Pregnancy Update Week 25 - Easter

Baby size/Important facts: Approaching 2 lbs! Nostrils are finally starting to open and skin is developing capillaries. This means it's becoming opaque too - hooray to lose the creepy transparent baby look!

Size comparisons: Kid's lunch box, can of WD-40, two juice boxes stacked on each other, or dragon egg! 

Weight Change: Total gain of ~20 lbs 

Waist Change: 

• Week 10
• Waist: 29" 
• Bellybutton: 33.5" 
• Size gain this week alone:
• Waist: 1" 
• Bellybutton: 0.5" 
• Total gain: 
• Waist: 5.5"
• Bellybutton: 8"

Maternity clothes: Got a few more tank tops, hooray! Still thinking about a pair of shorts or a shorter skirt. We'll see. Getting by on pre-pregnancy swim suits though, I have two that work!

Bra changes: Sports bra is getting a little tight at the bottom from belly, so now we're using it with 2 of 10 clasps undone, because I'm just not classy! It's still doing it's job though, so no real complaints.

Stretch marks: I keep looking but haven't found them...maybe I'm fooling myself.

Sleep: Had a cold this week, and since I started being able to breathe again, sleep has been super easy as compared to other recent weeks. 

Workouts: Well, haven't been running, but I've been riding some and doing a crap ton of walking, a decent chunk of swimming, plus did some climbing around on this super awesome high ropes course!

Diet: Holidays aren't normally the best for keeping weight gain slow, but being sick and also active helped. Gained less than a pound this week - which isn't a bad thing at all. Have been working on less snacking, more healthy snacks and leaving out my late night snacks on nights that I'm not hungry. I did of course supplement with Cadbury Eggs (my favorite), but now I'm eating a ton of hard boiled eggs - BECAUSE I AM A CHILD AND LOVE DYEING EASTER EGGS! Actually, having a kid around for Easter is great because it's an excuse to dye eggs. AWESOME! Yes, I made a rainbow egg. 

Best moment this week: Receiving the cutest diapers EVER in the mail. 9 diapers (1 is preemie sized just in case), nipple pads (for breastfeeding assistance, burp cloth, and a BIB! The burp cloth and bib were added on extras by the lady who made these. SUPER excited and extra adorable.

Miss anything: Squeezing past people in a crowded kitchen.

Food cravings: Nah, I like food. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Sex Guess: I had a dream the leech was delivered 8 weeks early at a nice healthy 8 lbs with no problems and was a beautiful little girl that slept through the night nearly immediately with a super fast easy delivery. I doubt it, but hey, a girl can dream right?

Labor signs: Nope. No braxton hicks or anything. Just lots of using the bladder as a trampoline

Symptoms: Hungry, gas, and the annoying rib pain. Even peeing has lightened up this week a bit. 

Belly button in or out? Yeah, it's just out, I can't fool myself anymore.

Wedding rings on or off: Off, and on a necklace. I did pick up a silicone ring. It's slightly larger and super flexible & stretchy. I feel less naked. I should still be able to use it post-pregnancy for when I'm doing mud runs or other things that just aren't diamond ring friendly.

Emotional state: Really chill actually. For as busy and very occasionally (she's been really good) frustrating as the last two weeks have been playing SAHM (stay at home mom), it's been awesome.

Looking forward to: Leaving in just under 3 weeks for baby shower and to see people up north, YAY!!!!!!

I just keep getting bigger, even though I am not feeling much larger week to week anymore. I guess that's a good thing!

And a couple of just for fun shots....

The Sunshine Skyway is a really really big bridge. I'm a couple of miles away I think...

I wish I could explain why this Mustang got ruined, but I have no idea...

Pay $4 to experience this alligator? Oh yes, he was the cutest little gator ever! Now I understand why some college kids are dumb enough to keep them for a while as a pet.

Do you have any kids-only activities that you still love as an adult? Like dyeing Easter eggs?

Pregnancy Update 24!! VIABILITY!

Hitting week 24 is widely celebrated as "viability day" meaning that IF this little leech were delivered from here on out, there is a good chance that he/she would survive - albeit spending a lot of time in the NICU and with a high chance of complications right now. Even so, still a good thing. Hoping to keep it cooking for a couple more months!

Baby size/Important facts: 12" ish? Roughly 1.5 lbs! By now leech has eyelashes, eyebrows, and hair!

