Shock and Awe

I am now into my 19th week of pregnancy and I actually feel pretty good. I have discovered that I am no longer a chicken eater. I started to notice that whenever I would have it I would get sick, so I am sticking to red meat (mainly bison) and turkey. With so many rules about what fish you can and can't eat, I have just given up on the idea of fish at all. I noticed that I now have a bit of a sweet tooth, which of course is never good for anyone......pregnant or not. The thought of a Jolly Rancher, Skittles or Starbursts makes me so incredibly happy!! I really hope that goes away after Buttercup gets here because that would not be cute after pregnancy.

My sleeping positions have changed so much. I can no longer sleep on my left side mainly because the baby gets mad if I do. My right side is a lot more comfortable. My husband sent me a link for this pregnancy pillow called a Snoogle and OMG that is the best thing that has happened to me!! I love it!! It's basically a whole body pillow and I can't imagine not having it. My friend Alissa suggested I name it and her name is Betty! She is named after my favorite Golden Girl because when it's time for bed, I always am watching them on T.V.! LOL!! I have also be reduced to using a step stool to get in bed at night. Having a high bed was a cool idea when Buttercup was not chillin in my belly.

There really isn't much of a hair update except that under this weave, it's growing!! I still use natural products, especially shampoos and conditioners. I am really curious to see how long it is when I stop using protective styles in October (my 1 year anniversary since my Big Chop).

As I stated in my previous post, we were going to find out the sex of Buttercup. Well we did and it was complete SHOCK AND AWE for me. We are having a little girl!!!!!!!!!! Yep, a little Nikki running around.......the world is not ready and neither am I. I was so surprised, a girl, really? I swore up and down I was having a boy! The Chinese Calendar even predicted a boy ( yes, I believed the calendar). My hubby was not surprised AT ALL!! He has been saying it since day one that we were having a girl. After my initial shock, I started to cry because I think deep down I may have really wanted a girl. The thing with them is that they are so precious and I truly believe that a mother has to face and come to terms with her own issues to be sure not to pass them down to her daughter. Girls are fragile creatures and I am happy that I have come to a place in my life where I can now see and speak my Truth and pass it on to my daughter.

Buttercup Update

23 more weeks to go until little Buttercup arrives! That seems so close and I have nothing purchased and I really haven't been looking. Does that make me a bad mother already? I think I am still in disbelief (despite the fact that my belly is growing leaps and bounds) about there being a baby on the way. I think I have to admit that I am nervous and scared because I want this baby so badly and I have no control………..just a little…….of what happens. Nature is happening inside of me and it's all so unreal and beautiful.

I can honestly say that as women, especially pregnant women, go through so much. As a non-pregnant lady for 31 years and some months, my body was so much different than it is now. My pregnant body is amazing and beautiful (if you over look the fat rolls and dimples). Things are growing, stretching, and pulling in all directions. What an interesting journey this has been so far!

So what has my baby been doing???? Well, I think I felt a flutter on Monday night!! I was out with the hubby at Hooters………….say what you want, they have great wings…………and felt this little pop/tickle sensation and at first I thought it was gas, then I realized…….it was a flutter!! It was ever so light, but I am convinced that's what is was. I just turned 17 weeks, so I think I am right on track to feel my baby move, even if it's a little. ;-)

People say that morning sickness is a sign of a healthy baby, well this baby will be doing push ups when he/she comes out. My all-day-sickness has gotten worse during my second trimester. As soon as I eat, it comes right back up. Do you know how frustrating that is for someone who spent money on a nice lunch?! The good thing is that my body is working for the baby (thanks, Alissa for that bit of wonderful info) and could give two craps about me. I'm cool with that because my Buttercup needs everything!

I decided to do a protective style again this year and I went for a straight plain Jane look. Nothing fancy, just something to do while my hair takes a break. I got a sew-in and braided all of my hair up so that I wouldn't have to put any heat on my own hair. The look is cute and some say I look younger………..WINNING! I think I may do another protective style in May for my trip to Florida! This time it will be more of a curly/wavy look, perfect hair for Miami!

Hopefully next post I will be revealing the sex of my little one. We go to the doctor on Friday, so wish us luck!

Getting Bigger...................Belly and Afro

 So I finally decided to take care of my hair. Who knew that after weeks of neglect that it actually grew. I finally did a deep condition last week and twisted my hair. I was so shocked at how much my hair had grown and how much thicker it is. I am sure it is a mixture of hormones and me taking care of it, but still I was shocked. I still prefer the wash and go, but every now and then I really need to twist my hair to get the best styles. Pregnancy really doesn't give you any extra energy, so those days will be few and far between.

Speaking of pregnancy, it has been an interesting journey. I have been scared, excited, overwhelmed, surprised, and anxious. My dear sweet friend named my unborn, Buttercup. I fell in love with it!! Since I have yet to find out the sex, this is perfect because I hate saying he or she......even worse, it. YUCK!! My body has experienced so many changes, like my hair, and it has been interesting to see certain things grow and grow and grow.........yes, that means the scale too. :-( I actually lost weight in my first trimester due to MASSIVE morning sickness. It has not gone away, it's still haunts me, but not everyday like it use to. If I verbal say that I do not have morning sickness anymore, Buttercup says.......SIKE!!! I swear I really need to keep that to myself. My baby will always put me in place.

So pregnancy brain is REAL!!!!! I was on my way to class on Tuesday night and as I was halfway there, I just so happened to look down at my feet. I had on a flip flop on one foot and a ballerina shoe on the other! Really???? You would think that I would feel it, but no......I was walking and looked down for a second and realized it. Such a shame.......not to mention I can't remember words or remember things to do. This is going to be a long pregnancy.

