Childbirth Class

I cannot do math anymore… it is going on 12 hours for the day and I am just done. So instead I will write.

David and I attended our last of 3 childbirth classes last night at Central Baptist Hospital. Even though we are delivering at UK (since our deductible is waived there, sweet!), Central Baptist offers free childbirth classes to anyone and they had a natural birth class option while UK only had the “normal” delivery class. Our class was called “Laboring the Natural Way” and was 3 weeks long for 3 hours each. It was quite the commitment during this INSANE time in our lives, but we both think that it was well worth it.

I went into this class thinking, “I want to take the natural childbirth class because they will teach me important things like breathing and positions that I will probably need even if I do get an epidural, you know in the early part of labor”. I knew that ideally I would prefer to give birth naturally because, well, it is more natural. However I seriously, seriously doubted that I could ever do it. I mean, my body has kind of been fighting me on this whole pregnancy thing already, I really feel that I have a low pain tolerance and most people in my family and that I know rave about the effectiveness of the epidural. So in the end I figured I would most likely break and just take the pain meds.

Another motivation for going natural that I had before going into the class was kind of a selfish one. Considering the fact that I will be starting the spring semester a mere 4ish weeks after the baby is due I am terrified of having a C-section. Obviously if that is what needs to happen for our baby girl to be healthy that is what will happen. But I would like to avoid this major surgery which takes 6 weeks to recover from in any way possible. And the fact of the matter is that any kind of medical intervention increases your changes for a C-section. It may just be by a little bit, but the chances go up. So I thought that if my one of my biggest fears was this surgery I should try to go without anything that would make the chance of a C-section higher.

But to be honest, I went into the class just on the fence. The first thing that the awesome nurse who led the class made clear was that you can’t be on the fence about going natural. You have to be determined to do it. This doesn’t mean you are sad if it doesn’t happen, this doesn’t mean you “fail” if you need drugs, this doesn’t mean you put your baby at any unnecessary risks for the sake of your “plan”. However, if you ever want to have a chance of going all natural you have to be committed. It has to be your plan A. So right from the start I was challenged, and David and I really had to think about and discuss what we wanted.

We learned a ton from the class and it was really wonderful! Even though it was definitely a little bit scary to hear about the whole birthing process it was comforting at the same time. SOOOO many women have had babies, and a lot of them have had babies without any kind of medication. It was really neat to be introduced to the perspective that what we call “pain” during childbirth maybe should not be regarded as such. Normally when we are in pain something is wrong and our brain is trying to tell our body to do something about it. But during childbirth our bodies do exactly what they are supposed to do and nothing is really wrong. I mean, I am sure the process doesn’t feel good, and one of the great things about the teacher was that she was very honest in saying when she delivered her 3 children naturally it definitely hurt, but she explained it as being a different intense sensation than pain. She said that if I can just keep in mind that nothing is wrong, that my body knows what it is doing and that it was actually made to do this the perspective on the “pain” really changes. I think that this was the first time I was convinced that the physical strains brought on the body by childbirth could actually be endured. I had knows others to do it… but I guess I just believe now that anyone (including me) has a chance.

During the second week of the class we learned different breathing techniques and positions to use during contractions so that you can focus on something else. I think that all of them will be really helpful and I was so impressed with how good of a coach David is! We had different stations that we rotated to and at each one we would hold an ice cube to represent the pain of the contraction for 30, 60 or 90 seconds and then try the different techniques to take our minds off the sting. It was a helpful exercise for sure. We also learned about the different stages of birth, watched a few videos and did a few relaxation exercises (which David and I inevitably fell asleep during). What I liked most about all of this was that the teacher kept saying how you have to just focus on one contraction at a time. Previously when I had thought about giving birth naturally I would quickly get overwhelmed by how long I would be hurting, and how after one contraction there would come another, and then another, etc. But it makes so much sense that by splitting the experience up into a lot of small goals, by only focusing on the current contraction and not the hundreds that lie before you, a person can get through hours and hours of labor.

After really learning about the process of childbirth and all of our options our Plan A is definitely to try to go all natural. This means I will hopefully begin labor on my own rather than be induced, try to labor for as long as I can at home so that I can eat, drink and move around as I please, and then once we get to the hospital try to not get an epidural. Ultimately we want a healthy baby and that is all the matters. In no way will we put our own ambitions and plans above this priority. But, assuming that all goes well we are excited to let my body do what it was made to do in the most natural way possible.