Size comparisons: cantalope, length of a package of oreos (or standard letter), and now a LARGE baseball mitt.  

Weight Change: Total gain of ~19.5 lbs 

Waist Change: 

• Week 10
• Waist: 29" 
• Bellybutton: 33.5" 
• Size gain this week alone:
• Waist: 1" 
• Bellybutton: 1" 
• Total gain: 
• Waist: 4.5"
• Bellybutton: 7.5"

Maternity clothes: My maternity wardrobe is holding out well, though I am considering whether 1 more pair of shorts would make sense, or maybe a shorter skirt or two. Tired of people suggesting the maxi skirt. Uhm, nope. Don't want long skirts down to my ankles to keep me warm in the heat. Getting by on pre-pregnancy swim suits though!

Bra changes: Sports bra is getting a little tight at the bottom from belly, so now we're using it with 2 of 10 clasps undone, because I'm just not classy! It's still doing it's job though, so no real complaints.

Stretch marks: I keep looking but haven't found them...

Sleep: Getting slightly better, and still doing alright on the days that I don't get enough, which is nice for now!

Workouts: This week they're down. I have my "little sister" Grace visiting and we can't exactly leave her behind when we run, so we only ran twice this week so far and this coming week is looking worse. Doing a little strength training and yoga after she goes to bed - plus chasing around a 10 year old is keeping me pretty active. I did a bunch of swimming the other day, so that's at least good!

Diet: Generally doing well. Shocked that I'm still gaining so much weight so fast as I actually cut back slightly on the amount of food I've been eating and have stayed away from the junk food. Apparently I just need the weight because I've been consistently starving - so I'm trying to listen to my body while trying to make sure I don't gain more than 35 lbs total - we'll see! Granted, I have been swelling this week some so some of it may be water weight. Easter candy this week is not going to help!

Best moment this week: Hearing the leech's heartbeat at the doctors, yay! Also, a lady on my forum made me some ADORABLE newborn sized cloth diaper covers, SO EXCITED TO GET THEM IN THE MAIL!

Miss anything: Still miss sitting nicely

Food cravings: Nope, just all of the food! 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Sex Guess: This week feels more like a girl, for no particular reason.

Labor signs: Thankfully no, better not for a long time.

Symptoms: Hungry, gas, sleep issues, and all of the peeing. So honestly, not too bad! 

Belly button in or out? About 1/2 way out. Weird looking!

Wedding rings on or off: Off, and I feel naked. Considering picking up a silicone flexible ring just to feel better. I'm swelling just a little bit, but can't seem to get it to go away even with tons of water and such.

Emotional state: Doing really well, just a little exhausted from chasing around an energetic 10 year old!

Looking forward to: More beach time this week - and taking Grace to meet WINTER the dolphin with the prosthetic tail.

Doubting now that I'll get a full post done before Grace leaves, but we'll try. 

What are your favorite activities you remember from family vacations as a kid?

Pregnancy Update Week 23!

We have officially finished the 5th month and are moving into the 6th!

Baby size/Important facts: 11" ish? Slightly more than a lb! This week baby is developing nipples and face is now fully formed just missing some fat!

Size comparisons: large grapefruit, box of Kraft mac & cheese, fertility idol (Raiders of the Lost Ark). 

Weight Change: Total gain of ~17 lbs (yes, that's now up 6 lbs in two weeks!)

Waist Change: 

• Week 10
• Waist: 29" 
• Bellybutton: 33.5" 
• Size gain this week alone:
• Waist: -.05" 
• Bellybutton: 1.5" (I think baby moved down this week)
• Total gain: 
• Waist: 3.5"
• Bellybutton: 6.5"

Maternity clothes: My maternity wardrobe is holding out well, though I may not get much more use out of the pants. Not due to size, but heat. It's already 80+ in the afternoons!

Bra changes: Sports bra is getting a little tight at the bottom from belly, so now we're using it with 2 of 10 clasps undone, because I'm just not classy! It's still doing it's job though, so no real complaints.

Stretch marks: I keep looking but haven't found them...

He will forgive me one day! Thanks Barley for letting me test out this swing with 11 lbs in it. 

Sleep: Eh, not great, but luckily I'm not needing it as badly. I keep either not falling asleep until after I've had yet another snack, or waking up starving at 2-3 am. This is after having a decent sized snack/mini meal at 11:30 pm and going to bed at 12. WTF?

