Meghan Hughes

Dream Birth Plan

Last night, I wrote out my whole dream birth plan with Finley (an exercise encouraged by my midwives) & I wanted to share it here too because it makes me happy to envision. I feel like home birth is so lovely because you can just get comfortable in your space the best way you know how to rather than creating space somewhere else (although that is valid too 💛).

Ideally: My water breaks in the night or I have mucus plug loss or bloody show, but despite the indicator I am able to go back to sleep & get much needed rest. I wake up & go about my day with my contractions in the background. I distract myself by spending time with Finley, making celebration cake pops, walking, sunbathing with the dogs & Ducky, eating delicious food, hydrating, listening to music or watching TV if I need to, doing birth ball exercises, etc. Finley keeps in mind the birth tub can take 2-3 hours to fill & deals with setting that all up in our room.

We time my contractions when they get more noticeable & have been in communication with the midwives since my first indication of labor beginning. Finley or I will continue to be in communication until they & my mom need to come over (mom is a 20 min drive away). When my contractions are about 5-6 min apart, we make sure the midwives & mom are on their way if not already here. I labor in bed, on birth ball, in our room, letting the shower water rush over me if I need hydrotherapy. Everything I need is in the birth kit. I will need water bottle fill ups & food runs. Everyone is chill & on a good vibe. Maybe I’m listening to music & we’re all just hanging out. People are accommodating & communicative, but allow me my space as well to enter into my birth portal (fun term I’m calling it) 😜

They remind me of my affirmations pasted around our bedroom windows if I forget. The temperature is comfortable in the room. The dogs are with us. Ducky is fed & happy chilling outside maybe wallowing. The midwives let me know when to enter the birth pool & I settle into the comfort of the bath. I love baths!!! They communicate when it’s time to start pushing & have been suggesting comfortable methods for me to labor all day. Finley is my main support & reminds me of my strength & power. He supports however he can if it’s what I need. My mom also provides comfort, reassurance & physical touch if need to relax certain muscles in my face or neck or need massage. I am comfortable releasing myself of my inhibitions & I communicate freely as long as I am able to. I trust in my body’s ability to open for our baby & welcome her into the world.

Finley can catch her if he would like to & she immediately comes to my chest. Anything after this is us following the midwives instructions on cord cutting, placenta delivery, etc. I also honor my own intuition as we honor this new being as a family. Maybe the dogs can meet her when I am out of the tub & bring her to the bed. I would like to do an herbal sitz bath after labor, so my mom cleans the tub & has the pot infusing on the stove to be dumped into the bath when it’s safe to do so. Everyone gets Finley, dogs & I comfortable in bed with baby. We are all fed, happy & nourished & ready to enjoy our new addition to our family.

That’s my dream birth baby! It’s long so I appreciate if you read the whole thing 😂 If you’re pregnant, it was a fun exercise! I mean it’s basically just like writing your birth plan, but can be more detailed than whatever you provide your hospital or birth center 💛 Love you! I’m 39 weeks! We are ready!

Maternity Shoot Noodz

The bodies that brought us you 🩶 I figured patreon is a good place to ~test run~ some nudies before gearing up to post some on the gram! So here you go! I’ve never had any kind of professional nude photographs taken, but I felt very safe & comfortable taking them with my friend Emma & she was very chill about it. That’s all you can really ask for!

I told her ahead of time I wanted to take some tasteful nudes to capture the essence of my body during this time & honor my stretch marks. Many people resent or try to reverse them, but I figured specifically photographing them would help remind me of the hard work my body did to grow our baby.

Anyway I hope this isn’t jarring! It’s a test run of sorts! I have other posed ones I may post on IG & just wanted to share the B&W ones here. The gram unfortunately hates a nude! I specifically covered the goods with my posing so they wouldn’t get deleted 😂 But I wanted to share here first cuz Patreon doesn’t give a damn! I have other ones just for us that are… Goods out for the gods… If you will 😂 But those feel very personal, so we’ll start here. Love you loads!

Mom in town/38 weeks!

