Monthly Archives: November 2011

Hi there! Hope your week is off to a good start. It’s always tough to get back in the swing of things after a long holiday weekend isn’t it? Before you know it, it will be Christmas and we’ll get a little break to spend with family and and friends and I’ll be even MORE pregnant!

This week our little guy is about 2 1/2 lbs. and a little over 15inches long, about the size of a butternut squash.

I can definitely tell that he is that big. I have even felt him stretching up into my rib cage, such a weird feeling!

Besides having a little stomach bug last week I feel pretty good. I definitely feel BIG especially when exercising, even yoga. There just seems to be this big belly in the way! I’m feeling a little more tired than usual but over all have been sleeping pretty good and don’t have any annoying aches and pains to speak of. Being sick last week was kind of rough. I can usually handle being sick, no problem but it just felt different being pregnant, more uncomfortable.  I still find that I need to eat smaller meals since my stomach just cannot hold that much any more. Definitely felt stuffed on Thanksgiving!

Here’s a little count down for you:

Number of days until due date: 77

Days until next midwife appointment: 12

Days until thesis presentation AND first shower: 10 (so excited!)

Days until graduation: 17

Well, I got some feedback from my advisor on the draft of my thesis and looks like I’ll be busy with some revisions these next few days. I hope to post later this week about “Girl’s Night.” The girls and I haven’t gone out in a long time! We always have such a good time and I am really looking forward to it and I think we’re going to a restaurant I haven’t blogged about!

Have a good week!

Wow! Three posts in one week! Someone (ME!!) must have finished the first draft of their thesis and has some time on their hands!!

This weekend was the perfect mix of time spent with family and friends, getting stuff done, and relaxation!

Besides getting the rough draft of my thesis done we also made some progress on the baby’s nursery. About a week ago Brian put together the crib and I washed up the bedding I bought.

The bed is still not complete as we don’t have a mattress yet. I have one on my registry and am waiting until after my showers to purchase one (or not).Still not sure where I’m going to put that small chest of drawers and I would like to paint it white but since the temperature has dropped not sure if that will be happening.

This weekend Brian put together the dresser for the nursery. I really like it!

I plan on putting a changing pad on top and using that as a changing table. And look what I accomplished.

I washed up and sorted the clothes my cousin gave me as well as the ones people have already given us as gifts. The middle drawers have 0-3month clothing and the bottom drawers have 3-6month clothing. I also have a pile of 6-9 month clothing that still need a home but that’s a project to another day. I plan on using the top drawers for diapers and accessories like socks and hats. I’m glad they label baby clothing because I truly have no idea the difference in size between a 3 month baby and a 6 month baby. I hear some of the clothing “sizes” don’t necessarily match the age of your baby so I figured it was a good idea to get everything ready and have it on hand while I figure out which size our little guy will be wearing. It was so fun folding all the cute clothes thinking about how soon there will be a little person who gets to wear them all. I can’t wait! It’s all starting to come together and become very real that this WILL be happening and SOON!

Since our good friends the Gardner’s were in town I had Mr. Gardner take some photos of us for our Christmas card. I’ll share some of the outtakes so I don’t spoil the actual photo for our friends and family!

I will tell you that we ended up taking off our coats to show off my bump and it was COLD and WINDY!

Hope your holiday was everything you hoped it would be! Have a good start to your week and before you know it, it will be Christmas!

Hi there! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving and that the holiday spirit continues throughout your weekend! I am so disappointed in myself as a blogger. Last year I blogged in detail not only about our Thanksgiving Feast but also of my preparation leading up to the big day and some fun adventures we had afterwards. Yesterday I took my camera to my parent’s house where we were celebrating Turkey Day and I didn’t take a single picture!! I guess I have been pretty consumed with my thesis paper (just submitted my first rough draft which is due this Monday!) and getting ready for our baby, not to mention feeling a bit under the weather.  I felt well enough yesterday to head out to my parent’s house for a delicious meal! We had all the traditional foods; turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberry sauce, veggies, and a fabulous sweet potato casserole my sister-in-law made. Oh and pumpkin pie of course! But alas no pictures! Today we are headed over to Brian’s parent’s house for round 2!

As the holidays begin I have been thinking a lot about my previous challenge with weight loss and how, now that I am pregnant, my mind set is in a totally different place. The holidays always seemed like such a challenging time for me and I seemed to always be struggling with my weight. Last year, on this same weekend, I ran 6 miles on Thanksgiving, taught a 90 minute fitness class the day after Thanksgiving, taught two back to back classes on Saturday, AND then ran 10 (10!) miles on Sunday! What the hell was I thinking? And why was I exactly pushing my body like? I honestly  have no idea if I was doing this in attempt to lose weight or keep my weight down or if it was just a combination of teaching too much and preparing for my second half marathon. I also was suffering from several injuries and wondering why? Duh!