Workouts: Still rocking the SUPER SEXY maternity belt. But, still running. Long run this Saturday accomplished and didn't feel too bad after it! Managing to get in my yoga, a little bit of riding (yay horse for finally recovering), and strength training. Been doing well here and it shows - much less sore in hips & back! 

Diet: Been all over the place this week. We did a homemade pizza last Sunday, several super healthy meals during the week, but then I pigged out on girl scout cookies for a bit, and lived on pepperoni and buttered noodles (not quite together) for some 2 am snacks. Oh well!

Best moment this week: I attempted to listen to leech's heartrate at home with a cheapie stethoscope. Didn't work, but did piss off the little leech enough to get the scope kicked repetitively. So, win!

Miss anything: Sitting comfortably. Having some aching in my rib cage on my right side and this makes sitting upright (in a chair or car) pretty unfortunate. Ick.

Food cravings: Nah, not really. 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nope!

Sex Guess: Idk, this week, I'm just happy to be feeling movement every 1.5-2 hours for a few minutes at a time.

Labor signs: Thankfully no, better not for a long time.

Symptoms: Hungry, gas, sleep issues, and all of the peeing. So honestly, not too bad! 

Belly button in or out? I feel like the clock is ticking, but it's holding in strong!

These two boys are enough to keep me

entertained all day. 

 Wedding rings on or off: On, and OK! They're not as loose as they were, but still not tight. Trying my best to keep hydrated to help reduce potential swelling.

Emotional state: Trying to just relax and enjoy this moment right now. When it's sunny and beautiful and the top is down and the breeze is nice and I can still walk without pain! Also I think I've been extra sentimental, I spend all day wanting to cuddle with my dog.

Looking forward to: Eric feeling movement, my "little sister" visiting next week, and our next appointment on Tuesday!

Working hard on a post all about balancing life. Hoping to get it done before crazy kid spring break happens!

Do you remember to take the time to be thankful for the good moments in your life? 

Adding Strength Training to Your Fitness Goals

In addition to running, or instead of even, it's a good plan to build your muscle and bone strength. Strength training, even just doing the basics and moving nice and slow once or twice a week will combat osteoporosis and help with your balance. If you are starting a routine and you aren't doing any running or other cardio, I recommend weights 3 times per week for 4-5 weeks, then starting to add 1-2 days a week of cardio to your entire plan. If you are already doing cardio/running a few days a week, you can add strength training as 1-2 days per week. This entry is written with the idea of being a 3 day a week plan, but you can easily change it to 1 or 2 days. Just keep in mind that you should count a week as 3-4 strength days when I discuss upping reps or numbers of exercises.  

Gear necessary to start: 

Comfy workout clothes, athletic shoes (a thicker sole is preferred for use with resistance bands), a couple of dumbbells at 5-20 lbs (you can always get creative in your house finding things like kids or dogs to lift) or a set of a few resistance bands - most sets can be bought for around $20 on Amazon something like this works well. I also prefer to have a yoga or exercise mat for some of the laying down exercises. 

Getting Started!

Pick your poison.  First, decide how you want to set up your week. I recommend starting with a very short workout 3 days per week. You can either have an arm a leg and a core focused day, or have 3 days that all work on the total body. That's my preference, but everyone is different. Pick 5 exercises for the day, I have two pages with simple exercises to pick from (or choose your own). You can get a notebook to keep track of what you did and make changes every week once you find strengths/weaknesses.

Simple Exercises Page 1

Simple Exercises Page 2

Start with just 1 set of each exercise. We want workout to honestly be 5 min or less. I give recommended starting reps in one set on my simple exercise page.

Each week, add a few more reps for each exercise, until you hit 25-30 for each exercise.

Once you reach that, add a second set. When you do this, cut the number of your set down. So if you're already doing a set of 25 squats, the next time do two sets of 15 squats each. A week or two later, up BOTH sets by 5, and do two sets of 20. 

When you get your sets back up to 25-30 again, add a third set. Again, cut number per set slightly. I don't normally like to do more than 3 sets of any one activity per workout. 

Tips to Vary It Up Once You've Established a Habit

Once you feel comfortable with doing 3 sets of each of your 5 exercises in your workout, add another exercise your workout. Add only 1 per workout day, but it can be a different exercise each day of your week. Start with maybe 3 sets of 5 on that new one. 

