Baby Boy or Girl Jennings?

In just one week, Luke and I will find out the gender of our baby!

In the meantime, we would like to invite you to participate in a little competition. Guess the gender of our baby correctly and you will be entered into a drawing to win one free Pure Barre class (1st place) or one free pair of Pure Barre socks (2nd place). 

And while I don’t believe much in the merit of wives’ tales, I thought it would be fun to come up with some “hints.” Post your guess in the form of a comment below to be entered into the competition. 

• Am I carrying high or low? At our 12-week appointment, the doctor said I was carrying high. You decide. 
• Our baby’s heart rate has consistently been above 140 beats/minute, on two occasions measuring over 150 beats/minute. 
• Cravings? Loving sweets, but then again almost everything tastes good to me right now (except for coffee). 
• According to the Chinese Lunar Calendar, which uses the mother’s age at time of conception and month of conception to predict gender, we are having a girl. 
• According to Mayan legend, which looks at the mother’s age at conception in conjunction with the year of conception, we are having a girl. 
• Hello dry skin and random breakouts! 
• During the first trimester, I was sometimes nauseated, but never sick. 

Hello Spa Week!

One of my favorite weeks of the year is here: Spa Week! 

Once in the spring and once in the fall, spas across the country offer their signature services at a discounted rate of $50 per treatment. I highly recommend taking advantage of this time. What better way to spoil the expectant mother than with a spa service or two! 

And thanks to Jennifer Lewis for a fabulous birthday gift, which made indulging a little more reasonable. 

Most of the prenatal books you will read tell you to expect changes in your skin. Unfortunately for some, including me, these changes come in the way of breakouts and dry skin. The 50 Minute Hiatus Facial (I added on the Hydrating Mask & Extraction services) were just what the doctor ordered. I recommend scheduling an appointment with Toby or Amelia, both are wonderful estheticians! 

Next on the agenda: A prenatal massage scheduled for Sunday. 

My Spa of Choice: Hiatus Spa in Inwood Village 

My Preferred Treatments: 50 Minute Hiatus Facial & 50 Minute Hiatus Massage

16 Weeks and Counting!

Two weeks into my second trimester, Baby Jennings is growing! My pants are fitting a little more snugly and I’m starting to feel a little bit bigger. Pure Barre is still my saving grace, helping to keep prenatal anxieties at bay and balance out those extra calories (yes, I’m hungry nearly all of the time!), and other new moms continue to be my biggest resource. 

Luke and I registered at Babies ‘R Us last week for all of our gender neutral gear, think high chair, pack n’ play, and Baby Bjorn. Much like registering for our wedding, the process is both exciting and overwhelming, and there are so many products you don’t realize that you desperately need. Shortly after finding out that we were expecting, a mom friend of mine (thank you, Taylor Rudd!) recommended that I have other new moms take a look at our registry and make suggestions. It was incredibly helpful to hear first hand which items are must-haves and which can be safely left off our list. Thank you, Nicole Mills & Katie Schmidt, for taking the time to do this for us. I know you have your hands full with your  handsome new bundles of joy! 

Latest Pregnancy Loves: 

Splendid, Michael Stars, and J Brand maternity clothes: helps the pregnant woman stay stylish!

Preggle Comfort Air-Flow Body Pillow: makes sleeping on your side (preferably your left) a little more comfortable. 

Unexpected and Thoughtful Gifts: think maternity clothes from mothers and mothers-in-law, a pregnancy planner (thank you, Candice Sims), and a bouquet of beautiful spring tulips, courtesy of my husband. 

Lululemon: clothes that expand along with the growing bellies! 

Meet Pure Barre Dallas Mommy, Lana Arnold!

I am excited to occasionally feature other Pure Barre Dallas Moms! 

Meet Lana Arnold, shown here at the start of her third trimester. 

She is due with her first child, Baby Boy, Braden Thomas Arnold, on April 27th.  

You look wonderful, Lana! Keep up the hard work! 

Here is what she had to say about pregnancy and Pure Barre: 

"I started taking Pure Barre classes 2.5 years ago, and I am so thankful I did!  Pure Barre has really helped me tone the 'difficult areas' and it’s also greatly improved my energy level and confidence.  I am 36 weeks/9 months pregnant and have continued taking classes weekly since I found out, with my doctor’s approval of course.   I have been fortunate that my pregnancy has not been too difficult; I have had light morning sickness and really had solid energy and been able to sleep well most nights.  I strongly believe this is due to my continued workouts.  

I have always focused on cardio in my workouts as I don’t like to do heavy lifting.  I do everything from running/jogging, aerobics classes, spin classes, etc. as well as play competitive tennis on a weekly basis.  I am a big believer in changing up your workout from time to time, so you can continue to work different muscle groups and not get tired of the same old routine.  

A few years back, Pure Barre ran a living social ad, so I thought I would try it out.  After the first time, I was so sore that I knew this must be a great work out.  I have continued to go weekly and have seen a great difference in my tone and shape.  I consider Pure Barre my toning class which complements my weekly cardio workouts.  

The instructors at Pure Barre are great; they are very detailed which helps as you have to get into some tricky positions to work certain areas.  They also really encourage you to finish those last repetitions.   If you follow their instructions closely, you will see results!  Additionally, each instructor is a little bit different, so if you want to change up the routine a bit, try a different instructor.   Not to mention, they play great music to workout to, which always helps to motivate me.  A few of my favorite quotes from the instructors are: 'If your legs are shaking, the muscles are changing,' 'you can do anything for 30 seconds,' and 'the higher the heel the thinner the thigh.'  This keeps me on my toes!

Pure Barre’s Dallas location is top-notch; the instructors and Beth, the owner, are always encouraging and ready to help you get to the next level in fitness.  It’s been a huge blessing to continue to work out as normal.  My doctor told me I could continue doing any type of work out that I did before becoming pregnant.   I encourage everyone to head to Pure Barre now, and then once you become pregnant, you can keep it up!"