Hello legends! My mom gets into town today to mark that I'm officially 38 weeks pregnant! I'm very excited! I had a midwife appointment this morning & baby is sounding great, measuring well & moving around lots in there still. The bedroom is completely ready for her arrival minus me wanting my mom to paint the antique bassinet she gave us. It's been in my family for like 100 years & we tested it for lead paint & it came back negative thank GOURD, but it's an off white/cream color & I just don't love it & want it to be sage green (like everything in my life). I can't paint it myself, though cuz of the fumes, so that may be a task for my mommy!

Honestly, I already made a little list for her! I also want her to help me peel & stick tile the bathroom so we can cover the fugly weird rust stain on the linoleum just so I can temporarily feel good in there until we gut/renovate that primary bathroom probably next year. I also want to make cake pops out of the top tier of our wedding cake & freeze them to enjoy with our midwives after my birth, but I could honestly do that on my delivery day to distract myself.

Speaking of distraction techniques, I've been getting more into listening to hypnobirthing meditations & trying to focus my mind elsewhere. Today, I'm going to write down some of those hynobirthing affirmations on sticky notes & paste them all around our bedroom (my birth room) so I can have the reminders. Life is good brothers! It's in the 70's, absolutely gorgina out & I am happy to have crossed so many nesting tasks off our list in the past week or two! Finley & I have been ~slaying~ & prepping so much! Can't believe we'll meet our baby so soon! Love you guys <3 I'll put up a new vid on here this week showing my home birth kit. Xoxo Gossip Girl

Unseen Pics 💛

Life lately! Still waiting to share the bedroom renovation footage with everyone other than you guys because Finley decided to tack the closet footage onto the end of the video 😂 You can see some closet progress pics here! I also unboxed all our baby gifts FINALLY which I showed in a big nesting vlog that will go up this week 🤞 I came home from my midwife appointment to flowers on my bedside table from Fin 💐 CUTE! The dogs have been so sweet & Ducky is thriving! Then I included a toddler pic of me at the end slaying in my jean outfit… my joutfit if you will 🤪 Love ya!

Bed Rest Behavior

HELLO LEGENDS! Happy 37 weeks of pregnancy to meeee! We had a home visit from our midwives on Friday & they delivered my birth tub as well as went over all the early labor signs & what to do if the baby comes fast (rare for first time babies) & they're not here yet. Finley got the whole delivery 411 & we discussed when is best to call them to come over, etc. They prescribed me 10 minutes of massage from Finley daily (slay) & to take it friggin' easy! My feet are feeling really uncomfortable & a bit swollen, so I can't be on them for long hours anyway. I'm just in my bed rest era! Lol not actually, but they did say to seriously stop stressing about things & just rest.

I've been trying to get so many different things done over the past week or so that I am driving myself (& Finley I’m sure) a bit crazy. We have everything we need for her! My nesting urges are just so strong I'll see something random in the house & be like "well obviously we need to put in a piece of wood there to fill it in" or something! Lol. The other day, I decided that if I have been told to rest & relax before baby, that Finley should too because he'll be just as much of a first time parent as me! He deserves that too.

I was just talking to my pregnant friend about this last night because she just moved houses at like 24 weeks pregnant & she said everything is in shambles & her husband has to pick up all the pieces. It's so tempting to want to do every little house fix ourselves, but since we physically can't we just tell our partners to do it & sure it can be stressful to them, but also in her words "SHIZ NEEDS TO GET DONE!" Hahaha. For us though, everything is feeling so much better now that we're moved into our renovated bedroom. I'm just really trying to tie up loose ends with my online work before maternity leave, trying to get YT used to me posting less which I feel like I've been successful with over the past few months & just tending to house chores when I feel like it.

My mom is coming up a week from today! And will be here until mid-June or however long we need her after baby comes. Baby is due 5/28, but I've been getting a strong feeling that she's going to come late. We'll see! Just wanted to check in & say that I appreciate your input on which video to put up next! I never uploaded last week, but that's not shocking for me & there's always this week! Lol. Thank you for your patience, love & caring comments. Love you lots!

