Brain and I are so incredibly in love with our girl. <3
-jennilea
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Welcome to the world, Brenli Lynn Arruda!
She is here! Brenli Lynn Arruda arrived on April 14th at 8:43am, weighing in at 6lbs 12oz and 20 inches long.
Brain and I are so incredibly in love with our girl. <3
-jennilea
Brain and I are so incredibly in love with our girl. <3
-jennilea
Baby A is a...
Well, friends, we found out the gender of our little one! Before we get into that, I want to say a huge "Thank You" to Meloney, Chris, and Emily for putting together such an incredible gender reveal party, with tons of touches of my favorite show: How I Met Your Mother.
I mean, look at some of these details!
This board was made by our Aunt Tammi, including some old wives' tales to help people guess the gender, which they did using their thumbprint on this super cute umbrella page. Most guessed baby is going to be a boy.
Brian and I didn't have a preference either way. I didn't have any sort of gut feeling - but I think part of me was hoping girl just because boys are terrifying. Haha!
We did the reveal using a colored smoke bomb under my How I Met Your Mother umbrella. Our brother-in-law lit the smoke bomb and out came...
Brian and I are so very excited to welcome our little girl into the world in April 2019!
Brenli Lynn Arruda, we cannot wait to meet you!
-jennilea
I mean, look at some of these details!
This board was made by our Aunt Tammi, including some old wives' tales to help people guess the gender, which they did using their thumbprint on this super cute umbrella page. Most guessed baby is going to be a boy.
Brian and I didn't have a preference either way. I didn't have any sort of gut feeling - but I think part of me was hoping girl just because boys are terrifying. Haha!
We did the reveal using a colored smoke bomb under my How I Met Your Mother umbrella. Our brother-in-law lit the smoke bomb and out came...
PINK!
Brenli Lynn Arruda, we cannot wait to meet you!
-jennilea
The Hardest Part of MY Pregnancy
Can I be real for a moment? Well...this is my blog so I'm going to be. Please bear with the complaining for a moment. I promise it gets better toward the end.
The hardest part of my pregnancy thus far has been other people! They are often so quick to jump to the most negative parts of a pregnancy and about having kids. I hear more negatives from the world than I do positives. It's enough to make anyone terrified.
The clichés drive me the most crazy...
I say jokingly that I was up peeing all night. They say "You think you aren't sleeping now, just wait until she is here."
I say I'm in an awkward clothing stage. They say, "One day you'll wake up and won't be able to see your feet and your ring won't fit!"
Brian and I talk about traveling. They say, "Better get all of that out of the way. You won't be doing much of that for at least 18 years."
I'm working out. They say, "Careful! Baby on board!"
I'm living life and...[insert any other another annoying cliché]"
Brian and I prayed for this. I've read more books on conception and pregnancy than I can count. We prepared for this as much as possible. I am a planner and I feel like this is one of the most important things we have ever planned for in our lives!
I was prepared for a lot of unsolicited advice, but what I wasn't prepared for was the amount of negativity from so many people - especially when I see this entire life stage as such an incredible blessing.
Do I think I know absolutely everything about pregnancy, babies, and birth - absolutely not. Is it all going to be sunshine, rainbows, and positivity- Nope! But I am extremely aware of the typical things like lack of sleep and the fact that my body is changing.
I'm also so very aware of my own personal limits, like when it comes to lifting weights and running. I've been doing insane workouts for years! Do I plan on deadlifting 225 lbs during my pregnancy? Absolutely not! But it is so very healthy and important to me that I would stay active, which is why I'm lifting light weights and running just as much as I was before. My doctor cleared my level of activity and is proud to see how well I've been doing, and I've been really proud of what I've been able to accomplish.
When it comes to traveling with kids, I'm a believer in the fact that you have the ability to do anything you set your mind to. I am incredibly passionate about adventure and exploring the world. Am I planning on taking little one out of the country tomorrow? Nope! But Brian and I want to instill a sense of adventure in our little one's life. We want her to explore and experience other cultures and ways of living. We want to show her places we've fallen in love with, and inspire her to dream and dare mighty things. In that, we do plan on traveling with her, and traveling often! In doing so, I am so very aware that it's not going to be easy, but nothing in parenting is easy. We learn and we adjust, but we don't have to stop living out those things we are so passionate about.
Maybe you're not trying to be negative Nancy. Maybe you're just trying to let me in on something you may have personally not been prepared for. I see your heart in that, but maybe consider this before jumping to share the first negative thing you can think of: The reason I need some positivity is that I'm already terrified, but for completely different reasons.
