Well, I’m currently in my 37th week of pregnancy and I’m finally getting around to writing about the last couple of months!
Honestly, I’ve been feeling really good, which is why I think I’ve waited so long to recap. I almost feel like there’s nothing to tell (and then I end up writing a damn novel, go figure). Thankfully, this pregnancy has been pretty uneventful, but I know for myself I do love reading other women’s experiences, so here goes!
Food – Aversions / Cravings
Until about week 16, I was practically a vegetarian. As I said in my last pregnancy post, protein just did NOT appeal to me, at ALL. But by around week 16, I slowly started to feel more like myself, especially when it came to food. I no longer had to eat first thing in the morning, I could stomach veggies and protein again, and I didn’t feel like I needed to eat every 2 hours to not feel sick to my stomach.
I tried to get back to my normal routine the best I could, which consisted of a good amount of protein and veggies at most meals, but I still ate way less of both, and more carbs that I typically do when not pregnant.
Having PCOS, monitoring my carb intake is important. And I remember my doctor telling me that if I have to pay attention to what I’m eating when I’m not pregnant, I’m going to have to do the same during my pregnancy. That always stuck with me. I didn’t have a free pass to eat whatever I wanted. I certainly was more laid back with my choices, but I also tried to maintain my usual habits best I could.
Sometimes my choices were “smarter” than others, and sometimes they weren’t. If I wanted cereal for dinner, I had cereal for dinner. No big deal. The one thing I really had to practice was not eating too much. I would get so hungry, then get SO uncomfortably full. I’d say that was my only real complaint during this entire pregnancy. I would feel like I didn’t even eat all that much, yet I would get ridiculously full. They say that your digestion slows down – but it was annoying. I remember bringing it up to my doctor and her exact words were, “you’re just going to have to be more careful”. When I asked her how I should go about “being more careful”, she said, “eat less” ha! Easier said than done. Luckily, I didn’t get any heartburn – just felt like I was going to split open after most meals that weren’t like teeny tiny and depressingly small.
In terms of cravings – After the first trimester when I ate an Italian sub on a weekly basis (and yes, I know you’re not supposed to eat deli meat…I took my chances), I couldn’t get enough fruit. The colder the better. And although I’m typically a chocolate lover, I didn’t really want any of my usual favorites (besides Mini-Eggs).
Instead, I’ve wanted things like Sour Patch Kids, Swedish Fish, Dots (only the pink and red ones though), and these gummy bears from Starbucks that are SO good….And yes, I’m already dreading my next dentist appointment.
My other go-to was cottage cheese. I’ve had cottage cheese with fruit, nuts and a little maple syrup practically everyday for lunch for the past 3 months. Weird.
I’ve also drank (is that the correct grammar?) more green juice in the past 6 months than I ever have in my life. I really wish I could perfect making it at home, but since I haven’t been able to, I spend a small fortune on the little bottles at Starbucks….
More recently, I’ve been eating this egg and avocado on toast thingy from a local juice bar. Again, I’m spending a small God damn fortune – but I cannot for the life of me replicate this at home either. SO annoying!
Exercise / Sleep / Energy / Other random stuff
Aside from a cold that kicked my ass for about 2 weeks, I’ve been able to remain pretty consistent with my workouts. Until about week 30 or so, I would get in 2-3 strength training sessions per week and at least a 45 minute walk most days of the week (having a dog really helped with this!). I would walk hours a day if I had the time, and right now in my 37th week, it’s still when I feel the best. The one thing I began to notice late in the second trimester was that even if I felt really good during my workouts and walks, if I did too much – like a longer walk than usual or 2 walks a day, I was completely wiped out the rest of that day and the next. So I started to cut back a bit with both. Not to mention there has been more than one occasion where I’ve had to call either my husband or my Dad to come pick me up because I had to pee so bad and didn’t think I could make it back without getting SUPER uncomfortable OR peeing myself.
I have to thank pre and post natal specialist, Jessie Mundell, for taking care of all of my programming during this pregnancy. I signed up for her online coaching group, “To Pregnancy and Beyond” around 20 weeks and it’s been great to not have to think about what to do and know that I have a qualified professional programming my workouts. If you are expecting, I highly recommend her and her kickass community of moms and moms to be!
Because I’ve been so consistent, I feel like I’ve been able to maintain a good amount of my strength, which I’m sure will help with recovery. I say it all the time, but I’m not the girl who bounces out of bed in the morning all geared up to train. It’s a frigging mental struggle 90% of the time. But if I #juststart – I feel 100% better. I’m telling you, starting is half the battle….and again, going back to what I’m choosing to focus on – it’s clearly not about aesthetics, but about how exercise impacts the rest of my day. I feel proud of myself when I get my workouts in. I have more energy. I want to eat well and move more….but in all honestly, if my butt looks like a freaking pancake like it did for the first year after giving birth to the boys, I’m going to be PISSED ha! I’m REALLY hoping some of the “reserves” (as my doctor likes to call any weight gained over 35 pounds) stays on my butt, and all the glute work Jessie has us do will help, because it was NOT a cute look for me.