I wasn’t sure how I would mentally feel about gaining weight while pregnant. Part of me worried that I would adopt the mind set of, “I’m pregnant I can eat whatever I want” and end up gaining an unhealthy amount of weight. Or if I would be overly cautious and try to limit what I ate in order to not gain too much weight. I feel like I have found a nice healthy balance indulging a little more than I normally would but also watching what I eat, not for the sake of gaining weight but for the sake of providing my baby with the nutrients he needs.

I was also worried that I would struggle mentally with the fact that I was gaining weight. I have had such a disordered way of thinking about my body and weight loss in the past that I just didn’t know how I would feel. I am proud to say that I LOVE every single pound that I have gained and I LOVE my baby bump.

Even at my thinnest I would have NEVER posted a picture of my bare belly for all too see. I was a little hesitant to post pictures of my baby belly but in the spirit of this post here ya go!

Isn’t it beautiful!

I LOVE it!

Mainly I love it because I honestly thought I would never get to experience being pregnant. I had mentally prepared myself for never being able to experience the amazing experience of carrying a child. I am continually amazed at what my body is doing in order to grow this precious life. I have felt so blessed and thankful to have this experience even with some its minor annoyances. I am so thankful for the little life growing inside of me and every single pound I’ve gained and will gain in order to keep this little guy healthy and strong!

Happy Thanksgiving Eve! I hope that whatever you have planned for this Holiday Weekend it involves spending time with the most important people in your life!

I cannot believe that I am now in the third trimester! The first trimester seemed to go so slowly and most of the time I didn’t even feel pregnant. The second trimester went by so quickly! I loved the new energy I got and that I finally started  looking like I was actually pregnant.

Hard to believe I started the second trimester looking like this:

(This is actually at 11 Weeks as I skipped 12 and 13 because my midwife told me I was 2 weeks farther along than I thought!)

To this!

28 Weeks!

Baby is now the size of a cabbage but I DO NOT like cabbage so there was no way I was buying one! He is about 2 1/4 lbs. and over 15inches long!

I can definitely tell that he is looking for space in there. Not only do I feel the usual kicks and jabs but sometime I feel a long stretch and can tell it’s one of limbs reaching out into his little home!

To be honest the third trimester is not off to a good start. For the past couple of days I have felt some weird cramping in my stomach. I didn’t think too much about it as I figured the little guy just shifted positions and it was affecting my digestion. But then yesterday I found myself using the bathroom more frequently than normal. I swore I wouldn’t be one of those people who rushed to the midwife with every strange twinge. I did call the nurses and they said I could come in and get tested for a urinary tract infection which is what I thought I had. Well, it came back negative and this morning I know why. It seems I’ve contracted some type of stomach bug. The worst part is I volunteered to sub a Group Strength Training class this morning. I woke up feeling kind of funky but figured I could get through the class. Well, about half way through I felt like I was either going to be sick or pass out. I stopped lifting weights and talked my class through it. I was fine, I just hope I didn’t scare the class participants. I am hoping that this is related to my illness because I still have a few classes left to teach before I take a break. It definitely made me realize that I needed to slow down. I went into work in the morning but only stayed until lunch. I’ve been laying low every since.

On a good note, I ran to one of our local grocery stores to buy some tummy friendly food and parked in their special parking space for: “Expecting or New Mothers” It was the first time I got to park there and I felt pretty special!

One thing that has been bugging me lately are my maternity jeans. One the one hand I love them because they make me feel like I am dressing semi-normally and they are relatively comfortable. But on the other hand they are not comfortable because they always slip down and I find myself constantly hitching them up! I’m not sure if they are too big or what. I bought the regular size I was wearing before I got pregnant, perhaps one size bigger. I’m not sure if they are too big or if this is just how maternity jeans are. Any other mom’s out there have any thoughts? I’m sure in 10-12 weeks when nothing fits me I’ll remember how I thought my jeans were too big!

10-12 weeks!! Ah! We are so not ready! Could you see the dresser I ordered on the floor still in its box on the floor in my pictures? I’m really not too worried and am looking forward to the third trimester, finishing my thesis, celebrating the holidays with family and friends, and my baby showers! I just take one day at a time and continue to enjoy this experience I am on!

Hello there! Is the weather getting frightful where you are? So far no snow here but the temps are dropping and it sure feels like winter is on it’s way! I know I must say this every week but I just can’t believe how fast time is going. I can not believe I am in the last week of the second trimester! According to a lot of info I’ve read, should the baby be born now he would have a 95% chance of surviving. While that is a little bit comforting I hope he continues to bake for at least 10 more weeks until he is fully ready to come into this world. Plus I am not even close to being ready for him. As I type Brian is attempting to put the crib together!

