Belly Photo Update!

I realized its been a while since I uploaded any belly pics, so here are some from the last month or so. 

26 Weeks

27 Weeks (realizing some days I don't look so pretty at the end of the day)

29 Weeks (eve of 30 weeks)

31 weeks!

This last pic is of our nephew Jack. We watched him one night so mom and dad could go out to dinner with friends. At one point while sitting on my lap he started touching my belly. He was so engrossed and seemed to be thinking "it so hard, I can't grab it". This went on for a good 5 minutes, its almost like he knew something, rather someONE was in there!

Thanking the Pregnancy Gods!

Everyday I wake up feeling good, I send up a little prayer to the pregnancy gods (although I'm pretty sure it all goes through God anyways). Overall this whole pregnancy I have felt really good, sometimes great! Of course there have been a few things like fatigue, the constant trips to the bathroom (subsided for now, but I know will be back), and a hightened gag reflex for a few months. But other than that, there wasn't any morning sickness (I thank my Mom for passing on those genes), I am still attending a weights class 2x a week, walking and generally feeling good. Looking over the last 7 months, it truly has been a blessing to be feeling so well. I think Mark is probably thankful that his wife hasn't had but a few hormone induced cry fests or anger outbursts and is feeling good. Otherwise, he would be hearing about it everyday!
I know as we get closer to this little one's arrival, I will become more and more uncomfortable, but I hope that by staying active it will help some.
I also have to give props to Mark for being the most supportive husband during this new adventure so far. He reminds me everyday how beautiful I am, despite some days where I don't feel so pretty, encourages me to keep working out and has been doing a wonderful job taking care of the three of us. He has been a blessing and I know this will only continue once the little munchkin arrives.
So, I'm thanking the pregnancy gods for what has been a good experience so far. While I wouldn't say I love being pregnant (although I love feeling the baby move and hearing his/her heartbeat), for me, its been a pretty easy road so far and everyday I continue to feel good, I am thankful.

Hello 3rd Trimester!

It's hard to believe that we are already into the 3rd trimester. I am thankful that I'm still feeling great and we can't wait to meet this little munchkin! We have attended child birth class, the nursery furniture is put together (with the exception of a chair and bookshelf/shelves), and baby is growing like a weed (at least that's what it seems like to me). Baby's movements have been getting stronger over the past week and sometimes I am left to wonder what exactly baby is doing inside mom! Here's to a good 3rd trimester! 

Dance Parties Everyday!

Now that baby is about 2 pounds and 14 1/2 inches long, his/her movements are so much stronger and I think more frequent. I have noticed at certain times of the day baby is super active for a short period of time, and then rests. These little dance parties are so fun to just sit and enjoy. Sometimes baby punches/kicks/wiggles on one side and then a second later there is a response from the opposite corner! I can't help but wonder what in the world is going on in there! The first time I noticed this two sided movement was at 4:30 in the morning and it was preventing me from going back to sleep! Mark has been able to feel more of the baby's movements during this time too, which is so fun. He didn't realize until he felt several kicks in a row how strong they can be sometimes. Keep on moving in their baby, we'll keep on enjoying your daily dance parties!

The Dreaded Pregnancy Glucose Test

I know usually this test is no big deal, but after hearing how "great" the glucose drink tastes, I wasn't looking forward to it. I purposely made my appointment for as early in the morning as possible because I knew it would be easier to not eat in the morning, than during the day. I woke up really hungry, and just sipped on some water on my way to the appointment. The glucose drink wasn't quite as bad as I thought. Yes it is super sugary, but it tasted like flat, orange soda with a sugary after taste. Then came the waiting game, they took blood at one hour and two hours after drinking the goodness, so I just sat in the waiting room and waited. I was able to catch up on Baby's journal during that time, but the drink gave me a bit of a headache and my stomach wasn't too happy with all of the sugar and no real food. After I was done, I made sure to eat my snack that I brought and stopped on the way home for some real food. I think baby really liked it when mom had some real food too as evidenced by the dance party in my belly!
I got the call yesterday that I passed, which means I don't have to do it again. In fact, I was able to look at my lab numbers and they were great! I did find out that I am a little anemic, so I've got to take an iron supplement, but that is merely a drop in the bucket compared to gestational diabetes!

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)