Make note - do the exercises  that are hard for you, this gives you a better total experience. If you have very strong arms, then why keep working on those when you ignore something else. Remember, you are only as strong as your weakest system. A lot of men tend to need more core work, whereas women are typically weaker in the arms. 

Every 4-5 weeks, take a lighter week. Keep all days down to 10-15 min by cutting reps or # of different activities. Or, only have one workout day that week. 

Making sure to have "recovery" or less intense weeks will help you lose weight and give your body breaks to rebuild itself. 

Unless you're 25 or under, I don't recommend exercising until your limbs are giving out. Also, if you're very sore for more than one day after a workout, you probably did TOO MUCH that day. Scale it back and keep it scaled back until you aren't sore, then start increasing again, but slower than last time.

Eating carbs before a strength day gives your muscles fuel to use. I still recommend eating about 40-60 min before your workout. If it's been a bit longer than than, a little fruit juice or a quick snack of fruit or maybe energy beans, etc can help at 5-10 min before. This will give you energy but should keep your stomach from rebelling too much. 

After your workout, it's good to get some protein into your stomach within an hour if possible. If not, then at least make sure your next meal does provide at least 30% of its calories from protein. You can't build or rebuild muscles without it. 

Always remember, every little bit you do helps you. What are some of your favorite types of exercises?

Pregnancy Update Week 22!

Baby size/Important facts: ~11.5" and ~ 131 lbs! Little leech has more developed lips & eyes, so is looking much more human! 

Size comparisons: Papaya, baseball mitt, standard hatchet head. I love the awkward comparisons. 

Weight Change: Total gain of ~15 lbs

Waist Change: 

• Week 10
• Waist: 29" 
• Bellybutton: 33.5" 
• Size gain this week alone:
• Waist: 1"
• Bellybutton: 0.5"
• Total gain:
• Waist: 4"
• Bellybutton: 5"

Maternity clothes: Managing with the same wardrobe still - luckily I feel like there's lots of room to grow in them.

Bra changes: Sports bra is getting a little tight at the bottom from belly, but if it feels too tight, I'll just undo another clasp, because I'm just not classy!

Stretch marks: I have some from my teen years on my thighs, no new ones yet.

Sleep: Still comes and goes. On workout days it usually goes well. On non-workout days...less good.

Workouts: Running had a few letdowns this week. For the second time, I had to cut out on a run. Instead of the 30-35 min we planned, I only managed about 10. I was getting a weird internal ligament pain (thanks for stretching uterus) and that was actually shortening up my stride on my right leg only, I could feel the impact (pun intended) of it all the way up my leg. So I quit. However, purchased my super sexy new maternity support belt (just you wait, photos to come) and this made the next run possible. Hoping to regain a normal run schedule next week. Still not back to riding yet, but my horse is slowly recovering as well so I'm hopeful to be back up by the end of this coming week. Did some more yoga and some yard work, planning on my strength training tomorrow (lol, we'll see). 

Diet: Well obviously I'm eating enough, having put on 4 lbs just this week! We made some homemade egg rolls that we deep fried and had another low veggie day in there, plus missing out on a run, so we'll see if I can slow that gain a little going into next week. I don't want to stop gaining, but 4 lbs a week could be rough. 

Best moment this week: At the end of my yoga practice, little leech had a total dance party in there. I could see it and feel it, inside and out. Ended up flipping around for the first time (I think) in 3 weeks. Not sure if it was because they hated or loved the practice, but it was fun!

Miss anything: Still having a really rough time sitting comfortably and this week with the food indulgences had some sleep issues due to gut pain. The recliner is becoming my new favorite for everything. The desk chair I'm hiding from.

Food cravings: I have been in the habit of having "dessert" after dinner. Maybe some of my famous applesauce jello, or an apple, just something that's sweet.

Anything making you queasy or sick? Too much greasy egg roll was nearly a disaster, but we know how to fix it for next time. Honestly, had the wrappers not broken they wouldn't have been 1/4 as greasy, and it was largely veggies inside.

Sex Guess: According to the "early or entire pregnancy nausea" and "where does your dark line end" theories, it's a boy. 

Labor signs: Thankfully no, better not for a long time.

Symptoms: Starving - always, gas, ungainliness, forgetfulness, and sleep disturbances. Frequent urination, strange pulling sensations, and the weird hip thing is starting to come back. 

Belly button in or out? Watching it get shallower, but it's still in!

