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)

20 weeks, Halfway There!

We are at the 1/2 way point! We hit 20 weeks on Jan. 17 and had our 20 week ultrasound on Friday. We were so excited to see our little one! It was amazing to see how much baby has grown in the last 8 weeks since our last ultrasound. It didn't look like baby had very much room in there compared to previous ultrasounds. Baby sure was wiggling around a lot, to the point where they had to send in two additional people to try and get a few last pictures. We saw baby's heart beating, the kidneys, the different parts of the brain, face and bones. It still amazes me sometimes that there is a little person in there, but I'm reminded each day from the little bump growing! At one point baby's feet were up by its head, baby was pretty much folded in half! I said to Mark, "We may have a little gymnast on our hands!" Baby also showed us that he/she could could almost turn somersaults while growing in mom! It was great to see baby and gender is still a secret, not even my doctor knows, so it will be an amazing surprise for everyone when he/she decides to come into the world! We are incredibly blessed and excited to welcome this little one into the world!
Here are some pictures:

Face

Profile Pic

Look, I can almost turn somersaults!

Did I just feel the baby move, or was that just gas?

I've imagined that feeling the baby really move is going to be great and really help us feel like there is a little person in there! The last few days, I think I've been feeling the baby move!! It does feel a little like gas, but its more forward and it doesn't happen all the time, but mostly when I'm sitting quietly. I'm waiting for the day that it really feels like movement, which may be a few weeks away, but for now, I'm pretty sure it is baby I'm feeling and not just gas!
We've also started reading books to baby as part of our night-time ritual. Mark found this really great book called: Baby oh Baby the Places You'll Go: A book to read in Utero. It is written by Dr. Seuss and adapted by Tish Rabe and it is a great rhyming book to read! We also have a few other bed time stories that we have been reading, rotating the nights each of us read and the books. I'm looking forward to being able to talk to baby more and feel the baby move in reaction to our voices!!

Pregnancy these past 19 weeks!

I have to say that I feel incredibly blessed to have had what I would consider a relatively easy pregnancy so far. Looking back to the beginning, I should have realized that something was awry because I was getting crampy during runs which normally didn't happen and my "ladies" were sore for a constant 3 weeks, also not the norm. I was lucky enough to not have any morning sickness, which I think I inherited from my mom who also didn't have any! I was quite fatigued and took frequent naps, but this is normal for the first few months. I also noticed that I had (and still have) a heightened gag reflex, which caught me off-guard a few times, but I've figured out how to control it. I think my biggest complaints for the first 3 1/2 months were that my appetite was totally off, Hello Carbs, Goodbye Veggies; and that i was waking up often at night (baby sitting on the bladder syndrome!). I feel bad for Mark because most of our dinners the first 3 months were Mac & Cheese or Baked Potatoes. Occasionally I would make something with chicken, but veggies were pretty much non existent. Once Thanksgiving rolled around, I felt like my appetite got a bit better, but it was really just before Christmas that veggies started sounding good again and we've started eating meals that we cooked before, so that makes me feel better!
I've also noticed these last few weeks that my energy levels are back up, which I knew would happen and was kind of waiting for, because some days I was tired of feeling tired! I've been exercising more these last few weeks, incorporating walking instead of running, a weights class at the gym 2 days a week, dancing on the xbox and prenatal yoga. I am feeling really good and am thankful that I am able to stay fit during this pregnancy.
It's hard to believe that we are already 19 weeks into pregnancy (almost 1/2 way)!! I feel blessed to have been feeling so good and am really now starting to have to wear maternity clothes. I did buy some pants right before Thanksgiving, but then figured out I could still wear my jeans with a belly band, which helped prolong the non-maternity clothes wearing! I am happy to report that I now have a small "baby bump" and its starting to actually look like a bump and not just too many cookies over the holidays.
Here is a picture we took on Wed (1/9/13) night. We were a little late with this pic, b/c we were 19 weeks on Thursday, but better late than never! We have been taking regular pics, but just added the sign to the pictures the last few weeks. I'll be sure to post updated "bump" pictures as we continue on this adventure!

Spreading the Good News!

Let me just tell you how hard it is to keep a secret for weeks from your nearest and dearest! We decided to wait until 12 weeks to tell family and friends, and boy was it hard! It is such an exciting time, but we kept our mouths shut. 
12 weeks ended up falling on Thanksgiving day, so we thought, "What better time than to share with our extended family, on Thanksgiving". A few days before we prefaced a get together with Mark's family saying that "Because I was out of town over the weekend, I was jealous that Mark got to spend time with our nephew Jack, that we should get together for dinner". That was the perfect set up because no one was expecting anything. We had dinner and we sitting around talking, when Mark's mom decided she needed to go home and wait for Mark's dad to return from a day work trip. It was now or never, so Mark got his dad on speaker phone, and said, "We have an announcement to make...". Everyone was so excited, and Mark's sister said, "Really, I wasn't expecting an announcement until after the new year!" Well, to be honest we weren't expecting to make an announcement quite so soon, but the world has other plans for us! 
The next day was the day before Thanksgiving and we were going over to my parents house to celebrate my Dad's birthday, also Megan was back in town for the holiday, so the whole family was there. I decided to write our news in my Dad's birthday card "Happy Birthday Grandpa", and see what his reaction was. He read it and then said, "Oh really?!", passed the card to my mom and it was all nothing but hugs and excitement for the rest of the night! Everyone was very excited and we were able to show ultrasound pictures from our appointment earlier that day. One of my favorite memories was being able to tell/show everyone the arms, legs and talk about baby's development. I forget that some of my siblings aren't medically minded and haven't learned about infant development, so it was fun sharing all of the exciting developmental milestones that baby had already accomplished in just 12 short weeks! 
The next day we shared the news with our extended families and everyone was excited for us! When telling some of my best friends the day after Thanksgiving, many of them weren't surprised because I had seen them recently and they were wondering if something was going on. It is so hard to keep a secret from these ladies, they pick up on EVERYTHING, but we were celebrating Caitlin's baby shower and since we hadn't told families, I didn't feel I could tell them first. We have all been friends since college and has been amazing to see how each of us have met amazing men and started families of our own. Of course everyone is so excited to add another baby to what I affectionately call my second family! 
Over the last several weeks since Thanksgiving, we have been telling other friends as we have seen them. We are excited for what the next few months have in store for us as we get ready to welcome our new little bundle of joy!

Hi there Baby!

We have had the amazing opportunity to have two ultra sounds and seeing the baby was amazing. At our first appointment the baby is so small, yet on the screen you can make out the hands and feet and see the heart beating away. At our second appointment, there was more to make out. The baby's arms and legs were moving around and the baby was wiggling about. We were able to see (with sonogram enhancements) stomach veins and arteries. We were also able to see a 3D picture of the baby. It was weird, but cool to see. The quality isn't the greatest, however, it is amazing to think that there is a small human growing in there. We are scheduled for out last ultrasound in a few weeks. Hopefully at this one we will be able to make out more of the baby, but we are not finding out whether baby is a boy or girl until he/she is born! Here are some pictures!

Profile Picture

3D Picture of Baby