Maternity Shoot BTS

I shot with my friend Emma today to document The Bump & we did so many fun looks & locations! These are just random iPhone pics, but I simply cannot wait for you besties to see the final shots! She was such a sweetie & drove all the way to VT from NYC with her dad for a weekend trip to shoot with me 🥹 An honor! She is @emmacheshire on IG if you want to see the pics as soon as they go up 🫶 We shot basically for 5 hours straight 😂 I am egg-zausted but so pleased!! Woo!

36 Weeks & Content Question <3

Hello besties! I’ll be 36 weeks along in my pregnancy tomorrow (ahhh) & I feel like this is prime nesting time brothers! Meal prep! Baby laundry! Sorting! Organizing! It’s so funny because all the moms I see online who talk about nesting always say that your brain really convinces you that you need to do the most random tasks to prep for baby & that’s absolutely me right now 😂

I’m like “Ok we need to glue the fabric back down on these dining chairs before she comes”… Why? The baby won’t be sitting at the table for months! 😂 I also convinced Finley we need a new fridge/freezer before I can freeze all my postpartum food. Your brain really does convince you the silly tasks are necessary too! Or more-so it's like "I HAVE to do this before I can do this other very important thing!" lol.

This all being said, this week I was thinking I'd put a nesting video, but I also realized I want to nest in our bedroom & haven’t put up the bedroom reno vid yet for YT… So maybe that one goes up first? So then I don't have to hide any of the space & can show it freely? What do you guys think?

Howdy ho new patrons <3 & content updates

Updating you on work/what you'll see in the coming weeks, pregnancy pains & life! LOVE YA

GUTENTAG AND GOOD MORNING

Happy Monday folks! Today, Roo woke us up early today by very promptly throwing up down the side of our bed directly into Finley's packed suitcase from our baby shower trip... Love that for us! We are doing all the laundry now & she seems totally fine, but it was a real shock to the system! Oh Roo! On a happier note, I submitted a vlog to a brand this morning for review & approval HOPEFULLY today, but to be honest besties sometimes companies take their sweet time. I'm hoping for a swift approval though because I've been gone from YT for a MONTH! Insane. I explain why in the vid, but you guys know why.

I'm going to edit a deep clean with me video today that will go up soon just for patrons! WOO! It'll be the first look at our finished bedroom for anyone other than us! SLAY! Cannot WAIT for you to see it! The room looks simply stunning. This week, I think I'm finally gonna set up all our baby gear with Finley because I'll be 35 weeks along tomorrow & it's FREAKING TIME BROTHERS! My bestie who's pregnant alongside me (2 weeks ahead) said her baby could come any day & that sent me into a nesting spiral hahaha SO MUCH TO DO! Just wanted to update you, wish you a very happy Earth Day & say that I hope you have a lovely week <3 xo

Checking in after Peach's passing <3

Hi my cuties! Thank you for your condolences to those who heard via IG about our sweet pig Peach passing away. My last post on here was an update on her health asking for prayers, but things just went pretty rapidly downhill after that & she passed on the evening of 4/2 peacefully in Finley's arms. As far as death goes, she went the best way she could've naturally on our farm & we are happy she is free from her pain now although we miss her dearly.

We were so busy with her the week leading up to her passing just monitoring her so closely that frequent posting got away from me, understandably, so I appreciate your patience with me during this time. I've pretty much only been active on IG/TT. Also, we unfortunately only had 2 days after Peach passed to get our things together & drive down to VA for our baby shower. Our remaining piggy Ducky is being watched by our sweet neighbor who is giving her all the love, but it all was just so fast & not ideal timing to leave her. Honestly though, when is death in good timing?

I'll go into everything a bit more in detail in my next YT vid, but that's mainly why I've been distant. Our baby shower was beautiful & such a nice way to get to be surrounded by family & friends so quickly after our loss. We are very grateful to have been able to do that & have been in VA since spending time with family, but we head home in the morning & I'll be transitioning back into my regularly scheduled posting as best as I can. I am very excited just to see Ducky & get my nesting on with you guys! I have some exciting videos planned in the coming weeks, but just wanted to check in here & say that I love you!

