Must-Have Winter Beauty Products

The cold winter months are quickly approaching, and if there is one thing that doesn't agree with this weather, it's my skin. I've always had a normal to dry skin type but winter really seems to take a toll on my skin, especially my face. I like to plan ahead and stock up on my favorite winter beauty products around this time of year.

Trying to keep your skin hydrated is not easy, but I have learned a few tricks here and there. One of the biggest tips I can give is to always stay hydrated by drinking a TON of water, this alone will do wonders. Having hydrated skin starts with hydrating yourself from the inside out.

These are a few of my favorite go-to products for my lips, hair, face and body... enjoy!

Lips
Aquaphor Healing Ointment
Minted Rose Lip Balm by Rosebud Perfume Company
Fresh Sugar Lip Polish

 

Face

Rose Stem Cell Bio-Repair Gel Mask by Peter Thomas Roth

Josie Maran Pure Argan Oil

Josie Maran Whipped Argan Oil Face Butter

 

As part of my nighttime regimen I add a few drops of argan oil into my face butter for super moisture while I sleep!

 

 

 

Hair

R + Co Tinsel Smoothing Oil

Eva Nyc Freshen Up Dry Shampoo

Moroccanoil Intense Hydrating Mask

 

 

 

Body:

Josie Maran Whipped Body Butter

Josie Maran Argan Sugar Balm Body Scrub

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil by Trader Joes

 

 

Ulta: $5 off your $15 purchase (in store & online)

 

Beauty Brands: $5 off your $10 purchase (in store & online)

 



Michael Austin White. Week 20

20 weeks & 6 days

 

 

 

 Packaged with love! Thank you Andrea for the adorable new shirts, mittens & bath robe!

 

 

Baby: Our baby boy is the size of a banana this week. He is measuring about 6.50 inches long and weighing in at 10.1 ounces. He now has working taste buds and is drinking several ounces of amniotic fluid each day.

 

I feel him moving around more after I eat. He also wakes up when I wake up every morning. Of course the first thing I do each morning is empty my bladder and then I get back into bed for a few more minutes. As I am laying there I can usually feel him squirming around... such a great way to start my day.

 

Symptoms: Extreme pressure in my belly. I can definitely feel when he has a little growth spurt. It feels like someone is pushing down on all of my insides, wait someone is pushing down on all of my insides :-)

 

Leg cramps in the evening. I drink a lot of water and have a banana a day (sometimes two). I am on my feet a lot though, maybe I just need to get in the habit of stretching and putting my feet up more often.

 

Doctor's appointments: This week I had two doctors appointments, one with my OB and the other with my specialist. I love my every two week appointments with my specialist. Even though I'm just supposed to be having a transvaginal ultrasound (to measure my cervical length) she does a real ultrasound afterwards so we can see our babe. Everything checked out ok, baby is growing stronger and doing good. He was sleeping facedown during his photo shoot so we just got a nice picture of his spine.

 

Weight: Feeling healthy and good about my growing bump and body. I'm up 12 pounds from my pre-pregnancy weight.

 

Sleep: I wake up at almost the exact same time every night to use the bathroom... midnight, 3am and 6am. I've got it down. Sometimes I have a little trouble falling back asleep after the 6am pee but usually I can go right back to sleep if I really try. My normal wake up time is between 7-7:30am.

 

Cravings: I basically eat the same thing everyday... cereal, bagels with cream cheese, sandwiches, cookies, fruit and Simply Fit Meals. If I'm out and about I always either grab lunch at Chickfila, Luby's or Chipotle.

 

Clothes: I've been in Motherhood Maternity a few times but I didn't really see any tops that I liked. I went into Macy's and they had the top I'm wearing in the above picture for $13.99 (which is by Motherhood Maternity) so I had to snag it. I'm so glad I did because I love it, I love the elastic on the side. I will say that breaking down and buying maternity clothes is a must, its so worth it to feel comfortable. Even if your tops are just a tad too tight its so much better to feel completely confident about what you are wearing.