 Wedding rings on or off: On, and loose. Still doing fine there!

Emotional state: Starting to think of it as my baby instead of just a parasite that hijacked my body!

Looking forward to: Eric feeling the squirming, now it's just a matter of getting the timing right.

I have the post done for strength training, but I need to get pictures taken still (curse me for being productive outside today). If not tomorrow, then Monday I shall GET THOSE PHOTOS TAKEN! 

Also working on another post about diet & exercise balance. That shouldn't take TOO much effort to get together at least.

How many more weeks do YOU think I can manage to keep running?

Financial Balance - Are Doulas a Necessity?

So what exactly differentiates between a luxury and a necessity?

I could go on and on . . .

But that would be terribly boring. I don't have all the answers, or hell, even most of them. 

I can and have given a few tips and I'm sure I'll give more.

But right now, I'm going to talk about ME. 

I'm in the midst of a debate right now, with myself and a few other important people. It's on whether a doula for birth is a luxury. 

A doula is a trained non-medical professional to help you get through labor. They are much more likely to be involved with a non-medicated labor but have even been known to offer support during a c-section as well.

Their job is NOT to take away dad's (or other support person's) job during labor. They are there to let the dad take a few minutes to collect himself/eat/bathroom and to suggest different approaches such as new positions to labor in to assist with pain or progress.

There are plenty of reasons that doulas are recommended.

• "Research has found that women who have continuous one-on-one support during labor tend to use pain medication less often, have slightly shorter labors, and are less likely to have a c-section or a forceps or vacuum-assisted delivery."  Should you hire a labor coach?
• "Numerous studies have documented the benefits of having a doula present during labor." Having a Doula
• "A doula can provide the information to help parents make appropriate decisions and facilitate communication between the birthing woman, her partner and medical care providers." Dads and Doulas
• "I can't stress how much having a doula helped me, as a husband, support my wife better. The weird part for me was to realize that superdad could be a superhusband by asking for a little help. Our doula was worth every penny of her fee." Doulas From the Dad's Perspective
• "I paid attention in childbirth class. I’d hear enough horror stories to realize that there was a huge, comprehensive final exam for this course – childbirth. But when push came to shove, no pun intended, the knowledge went out of my brain. Those early hours of labor I couldn’t remember if we were supposed to eat or sleep, which positions were good or not so good." 5 Reasons Dads Should Demand a Doula

This is just a quick list of quotes of articles I found real fast. What it truly boils down to is that doulas are not medical professionals, but they are birthing professionals. They have enough experience with enough different situations that they can make recommendations for different scenarios that might not have even been covered in birthing class. They can help determine what's "normal" and not to parents, and can help interpret the reason for a doctor's urgency or insistence. A great doula can make sure that your doctor wants to implement a procedure or start a process for the right reasons for YOU, not just to make him/herself happier with the birthing experience.

Okay, so what's my point?

$500-$1000 is the expected price range for a doula. Now, it's easy for someone to say that it's a small price to pay for what could be a life changing experience. Having a doula could help me and my baby have a safer more comfortable and more enjoyable birth. It could free up my husband to hold my hand more and prevent the stress that can happen if both of us freeze up and can't remember a thing about how to cope with labor once we're in the moment. 

At the same time, is a doula absolutely necessary?

Well hell, if I knew that, my decision would be made. We're not in the best of financial places right now. We're going to have a rough time making sure that we have a decent place to live, a crib, stroller, car seat, high chair, and a baby friendly car available to us during our newborn phase. We're doing our best to dig ourselves out of this and make changes now. We don't spend money on food out, we don't buy things other than food and a few pregnancy staples (new bras, belly support band, etc). We're doing our best to not even buy anything baby related until after the shower, so we can figure out what HAS to come home and use our "registry completion" coupons at stores. Even so, this chunk of change could turn into instant debt. 

So is it a necessity or a luxury for us? It's a hard call to make, as it's a one time fee for health. But still, we already will have a midwife and a birth assistant nurse. We can't guarantee there will always be one in the room, but probably most of the time they will be, right?

Or what if we end up having to change to a hospital birth. A doula would be able to accompany us for the venue change, helping to give us a sense of continuity and concern for the natural aspects of birth. 

I don't think I can exactly put "huge chunk of change for a doula" on my baby registry, but I almost wish that I could. 

Otherwise we're just going to keep debating this one over and over. 

Feel free to provide any insight!