain things. But there are the things that you are unconsciously doing that your kids will model their behavior after without you realizing.  That scares the shit out of me.

A Case Of Identity Crisis Begins

Growing up, I was never one to play with dolls and pretend to be a mom or have baby names picked out at age 12. I actually openly talked about my aversion towards kids. My excuse/reason is that kids don’t like me. I don’t know why. I also had a serious case of infant phobia. Yes, I invented the name but the condition is real – I was so scared of handling young babies!! The seemingly conflicting thing is, I have always known that I was going to have kids. Even though I don’t particularly look forward to handling a newborn/toddler/pre-teen and whatever monster they turn into after that point, I knew having and raising kids is an irreplaceable experience in life. But man oh man, motherhood is a loaded word that I am a. scared of b. don’t care for c. don’t know how to (or don’t want to) prioritize against other roles that I play in life. You see, being a (great) mother was not something I particularly aspired to be in life. I am not one of those people whose identity rests on the fact that they produced and raised another human being. This isn’t to diminish the hard work and difficulty of motherhood; it simply shows how little it means to me in my life journey. Yet, here I was, at the onset of burgeoning motherhood. Who am I going to be as a mother, how am I going to be as a mother, and lastly why am I becoming a mother…these questions hover in my head when I lie wide awake in the middle of the night due to, you guessed it, hormones.

Thank goodness for blog posts like 10 Reasons I Still Feel Like Myself While Being a Mom. It gives me SO much to look forward to and allows me to believe that there are elements that I can control in terms of how my identity evolves, instead of being dragged into this baby-raising hell that will forever change who I am.

Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

The Struggle With Body Image Is Real.

This is probably a blog post entirely on its own. I won’t divulge too much here because it’s quite a dark place. But my ever-changing body during pregnancy has NOT left me feeling joyful and excited. I do not have the body type that enables the body to stay the same while only the belly swells. I, my whole person, swelled. And to call this swelling is putting it nicely. The weight gain combined with major lack of energy made me feel like a lazy bum. All of a sudden, I was watching my 600-Pound Life with this new-found empathy. When your weight changes (for the worse) uncontrollably, it’s a terrible feeling. None of my clothes fit anymore, including underwear. I was hesitant to buy new things for my new body because I didn’t know how much more it was going to change. I ended up buying some leggings and maternity tee-shirts through PinkBlush and I am OH-SO-IN-LOVE.

I will probably write another stand-alone blog post on this topic alone. Is that something you would find interesting?

Conclusion

I’d like to apologize if I came across as negative at all in this post. It’s something that I am quite conscious of. My intention in divulging on the not-so-joyful details is to share the realities that I don’t think enough people talk about. And more importantly, if you are pregnant and feeling the same way that I feel, you are not alone. Definitely do not feel ashamed of your questions, doubts, and questions that you haven’t heard anyone else asked. You don’t hear about them asking these questions because they’re hard to answer.

Remember, each woman’s pregnant journey is unique and uniquely difficult. Your difficulty should be at least acknowledged if not understood. For those of you who are echoing my sentiment, I want you to know that you are not alone.

Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

Dress: Dailylook Elite (use CUBICLECHIC20 to get 20% off your first box!); Handbag: Palla Handbag

All photography by Natalie Alvarado @ Stylenfuse 

The post 6 Things No One Told Me About Being Pregnant appeared first on Cubicle Chic.