We’re having a baby!

Welcome to the Q&A: Baby Chic Edition – one of the most exciting posts I’ve ever written! Over the past few months, we’ve been keeping a little secret, and now that the word is officially out, I wanted to sit down and answer the questions you guys sent our way since announcing. From how we found out to how I’ve been feeling, our living situation, and everything in between, consider this your inside look at our newest (and tiniest!) chapter yet.

I’m also sharing a few of our favorite photos from our maternity shoot on the beach in Traverse City, Michigan, a truly special place that made this season of life feel even more magical.

Photos by: Addison Rayne Photography

Q&A: Baby Chic Edition

Q: What is your due date?

A: April 6th, 2025- eeeek!

Q: Do you know the gender and will you be doing a reveal?

A: No gender reveal here! I might have been a little iffy about having kids for a while, but I’ve always said that if I did, I’d want it to be a surprise. I love surprises WAY too much to miss out on one of the biggest ones of a lifetime!

Q: How did you find out you were pregnant?

A: We were supposed to have plans with friends that Saturday night, but they ended up canceling last minute, so we stayed in and watched a movie instead. Partway through, I started doing the math and realized I technically should’ve started my period that morning. I turned to my husband on the couch, mid-movie, both of us in our pajamas, and said, “Should we take a pregnancy test?!”

We ran to the bathroom, took the test, and BAM. To be honest, I had really convinced myself I wasn’t pregnant because my Oura ring showed all the usual signs that my period was about to start. So when the test said pregnant, I was in complete shock and just kept saying over and over, “NO FUCKING WAY!.”

My husband immediately started jumping for joy, absolutely beaming with excitement. He’s wanted this even longer than I have. I always thought I’d take a test by myself and surprise him in a cute way, but once we started trying, we took every test together. And honestly, I kind of love that we did.

Q: Can you talk more about the Oura Ring signs and how you used it for fertility?

A: Yes! I’ve worn my Oura Ring since last December, so I’ve gotten pretty familiar with my normal patterns and what my cycle usually looks like. Oura tracks things like body temperature, resting heart rate, sleep quality, and readiness and I started noticing how those metrics shifted throughout my cycle.

Normally, your body temperature stays a bit lower before ovulation, then rises slightly after due to an increase in progesterone. It stays elevated throughout the second half of your cycle and drops again right before your period starts. If you are pregnant, your temperature shouldn’t drop like it normally does – it should stay elevated! Mine stayed more elevated for a bit longer than normal but then right before my supposed period it started dropping so I was convinced I wasn’t pregnant for this reason.

When we were trying to conceive, I used it to help track my fertile window by watching for slight temperature increases and trends in my readiness and resting heart rate. Normally, right before my period, my temperature and heart rate would dip back down. If pregnant, those metrics should stay elevated instead of dropping like usual!

So while Oura definitely isn’t a medical fertility tracker, it was really helpful for learning my body’s rhythms and spotting subtle changes that gave me a hint something was different! But everyone’s body is so different and nothing is going to be 100% accurate. I obviously suggest still using ovulation strips to track your peak ovulation window and pregnancy tests to confirm pregnancy!

Q: How did first trimester treat you?

A: Overall, I feel very thankful for a somewhat “easy” first trimester! I didn’t have any morning sickness (other than one day). I did feel nauseous if I didn’t eat first thing when I woke up or keep myself full throughout the day, but otherwise I felt pretty good. I also didn’t really lose any energy, which was amazing because it was a busy few months with work and I didn’t feel like I had to slow down much which I really appreciated.

That being said, I did deal with pretty bad insomnia and migraines. The insomnia started almost immediately after finding out and is still very much present. I love my sleep, so that’s been a tough one!I recently discovered Unisom and boy has that been a life saver. Highly recommend for insomnia but it’s also supposed to help with nausea too!

Q: Any cravings or aversions?

A: Sushi and Chick-fil-A but to be fair, I always crave those! I’m skipping the raw fish, but I’ve been on the hunt for the best non-raw sushi roll, so if you have any Chicago recs, please send them my way! I’ve also definitely been upsizing my usual Chick-fil-A order, hehe.

Q: What supplements did you take/are currently taking?

