Thursday, September 24, 2015

20 Weeks, Now & Then

Now
Then

How far along? 20 weeks

Baby’s size/development this week: weighs about 10 1/2 ounces and measures 6 1/2 inches long; about the size of a banana

Maternity clothes: wearing them? Yes. I've been wearing maternity clothes since about the 9th week. With how nauseous I was, it was just so much easier. Plus, maternity clothes are basically like pajamas. They are the best. When people knock maternity clothes, I just don't get it. They are amazing.

Miss anything? I'm sad to miss pumpkin beer season this year. With Patsy, I had her in September so I was still able to enjoy some Pumking before the last keg was empty. I guess I'll just enjoy my PSL and suffer in silence until 2016 season comes around!

Food cravings? Nothing really. I've been craving a lot of ice cream lately and I've tried to curb that craving but I'm thinking a pumpkin pie blizzard is a necessity before the end of the month.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Strong cologne and perfume is especially disgusting.

Sleep: Meh. Sleep has been kind of sporadic. I can no longer sleep comfortably on my back so I've had to sleep on my side. Patsy still makes her way into our bed most nights and she likes to sleep horizontally between us (while also requesting that we "scooch over")

Best moment of the week: I was away for a work trip and I called my MIL to see how Patsy was doing. Patsy answered the phone and said "Hi Mommy!" and we proceeded to have a 2 minute conversation about where she was and what she had done that day. Sometimes having a 2 year old can be exhausting, but most of the time she's the sweetest kid around!

Nursery: The new baby and Patsy will be sharing a room. The new baby will sleep in our room for probably the first 6-12 months so I'm not in a hurry to make any drastic changes to the room at this point. We will probably need to buy Patsy a new bed so we can move the baby to the crib, but... baby steps.

Wedding rings on or off? on

Movement? The flutters and mini kicks come and go throughout the day.

Weird pregnancy thing of the week: My skin is soooo dry. I remember having this problem last time and it has come back with vengeance! Luckily I have some awesome skin cream that really help keep the dryness at bay. Thanks Kiehl's!

Daddy is feeling: excited to start feeling kicks soon.

Mommy is feeling: good and exhausted. It is tiring growing a human and chasing after another!

Workouts this week: I had plans for a barre class but Patsy came down with a nasty virus. I cancelled all plans and snuggles with my little nugget all night until she felt better. Thankfully I was able to reschedule something for this weekend!

Looking forward to: Dad being able to feel the kicks next!

Monday, September 14, 2015

Happy 2nd Birthday Patsy!

This past weekend we celebrated Patsy's 2nd birthday. It is hard to believe that 2 years have passed since she was born! (Patsy's birth story, Patsy's 1st birthday) We had a huge event for her first birthday so this year we kept it low-key with just friends and family. Here are a few pics from her birthday. She is in a big Elmo phase right now so that was the theme for the party. I think she had a fun time! It was fun to see her expression while opening presents and really having fun for the day.










Happy birthday Patsy! Our lives are better now that you're a part of it! So happy to spend the past 2 years with you and we're looking forward to many more!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

JournalMenu Winner Announced!

The winner of the JournalMenu free custom journal is:

Alexandra @ My Urban Family

Please email me at runningkellometers at gmail dot com for more details!

For those of you that missed out but would still like a journal of your own, check out this link to the JournalMenu site where you can use code: KELLOMETERS for 15% off your own journal. Thanks to all of those that entered!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

Oiselle Bra Reviews (for those of us with a bigger bust)

As some of you may know (and I’ve talked about this before) I’ve had trouble over the years finding the right sports bra for me. I am around a C/D cup (more of a D these days) and there is really only 1 company right now that I can go to consistently to find bras that I know will do the trick. As Oiselle has recently gotten into the bra game and most of them are listed as A/B or kind-of C cups, I thought I would talk about some of the bras that I’ve tried and give a little review of each. I thought it might be helpful to create a scale for comparison purposes. From a scale of 1-5 stars (*), where 1 is the least supportive and 5 is the most supportive. I've included links to the Oiselle website where you can purchase all of these bras. There are other bras in the Oiselle lineup right now (OP, Tracktion, Go Time) but I have not yet given them a test run.


Classic Verrazano with a glass of rose wine, enjoyed before I was pregnant.
1) Verrazano (*) – This one is super comfy with removable cups. I love this bra for lounging around the house or doing yoga or barre. However, even if I run to the mailbox at the end of our driveway, I don't think this bra has the right amount of support. When it comes to comfort though, I highly recommend it! I plan to purchase another (one or two) before I have baby #2. For the purpose of running, I think this is best suited for A or small B cups.