Any comments/encouragement/questions would be much appreciated! I am definitely nervous about this decision but at the same time I think that it is the right one for us. I feel most comfortable with this plan and I am so happy because David is being a huge supporter as well. It is just so crazy that this baby inside of me will someday be here… outside of me. I am so excited, scared, anxious, happy and overwhelmed. I just can’t wait to meet our baby girl!

Weekend in Pittsburgh

This post has been a long time coming. With the craziness of school lately I have barely had time to sleep, let along write on the blog, but in this 20 minutes that I have between writing up a homework assignment and going to pick David up from work I wanted to share about my family’s weekend in Pittsburgh. As you may already know, (if not, click here) on my side of the family we are HUGE Steelers fans! They are the NFL (you know, football) team that has the most super bowl wins in history, i.e. the best team out there :) But that isn’t why we like them, it is because my dad grew up in Pittsburgh and has successfully brainwashed us. I wouldn’t call myself a sports fan in general, and a lot of people who know me find it very surprising that most Sundays I sport a Rothelisberger or Harrison jersey to sports bar or to my parent’s house where I can cheer on the Black and Gold. However, I love this tradition that my family has and I hope that we can convert David over to our side soon so that the tradition of loving a fantastic football team can continue to be passed down.

So, this past summer when Steeler tickets went on sale we all got on our cell phones and web browsers simultaneously to try to get some for the whole family (they go really, really fast). We ended up getting 6 tickets for the home opener at Heinz Field and so last weekend we packed up the car on Saturday morning and headed to Pittsburgh.

When we got there we stopped at this bar and grill place where they had “headwiches”, ie. sandwiches as big as your head. Of course my 145 lb. husband ordered one.

After that we walked around the bustling city taking it all in and then we decided to ride on an incline.

The hills are really steep in Pittsburgh so they have these cars on tracks that will take you to the top (or to the bottom). They are really old and packed with history… so cool!

Here we are on our way up.

The view from the top!

Photo opp for the fam :)

After snapping a few more pictures we took the incline back down and stopped at an adorable ice cream parlor for some dessert!

Then we went back to the hotel and slept really well until the next morning when we got up and got pumped for the game. We drove into town early and it was just so awesome to see everyone in their Steelers gear getting ready for the game. Seriously, everyone in Pittsburgh is a Steelers fan! We stopped by an outlet store and David agreed we could get something for baby girl.

Then off to the game!

I look so pregnant below! I was just glad my jersey still fit me.

All in all, it was a GREAT weekend! The Steelers won, big time, the day was beautiful, and it was wonderful to spend such quality time with my whole family.

We haven’t decided if next year we will be hauling a 9 month old baby to Pittsburgh to repeat this venture but it really is weekends like these with my side of the family that makes me realize how much I want our little family to someday have our own traditions.

Go Steelers!

28 weeks

And just like that I am in my 3rd trimester! How did this happen? It seems like just yesterday I was freaking out about the plus sign on that tiny stick and now I am due in less than 12 weeks. Time goes by so quickly…

How far along: 28 weeks.

Total weight gained: 15 pounds.

Updates on Baby: (Thanks so BabyCenter) By this week, your baby weighs two and a quarter pounds (like a Chinese cabbage) and measures 14.8 inches from the top of her head to her heels. She can blink her eyes, which now sport lashes. With her eyesight developing, she may be able to see the light that filters in through your womb. She’s also developing billions of neurons in her brain and adding more body fat in preparation for life in the outside world.

Maternity Clothes: This is an obvious yes by now. I tried to wear one of my old T-shirts on Friday (they used to be so big on me!), and it kept riding up and my belly would be hanging out of the bottom a bit before I knew it. Whoops! I had a sweatshirt on but it is crazy how uncomfortable even my T-shirts are now. Tomorrow I will clean out my drawers once again and transfer my old wardrobe back to the storage closet and replace it with some more hand-me-down maternity stuff.