Prayers for Peach

Hello my patreon peeps! WHAT A WEEK! In good news, we are FINALLY in our renovated bedroom & I actually filmed a lil patreon exclusive reveal video for you/clean with me of the space before we moved in. I'm very excited for you to see it before anyone else! I'm still MAYBE 60% done editing the actual renovation footage for YT cuz Finley got like 18+ hours of footage so... I'm happy that y'all will get to bask in the glory of the room with us before that goes up!

In sad news, our pig Peach fell really sick over the course of the past week. For more detail than I put on my IG story, last Tuesday she started acting very slow to feed in the evening. It was kind of like she just wasn't interested which is VERY unlike her as the more dominant pig of the pair. Normally she tries to steal Ducky's food on top of her own! On Wednesday, her reluctance was a bit worse, but that was the last time she actually ate the dry feed with Ducky. On Thursday, she began to throw up in the morning. We immediately called the vet & explained the situation: that Ducky was fine, Peach didn't have a fever, but she was acting almost like a human with food poisoning (coming out both ends).

The vet basically told us he COULD come out that day, but that he really didn't know what was wrong with her & suggested we wait out the weekend to see if things improved. At the time, we felt fine about that answer, but looking back I'm like... Why didn't he suggest literally ANY remedy for her nausea? So I texted our Oregon friend Athena who sold us our pigs & she said "Not to freak you guys out, but it sounds like she may have gotten into something toxic that Ducky did not. I'd follow a poison protocol of giving her a syringe of activated charcoal & electrolytes mixed in water until she improves. If she is dehydrated she will go downhill quick."

So we've been syringe feeding her that mixture since she started throwing up cuz she refused to eat or drink & we couldn't monitor her intake without doing that. Her demeanor has changed each day. Some days she'll get up, walk around & explore. Other days she lays in the woods alone sleeping for hours. Today, the vet finally came out & gave her 3 shots: anti-inflammatory, antibiotic & dewormer. We hope those do something, but they're just kind of protocol since we have no clue what's wrong with her. She clearly doesn't have an intestinal obstruction since she's been puking, peeing & pooping. We started syringe feeding her 2x a day a smoothie of what I have basically everyday just so she can get nutrients & energy: kefir, spinach & kale, berries, almond butter, protein powder & then in her mix I put the charcoal as well. Then we continue the electrolyte water 3x a day. She's just been resting since the vet came & took her stool sample to test at the lab.

This is obviously alarming & concerning for many reasons, but we are going out of town soon for our baby shower in VA & our neighbor normally watches the pigs when we leave. Since Peach is pretty people-picky, we don't feel great about having him syringe feed her, so we're just PRAYING she turns a corner in the next few days. The vet speculated about cancer, but didn't want to freak us out too much since we don't have the stool sample results back yet to see if it's a parasite or toxin in her system. It all just happened so fast that we're just asking for healing thoughts, prayers & good energy sent her way. She is our piggy princess that we love so much! Thanks in advance for the love. It's been a tough week on the farm.

Unseen Pics from Bday & Bedroom

Hello my patreon peeps! I wanted to share some really gorgeous pics of Mr. Larry being handsome & funny! There’s also a pic in here from my facial/massage day that Finley gifted me for my birthday (iconic), mushrooms I found while filming the tour of our land, snow crystals, my favorite birthday fit, findings from our hike that day, caprese salad I’ve been obsessed with food prepping that I’ll definitely prep post-partum, my everyday OOTD at this point in my pregnancy (robe), my recent nesting project replacing all my spices in new jars, THE BEDROOM ALMOST DONE & my bday gift from my friend Jenn that she made me! CUTENESS

Falling victim to perfectionism

Hello folks! Today I wanted to talk about perfectionism specifically as it pertains to our home renovation. I'm SO excited for you guys to see the bedroom transformation video, but this morning while editing I'm just struck by how utterly consumed Finley is by perfectionism especially when it came to refinishing the original wood floors. Honestly, you all will probably be the only ones to see the extent of the footage he filmed just about the floors. It was driving him mad! It took probably 2+ months of meticulous sanding, staining, polyurethane, sanding again between each coat of that, reapplying, etc. It's normal to have to take all those steps, but there were a lot of unforeseen hiccups along his path that made it take even longer.

