Things I Have Learned from My Pregnancy

In the last couple of weeks I have learned some things that I felt I just had to share.

1. Traveling for 12 hours in one day is NOT so comfortable when pregnant. I know I’m not that big yet, but it is still very uncomfortable to sit in one position for that long.


2. Ryler does NOT like to be squished! Anytime I bend over to get up or get something off the floor he stretches out and kicks back. It’s cute! I’m also starting to recognize Ryler’s sleep patterns. He is definitely a mover and a shaker!!


3. I like maternity clothes way more then I thought I would….it’s soooo much more comfortable then squeezing into your old jeans and leaving them unbuttoned with the belly band covering it up!! You spend all your day fidgeting with your pants making sure people can’t see that you don’t have your pants buttoned or pulling up your pants…..annoying!


4. Boy clothes are coming around but most of it is not nearly as cute as girl clothes. However, my friends and family have found some of the cutest boy clothes lately!


5. Making a baby registry (Babies R Us | Target) is fun and suuuuuuuuuuper overwhelming!! Babies need so many things these days!! All I see is $$$$$$$$.....which if you know me well you know this is making me a nervous wreck….lol. No matter how much planning you do, I don’t think you’ll ever be ready for it!


6. When you talk to people they immediately ask, “How are you feeling” and while asking that question they take a (very obvious) scan of your belly. Talk about make a pregnant woman feel self conscience!! So, for the rest of the conversation I’m thinking, “They think I’m too big” then I start thinking about how much I’ve gained, and what I ate, etc. In other words, if you are one of these belly scaners, I really have no idea what we talked about….lol


7. Losing 160 pounds and keeping it off over a four and a half year journey is hard...super hard, but gaining weight after all that (even though you’re pregnant) is much much harder!

Hamburgers and Hotdogs

Most of you saw the great news on Facebook. If you haven’t it’s a BOY!!! However, the best thing about Friday was getting to see our little one. And this time he looked like more then scratch on an old black and white TV. He was very, very wiggly. Even the ultrasound tech was amazed at just how much he was moving around.

What a difference a few weeks makes! (left side:6 weeks, right side:17 weeks)

The Ultrasound Technician took all of the baby’s measurements and it looks like we have a very healthy baby boy. Right now he is weighing in at a grand 8oz. which would move his due date to around December 11th. Who would have thought, Chris and I have a big child……hummmm….odd? :O) You know how due dates go though, so we’re just thinking somewhere around in December (if your listening baby boy, mommy is hoping for you to come after the 17th due to my maternity leave weirdness).

So here are some of the shots they got yesterday! We are happy to introduce our SON…..Ryler Aaron Mahler!!

Here's his profile

Like the caption says...100% boy

And there's his little foot, perfect for giving Mommy a little kick!

Thank you, Oma, Poppi, Mimi, Grandma Mahler, Pappi, and Nanny for being there to share in our great news and for being part of this amazing journey.

The Retiring Ceremony…

Back in the day, Kings and Queens had this specific procedure that they and their royal peeps followed before bedtime. This procedure was referred to as “The Retiring Ceremony.” Things aren’t as formal these days, but I know everyone has one (at least I like to think everyone does). The retiring ceremony, for me, is that series of things you do to get ready for bed.

I’m such a routine type of person that I do the exact same thing every night, in the exact same order before bed. When I was living with Tina through college, she called it the retiring ceremony and it just stuck. I’m aware of how OCD it sounds, and sure I’ve got some quirky tendency, but let’s face it, those that know me well enough are already very aware of that! Which brings me to the new, AWESOME addition to my “Retiring Ceremony.” A friend of mine let me borrow her Doppler (thanks Meghan!). This Doppler allows Chris and I to hear the heartbeat of the baby any time we want. Because of my OCDish behavior (as stated above) this could become my new obsession. So, we decided to work it in to my “Retiring Ceremony”. It is the sweetest time of the day, and I just can’t wait for bed time each night. Chris and I just sit and listen with goofy smiles on our faces and time seems to stop for those couple minutes


We recently went on vacation with our friends, and we were able to bring the Doppler with us, since it is pretty small and really portable, so my “Retiring Ceremony” kept it’s most important and newest addition! We were also able to let our friends hear since we were all staying together, so then instead of just me and Chris with goofy smiles and headphones it was goofy smiles all around.

Now, there is an added bonus to the Doppler…quickening! Quickening is described as the first movements felt by mom. I am starting to feel little movements; however, before I was pregnant, there were also “little movements”, so how was I supposed to know if it was baby or gas!?!? The added bonus from the Doppler is….we can now hear the baby moving around with the Doppler (s/he tends to be full of life at around 10:00) and when I feel one of those little movements and hear it on the Doppler at the same time, I can safely say it’s NOT gas!! It is getting easier to decipher the baby’s movements with out the Doppler, as s/he gets stronger, but that Doppler gave me that peace of mind even earlier. I, also, now know why they call it quickening. Every time I feel that little one move around, my heart quickens and I get all giddy! It’s one of the best feelings ever!!

