tiff mertz

Well...little Valentine hit 6 weeks this past Saturday, which means that I will be going back to work from maternity leave soon. In fact, I go back Thursday. It's wild that 6 weeks have already passed by so quickly. One of the challenges I anticipate having as I go back to work will be eating better. I've definitely not been eating healthy (and by that I mean getting a good breakfast, as well as eating more fruits and veggies like I should.) I've definitely slacked off and eaten a LOT of fast food, especially in the last 4 weeks. My plan for my first 2 days of work is to make extra food at dinner time while my husband is home and use that extra food as my lunches for those two days. I also plan to portion out my trail mix, which I tend to just snack on freely at my desk at work. The great thing about work is that I have a very easy time drinking lots of water while I'm there, as I have a water bottle with a built in filter I use every day. I usually drink through my w

So, as you can tell, I haven't updated since 36 weeks...and I'd planned on updated if we reached 40 weeks. I even went to work on my due date. Which was sort of lame. Kind of like working on your own birthday. Only it was no one's birthday. On my due date, 40 weeks. I was sooo ready. Lol. My due date was August 14th...and at 6 AM on August 15th, as I got ready to go to my doctor's appointment that day before work, my water broke and we were on our way. The short version is that Valentine John Mertz was born on August 16th, 2014 at 7:42 AM weighing 7 lbs 5.3 oz and 20.8 inches long. The long version is, well, longer obviously. We got to the hospital around 8am and didn't get a room until about 10-10:30 am. When we got our room, we started walking around to try to get contractions going because I really wasn't having any. They also did aromatherapy which, if nothing else, helped me feel really peaceful and relaxed and really just put me in an all

So...we're in the final weeks of pregnancy and I thought I'd share what's been going on in the last 4 weeks.. I'm just as surprised as you are that there isn't a Pikachu on here. Baby shower #1 was a huge success!! I had a wonderful time getting to not only watch people spoil my little dude, but also getting to catch up and see so many people in my hometown that I haven't been able to visit as much and whom I miss terrible! Yeah, they were pretty excited. :-) I also got to see family and friends who live kind of far away, so it was even more special! And I got to spend time with my moms. Grammy, Mama, and Nanny. I have found that I don't really like calling my husbands mom my mother-in-law...as though it's only "by law" that she is my mother. She has truly been another mother to me since I was 16 years old. Both she and John (Kev's step dad) have always been excellent parents who love their kids so much and truly want th

Well, here's the most current baby bump photo! I'm at work lol. I also got a haircut! It's not really what I wanted, but it'll grow out and be fine.  32 Weeks As far as Mr. Valentine goes, he's looking good. Every doctor's appointment is pretty standard now, with nothing new to report; just a very active baby. He's constantly kicking and punching me. I have been struggling just a tad with the summer heat. But, I've found a genius way around it. Swimming. I did go swimming in a real pool with some friends from work a couple Saturday's ago, but I got a pretty bad sunburn, so I have been avoiding the outside as much as I can since then to let it heal. But I have a back up plan for my house. I hate being stuck inside when the weather is nice (especially since this past winter was never ending!) so I found a children's pool with a slide that I can lay on, sort of like a lounge chair. It can also pull double duty next summer when I have a

Things have been going really well in the Mertz household! Kevin's little brother Cameron has moved into our basement "apartment" that has been officially named the Man Cave. It's pretty awesome. Here's just the living area. In baby related news, the belly is definitely getting bigger, and with that, I'm now experiencing the back pain. Here's my 28 weeks picture! I also had trouble sleeping, which I'm pretty confident was in relation to the back pain I am having. But I got one of those awesome pregnancy body pillows and have been getting better sleep since then. I still wake up at least once in the night to hit the bathroom, but the quality of sleep I get has definitely improved! I found mine for a great price too...just $39.99 at Burlington Coat Factory! In case you don't know me very well, I like to find the best deals I can on things. And I'd been hunting around for these pillows, with the lowest price I'd seen on the full bod

Yay for updates! So I finally really look pregnant IRL. Lol. Valen is doing really well, and I can feel him moving a lot more clearly than before. I feel like my stomach grows so much in my sleep. It's as if when I wake up, he's grown even more! He's even getting his own mail now... He's going to be spoiled rotten...at this rate I'm going to have to make sure his first words are "Thank you." I've been very overwhelmed with all of the love and support from our families, our friends, and my coworkers who have slowly been finding out that I'm preggo. Lol. I've found there's not really an easy way to slide it into a conversation, and unfortunately my desk tends to hide my bumpity bump. But truthfully, as we get more and more gifts and things from everyone, I find myself reminded of how blessed we are to not only be bringing a super cool little dude into the world, but that so many people already love him so much. I'm also ve

We've finally, aside from the occasional morning episode, I'm no longer sick all of the time! And I can eat food again! Yay! :-) I managed to magically get a brand new car seat for free from Target. I had seen they had the one I wanted AND it was on sale for 20% off for only one more day, so I ordered it with the option to pick it up at the store. It was late in the evening when I saw the sale, so I just figured I could pick it up the next day. Which I did. I even had one of the workers take it out to my car for me, which was super awesome. But a couple days later, I get an email saying my order had been cancelled. I was really confused, and a bit concerned, because I thought "Oh no, if something is wrong with it, I won't be able to return it because it will show up as a cancelled order!" So I called the customer service line and they said that since the order was cancelled, I wouldn't be charged for the item...and I wasn't. The pending charge fell off a

Unfortunately, the morning sickness and nausea continues to dominate my daily life. And I had my first prenatal appointment with my doctor last week, which went really well! I was very glad that Kevin came with me to this first appointment, because we just happened to be able to get an ultrasound that same day. Originally they were going to schedule one for another day, but someone had cancelled right after our appointment, so we got to stay a little longer and see out little one together for the first time.  For some reason, I wasn't expecting to see something that looks so much like a little baby already. I guess I didn't know what to expect. But when they showed Baby Mertz for the first time, she/he was moving around so much! I could not believe it! I can't even feel it! I was surprised I didn't cry, but it was probably because I could barely look away from the screen. It was so incredible to see the little person flipping around in there! Whil

As the title suggests, my biggest symptom right now is morning sickness . I might also call it all-day-nausea. It started right around Christmas Eve and hasn't really let up ( even as I type this, I am trying to keep calm and not throw up.*) While this part is kind of sucky, I've also heard its a sign of a strong and healthy pregnancy. And of course, once I get through a few more weeks of this, I (hopefully) won't be feeling as sick.  I thought it might be helpful to share some of the tricks I've learned this far in trying to combat morning sickness.  What's is my Morning Sickness Pokebag: 1. Peppermints . I've got a stash of candy canes at work that I eat through out the day to keep my nausea as minimal as possible. I've also discovered the magic that is mint tums.  2. Popsicles . I prefer the banana flavored Popsicles because they have a light flavor and are easy of my already tossing tummy. I find it comparable to eating ice chips, but