Symptoms/Body Changes: I definitely had some swelling issues this week… in my feet, ankles, and legs after standing for too long. This week was a really hard week at school with my classes and especially my teaching duties. Proctoring an exam on Tuesday required me to stand for about 3 hours straight, from 7-10 pm, a time when I am usually conscious of elevating my feet. On Wednesday we graded for 11 hours… straight, and it was so, so hard on my back and ribs. The small aches and pains that I have had for a while were just amplified by my lack of rest and the high demands that I put on my body this week. It was discouraging and obviously made me nervous about how my growing preggo body will handle these situations in the future. But I can’t worry about that now. I just have to trust that when another hard week comes I will get through it like I got through this one! I am continuing to feel uncomfortable in general because she is just getting so much bigger! I wake up with sore ribs most mornings and by the end of class my tailbone is usually numb due to the way she has been sitting lately. But, as I told my mom a few minutes ago, it definitely beats getting sick all the time! I can take these symptoms :)

Exercise: My week was insane.. see above. But once Wednesday was over, it did calm down…  a little bit. So on Thursday I was able to walk 4 miles with my pup, on Friday morning I did Yoga, and this morning I spent the beautiful fall morning walking 4 miles with my sister. This coming week I need to lift some weights!!

Movement: She moves like CRAZY! She is at the point now where she moves for longer periods of time and then will rest for longer periods of time. Something that has been fun this week is that she normally wakes up with me every morning. It used to be she would be still until I ate my bowl of cereal or even after I had finished my first class. But now I feel like as soon as I open my eyes in the morning and roll over she starts dancing around. It is fun to just lay there for a little bit with my girl before I start the day :)

Cravings: Warm hot drinks… which means coffee. I haven’t kicked my caffeine habit because I really, really enjoy my 6 oz cup of coffee in the morning (and now that I drink half decaf/half caffeinated every morning I really don’t feel guilty about the small amount of caffeine). But now that there are pumpkin spice lattes being advertised everywhere it is hard to not want that afternoon latte kick as well. I have kept this under control and have only had 1 decaf pumpkin spice latte but I want them all the time. Other than warm drinks I don’t really want to eat anything. My appetite left as quickly as it came. I hope it returns soon!

Aversions: Nothing in particular has grossed me out this week. I started wearing scented deodorant this week because my unscented kind ran out and it didn’t bother me at all! (It’s the little joys). Certain smells from when I was really sick I still can’t stand, but I am glad that my sense of smell in general isn’t as strong.

What I miss: I miss being generally comfortable while I stand up and sit down. I miss sleeping really well. I miss working on math without overwhelming emotions of frustration.

What I am looking forward to: Tonight I am looking forward to tomorrow. This weekend has been really good for David and I. We got to stay in Lexington and just kind of do… nothing. Today we did a good amount of homework but we have decided that on Sundays we are really going to try to take a Sabbath. So no homework and no planning our day out until it is full. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day here in Lexington so I am excited to wake up, go to church, have Life Group and then maybe go to the dog park, bake some pumpkin bread and hang around the house. I am looking forward to relaxing!

That is all for the weekly update. Hopefully tomorrow during my relaxing day I will also feel inspired to blog about our Pittsburgh trip last weekend. Stay posted, and goodnight!

27 Weeks... Goodbye Second Trimester

This past weekend my family and I went to Pittsburgh for a Steelers game (a post on that coming soon!). It was awesome.! However, this week is craziness… seriously I have like a million things to do, and the weekend was exciting but busy. So even though I am closer to 28 weeks at this point than I am to 27 weeks I still wanted to do an update. I have lots of catching up to do on the blog and I hope those posts will be coming soon!

How far along? 27 weeks.

Total Weight Gain: Still right at 15 pounds.

Updates on baby: (Thanks so BabyCenter) This week, your baby weighs almost 2 pounds (like a head of cauliflower) and is about 14 1/2 inches long with her legs extended. She’s sleeping and waking at regular intervals, opening and closing her eyes, and perhaps even sucking her fingers. With more brain tissue developing, your baby’s brain is very active now. While her lungs are still immature, they would be capable of functioning — with a lot of medical help — if she were to be born now. Chalk up any tiny rhythmic movements you may be feeling to a case of baby hiccups, which may be common from now on. Each episode usually lasts only a few moments, and they don’t bother her, so just relax and enjoy the tickle.