What's so funny though & why I wanted to write about this this week is that in the beginning renovation footage, he mentioned a few times about how it's easy to get too obsessive with a project & sometimes you just need to say "This is good enough," but slowly throughout the process you see him get swept up in perfectionism. It honestly tells a very good story of how this can happen to anyone when doing something & REALLY wanting to do it "right," so I'm going to keep it in for all of you.

It made me think of all the things in my own life that I refuse to start or finish because it's not "perfect" yet. I think as a culture we've become so scared of failing because of the rise of comparison on social media. Or even, in my case, sometimes I start things & announce them into the ether & then feel bad because I never actually end up doing it & that interrupts my creative process entirely. Isn't that so common though? We as humans change our minds SO often over the course of even just one day! We should allow ourselves to pivot, adjust, accept things for what they are, abandon a project, etc. This is just on my mind today so I wanted to share the reminder with all of you as well! You're doing a fine job buddy!

Unseen Pics

Lots of resting, cuddling & renovating lately!! I also got my baby shower dress & honey she’s perfect! Minus the socks 😂

I'm Just Writin! I'm Just Ravin!

Hello folks! Sorry for the ~delay~ in posting on here! I've been a busy writing bee. Weeks ago, I wrote a post about wanting to write a... Book? Short stories? Essays? Not sure! But I'm about 20 pages down in whatever it is. I work on it most days, but have realized my absolute inability to focus on multiple tasks at once... Lol. I'm sure many of you can relate! But because I've been focusing on this much more, I'm like SEE YA to any other tasks-- Even the ones I wrote about in my last post that I DESPERATELY want to finish as well. Either way, I'm enjoying the process, but do want to learn to have a little variety when it comes to my work/focus.

This all being said, I also am just feeling MEH about vlogs lately! This morning when I woke up I was like "I should film a vlog" but then I was like "What the hell do I show other than what I've been showing already recently?" My whole life at the moment is still nesting, cleaning, organizing, downsizing, etc. & I already feel tired of that content which is probably a bad way to feel! I know I'll do more of it in the future when I feel more inspired, but in the meantime I'm just trying to think of what to share on YT since the bedroom reno video is being edited as we speak, but is certainly not ready yet-- She's long as hell!

Anyway! The other day, I got an idea that it would be fun to do a video for my Patreon called "Things I did I don't want my daughter to do" or something (working title) where I just share insane stories from my youth that I genuinely hope my daughter doesn't repeat hahaha. Would you guys enjoy that? It would be a throwback storytime vibe & could be fun. Especially since I've been thinking a LOT about parenting lately & lessons I'll impart on my kids are always on my mind. Anyway! Happy Thursday! We're taking a childbirth ed class tonight! Woohoo!

The Overwhelming Urge to Finish

Hello folks! Today, I want to write about the urge to finish. I don't know if it's the nesting hormones, but lately I have had so many unfinished projects work their way into my psyche. I'm definitely a person who likes to think that they can do it all, so this past week I started chipping away at some of them. Why not? I thought! It's not like I'm growing a baby & actively renovating a house! What's a couple more tasks? :P

Remember back in 2021 when Fin & I were going to launch a small business? We put it on hold when planning our wedding became a part time job, but still kept all of our inventory of course. Then we moved across the country after our wedding, lived with our lives in storage for a year in VA & finally settled in VT in late summer 2023. Recently, I found all our inventory again in the basement & told Finley "We NEED to sell this before the baby comes. I simply cannot think about it anymore." So I've spent the past few days sorting through all of it. Honestly, I'm so sick of thinking & talking about it that I'll probably only mention this here then drop the link when you can actually purchase it.

Also, I made a new merch design with a friend in late summer 2023. It was RIGHT around when we were buying our house, so it wasn't high on my priority list to sell the design. Also, I don't really like my current merch company. When I lived in LA, I had a friend with a warehouse who stored, shipped & sold all my merch along with some touring musician friends. It was SO convenient & he was down to make any design I wanted because he owned the company. Now, I care more about sustainability than I did back then & it's grown very difficult to find a merch company with good practices. I'd love to actually find someone this year who could print & ship my designs. I MISS MERCH!