 

Thoughts: I bought baby's first nursery décor this week! His nursery will be decorated in a sports theme and everything blue of course. I'm so excited to finally start decorating. I moved my office upstairs before Thanksgiving so his nursery has just been an empty room up until now. I need to clean out his closet, which I've been using as my second closet so that might take some time. Right now his clothes are in Mike's closet. It's so cute to see their jeans side by side!

 

 

I can't even stand the cuteness...

 



Michael Austin White. Week 19

 

 

Baby: Our baby boy is the size of a mango this week. He is measuring about 6 inches long and weighing in at about 8.5 ounces. His five senses are developing in his brain now too. He is also developing a slick, creamy coat called vernix caseosa to help protect him from heat and water loss in my uterus. So he is not cold inside, he is nice & toasty. Also his soft cartilage is hardening into bone, starting with his legs. I'm anxious to feel those powerful kicks.

 

This week I felt my first flutter. It was such an amazing feeling. I was laying in bed early one morning about to get up when I felt bubbles moving upwards in my stomach. It almost felt like a little fish was in my belly. I've felt a few more flutters here and there throughout the week, patiently waiting for the big kicks to come.

 

Symptoms: Shortness of breath. After eating and especially sitting down I find myself taking deep breaths. It's a little bit uncomfortable and it's only going to get worse I'm sure, just got to get use to it. I've also had heartburn at bedtime the past three nights in a row. It makes it hard to fall asleep for awhile.

 

I've been reading that this is the time that hip pain, swelling in hands & feet, leg cramps and aches & pains in your abdomen start. So far I haven't experienced any of these symptoms but now I know they are coming.

 

Weight: When I weighed myself this week, it was exactly the same as last week. I was a little surprised but not worried.

 

Sleep: I've started to not eat so late so that I am not so full when its time for bed. This has also helped with the shortness of breath and heartburn when I lay down at night.

 

Cravings: Still Chick-Fil-A! I'm still obsessed with the breaded chicken salad but I also like to change it up and order the #1 meal (original chicken sandwich & waffle fries). Ahhh, SO good!

 

Clothes: I'm secretly mad at myself for not getting maternity jeans sooner. I can't even describe how much more comfortable I am. They really do make a big difference. I thought that sizing would be hard to determine but they make it really simple, you just order your pre-pregnancy size. The Jessica Simpson ones have been my favorite so far.

 

Thoughts: I truly am so happy that we found out our baby's gender. I feel so much more connected to him. I'm looking forward to really bonding with him for the next half of my pregnancy. I love calling him by his name and singing & talking to him. I'm counting down the days until we get to see him again on an ultrasound. It definitely feels so real now!



Michael Austin White. Week 18

Anatomy Scan (18 week ultrasound)

 

 

 

Listening to baby's heartbeat with our home fetal monitor

 

 

 

Baby: Michael Austin is the size of a bell pepper this week and measuring about 5.59 inches & 6.70 ounces.

 

Mike and I have had our baby boy and girl names picked out since before we got married. Coming up with the names was the easiest part if you ask me! Since we now know that baby is a BOY and we call him by his name why shouldn't everyone else? So we announced his name to everyone the day of our gender reveal.

 

I still haven't felt any kicks or flutters yet, but I can find his heartbeat in a matter of seconds using my home fetal monitor which is very reassuring to a first time mom.

 

Symptoms: There was so much going on this week that it seemed to fly by. We had our anatomy scan at our 18 week ultrasound appointment, our surprise gender reveal party on Thanksgiving morning and we hosted Thanksgiving at our home for both of our families this year. I was feeling really good this week, no complaints. I've been so lucky to have such a great pregnancy so far.

 

Weight: Up a pound from last week. My doctor said that a healthy weight gain during pregnancy is about 25-35 pounds. He said it is normal to gain about 5 pounds during your first trimester and about 1 pound per week for the rest of your pregnancy. I'm not worried about gaining too much weight. All I want is a safe little "home" for my baby. It's all about him now not me. I know that weight gain does play a role in certain types of pregnancy medical conditions so I do want to eat healthy and exercise for the both of us to try and avoid any problems that I might be able to control.