**I totally felt the baby hiccups!!! Friday morning I believe it was. So cool!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, they are pretty much a must at this point. I was excited that most of my Steelers stuff still fit me this past weekend, and to be honest a lot of my stuff still fits, as in I can get it on my body. But maternity clothes are just waaaay more comfortable and flattering. I loved this cute burgundy dress!

Symptoms/Body Changes: To be honest, this was a hard week. I just didn’t feel good in general. My aches in my back and sides were really annoying and I definitely felt mild cramping every day. Nothing to be worried about… I just feel like everything is so tight! Like my belly just needs to grow a little more so that I can have room to breathe, and some space for my ribs, and for my food. However, having space for food wasn’t a big deal this week because my appetite kind of disappeared again. Nothing ever sounded good to eat and I would find myself not realizing I was hungry until my stomach started to rumble. The heartburn was present but I finally got some Tums, so those help. My fatigue has also returned with a vengance… just in time for school I guess. It just wasn’t as great of a week physically… hopefully it is just a phase!

Exercise: This was HARD this week since I didn’t feel well most of the time. I got out and walked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday each about 2 miles. On Thursday I pushed harder and walked 3 1/2 miles on an incline. It took 50 minutes and every single minute was difficult. However, I was never in pain so I just pushed through and then did some weights afterward and I think that it helped give me a little bit more energy. Again, hopefully the whole no-energy or appetite thing will go away soon!

Movement: Last Saturday our little stinker hurt me by kicking me so hard! She seriously moves all the time… I know I always say this but it is true! And lately she has been sitting right in the middle of my belly, below my belly button and right under my ribs. sometimes she will kind of bear down on one particular place causing lots of pressure but most of the time the kicks are still enjoyable and adorable. Also, as I mentioned before, I think I felt her hiccups on Friday morning. I was laying in bed really still just kind of waking up and I felt a small rhythmic pulse that lasted for a few minutes. It was so cool!! Her movements make the aches, pains and fatigue all worth it.

Cravings: Just sleep!

Aversions: No strong aversions… just a general apathy toward all food.

What I miss: Feeling great!!! I had a few weeks of feeling so awesome; almost back to my old self. But I really hope that I will feel well again soon and that maybe this is just a growing phase when a lot is happening in that tummy of mine.

What I am looking forward to: The past 3 weekends of traveling have truly been wonderful. David and I have enjoyed all of the time that we have gotten to spend with family and friends. But we are SO looking forward to a quiet weekend in Lexington. As I mentioned earlier, I have approximately 8 billion things to do this week (homework, proctor a calculus exam, grade said calculus exams, figure out what classes I want to teach next semester, work on my Master’s talk, etc.) so I am really excited about coming home on Friday night and doing nothing. And then getting up on Saturday morning and doing things like laundry, clean my bathroom, write thank you notes. And then getting up on Sunday morning and going to church and then doing nothing but watch football and maybe cook a really good meal. Sometimes you just crave to be home…. and that is what I want right now.

But now I must go and start on the to-do list of the 8 billion things. Or possibly go to bed since I only got 5 hours of sleep last night. Check back soon for the 28 weeks update and hopefully lots of other catch-up posts! I have so much to tell you about :)

My awesome little brother

This weekend David and I went up to NKY for another baby shower (more on that later). We tried to keep Saturday nice and relaxing… we had lunch with my parents, did a little homework, I got to shop with my best friend Meagan, and then David and I spent the evening with my little brother while my parents hung out with some friends.

I love my little brother. He has been a blessing from the beginning! He was born when I was 14 so we don’t have the typical brother-sister relationship. I would say that David and I are more like a really close aunt and uncle to him. We love the time that we get to spend with him and just hang out and talk. So, here are a couple cute stories about my brother as of late:

On his first day of school they played 2 truths and a lie to get to know each other. Josh’s two truths:

1) I have two sisters and a brother (he calls David his brother all the time!)

2) My sister is going to have a baby (he tells everyone that will listen that I am preggo. Even though he wishes I were having a boy I think he is really excited to be an uncle!!)

His lie was that he has an Xbox. I think he probably won that game.

