How Far Along?
26 weeks (6.5 months)!
Weight Gained?
18 pounds
Cravings?
No cravings! I still don’t feel like I’ve had any real cravings.
Workouts?
My workouts now consist of:
ChaLean Extreme 3 days a week for weight training.
Yoga 2 days a week.
Occasional Turbo Fire workouts (I love the Low HIITs right now).
Occasional elliptical/bike/walking.
To be honest, I was getting so frustrated with my workouts. Not being able to exercise at the same level, length and intensity as before I got pregnant was getting to be upsetting and disappointing. My exercise room is also in my attic which does not have air conditioning, so it was extremely hot, which added to my discomfort. So now:
- I workout first thing in the morning in the attic before it gets too hot.
- I don’t do much high impact workouts out of fear I’ll pee my pants.
- For cardio, I do Turbo Fire (low impact) or biking, elliptical or walking at the gym.
- My husband is also doing more yoga to improve his flexibility, so it is something we can do together.
- I don’t lift weights as heavy as I would if I wasn’t pregnant.
Being as healthy as possible right now is really important to me, so exercising, taking care of my body and eating well is a priority. I don’t always FEEL like doing it, but I know that labor will be easier, I can eat more food, and I’ll have a speedier recovery if I stay active!
I want to teach my daughter what being HEALTHY is all about. I want to be a role model for showing that working out is fun, powerful, motivating and energizing. Healthy eating tastes good, it isn’t a chore, and that our health isn’t something to take for granted. I want to teach her to be comfortable in her own skin, comfortable with her body, not to compare her self to others, and to treat herself and her friends with respect that they deserve.
So, as frustrated as I can get during my workouts, it is an empowering feeling knowing I am doing what is best for my baby and myself. It is a different type of strong I feel these days!
Eating Plan?
Pregnant women only need an extra 300 calories per day. We aren’t “eating for two,” like they say. I’ll be honest, I have eaten a little more ice cream, chips and candy then I did before I got pregnant, but I don’t feel that those are foods I eat all the time or that the amounts I’m eating are in excess. I eat approximately 2,000-2,200 calories per day.
- Meal 1: Chocolate Vegan Shakeology with peanut butter and chia seeds (is shakeology safe while pregnant?)
- Meal 2: Plain greek yogurt with fruit and homemade granola
- Meal 3: Salad or leftovers
- Meal 4: Veggies or crackers & hummus
- Meal 5: Vegetarian dinner (most of my favorite recipes are posted on my blog)
- Meal 6: Frozen bananas covered in dark chocolate or shakeology no-bake cookies (one or two)
I go through bananas like crazy! I like to slice them thin, place on parchment paper, freeze, then put into plastic baggies. Eating them frozen is way better than eating them room temperature, in my opinion!
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- Approximately 1/3 cup peanut butter
- 2 oz dark chocolate
- 1 Tbs coconut oil
Instructions
- Slice bananas very thin (you don’t want too thick, when frozen they’ll be hard to bite).
- Spread a small drop of peanut butter between two banana slices (this can get messy).
- Place banana sandwiches on a cutting board or flat plate covered with parchment paper.
- In small saucepan, melt coconut oil and dark chocolate, paying attention so not to burn the chocolate.
- Using a spoon, drip the chocolate mixture over the banana sandwiches, painting the sides of the bananas as much as possible.
- Freeze for 3-4 hours or overnight, and BAM! You’ve got your little frozen treats!
Symptoms?
Extremely achy back. My middle and upper back is really sore. Laying down, using a heating pad or ice pack are the only things that really help. A friend just gave us her pregnancy pillow, which I’m going to start trying to use!
In the next few weeks, I have to go back for anther anatomical ultrasound. At 20 weeks the ultrasound showed a “low lying placenta,” which should take care of itself as my belly grows, but we have to check again at 28 weeks. If the placenta is lying too low, it is blocking the cervix, which would mean I wouldn’t be able to have a normal vaginal delivery. They said it should rise up, but we have to go back and check. I really don’t want a c-section!
Rhogam?
This week I had to go get my Rhogam shot. When I had my miscarriage last year, I found out my blood type is A-. This means I am Rh- (Rh negative) blood type. Normally my blood type means nothing special, but if my baby is Rh positive, then it causes “Rh Incompatibility.” If a few drops of baby’s blood get into my blood stream during delivery (even a drop), then my body will try to attack the Rh positive cells now, or with future babies. So, to prevent it, I have to get a shot made with my own blood, the Rhogam shot, which stops my immune system from attacking Rh positive cells. I had to get this shot when I was in the emergency room last time with the miscarriage, I’ll have to get it after I deliver and I’ll have to get it for all future pregnancies. I had to go to the hospital first thing in the morning for them to draw some blood to make the shot, then go back around 3pm for the injection. Between there, I had the glucose tolerance test to test for Gestational Diabetes. I hope I passed! 🙂
Baby Nursery?
Family and friends have been extremely generous to us!! Back in Michigan, family and friends gathered for a little shower for Isabella! We got to skype with them for a long time, talk, show the baby room and be part of the event. As hard as it is not being home for the shower, we felt incredibly blessed. My mom and grandma just got to Georgia this week, and we get to work on the nursery together!
What Does Pat Think?
“Not every ache and pain is a rare disease.”and
“I can’t imagine all the noises that would come from sitting in a room full of pregnant women.”It’s hard for me not to get worried that something is wrong when I feel pain or discomfort. Even though I can feel Isabella kicking and moving, I still get extremely worried and anxious before every doctors appointment thinking I’ve lost the baby again or something is wrong. I’m lucky to have an amazing man like Pat by my side, who re-assures me that I am healthy, we are doing well, and reminds me to take it easy.
I guess I also make a lot of weird noises now that I didn’t before? I didn’t even realize it, but I sat through an entire baby class making little burping noises, and didn’t know I was doing it until Pat asked what was going on with me when we got in the car! 😉
Stay tuned for more updates!
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