On a non-work related task note, I also started working on Finley & I's 2023 memory book. Last year, I worked on our 2022 book from like February to JUNE! It ended up being a huge book & took a lot of time, so this year I'm cutting down the photo count. They're so fun to have, but damn they're hard work to make! I decided it would be a good project to do while we wait for baby to arrive, though.

Anyway! This is just what the freak I've been up to! I'll be in my third trimester tomorrow & I can't freakin believe it! Much to do before our little stinker arrives, but these things seem kinda random & fun to focus on & don't require much physical movement from me (which is getting harder) lol. Comment below what you've been up to! I love you!

Secret Vlog, Patron-Only Baby Updates & Parent Poll

Hello my little petunias! The secret vlog I filmed recently is gonna go up later today & I'm excited! I included lots of baby updates in it & had a revelation that I just simply feel ~more comfortable~ sharing stuff about preparing for our child on here because you besties are just less judgmental than the YouTube masses! Lol. Not that I don't love posting on YT still, but it's just a fact! My patrons are much less likely to say something insane in my comment section than some old man named Jerry who found me in his recommended!

In the coming months, I'll probably share much more baby stuff as we get closer to her arrival. 3 more months folks! Lots to do! This all being said though, I'm curious how many of you are parents? Vote in the poll attached to this writing post! I need all the parent recs I can get cuz in the vlog going up on here I shared our *current* baby registry that is subject to change. I feel like as a new parent you are just simply BOMBARDED with things you "need to buy" so I seriously appreciate any input on what I DON'T need!

Anyway! I know many of you aren't parents & probably don't really care about baby-related content, so I won't overwhelm you with it! That's just the phase of life I'm in now, but I have ~many sides~ lol. My mom actually sent me a whole text the other day about honoring child me, teenage me, single me, newlywed me & now momma me! She was talking about the layers we shed coming into parenthood & it made me think it may be a good stream of consciousness topic to reflect on in a vid for you all? Let me know if you'd like that!

Vlogging just for you + End of Feb updates

Stream of consciousness check in/voicemail for you today besties

Patreon-Specific Vid Ideas <3

Hello my little sugar plums! I wanted to check in on here & ask for any patreon-specific video ideas you have? Comment them down below! I feel like secret vlogs should make a fun comeback since I'm not able to do smoke sesh vids at the moment because I'm pregnant as hell. I also have been thinking about sharing an updated vinyl collection on here if that would be something you guys would be interested in? My last one was filmed in 2019!!! So long ago! My taste has changed a bit, I've donated some records & also gotten MANY more. Let me know if you'd enjoy that! Mostly, I like doing videos that YouTube doesn't see though so any ideas outside of typical vlog format is also appreciated. I'm thinking some price transparency content could be nice? Especially once I upload the bedroom renovation content I could always put a video on here tallying up everything & how much it cost us if that would be of interest? Let me know! xo

Off IG & Thriving

So the ole ball & chain (Instagram) had to be cut loose this week because I simply have too addictive of behavior with it. Finley & I talk about this a lot, but unfortunately IG just feels very insidious to me. I go on with the intention of sharing & lose track of why I went on within like 20 seconds! I get wrapped up watching stories or scrolling & it’s terrible. I don’t even use it for reels! I just simply can’t be trusted with it! So I’m off IG for now & sharing pics here.

We had a lovely little Valentine’s Day together (our last before becoming parents)!!! We went bowling, Finley got his first hambone (THAT’S 4 STRIKES IN A ROW!!!), we had a DELECTABLE early dinner at 5 PM like oldies & watched Dune (2021) when we got home. I’ve finished lots of books this week (8 so far this year) & have been focusing on unpacking & organizing a ton of our belongings. Finley is also painting the bedroom & it looks iconic! Love you!

Writing a book idk & other updates lol

Hello my little cupcakes <3 I'm 25 weeks pregnant today! Slay! I've been feeling good other than the occasional headache, so that's nice! I've been spending most of my time deep in nesting mode & so has Finley. We are FINALLY in the painting stages of our bedroom renovation, so the next steps are to paint, add trim to walls & floors, decorate & move our shit in! WE CAN'T WAIT! We are on track to finish by the end of the month if all goes as planned.