This week my baby boy weighs in at almost 2lbs and is 14 1/2 inches long, about the size of a head of cauliflower but I didn’t have any so Brian found a bag of flour is about 1/3 full.

We tried taking my picture in a different location since it gets dark by the time I get home and the old spot didn’t have much light. Not sure if this spot really works!

I can definitely tell that baby is that big as I feel him moving and kicking all over all the time! He really likes to wake me up in the middle of the night for a 3am dance party! Not to mention my belly just continues to grow!

I love my big belly especially because I think it makes the rest of me look so small! Something else that has been keeping me up at night is hunger! I get up to use the bathroom and I can’t fall back asleep because my stomach is growling! I had to get up twice last week to eat a little snack. Apparently when I do sleep I snore, “like a buzz saw” according to my husband! Other than that no real crazy symptoms or problems. Even my back pain seems to have eased up. I credit yoga and swimming and I definitely don’t regret finding subs of my Zumba classes.

I had a midwife appointment earlier this week. I was a little nervous for it because I knew that I had to take my gestational diabetes test. I wasn’t really afraid for the actual test even though the last time I had blood drawn I fainted! I was actually concerned that I would fail the test. I know this might sound silly since I am a relatively healthy person but some of the ladies on blogs I read who are healthy didn’t pass the first time!  I also had my appointment in the middle of the day and wasn’t planning on fasting all day especially since my midwife said not to do anything differently. I just wasn’t sure how what I ate during the day would affect the test. The actual test wasn’t that bad, I didn’t even mind drinking the orange sugary drink everyone complains about. I had my blood drawn by Brian’s cousin (I requested her because I know she does a great job and I wouldn’t faint) and she told me if I didn’t pass the first test I would have to fast for 12 hours and then have my blood drawn 4 times over 3 hours! After I heard that I REALLY wanted to pass. Turns out I had nothing to fear! I passed with flying colors and my iron levels were good too! Another bit of good news I received at my appointment was that I hadn’t gained any weight since my last appointment which was good since I had a big gain last time. In total I’ve gained 22lbs which my midwife said was just fine. She measured my belly and it measured 28 inches which is also fine. I guess one or two inches bigger or smaller than your week is normal depending how the baby is positioned. Best of all I got to hear baby’s heart beat, nice and loud and strong! It was a great appointment!

I have a few more pictures to share with you. I wore my “Sweating for Two” shirt to the weight room at the gym. I guess I hadn’t worn it for a long time because I felt like I looked HUGE compared to the last time I wore it. I had Brian take some pictures of me in it after my workout.

Compare that to the self photo I took about 2 months ago!

I think I scared some of those big burly weightlifting guys  

That’s all for this week! Hope you are well and getting ready to enjoy Thanksgiving! Baby and I will definitely be enjoying a piece of pumpkin pie or two!

Hello there! How are you this fine Tuesday? I am doing quite well, the weather seems to be turning though we have a winter storm watch out for tonight! Not quite sue if I’m ready for that! I’m also very wrapped up in my thesis work right now. Things are going well but it certainly is keeping me on my toes! Now, on to my weekly update!

Hard to believe I’m 26 weeks pregnant! During the first part of my pregnancy time seemed to move so slow. Now I can’t get it to slow down. My baby is now 1 2/3 lbs. (almost 2 lbs.!) and 14 inches long. Brian harvested a spaghetti squash he thought was about the right size if you count the stem!

I can definitely tell that our little guy is that size. Earlier this week I could feel him moving on opposite sides of my tummy! I can now feel him moving at all times of the day. My favorite time is right after I wake up in the morning and I often find myself lying in bed for a few extra minutes just paying attention to his movements and imagining what he will look like!

When I saw this next picture I was like, “WHOA! My belly is getting so big!” I mean compare that with my picture from 4 weeks ago when I thought I was really big!

From what I’ve been told I may think that now but I won’t believe how much bigger I will actually get!