 

Doctor's appointments: We had our anatomy scan on Monday of this week. It was a very detailed ultrasound of all of baby's major organs etc. My specialist checked blood flow in the heart and checked for any congenital heart defects that could be seen at this time. She also looked closely at the lobes already formed in baby's brain. It was music to our ears to hear her say "everything looks good and healthy" at the end.

 

Sleep: Other than waking up every 2-3 hours to pee I have been sleeping great.

 

Cravings: Chick-Fil-A breaded chicken salads. I can't get enough of them! I've only tried the honey mustard dressing, I feel like I should branch out but its so good.

 

Clothes: I finally broke down and ordered maternity jeans. The rubber band trick just wasn't working anymore. Working comfortably I should say. Motherhood Maternity was having a Black Friday sale so I decided to take advantage of it. I ordered 2 pairs of the secret belly fit and 1 pair of the underbelly fit for later. They are AMAZING! I wish I would have gotten these weeks ago!

 

 Click below to see our Gender Reveal video that my sister Traci made...

 

Gender Reveal Video

 

It's a BOY!

 

 

 

I just got these cute tees in for my shop! Loveee, totally bump friendly too :-)

www.shopberkeleyblvd.com

 

 

 

18 week bump pic

 

 

 



Baby White. Week 17

17 week bump pic

 

 

One of my many cravings... cookies + milk

 

 

 

Baby: Baby White is measuring about 5.12 inches and weighing 5.90 ounces. He or she is the size of a pomegranate or a pear.

 

Symptoms: This week was the first time I've been sick during my pregnancy. I felt AWFUL. I went to the doctor as early as I could on Monday morning. I love my primary care physician. She is also pregnant and is into the use of essential oils for healing. She diagnosed me with a cold and said to just rest and drink plenty of fluids. She also recommended putting peppermint oil into my diffuser. This was definitely the worst cold I've ever had. I was sick all week and finally started feeling better over the weekend.

 

Weight: Luckily while I was sick I never lost my appetite so I never lost any weight. My baby never misses a meal! I didn't work out once this week or go for a walk because I felt so bad.

 

Sleep: Sleeping this week was rough. I had so much drainage going down my throat that I couldn't sleep without waking up choking on mucus almost every hour. My dry cough also kept me up. I was in much need of a good nights of sleep.  

 

Cravings: I've been craving bagels and cream cheese. I have to have a toasted one every single morning. I've also been craving Lucky Charms cereal, ahhh it's so good! I usually have a bowl as an afternoon snack or before I go to bed. Cookies and milk is another one of my favorite snacks.

 

Clothes: I basically lived in pj's all week, which for the most part was awesome. I didn't have to worry about what fit and what didn't. I was super comfortable in my flannel pants & henley shirts.

 

Thoughts: I've been really thinking about finding out the gender of Baby White. We both thought it would be a fun surprise to wait until delivery to see if  baby was a boy or a girl. Mike honestly didn't care either way, it was really my idea to wait and find out. My pregnancy still doesn't feel real to me. I've been very blessed to have just mild pregnancy symptoms. I haven't felt any flutters just yet. So everything just feels almost like normal. I'm getting close to the halfway point and I want to be able to really bond with my baby for the next few months. I think being able to call him or her by their name instead of he/she or it would really help me feel more connected.

 

On Thursday night of this week I made the decision final to find out baby's gender. We have our anatomy scan ultrasound scheduled for next Monday so I'm going to ask our doctor to hide the gender in an envelope for our gender reveal on Thanksgiving morning. I'm going to give the envelope and pink & blue confetti poppers to our sweet neighbors and ask them to give me back the right confetti poppers to use for the reveal. We are hosting Thanksgiving for both of our families this year at our house. They have no idea that we will be doing our gender reveal on Thanksgiving morning and finding out baby's gender will be a surprise to us as well. I cannot wait!