This past weekend we took him to Skyline for dinner (if you have never had it, you have to come to the Cincinnati area and try it!). David asked him what his dream job would be if he had to pick it right now. He started off by saying he would really like to be a pilot, but then as we kept on trying to get him to spill his real dreams it came out that he wants to be an actor. You could just hear the uncertainty in his voice when he expressed to us that this is what he really wants to do because like all of us Larsens, my little brother tends to be hard on himself. He started saying how he would never be able to be on TV because he just isn’t talented enough. David and I being the wonderful siblings that we are (and wanting to practice good parenting now!) started to explain to him that anything that you really want to do, you can! You just have to work really hard, sacrifice other things and stay focused on your goal. He listened and thought for a minute. Then he said, “So if I worked really hard, do you think one day I could work at Game Stop?”. It was hard to keep a straight face… but we both did and we assured him that if he wanted it bad enough we were sure that he would be capable of working at a video game store.

Hanging out with Josh makes me even more excited about our baby on the way! Children are just so amazing… innocent, smart, creative. I think the way in which they see the world is incredible and I am always feel that as adults we can learn so much from them.

Week 26

Ahh… It’s Friday night and I am laying on the couch in my PJ’s after a wonderful dinner at Saul Good with the hubby (and a much needed Meijer trip). I am pretty sure that grocery shopping on a Friday night makes us officially old. But it feels nice to have a relaxing night at home after a week of school work and before another weekend of traveling up to NKY. And now I get to update you on this past week of my pregnancy journey!

(Beware: I am in terrible need of a hair cut in these pics. I am getting one tomorrow and I am pumped!)

How far along? 26 weeks.

Total weight gain: 15 pounds.

Updates on baby: (Thanks to WhatToExpect) She now weighs a full two pounds and measures nine-plus inches. And this week, her eyes, which until now were developing under fused eyelids, start to open. Of course, there’s not much to see in there, but if your baby spots a bright light (or hears a loud noise) near your belly, you may notice an increase in fetal activity. (“Hey, I’m in here, Mommy! Where’s the party!”) What accounts for that response? Her brain is more developed and sophisticated.

Maternity Clothes: Don’t you just love these maternity skinny jeans? I am rocking my hand-me-down maternity clothes most days now. My day to day wardrobe includes these jeans with button down tops and lots of cute professional dresses to teach in, and today when I didn’t have to teach I wore a slouchier pair of maternity jeans with a T-shirt. SO COMFY! Some of my pre-pregnancy stuff still fits but lots of it doesn’t so I am very thankful to have the maternity options in my closet.

Symptoms/Body Changes: So… the blessing of uninterrupted sleep evaded me this week :( Very unfortunate, but it isn’t as bad as it could be. This past week I woke up every morning before 5:30 a.m. and couldn’t fall back asleep. I was hungry or my back hurt of I just couldn’t get comfortable again. Last night I slept a bit better after working out pretty hard yesterday, so maybe that helped. It has been an adjustment to go from sleeping around 9 hours a night to barely getting in 7. Another unfortunate symptom that has developed is vericose/spider veins in my legs… gross. I had a few before I got pregnant and when I read that they tend to appear or get worse during this process I didn’t have much hope. I am just glad that the weather has gotten cooler and I can wear pants to hide them! No stretch marks yet though, which I am thankful for.

Exercise: The beginning of the week started out a bit rough for me. Monday was labor day so I didn’t exercise then, and then on Tuesday I had a Dr. appointment and I had to do the glucose screening test. So I had to drink this nasty, orange sugary stuff, wait an hour without eating or drinking anything and then go get a blood test to see if my body reacts well to the sugar. The blood test was normal, but actually drinking the stuff and then suffering through the sugar high and then crash was terrible. It made me feel really sick for the rest of the day and I had a pretty bad headache. Needless to say, no workout for me on Tuesday. The rest of the week went like this:

Wednesday: Did about 30 minutes of Prenatal Pilates then I had to stop because it was hurting. I was pretty uncomfortable during the beginning of the week… I think my body was just going through another growth spurt. That may have been why I was more sensitive to the stretches and movement.

Thursday: Walked 40 minutes on an incline on the treadmill. Then worked my biceps, triceps, chest, shoulders and back with my sis.

Friday: Cardio Dance again with my sister (because I wouldn’t dare go without her), then we did squats, lunges, inner and outer thigh lifts and abs. I usually lead us in our exercises and it felt great today when during our ab routine Jen stopped and exclaimed, “Man, you are killing me!”. Yup, still got it.