Anyway, enough about butts, let’s get back to peeing – just in the past couple of weeks I’ve started getting up multiple times in the middle of the night to pee. Other than that, I really haven’t had an issue with peeing every 5 seconds…just during long walks and that’s about it. Even in the first trimester when that is supposed to be a big symptom, it was something I never really experienced. Now, however, I’m counting down the days till I get that catheter…seriously, one of the BEST things about having a baby, IMO, was the fact that you could drink ALLTHEWATER and not have to get up to pee a million times! I remember my nurses thinking I was crazy. I would’ve gone home with that thing ha!
I will say I’m sleeping a lot better this time around than I did during my first pregnancy. But I think a lot of that has to do with not being as anxious as the first time and having a little bit better idea as to what to expect. A lot of people recommended this colon shaped pillow to help with getting comfortable – it did NOT work for me.
Sent that thing RIGHT back. I felt like I was getting a frigging cardio workout trying to maneuver that thing in bed. #nothanks
On how carrying one baby differs from carrying two
In my experience, it’s been pretty much the same. Now, I haven’t been pregnant in 6.5 years, and I’m sure I forgot a lot, but I don’t feel that this pregnancy has been easier or all that different at all.
I’m carrying pretty much exactly the same. Both boys were 5 pounds 14 oz. and this baby (at least from their estimates) is in the 92% in weight. At my 34 week appointment he was measuring at 6.5 pounds. So, I’ll probably end up with a 8+ pounder….
I’ve gained just about the same amount of weight in both pregnancies as well (as of right now I’m within 7 pounds or so), even though I have worked out and eaten better this time around compared to my pregnancy with the boys.
I’m so grateful that I haven’t let the weight on the scale freak me out, because I can’t imagine how much LESS I would’ve enjoyed both of my pregnancies if my only focus was on how my body was changing or how much weight I was gaining.
I focused on what I could control (for the most part), which was moving my body in ways that I enjoyed, eating a balanced diet, getting enough sleep and the result so far has been gaining about 32 pounds. And I’m sure I’ll gain a few more! All that *really* matters is how much this baby weighs and that he comes out healthy.
Even though my pregnancies were both great and fairly similar, I am hoping that having only ONE infant will be easier than having two.
I’m fairly certain that nursing just one baby at a time has GOT to be easier than nursing two….but, we shall see! My boobs definitely didn’t know what they were in for first time around…neither did my wrists! Holding those little heads like that for 45 minutes 6+ times per day was NOT super comfy.
I had someone reach out to me a few months ago asking me how I was dealing with the physical changes my body was going through. She was newly pregnant and was having a hard time with it…
I shared my response to her on Facebook, but because you may have missed it, and you may be in the same boat as her, I thought I’d share it here again. Here was my response,
“What I am *choosing* to focus on during this pregnancy:
*The fact that I am fortunate enough to carry a child. That is freaking amazing and a privilege that I will never take for granted.
*The fact that I’m having a healthy pregnancy and I’m not dealing with any complications.
*The fact that I’ve been capable of continuing to do the things I love, like working out and walking.
* The fact that this phase of my life is just a blip on the radar. Being pregnant is temporary. There will be a time when I can get back to pushing myself harder in my workouts and won’t need to catch my breath from just rolling over in bed. It’s a phase, and luckily I have the perspective of going through it a second time to fully recognize just how fast it goes by.”
I know there are a lot of women who don’t love being pregnant, or have a hard time watching their bodies grow (another human).
But like I said above, it’s important to remember that there’s no medal given for “only gaining” x amount of weight.
It doesn’t matter if you carried “all over” or were “all belly”.
You’re not leaving the hospital with a prize for doing so in NON maternity jeans…or getting back into them in a week or month or whenever.
After we give birth, guess what? We’re all going to leave with a baby. All different size babies. All beautiful babies. All different looking babies…..which is the exact same way we go in to the hospital – all different sizes, looking completely different, but ALL beautiful. And all amazing. And all fortunate to have experienced such a miracle. Those are the things to remember and to focus on.
I’ve taken (and posted) a ton of pictures during this pregnancy because, although I do have quite a few from when I was pregnant with the boys, I wish I had more. THEY wish I had more. I can’t tell you how many women have told me that they didn’t want to get in pictures because they were “huge”. You are growing another fucking HUMAN. You are lucky. You are fortunate. You are creating a LIFE. And that life is going to want to see what you looked like when he or she was in your belly! He or she is not going to give a flying FUCK that you thought you looked fat….Get in the pictures. In 30 years, you’ll want to look back on a VERY short time in your life and reflect on it, and your little one is going to want to see those pictures as well.
Countdown is on. I’m scheduled for a C-Section and tubal ligation in 12 days! Don’t tell Ed about the tubal ligation part. I’m still making him get snipped just for shits and giggles….one surprise was PLENTY 😉 I’m not taking any chances.
SOOO, who the hell knows when I’ll actually write another blog post, clearly I’m not very consistent. However, I am pretty consistent with my weekly emails! So jump on the list below if you’re not on there already!
As always, thanks for reading!
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