Oiselle image taken directly from their website
2) Charcoal Strappy (**) – This bra is a soft cotton type of material with removable cups. I love the width so it has a nice range of coverage. When it comes to capacity, I wouldn’t recommend this bra for running as the support is not as strong as I would like. It would definitely be great for a cardio or barre class, but I wouldn’t put it on for weekend long run or race. It has a little more support than the Verrazano, but this is best suited for A or B cups.




The back of the Runway bra with Birds of a Feather tank
3) Runway (***) – This is one of the newer styles. I like the unique strap design. I think part of my problem with this bra is that I ordered a size that is a little too small. I felt the compression was good but the coverage was not what I need. I felt like I was popping out over the top of the bra. I would say that it is a sturdier bra than the Verrazano or Strappy, but I would need to double up for more support for anything longer than 2-3 miles. Because this is a thicker bra design, doubling up is not as easy as with other bras. I would say that this is best suited for A, B and small C cups.



Doubling up on the Lesko
Don't mind my red sweaty face
4) Lesko (***) – This is one that I felt was much sturdier and it also has the removable cups. I like the criss-cross back pattern so it fits nicely within a racerback tank. I like that the coverage is fuller and the thicker straps definitely help. However, one Lesko just isn’t enough for me to keep the girls in place. I have a tank with the built-in Lesko bra and if I also wear the Lesko bra with it, I’m in good shape. I really like this bra and I’ve been wanting to get another one. Next time there is a sale, you can bet this will be in my cart. It is a thinner type of material so wearing 2 of them isn't too cumbersome. I would recommend 1 of these bras for A, B and small C cups. If you're going to double up, I think that it could work for a C or maybe small D cup.



Brazen modeled by Heather Stevens
Oiselle image taken directly from their website
5) Brazen (***) – This is one of the newest styles of Oiselle bras, marketed towards B/C cups. It is made of comfy seamless fabric and doesn’t have padding or removable cups. (I haven’t had any issues with nipage yet, but I haven’t worn it in any freezing cold weather.) The straps can be traditional over-the-shoulder or racerback. I’ve worn it both ways and I find the racerback design to be preferred. It actually fits nicely between the shoulder blades. I wore it for the 5k at Oiselle Bird Camp. It was fine for the 5k but I wouldn’t recommend it for enough support during a run longer than 4 miles. Out of all of the bras available, I believe this one is the most supportive. However, I would recommend this bra for A, B and small C cups.

At Bird Camp, Sally (CEO of Oiselle) said that it is has been challenging for them to create a bra that works for larger cup sizes. They are continuing to work on it, but they don’t want to release a sub-par product. They want to wait until they have it right before putting something out. I respect their integrity in their design philosophy. I had a long talk with a few of the designers at camp and gave them some of my thoughts and ideas on what would make a great bra for C/D+ cup sizes. Hopefully this will come to fruition for the 2016 line! Until then, my best advice for those that want to wear Oiselle bras and are bigger than a B cup, I suggest doubling up or waiting it out. Personally, I have a feeling it will be worth the wait.

Note: I was not compensated in any way by Oiselle for these reviews. I purchased these bras with my own money, with a team member discount. All ideas and ratings expressed are simply my own.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

JournalMenu Review and Giveaway

I was contacted by someone at JournalMenu about customizing my own journal. Once I checked out their website and saw what they had to offer, I knew I wanted one of my own! Here is the journal I chose.


The website has lots of great options. For the cover, you can choose your background image and cover text. I chose the "spring chevron" pattern and one of the Oiselle mantras. For the inside, I went with the running journal (for obvious reasons). As I don't train every single day of the week, I went with the blank day option. You can also set something up for weekly training, if that is what works better for you.



You can plan out your races, goals, and then note how things went as well. In the appendix, there is also a pace planner that shows how different paces will lead to times for specific events. As of right now, I'm not really running or training all that much, but I'm excited to have this waiting for me after Baby #2 comes and spring is here! You'll be seeing more of this in 2016, for sure.

They also have journals that can be catered towards other things other than running like yoga, weightlifting, crossfit and life. The website has tons of extra features to choose from too. You can add a pocket, include nutrition information, etc. To find out more about JournalMenu, feel free to check out their website to see all they have to offer. As a special gift to my readers, I'm going to raffle off a journal from JournalMenu to all of you! To enter, please use the Rafflecopter widget below to track your entries. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 9. Good luck!

For 15% off your order, check out my link and use code "KELLOMETERS".




a Rafflecopter giveaway