Our Most Exciting Adventure Yet!! We’re Having a Baby!

 

Kenny and I are having a baby!!!!

I’m so thrilled to finally be sharing the exciting news with you guys. I am five months pregnant (!!!!) and have kept it a secret from everyone (aside from our family and just a few best friends) until now!! While I’ve been soooo excited to share the big news with you guys, we wanted to take a few months to soak it up ourselves, and enjoy this new journey together as a couple, before opening up to the world! It has been so nice to be nesting in our new home in Charleston, and getting ready for the baby! And oh, baby, have we been BUSY. As you guys know, we launched Kiddy Flowers (did any of you take that as a hint we might be expecting?!), we launched our 2022 swim collections, oh, and we moved into a new house! Things have been HECTIC around here! And we’re so excited to finally share the big news that’s been going on at the same time as it all!

This journey of being pregnant has been such a beautiful, incredible, challenging, surreal, magical rollercoaster of an experience, and I am absolutely loving it. That’s not to say it’s been easy – because it has not, at all! But, in the midst of the chaos, I just feel such an overwhelming sense of calm and gratitude each day to be carrying this new beautiful being into this world! It’s an amazing feeling. I have already been getting a TON of questions so I am planning on getting into all of your burning questions about pregnancy so keep your questions (and baby advice!) coming! We are so excited, and so excited to show this little one the world!

We know that travel will look very different once we have a family compared to traveling just the two of us, but we are excited and welcome the challenge! And to see the world with our favorite new carry-on in tow. And we’re so excited to share all of the best tips and tricks I learn along the way with you all. 

We want our child to grow up as a citizen of the world, experiencing all this beautiful earth has to offer. And we are SO excited to see the world through their little eyes.

Thank you as always for being on this journey with me for the last 9 years (!!) of Jetset Christina! I am so beyond grateful for you.

Love you all,

Christina

My first trimester pregnancy experience

When Kenny and I found out we were pregnant, we were over the moon. A week later, we were over the Pacific. In a plane on our way to Hawaii for a photoshoot. I was about 5.5 weeks pregnant at the time and that’s when my nausea (and absolute exhaustion) kicked in. I worked through it, managing to run (and model in) our Kenny Flowers/Watercolors photoshoot from the crack of dawn to sunset each day, but I was absolutely WIPED.  (In all of these photos from the Maui Collection, I’m secretly pregnant!). For the next 5 or so weeks following the shoot, I would find myself in bed with zero motivation to do anything but relax, watch TV shows, and try to work from my bed. I would need to be eating carbs almost all the time to prevent nausea. I never threw up, but the nausea still sucked. Big time. I craved ALL the carbs, salty green olives, Mexican chilaquiles, and occasionally, milkshakes. One time we were staying in a hotel and I uber-eats’ed a large deep dish pizza to our door… at 3pm. Kenny was so confused, LOL. Deep dish pizza is still a craving of mine (and if you want to know where the best deep dish pizza is in the world, it’s not Chicago, but at Zachary’s in the Bay Area, California, don’t @ me!!!!). If you’re in the Bay Area, order it now, thank me later).  

I basically felt permanently hungover for the entire first trimester (without any alcohol or any of the fun that precedes hangovers, what the heck!!!!) Also, one of the symptoms I found hardest to deal with was definitely the loss of motivation, I’m such a DOER every day with my business and had been so go-go-go-go-go for the past year, that I found it so strange that suddenly I just didn’t want to do… anything. It was as if my whole body was saying to me, nope, this is your biggest priority now, and you’re going to avoid stress at all costs. I napped at least once a day. I listened to my body and rested my body. We tried to walk once a day, but that was the only exercise I was doing besides a (very, very) occasional 20-min pilates workout on my phone. 

I was lucky that my nausea wasn’t so bad that I wasn’t able to eat. In fact, eating made it a lot better. And I craved ALL THE CARBS (still do!). I actually think the BEST part of being pregnant is by far being able to eat everything you want, and feeling great about it. Craving waffles at 2pm? GO FOR IT. I’m honestly a very healthy eater, so adding in a few treats here and there when I was craving them doesn’t phase me at all. My baby has eaten a fresh celery juice and a fresh orange/carrot juice pretty much every morning since it’s been conceived, smoothie bowls (these continue to hit the spot for me, I don’t know about you other pregnant ladies!!), and healthy lunches and dinners. So, if I decide it’s time for pizza or a juicy burger, I don’t feel guilty about it for a second. It’s all about finding the balance for your body, and making sure the health outweighs the treats (in my opinion at least!). 

Interestingly, another symptom I have still and have had since the first trimester was that I felt way LESS anxiety than I did before pregnancy, which I read is actually common. I’m not sure why, but leading up to the pregnancy with wedding planning, our business, all of our launches, photoshoots, finding a house, etc., some anxiety was a constant companion to me. And then, when I got pregnant, it disappeared. It was almost like now that I had this baby in my life to take care of, none of the other stuff mattered.

Every pregnant woman is so different, but my symptoms (exhaustion and nausea mostly) were at their worst from about 6-13 weeks. Right at the turn of the second trimester, I felt my energy coming back in such a huge way, which felt life-changing. I could DO things again!! I still get exhausted at the end of a day, especially if I overdo it, but I feel like a new woman. 

I know from what I’ve read and heard from others, the second trimester is the best trimester, because you have way more energy, and you’re not so huge that you feel uncomfortable. So, I’m trying to take advantage of it in a big way and get a lot done in these next weeks. From preparing our house for the baby (more to come on that soon!), to getting lots done for Watercolors Swim and Jetset Christina in these next few months, so that I’m able to take off some time when the baby comes. I have honestly been LOVING the second trimester, from starting to feel the baby kick (seriously the most special feeling, Kenny is obsessed too!), to the reassurance and calm that comes with knowing it’s growing well and doing well in there from the many doctors’ appointments so far, we are doing well and feeling pretty at ease about everything and I am just excited for this little baby to get here already! But, that being said, there’s a LOT to do before it gets here. And I can’t wait to take you guys along every step of the way here on the blog and on Instagram! 

What pregnancy questions do you guys have? Leave them in the comments!