A: Let me preface this with I am not a doctor or medical professional. I consulted my doctor before implementing any of these and suggest that you do the same! After reading this book (HIGHLY recommend- it’s an overwhelming amount of information but eye opening too), I ordered all of these supplements earlier in the year when we knew we wanted to try in the coming months. I ended up quickly switching to this prenatal (code CHIC25) as the first one gave me headaches. My OB suggested that I start taking a prenatal at least 3 months before trying to conceive. I highly suggest as well just because it might take some time to find one that works well with your body.

In addition to the supplements, both my husband and I cut back on our excessive drinking. Obviously it would be best to completely cut it out but we did not do that. Just tried to limit the amount and also what type. If we drank it was only on the weekends and usually wine. We also both increased how much we were working out, especially my husband as this is very important for sperm quality! We also did not go in any hot tubs the 3 months leading up to trying and once we started trying.

I am now taking the same prenatal and eliminated the other supplements once I got pregnant. The only supplement that I added in was magnesium to help with pregnancy insomnia and headaches! I also want to note that the month that we got pregnant was the first month I actually tracked my ovulation with these ovulation test strips and the app that goes with! If you are even thinking about trying I would suggest ordering some ovulation strips and getting to know when you actually ovulate vs when the apps tell you. Our bodies are SO different and don’t always ovulate when predicted and you want to make sure you time your small window correctly!

Q: How did you style yourself early on to hide your bump?

A: I was bloated from day one, so most of my jeans didn’t fit especially the high waisted ones. For all of my try-ons, I tried to steer clear of jeans and stick with more oversized, flowy pieces. Of course, that wasn’t always the case, and there were definitely a few outfits that would’ve 100% given it away if I had turned to the side. So I mostly filmed straight on!

Once I was past the 12-week mark, though, I was a little more nonchalant about hiding it and I know a few of you definitely picked up on that!

Q: You say you were torn on kids, what changed your mind?

A: Him. I know that sounds cheesy, but hearing how much he wanted kids and knowing I was with the right person made the decision so much clearer. I don’t know if it was that, or if age played a role too, but I eventually got to a point where I thought, there has to be more to life than this.

I have a career I love, a husband I love, friends I love, and a life I’m really proud of but I started to feel like the big things I wanted to accomplish were already behind me, and there was still something missing. I think I just began to see the bigger picture: how important family is through every stage of life. And that’s something I want, always.

Q: How many children do you want?

A: We’ve always agreed on two, but now I think maybe three? Obviously, we’ll see how the first goes, but I feel like if we have a girl, I’d want to give her a sister and if we have a boy, I’d want to give him a brother. In a perfect world, we’d have one of each and be completely happy, but I also know the strong bond I have with my sisters, and I can’t imagine not giving that to my own kids.

Q: Do you plan to move back to Texas or stay in Chicago?

A: We would love to move back to Texas to be closer to friends and family, but the timeline is still up in the air for us. As of now, the plan is to stay in Chicago! We LOVE our little apartment, but we’re starting to look for more space once the baby comes so stay tuned!

For reference, we moved to Chicago about two and a half years ago for my husband’s job and have completely fallen in love with the city and the seasons here. That said, both of our families live in Texas, so the pull to move back is strong and we’re not naive to the fact that we’ll need help once we’re raising kids!

Q: Do you have a gut feeling if it’s a girl or a boy?

A: Me personally? Not one bit! My husband has said from day one that he thinks it’s a girl (I think mostly because he wants it to be). I had pretty bad acne early on and they say “girls steal your beauty” but I also haven’t had any real morning sickness, which is supposedly a sign of a boy. So, who knows!

I haven’t had any vivid dreams or gut feelings either way, so no real sense one way or the other so far. I’m just praying none of the doctors or ultrasound techs slip up, because I cannot wait for that surprise in the delivery room!

Q: What are you most nervous for?

A: I had two major hip surgeries to correct hip dysplasia back in 2017, and I’m definitely nervous to see how my hips hold up during pregnancy and labor. I have four metal screws on each side, and while the doctors tell me I should be able to do everything normally, I still have my doubts. I’m just praying everything goes smoothly without any added pain or complications.

Q: What are you most excited for?

A: I can’t wait to see what he or she looks like! Will they look more like me, like my husband, or be the perfect mix of both? I’m also so excited to see us as a little family unit and what that dynamic looks like. I already see how much my husband loves Baby Chic and they’re not even earthside yet so I know it’s going to be the sweetest relationship once they’re here.

Thank you for all of your love and support on this next chapter and we can’t wait to take you along for the ride of a lifetime!