My dear husband has been so awesome. I am truly blessed to have someone who cares so much. He is constantly trying to make sure I am okay and that Buttercup is doing well. He will make such a wonderful father, I can't wait to see him hold our child in his arms. It's funny how we decided that we wanted a child and a couple months later it came to be. No one told me how emotional I would be or how I would see my husband differently. I am loving every minute of it and I pray that I stay on this emotional high.

Buttercup is slowly letting me know that it's time for bed..........my eyes are going drooping really bad!

My, My How Things Have Changed!

It has been a little over 2 months since my last post and boy oh boy life has happened to me! Not only is my hair growing, so is my belly! Yep.............I am with child!! YAY!!!!!!!!! I am 14 weeks (3 months and 2 weeks for those that hate counting) and I couldn't be more excited. During the first few weeks of pregnancy, I completely gave up on my hair routine due to horrific morning sickness. I just wanted to crawl in the corner and sleep through the first trimester. My hair suffered so much. :-(  It was dry and brittle and I had no energy to twist it, condition it, or even put the much needed satin bonnet on my head at night. Yes, it was that bad. Now that I am into my second trimester, we will see how everything all comes together. I am predicitng lots of deep conditioning treatments, twists and maybe even another protective style (loved the braids). I will be updating my blog (maybe even adjusting the name)with hair photos and maybe a baby bump shot here and there. We will see!

Happy New Year and Happy New Do!

Happy New Year all!! I hope 2011 brings all your hopes and dreams to light this year! It's been awhile since I posted and that's because there has been a lot going on in my life and I have not gotten around to updating you. So let's see...........I have decided to do a protective style for the winter. For those of you that don't know what that means, when the weather gets too cold, it's not a Curlies best friend. :-( The air dries out our hair so much and it can become quite brittle and VERY dry. That is not the business! So I have decided to do braids for the next several weeks.

I went to Sister Sister African Braiding and I was a little thrown off when I walked in. I saw a swarm of women surrounding one woman...........I was kinda scared, but I managed to say "I would like Micro-Braids." First they looked at me like I was crazy (maybe because I was looking at them like they were crazy) and asked me to repeat myself. I did as asked and then someone came up to be and offered her assistance. Once she looked at my hair and determined that Micro-Braids were not in my best interest (that is basically for people with relaxed or naturally straight hair), she told me to get Kinky Twist. Now I have heard of these braids before, but I was kind of skeptical because they looked too bulky for me. I decided to trust her opinion and go for it.

As I sat in her chair, I glanced around the room and there were 4 other women in the salon getting their hair braided. They were all surrounded by a swarm of women, it was then that I realized that these women surrounding the customers were actually all braiding their hair. There were 4 women to one head of hair! So that's how they braid so fast!!! Once I realized this, I was then surrounded by 3 women and each took a section of my hair and started to go to work!!! First let me just say....................I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO CRY SO BAD FROM MY HEAD BEING PULLED IN EVERY DIRECTION!!!!!!!!!! Those women don't play!! I felt like I was in my grandmother's kitchen back in the day getting my hair done. That mess hurt!!!

When I initially came in to the salon the stylist told me the braids would take 3 -4 hours to do. I thought that was pretty fast. Well my hair was braided and styled in 1 hour and 45 minutes!!! That was insane!!!!! I looked in the mirror and guess what............she was right! I loved the braids!!!! So I will be rocking this protective style for the next several cold weeks and I am too excited to see the growth!! Unfortunately, I will not be posting and update for my 3 month anniversary. My hair will be in braids. Maybe by 2/23, it will be warmer weather and I can most my 4 month anniversary. We will see. Check out my Kinky Twist below!

Protective Style for Winter (yes, always representing the Cowboys!)

2 MONTH ANNI!!!!!!!!!!

Today marks 2 months since I chopped off all of my relaxed and damaged hair! YAY!!! I have been chemical free for 7 months total.........which is really shocking. So in honor of my 2 year anniversary, I wanted to post a recent picture of how THICK my hair is!!!! Check it out!

As you can see, the thickness level is un-real! I LOVE IT!!!
To see my big chop 2 months ago, check out my 1 month anniversary post below. I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday Season! ;-)

TRULY IN LOVE!

So after a couple of days of frustration with my hair (and horrible acne breakout) I am once again back on the right track. I realized the reason why I was having so much frustration (and horrible acne breakout.....yeah it was bad) was because I was not consuming enough H2O!! It's funny because the moment I stopped drinking so much water ( I was trippin) my hair let me have it! It didn't cooperate with me one bit!!! I am a true believer that your hair can't cause a bad hair day, it's YOU!!

Once I decided to give my body some water (lots and lots of it) my hair was back it action. Last night I deep conditioned it with Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (left it on for 2 hours) and rinsed. I then applied Kinky Curly Knot Today Leave-In (yeah I know I was only going to stick with Giovanni, but I bought the product, so I have to finish it) and then applied Kinky Curly Custard and twisted my hair. I let it dry over night and when I took it out this morning (with coconut oil on my hands) it look GREAT!!!! I was actually shocked! I think the combination of more water and using Aussie's (have you smelled this stuff.......awesome), my hair reacted differently to the Kinky Curly product line. I am very pleased!

I must say that I am completely in love with this curly fro on my head. It amazes me everyday that I had the courage to see what my hair really looked like. I knew I might like it, but I didn't know how much I would love it. In my friends words "Your hair will be your pet." She was right........my hair is my pet and I love her so! ;-)