As I said above, working out seems to help me sleep better at night so I really want to try to get some kind of movement into my day every day. This week it was very rainy and dreary (not that I minded, it was a great break from 90 degrees!). However, the gross weather didn’t allow for as many walks outside with Rooney.

Movement: She is our tiny dancer in there! She really moves all the time. David has gotten to see some of her bigger movements this past week and that was really cool. She is sitting a lot higher in my belly lately so when she moves I can really feel it and it literally moves my stomach around. I love it! Last weekend I told David that it felt like she was doing tiny speed bag movements right around my rib area. This happened a few more times and then I read somewhere that around this time they start to do this quick pedaling motion which will help them develop to walk later. So cool! Another neat thing that I noticed this week is that I can usually tell now where she is in my belly, like down low, over to the left, right under my belly button, etc. It gets really hard wherever she is sitting and I love the idea that she is right there under my skin. Amazing.

Cravings: Nothing noticeable this week. This wasn’t a great week as far as eating goes.. I just kind of felt blah.

Aversions: My heartburn returned a bit this week. It is especially bad tonight. So the southwestern queso and hot brown pizza that David and I shared at dinner don’t sound good to me at all right now. I have developed a major aversion to sweaty guys at the gym. It must be the whole heightened sense of smell thing, but I really can’t take men’s body odor lately! It makes me want to gag.

What I miss: Being the kind of student that I was before. It has been quite an adjustment going back to school. My mind and focus just aren’t the same (pregnancy brain is real! Hormones are crazy!), but also it just feels a lot different because my priorities have obviously shifted. When I get tired at night I just feel like I need to go to bed and give my body the rest that it needs rather than stay up and try to read one more chapter in Topology. Also, there have just been some practical things that make going to school harder. Like the fact that I can’t sit up in a chair and read or do homework for long periods of time and just a general decrease in energy. I am still productive each day and I am really loving my semester so far! But having this new body and this baby inside to look after and give consideration to has definitely changed how I am able to approach each day and if I want to be as good of a student as I was before I will need to adjust my approach.

What I am looking forward to: We are traveling to NKY yet again because, as I have already mentioned, we are super blessed and have another baby shower! This one is with my dear girl friends from high school that I danced with for years and years. It will be so wonderful and I am really excited. On an entirely different note, the NFL season has started, but I am sure you already knew that. This means that the Steelers play on Sunday!! I am so excited to sport on of my Dad’s jerseys and watch the game with my family on Sunday.

I hope you have a fantastic weekend!

As you probably know I had my first baby shower this past weekend. It was wonderful! David’s mom and cousin Darlene threw it for me and it was so sweet. What a great way to celebrate our baby girl. Having a shower definitely made the fact that we are having a baby a lot more real. I feel like it hasn’t hit me still… it probably won’t until I am holding her in my arms.

Twentyfive.

Today is September 1st which is just really blowing my mind because little Baby H is due in December! That is in 3 months!! I know I keep saying this, but time just keeps on rolling by. During my first 6 weeks of being pregnant (aka the worst time of my life… literally) I thought that I would never feel like this journey was moving along. Every day was long and exhausting and depressing. But now I feel like my old self again in all of the good ways, plus I have the added joy and honor of carrying our baby girl! Time does fly when you are having fun.

How far along? 25 weeks.

Updates on baby: (Thanks to BabyCenter) Head to heels, your baby now measures about 13 1/2 inches. Her weight — a pound and a half — isn’t much more than an average rutabaga, but she’s beginning to exchange her long, lean look for some baby fat. As she does, her wrinkled skin will begin to smooth out and she’ll start to look more and more like a newborn. She’s also growing more hair — and if you could see it, you’d now be able to discern its color and texture.

Note: I didn’t know what a rutabaga was, so I went in search for another vegetable-size comparison (there are lots out there), and I found one that said baby is the size of an eggplant!

Maternity Clothes: Yes, yes. Still loving those elastic waist lines and tops that actually fit. I have felt really wonderful about the way that I look lately and I have been getting a lot of encouragement from others which is always nice. On a few occasions I have been told that I am glowing, I look great, pregnancy fits me, and that I don’t look as far along as I am. Keep the compliments coming because even though I do feel really great about how I look it never hurts to hear kind words as your waist and hips continue to expand!

