Working out while Pregnant!

I have always enjoyed working out. Before realizing a little munchkin was on his/her way, in fact I was running and completed a 6 mile obstacle race 1 month pregnant, I was still working out. But that quickly came to a halt, because running was becoming harder and I was getting more and more exhausted. I had always mentioned to Mark that I would like to continue working out and stay in shape during pregnancy. Well, for the most part I have been able to stick to that. Of course for the first three months I was exhausted and just getting through the day was a feat in and of itself. However, once I hit the 12 week mark, I was feeling much better and hence started working out more. I started walking and returned to the gym for BodyPump class. (Body Pump is a one hour total body weights class) I love BodyPump and stopped earlier this year when training for Hood to Coast picked up. I went back starting in December, but I stuck to very minimal weight. It felt good to go back and I always feel so energized after class. Since then, I have made it a point to go to class two days a week. I've been able to stick to this for the most part, aside from a week off when I didn't feel good and the occasional scheduling conflict. I have been increasing my weight and my doctor says that I can continue as long as I feel good. I've also bee continuing to walk at least 3-4 if not more times a week. I guess we will see how long I can keep this up! Either way I'm hoping that by staying in shape it will not only help me during the rest of pregnancy, but also help keep baby healthy and ease labor (fingers crossed)!

*Disclaimer: You should always check with a physician before starting and/or continuing a workout plan while pregnant. And if you start working out with weights, start out with light/no weight and work up to a safe level that you are not working yourself too hard.

Growing Baby and Growing Belly!

Fun things have happened since our big 20 week appointment. The little bambino is moving around a lot now. In the last week I have noticed that the kicks/punches have been stronger and I only anticipate that they will continue to do so. At the beginning of Februrary, at a few days passed 22 weeks, I felt baby kick me back. Of course baby was kicking and quite active and I just wanted to see if he/she would kick back, so I pushed in my belly a bit. It was quite exciting. Then on the following Saturday, Mark felt the baby kick. We were both so excited, and since then whenever baby is super active, we both try to feel baby move. It will be easier when baby gets a little bigger, but none-the-less, it is exciting!
In addition to baby getting bigger, the belly is growing. I no longer look like I had too much for dinner or gained a few too many holiday pounds.The baby seems to be sitting right in the middle of my midsection and hasn't spread out yet! In fact, I get excited because I can still see my obliques!
I'm still feeling really good. I had one bad week which was due to tight back muscles (sleeping on a bad bed at a mountain cabin), followed by a gastro bug, but with nothing but rest, I have since bounced back
Here is a series of pictures of the growing belly over the last few weeks.

21 Weeks (pic is a little from the side, I think I look bigger than I was ;)

23 Weeks

Eve of 25 Weeks (apologies for the white spots, my phone picked up some dust)