Don’t forget, only 8 more days to vote if you haven’t already done so. What do you think….boy or girl?

Heartbeats, Rings, and Pee…..Oh Boy!...or Girl?

I have noticed several interesting things about pregnancy and other people. One is there are two very important questions that everyone will ask when they find out your pregnant (or every time they see you). 1. When are you due? 2. What is the sex? My answer to the 2nd question is always, I’ll find out sometime in July.

Well, we scheduled our gender ultrasound for July 9th. We are so excited and can hardly wait. There are so many different old wives tales to “tell” if the baby is a boy or a girl. For fun Chris and I have tried most of them out.


We started with the heartbeat! When my Grandmother heard the heartbeat was 116bpm she said, “oh?...so it’s a boy”. However, the next two visits the heartbeat was 172bpm, then 155bpm, which really threw her for a loop. So I’m pretty sure she doesn’t know what to think now…..lol. Supposedly if the heartbeat is slow it’s a boy, if fast it’s a girl. Hear it for yourself below...



Next we tried the ring test. This was another popular one that people were telling us to try. For this test we had to hang Chris’ ring from a strand of my hair (lol….as I’m typing this I’m laughing at how silly it is!!) and dangle it above my belly. If the ring spins it’s a girl, if it swings it’s a boy. And according to the reliable ring test it’s a boy!


Then a very excited Nanny (Tina) bought us an intelli-gender test. This is a kit that you can get at any convenient store. There are several confusing steps which include hopping backward five times, then jumping on one foot while singing the ABC’s (the usual pee test :o) and we had to check the website to match the color in order to tell if it was a boy or girl. This super accurate kit said…..Girl.

Another fan favorite is the Chinese Calendar Test. Some people swear by this one. This chart is said by the website to have been buried in a tomb near Beijing for 700 years (which obviously proves it’s accuracy) and is said to be, “incredibly accurate”. So in this chart you look up the age of the mother and the month of conception and match it up for M or F. This “incredibly accurate” predictor says it’s a Boy.

So there you have it………..we still don’t know what it is but we will on July 9th. I thought it would be fun to do a little poll based on the very intensive studies shown above and your gut feelings. What do you think this baby will be boy? Or girl? Be sure to use the Gender Poll, to the right of the blog, to place your vote!

13 weeks and 5 days

Hey all! Last year I was so bombarded with people asking me where my wedding blog was. All I kept thinking was, why would people want to know all the little details that go into the wedding, to me the fun part for everyone else is the big party at the end a.k.a. the wedding not that we spent several hours making C.D.’s, fan’s, and filling little bags with M&M’s. However, now I feel like this new journey should be shared. In this case the little details are so precious (and sometimes not so precious…lol).



Well, as most of you guys know Chris and I are expecting our 1st baby sometime in December (EDD December 15th). Chris and I found out that I was pregnant the Friday before Easter. I didn’t believe it! I made Chris go out and buy some test that were digital and spelled it out for me. And low and behold all 6 of them said Pregnant, YES, or some variation of the two. We decided not to tell anyone until I was further along around 12 weeks but we couldn’t take it anymore. We shared our great news on Mothers Day weekend with all of our friends and family.


So far this pregnancy has been great! I have not had any Morning Sickness at all. I have however been very, very hungry….all the time! In the first trimester I was also exhausted. I mean, I have been very tired before but this was something I have never in my life felt. During this time Chris was the best. I would come home from work exhausted and sit down (having been on my feet all day) and within minutes I was asleep. When I would wake up dinner would be cooking, clothes washing, etc… He really is the best! He and Tina were also supper excited because I actually sat and watched (well slept through) movies at home with them.




I have had three pre-natal visits. The first one they did an ultrasound but that was at 6 weeks and it didn’t look like anything but a squishy blob, hence the name squishy. We also heard the heart beat which was totally amazing. That is when I realized that it was real. There really was life growing inside of me and I was going to be a mom!


I am not showing yet however I have been taking pictures every week since I was 10 weeks pregnant and the only thing(s) that seem to be growing are my boobs….Ahhhh! So I’m hoping they stop growing and my belly starts. I can’t wait to have a baby bump.


I promise my blog will not be this long all the time but I had to fit 3 and a half months of my journey into this first one! I will try to post every week and update as things arise. I’ll also be posting pictures as we get them. Hope you enjoy our journey, we certainly are having the time of our lives.