Back in the Gym

Even though I feel like napping all the time, I am doing my best to keep moving. As long as its not early in the morning I join Josh at the gym here in our apartment complex. Josh usually runs and does some weight training. I either walk on the treadmill or work out on the elliptical machine and then do some very light weight lifting --- just upper body with the 2.5 pound free weights.

It feels pretty good to get off the couch, even if I am barely breaking a sweat. The important thing is raising my heart rate a little and just keeping my muscles moving. I do get out of breath a lot faster because I am carrying extra weight and my lungs are being squished by my ever growing uterus. What's funny though is that I still get the urge to push myself. As soon as I step on the treadmill I want to set it to 6.0 mph and run for at least 30 minutes, but today I settled for 3.3mph for 15 minutes. I did put it at a 1.5% incline though, just to add a little difficulty. But by the time I was finished my pelvis was ready to be done, so I am succeeding at not pushing myself too hard.

Thankfully the machines have a heart rate monitor so that I can keep an eye on my heart rate. The rates are: 1)warm-up 2)fat burner 3)cardio 4)peak high. I try to keep my heart rate between 'fat burner' and 'cardio' which is between 130 bpm and 155 bpm. That is the safe zone for my baby. Also if I allow it to go higher and I start to really heat up it can be very unsafe for my little James because he will heat up also and in the uterus the baby has no means to cool down, which is why I am not allowed in a hot bath or the hot tub for the duration of the pregnancy.

So long story short, I need to be careful and listen to my body, but I also need to keep moving  :)

On days that I don't go to the gym I am trying to do some prenatal yoga or prenatal Pilate's. Since that's in DVD or YouTube form it can be very difficult to get motivated and off the couch, but rest days are also very welcome :) 

I look forward to getting back to proper running once James has arrived, but in the mean time I am very much enjoying a slower pace :)

Okay, so which doctor are you?

Doctor visits come with the territory of being pregnant, at least for most women. Since my insurance covers everything pregnancy related, I am definitely taking advantage.

So far, I haven't seen the same doctor twice. I went in for the initial pregnancy test a long time ago and was taken care of by a nurse. Then I came back for my first official prenatal visit and had Dr. Wu, who said will be my doctor throughout my pregnancy should everything stay normal and if I am having the baby naturally. He will even be there when I am giving birth. So I know I will be seeing him again  :)

Then last week I had my first educational class thingy with Martha. She just basically gave me the run down of what will happen over the next 7 months and who I can call for this, that and the other. I will also be seeing her again, for more general information as my pregnancy progresses. It's nice to have her, because until meeting with her I had no idea where to go for what. So she makes all the technical stuff less stressful :)

Then today was my first trimester blood screening. So I had to go to Quest Diagnostics to have some blood drawn. I know I will be back here because blood test are normal through out the pregnancy. Although what's not normal is how much blood they took! Five test tubes of blood were taken out of my arm. Because I am prone to passing out I like to focus on the clock and my breathing. He was sucking blood continuously for 1 minute and 20 seconds!!! It's no wonder I got light headed despite taking deep breaths. But out of all the doctor visits I will have to deal with, this wont be considered the worst. The pap smears will always win the 'worst award'.

The people I have yet to see include the dietitian, social worker, dentist and ultrasound technician. And I guess Dr. Wu has a partner that will be working with me as well. It's crazy the amount of people it takes to ensure a healthy mom and baby. It's quite a network! So far, everyone has been great and I am very thankful for every little part they play in my pregnancy. I feel like I am in good hands ... how ever many there are!  ;)

Sometimes we need a little help.

Today started off pretty rough. I was feeling awful when I woke up and went from lying in bed to lying on the couch contemplating getting back into bed. Luckily Josh was here this morning to give me a kick start. He talked me into a much needed shower (standing for too long in the morning can be too much), by saying that he would get breakfast (that I didn't want but very much NEEDED), while I got ready for my day.

I took my time in the shower, which actually ended up making me feel a lot better and sat on the couch to a yummy black bean and cheese burrito from Trader Joes and a ginger ale. For the first time in a few days the smell didnt hit me in the back of the throat. I sat down and happily got through about 3/4 of the burrito. This means that I also got my prenatal down with food which is always a plus!

This is the first morning where the pregnancy sickness has actually slowed me down. If it hadnt been for Josh, I probably would have turned up at work unshowered and having not eaten more than my whole grain crackers. Thanks to his loving help this morning, I ended up having a wonderful day.

As the day continued, I felt better and better, though the nausea crept in from time to time. I managed to ignore it most of the time and even managed some lunch today :)  It's the first day in half a week where I have eaten at least 3 decent (baby happy) meals and had a helping of fruit to end my day. It's days like this that make all the other days worth it. And I love using days like today to catch up on the nutrients my baby has been missing out on.

A beautiful day thanks to my wonderful fiance. I appreciate all your patience and unconditional love. Thank you for answering to my every pregnant need ... I love more than I could ever express in words.

Prenatal Yoga Time!

I bought a prenatal yoga dvd a few days ago so that I would stay somewhat active and strong. Today is the first day that I managed to get up off the couch and onto my yoga mat to use it.

The prenatal section of the dvd is 30 minutes long and incorporates all the safe poses for an expectant mother. I had no idea that there were so many unsafe poses until I checked online! So be careful if you decide to go to a regular yoga class! Their is also a postnatal section on the dvd, but obviously I havnt used that one yet.

There was a lot of reminding me to breathe and smile and relax my face. Every time she said something along those lines, I was holding my breath or frowning because the pose was a little difficult, so I was thankful for the reminders. She also takes the time for you to connect with your breathing and your baby, which I feel is very important.

Despite having felt a little under the weather this morning, the entire 30 minutes was very doable, it even made me feel a little better (though I am not yet running to the fridge). So I can definitely see myself being able to do this a few times a week throughout the pregnancy.

I do hope to get to a few actual prenatal yoga classes. My friend Nadia is all for going with me and participating since this may be outside of Josh's comfort zone (which of course, I fully understand if he doesnt want to step inside a yoga studio). So I am happy to have a yoga buddy :)  Thank you Nadia!

So I highly recommend this yoga workout. It's nice and simple, but I feel like I had to work a little.
Namaste!