I have definitely been feeling the less “fun” side effects of being pregnant this week. I find if I sit too long (i.e. working on my paper) my back gets really sore and there is not much I can do to relieve it. Also, if I stand too long my feet start to hurt. This weekend I made two types of soup and then cleaned up the kitchen a task I would haven normally done no problem but it totally wiped me out! Brian and I agreed that it is time I start slowing down. That is is why I made a very tough decision this week. I decided to stop teaching Zumba. Since I alternated with another teacher I really only had 3 classes left until the Fall schedule ended. I was going to try and make it to the end but every time I thought about dancing I cringed. Also, when I would practice just a couple of songs I would get totally wiped out. I just knew I didn’t have the energy to keep teaching and it would only get more uncomfortable as I got bigger. I will still continue to teach Group Strength classes and Cycling but I just knew Zumba had to go.  It really was a tough decision to make. I am so use to pushing my body to its limits. I mean last year at this time I was running 8 miles while training for a half marathon AND teaching a ton of classes. Mentally I just need to get over the fact that my body is doing something far more amazing than any exercise I could ever push it to do, it’s creating a human being for goodness sakes! After I wrestled with the decision for awhile I now feel much better about it. It really takes a load of my mind to see my calendar open up so I can work on my paper and focus on getting ready for this baby. I know my body will thank me too. I am still keeping up with other fitness activities and my weekly schedule looks something like this:

Monday: Group Strength Class (participant)

Tuesday: Prenatal Yoga (LOVE IT!)

Wednesday: Strength train or swimming AND regular yoga at noon

Thursday: Group Strength Class (teach) Cycling (teach) (some weeks I’ll just be teaching Cycling)

Friday: Swim

Saturday: Rest or Cycling (participant)

Sunday: Rest or whatever I want like a long walk, swimming, or yoga.

In other blogger news one of my favorite healthy living bloggers Caitlin  announced earlier this week that she has a bun in the oven! I find it kind of interesting that I started reading healthy living blogs about two years ago to take my mind of the fact that we were having trouble getting pregnant and this past year several of my favorite bloggers have gotten pregnant and shared their journey with their readers. Here are the ones I read regularly

Emily at Daily Garnish gave birth to a beautiful little boy just a few weeks ago

Gina at The Fitnessista is due in  January

And these two ladies I found after I got pregnant

Jen from The Runner’s Trials is 34 weeks and has an amazing story of pregnancy after infertility

Ashley from (Never Home) Maker is 37 weeks!

In other news my very good friends Marianne and Amy are throwing me my first shower (I’m having 3!) in December and Marianne said the invites went out this week! I am so excited!

That’s all from me for this week! Next week I have a midwife appointment and my glucose test!

Hi there! Can you believe it is the first of November! Time just seems to be flying by! Our little guy will be here before we know it!

As my title suggests I am 25 weeks pregnant. This may imply that I have entered the 3rd trimester but according to all the books I’ve read this won’t happen until week 28 when I will only have 12 weeks left and therefore 3 months to go.

This week our baby is 1 1/2 lbs. and about 13 1/2 inches long about the size of this lovely Perch Brian caught!

And I just keep growing and growing!

I am definitely feeling “pregnant” meaning I am feeling the extra weight I am carry around and my changing shape especially when doing common chores like carrying laundry up from the basement and also when I go from sitting on the couch the standing. I am still keeping up with my exercise but find I really need to monitor myself to make sure I am not over doing it. I hope I can continue to teach through the end of December, to be honest I am counting down the days until I don’t have the responsibility of teaching and can just take a class when I feel like it. I signed up for a second session of Yoga for Moms. Surprisingly I am the only one from the first session that signed up again. Also in the last session half of the participants were pregnant and the other half weren’t. This time we are all pregnant. The two other women besides myself are both due in April. I think it will be a fun experience being with the other moms to be. Other than that I feel pretty good.

I’m also most definitely feeling baby move. One night last week, after eating pumpkin and cinnamon ice cream baby was going CRAZY kicking super hard. I grabbed Brian’s hand and put it on my stomach. Baby gave one final strong kick and Brian got to feel him! I mostly feel him move in the evening when I’m relaxing or after I eat something he apparently really likes! In one of my books it says by the end of this month I will probably feel the most activity as baby will be strong enough for me to feel him and still have enough room in my uterus to move around.

Even though I feel like I have been putting off getting ready for baby until my thesis is done I feel like this past week I’ve made some progress. My Aunt (hi Aunt Jackie) came up this weekend and brought A TON of clothes from my cousin who has two little boys. After seeing how many clothes a baby needs I finally decided on what type of dresser/changing table I wanted so I ordered it and while I was at it ordered crib.

Another fun thing that happened this week was that my friend from high school Becky, who had a baby at the end of August came to visit. I wish I would have gotten picture. Her little girl is such a peanut! Becky shared with me how her labor went and how parenting was going. She seemed super relaxed and comfortable in her new role as mother. Her baby was SO GOOD. She pretty much slept in my arms the whole time I held her until Becky needed to feed her. It was so nice to get some time with a a good friend, new mom, and sweet little baby!

So, to conclude lets look at some numbers:

Days until due date:  105

Days until next midwife visit AND my Glucose test: 13

Days until first shower: 41

Days until thesis presentation: 41 (yes my shower is on the same day, my friends and I thought it would be a good way to celebrate being done!)