In other news, I started writing (I think) a book last week? Idk man it feels more like a collection of short stories at this point, but I simply HAD TO WRITE IT! I have had the concept for years, but never acted on it. The other night, though, I woke up suddenly at like 4 AM with the idea in my head again & my brain just starting writing it for me. I was up for like an hour & a half just writing the book in my mind! When I woke up, I started the first 2 chapters.

It's nothing serious at the moment & honestly I feel like I'd just put it on here if I shared it anywhere, but I'm happy to be doing it. It's been fulfilling to have writing back in my life again apart from these updates on here. Hope you're all having a lovely little week <3

Unseen Pics 💛

Some outtakes from my bump pic photoshoot I had alone the other day, doggy hibernation pics (it’s finally warming up here! thank god for them), more bumpdates, gorgeous pics of my bathroom I cleaned & organized in my new video, peep the pigs relaxing through the window, found my co-op’s herbal stock 😍, my current craving (apples, almond butter, granola, cinnamon sugar & chocolate covered raisins) & baby size update! I’ll be 25 weeks on Tuesday 🤰 I had a midwife appointment this morning & all is swell with my little eggplant! She is head down (what you want), good size, measuring well, etc! Love you!

Love Month <3

Hi besties! In honor of this month of love, I've been thinking a lot about self love practices to incorporate into my day to day routine. They can be as little as loving myself enough to not go on IG when I first wake up (lol) & to just slow down & sip my morning coffee with a book instead. I also have been trying to get back more to a state of self-reflection other than self-numbing. That sounds dramatic, but I mean numbing in the sense of using social media, substance (not that I'm doin' anything cuz I'm friggin' pregnant just using as example), food, etc. as a distraction from what I really want to do/feel. I honestly feel like I abandoned (on accident) so many of my self-reflection & self love practices in 2023. I was telling Finley over dinner the other night that I think my mind was just so preoccupied with so much change (i.e. moving, pregnancy, etc.) that I didn't even really consider that a lot of my self love practices had gone out the window.

Anyway! I've just been trying to prioritize that more for myself this year so far with journaling, using my planner & the prompts that are reflective check-ins, doing my oracle cards more often when I'm questioning something in my life, reading more instead of scrolling... You get the gist! I feel like any way I can show or extend myself some love is appreciated at this point in my life especially with a baby on the way I just want to get in the routine of self love/care so that it's harder to neglect when she's here. I know it'll still be hard... Just less hard if I'm in the practice! I'm gonna keep this up throughout the month & encourage you to do the same <3 LOVE YA!

23 Weeks & Feeling SILLAYYY

Updating you on life in the ole VT winter weather my brethren!

The Power of Care

Hi friends <3 It's a bit later in the day when I'm posting this one, but I've just been ~reflecting~ on this year so far & thinking a lot about the power of care. Self care, caring for others, giving a care, etc! This year & the end of last were already filled with some pretty tough news for us. We lost a friend to cancer right before Christmas & had a family member get diagnosed in the New Year. Is this what getting older is like? We currently know 4 loved ones battling their own journeys with it & it feels overwhelming... I'm not gonna write a whole post on cancer because lord knows I don't know enough about it, but we've been trying our hardest to educate ourselves (Thanks to Siddhartha Mukherjee's books) & just offering support to the people we care for.

The power of care fuels a lot of my life right now honestly. Just caring to check in on friends. Haven't heard from them in a while? Are they pregnant? Dealing with health stuff? Personal life stuff? Check in & give a care! I've also been *trying* to implement the practice of SPECIFICALLY asking about what I know someone deeply cares about when I hangout with them. Is your uncle into woodworking? Ask to see his wood shop. Is your friend into board games? Ask for recommendations & maybe to play some time. The world is filled with enough doom & gloom! Let's talk to people about what they love!

ALSO! This year, I've been making a point to care for myself in the ways that truly nourish me. Mainly, reading & meditating every day. It has helped me immensely (on top of taking an IG break & trying to get that habit a bit more reeled in). Talking to myself in the form of journaling or even just writing out my day in a planner feels like an act of self care. Just take more time for your mind this year! You deserve it buddy! I love you & I give a care about you!