On Saturday, Brian and I FINALLY bought something for Brenli. It's been over 5 months, yet I haven't purchased a single item for her. I mean, girls should be fairly fun and easy to buy for, but every time I decide to take that step, fear grabs a hold of me, and I put back the cute dress I found because...what if something goes wrong? What if something happens to her and I never get to put her in that dress? These are the things I am scared for. These are the things that keep me from feeling like I can breathe late at night when I worry the most.
My friend Christina shared some really good words of wisdom for me today, when I finally voiced those fears to her, "Honestly, I don't think it will go away. I think part of being a mom is being afraid all the time. You just have to not let the fear take away from the joy...baby deserves happiness, excitement, love, even if they're not going to be with you for long."
I can't explain in words how much I truly needed to hear that.
Most of the time, I'm excited - I mean REALLY excited about baby coming. I'm excited for the fact that this is going to be hard and challenging because I know Brian and I are going to grow through it. I'm so excited and blessed to be able to go through these difficulties because there are others in this world who can't.
Rant over.
Ps. Here is a picture of me at 23 weeks! :)
-jennilea
The hardest part of my pregnancy thus far has been other people! They are often so quick to jump to the most negative parts of a pregnancy and about having kids. I hear more negatives from the world than I do positives. It's enough to make anyone terrified.
The clichés drive me the most crazy...
I say jokingly that I was up peeing all night. They say "You think you aren't sleeping now, just wait until she is here."
I say I'm in an awkward clothing stage. They say, "One day you'll wake up and won't be able to see your feet and your ring won't fit!"
Brian and I talk about traveling. They say, "Better get all of that out of the way. You won't be doing much of that for at least 18 years."
I'm working out. They say, "Careful! Baby on board!"
I'm living life and...[insert any other another annoying cliché]"
Brian and I prayed for this. I've read more books on conception and pregnancy than I can count. We prepared for this as much as possible. I am a planner and I feel like this is one of the most important things we have ever planned for in our lives!
I was prepared for a lot of unsolicited advice, but what I wasn't prepared for was the amount of negativity from so many people - especially when I see this entire life stage as such an incredible blessing.
Do I think I know absolutely everything about pregnancy, babies, and birth - absolutely not. Is it all going to be sunshine, rainbows, and positivity- Nope! But I am extremely aware of the typical things like lack of sleep and the fact that my body is changing.
I'm also so very aware of my own personal limits, like when it comes to lifting weights and running. I've been doing insane workouts for years! Do I plan on deadlifting 225 lbs during my pregnancy? Absolutely not! But it is so very healthy and important to me that I would stay active, which is why I'm lifting light weights and running just as much as I was before. My doctor cleared my level of activity and is proud to see how well I've been doing, and I've been really proud of what I've been able to accomplish.
When it comes to traveling with kids, I'm a believer in the fact that you have the ability to do anything you set your mind to. I am incredibly passionate about adventure and exploring the world. Am I planning on taking little one out of the country tomorrow? Nope! But Brian and I want to instill a sense of adventure in our little one's life. We want her to explore and experience other cultures and ways of living. We want to show her places we've fallen in love with, and inspire her to dream and dare mighty things. In that, we do plan on traveling with her, and traveling often! In doing so, I am so very aware that it's not going to be easy, but nothing in parenting is easy. We learn and we adjust, but we don't have to stop living out those things we are so passionate about.
Maybe you're not trying to be negative Nancy. Maybe you're just trying to let me in on something you may have personally not been prepared for. I see your heart in that, but maybe consider this before jumping to share the first negative thing you can think of: The reason I need some positivity is that I'm already terrified, but for completely different reasons.
On Saturday, Brian and I FINALLY bought something for Brenli. It's been over 5 months, yet I haven't purchased a single item for her. I mean, girls should be fairly fun and easy to buy for, but every time I decide to take that step, fear grabs a hold of me, and I put back the cute dress I found because...what if something goes wrong? What if something happens to her and I never get to put her in that dress? These are the things I am scared for. These are the things that keep me from feeling like I can breathe late at night when I worry the most.
My friend Christina shared some really good words of wisdom for me today, when I finally voiced those fears to her, "Honestly, I don't think it will go away. I think part of being a mom is being afraid all the time. You just have to not let the fear take away from the joy...baby deserves happiness, excitement, love, even if they're not going to be with you for long."
I can't explain in words how much I truly needed to hear that.
Most of the time, I'm excited - I mean REALLY excited about baby coming. I'm excited for the fact that this is going to be hard and challenging because I know Brian and I are going to grow through it. I'm so excited and blessed to be able to go through these difficulties because there are others in this world who can't.
Rant over.
Ps. Here is a picture of me at 23 weeks! :)
-jennilea