Symptoms/Body Changes: My heartburn and aches got a lot better this week.  I am still sleeping wonderfully and since I have been working out more often my body just feels a lot less hindered. I feel more mobile lately and the only thing that has continued to ache is my back when I sit up straight for too long. There was one day, this past Saturday, when David and I walked a mile or so to a block party, stood around for a few hours and then walked back and my feet swelled a bit. I think that once it stops being 90 something degrees this symptom won’t pop up too much.

This past weekend we did go to the Kentucky State Fair and the day after I was very aware that my body is not what it used to be. A day of walking around, being in the sun, eating terribly and not getting much sleep drastically affected me all day Monday and a part of the day Tuesday. While we were there I didn’t notice a huge change in my energy level, but my body made it very clear to me the two days after this adventure that it was not a fantastic idea to push myself that hard, and I am thinking we won’t do anything like that again for a while.

Exercise: I am all about it lately! I mostly have a schedule down for the semester and ever since I committed to blocking out time for myself and my body I feel so much better. Here is what I did this week:

Monday - Break… resting from the state fair. I almost put the fair down as my exercise for Sunday because we walked A LOT, but then I thought twice about it since we also consumed large amounts of fried food while there.

Tuesday - 4 mile walk and prenatal pilates.

Wednesday - Cardio Dance Class with my sis - that’s right. Last night I was shaking my hips to Beyonce’s Single Ladies with a bunch of skinny, tan 18-20 year old college students. It was pretty hilarious but was also a great workout! You know I love to dance, and even though I may not be able to arch my back like I used to I can shimmy with the best of them. After the class I figured I had already made a huge fool of myself, so I took my uninhibited preggo body over to the free weights and worked my biceps, triceps, shoulders, back and chest along side stinky 18-20 year old college boys. I definitely got some looks but it was good.

Thursday - 4 mile walk in the HOT SUN, then I did squats, lunges and leg lifts when I got home.

Friday - Tomorrow I am going to a yoga class in the morning before my classes start and I am planning on taking a 3-4 mile walk in the afternoon.

Movement: Oh my goodness… first of all my belly literally grew overnight on Sunday. It was the hot dogs and funnel cakes I bet. But really, when I woke up Monday morning my belly felt so much bigger and throughout the day I noticed not only a huge increase in baby’s movement, but all the sudden I was feeling her move really high! Like around my rib area. Until this point she has mostly moved in my lower tummy with a few kicks around my belly button every once in a while. But this past week something drastic happened with my belly because now she is kicking around my rib area, visibly flipping from side to side right in the middle of my stomach and moving around so much that it is distracting during class! I love it, and it doesn’t hurt at all yet which is really nice. This week I have also noticed her moving a lot more when I lay on my side. It used to be that I had to be perfectly still on my back to feel her move. Now her nudges come when I am in all kinds of positions and doing all kinds of activity.

Cravings: Chips and salsa. I have had this snack 3 different times this week and I just can’t get enough! So salty and yummy and even though there is some spice it hasn’t given me heart burn.

Aversions: Nothing really. I still can’t eat large portions of anything but other than that I feel pretty normal on the food front.

What I miss: Nothing this week. I am really, really loving being pregnant right now and I hope that the feeling doesn’t go away! It is so crazy to think back to how terrible my first trimester was, and even how hard things were until right around 19 or 20 weeks. Thus far the second half of the pregnancy has been truly amazing and I have loved it! I know I am only 3 weeks away from my third trimester, which is supposed to be a time when some tough symptoms come back and lots of new ones emerge, but I am hoping that as I continue to eat well, exercise and take care of myself I will keep feeling great!

What I am looking forward to: First baby shower is on Saturday! Yay! But I already wrote about that…

I am also looking forward to my next Dr. appt which is on Tuesday the 6th. I have decided to try out a new doctor who was recommended to me by my sister because I wasn’t totally in love with my last doctor. After encouragement from family and friends I decided that I should just see if I like another one better since I didn’t shop around at all before choosing my doctor. So anyway, since I rescheduled with this new doctor I get to have my appt a week earlier than I would have! I am excited to hear baby girl’s heartbeat and even though I have to do that glucose screening test (to see if I have gestational diabetes) which I have heard is not fun, I am still looking forward to hearing that everything is still perfectly normal.

I will try to post pictures ASAP from the baby shower on Saturday because I know that you are just dying to hear the details. Until then…