Updated Ultrasound Pics

Look at our little stink go! Go stink (fuck it up) go stink (fuck it up) 🎶 She showed off her little feetsies & even said “HE WAS NUMBER ONE!!!” My mom told me last night she’s started bragging about her “large brain” & telling everyone she’s “wicked smaht!” 😂 Our anatomy scan went great aside from her flipping around in there to try & get away from the ultrasound machine— We still got the pics honey! My doctor said all is “beautifully well” so that makes me happy 🫶

Back to it!

Hello my patreon peeps <3 Now that I'm back in VT & adjusting to my routine again, I'm trying to return to my posting days/schedule on here for Monday writing posts, Wed/Thurs photo/audio posts & (PLEASE DEAR GOD MEGHAN BRING THEM BACK) monthly uploads! I have almost all of an hour or so long vlog filmed for my first YT video of the year, but it has a sponsor (was supposed to be a vlogmas sponsor but damn a binch was busy) so I have to wait for them to approve everything before it goes live. It will be up in the next few days though!

We got to see our baby girl this morning for our 20 week ultrasound/anatomy scan & she is growing beautifully! I'll share some pics of the ultrasound for my next post this week. I've started feeling her movements A LOT & it makes sense because she was moving around SO much during the appointment. It took an hour & a half total just to get some good angles of her! Lol. I don't think she liked the machine pressing into her very much, so she kept swimming away from it. We love an independent queen!

Life has been okay lately. We are VERY happy to be home, but unfortunately have learned of some bad health-related news with some loved ones. Life is unfair brothers! Cancer sucks! I just want everyone I love to live forever :( Other than this news though, we are well & I hope the same for all of you! New Year blessings to you beeshers! Talk soon! xo

Finally HOME!

After 19 days away, we finally got home to VT today! I’m taking a lil break from IG at the moment, so I’m gonna share all our updates here. I hope you guys had a happy, healthy & safe holiday season! We certainly did :) We left GA on Monday & got to VA that same night just planning to stop there to break up our road trip, but then Finley’s uncle George asked us to come see his wood shop/property on Tuesday so we did that too. It was so cute to see him & Fin bonding over power tools lol.

We got back on the road at around 1 PM on Tuesday & just planned to drive from VA to VT the rest of the day & get in late night, but winter storm “Finn” (giving my man a bad name!!) had other plans. You can see in one of the pics from the car window, but it was POURING rain our entire drive. Many places we drove through had some snow too & when the sun set there was heavy fog, high winds & we saw 4!!! crashes & knew we needed to call it a night, so we booked a hotel.

The dogs loved luxuriating in good ole Hazelton, PA with us last night! We just played our switches, cuddled up & watched Parks & Rec. This morning, we got back on the road with NO rain (thank god) & made it back to our house around sun set. It’s so beautiful here with all the snow we got this weekend! Our neighbor Ron took SUCH good care of the pigs & property while we were away. He even shoveled our porch for us to come home to 🥹 Life is good brothers! I’ll be back vlogging soon, but we’re just opening mail tonight & unpacking. Love you!

Our Virtual Holiday Card

Happy Holidays to you & yours! Since I only had a few extras to send out to patrons, I wanted to upload our 2023 holiday card for the rest of you! Our last holiday season just us two humans 🥰 The dogs & hogs are elated to have a new sister on the way! Larry is hoping she doesn’t smell as bad as Roo, but he loves kids since he used to nanny with me, so he is very excited! Wishing you all a cozy & safe holiday season spent with those you love most. Thank you for another amazing year of community, love & support here on Patreon! I love you!

4 Extra Holiday Cards (All claimed) <3

Hi patreon peeps! I have 4 extra holiday cards this year, so if you privately message me your mailing address on here I'll send them to the first 4 people who send em :) I'll upload the virtual card on here either way for you guys too to see, but the physical ones are always fun. I love you & I hope you're all enjoying vlogmas & the holiday season so far! Is it still finals time? Or are they over? I hope you slay them either way if you're taking em & also have a wonderful week! Eek Christmas is in a week!!!