Up and running

6 Nov

Yesterday, I forgot that the time change meant that it would be dark when I was leaving work. So the dogs did not get a walk.

Since they have to be locked up all day (when Travis isn’t home), I feel bad when that happens and this morning, I made sure to take them on a wog before work.

Yes, a WOG.

I actually jogged a bit! My first “run” in over a month. ::hangs head in shame::

I only had time for 2 (slow) miles and my Garmin was dead so I just based my intervals on feel but I got out there and did it.

The dogs were happy.

And so was I.

 

{Pictures recycled from a run last year but this year’s dry Colorado fall looks pretty much identical}

 

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Pregnancy Update: 18 Weeks

5 Nov

The baby is now the size of a mango. (Anyone remember Mango from SNL?)

Anyway, my project for this past Saturday was to clean out all the stuff we had dumped in the nursery in preparation for this coming weekend when my parents will be out here. The nursery is now empty and ready for a new window and new coat of paint!

Katy wanted to say hi but got shy at the last second. (Travis still has to store those boxes somewhere.)

Yesterday was our church’s annual Chili Cookoff for singles and young married couples. Travis and I brought our award-winning Elk Chili (we entered it in 2010 too and won). And we won again! The Chili Trophy is now proudly displayed on our bookcase.

I can’t take credit for the recipe because I just found it online. The first time I had ever made it was for the 2010 Chili Cookoff. So if you’re looking to win some chili awards yourself, check out the recipe! (I only use 1 onion and decrease the brown sugar to 1/4 cup.)

……………….

Another very exciting thing about this past week is that I like coffee again! I’ve really missed that part of my morning routine. Well, I’ve missed having a morning routine period. This morning was the first time I got up within 20 minutes of my alarm in about 5 months. I had time to read the Bible and work on my book. Yay! Hopefully this is my new trend.

I’ve started to get creative with sleeping positions. Last night, I could not get comfortable on my side, even with my giant body pillow, so I stacked up 3 pillows and laid on my back. I was out in minutes. In the mornings, I really miss sleeping on my stomach. I actually slept so deeply a couple of nights last week that I woke up on my stomach several times! Surprisingly, it wasn’t that uncomfortable, but I switched my position right away anyway.

I’ve also been feeling the baby move for the past couple of weeks. I have to admit, it’s not really a physically pleasant feeling. It just feels like my stomach is upset at random times throughout the day and only for a few minutes each time. Regardless, it is cool to feel that and know that it’s our baby moving around!

……………….

Workouts last week:

Su: 1 mile walk

T: 1.7 mile walk

Sa: 2 mile walk, 45 minutes Yoga Mama prenatal yoga

Even though I wasn’t a fan of that yoga video either (too much baby fluff again), and it was a pretty easy workout, I can tell I’ve lost a lot of upper body strength. Sad.

……………….

Cravings: I really like stir-fry right now – even soy sauce, which I used to really dislike. I’ve never liked salt so much in my life. (Maybe we’re having a boy?)

Weight gain: 10 lbs total

What I miss: Wine. Sleeping on my stomach. Running.

Looking forward to: This weekend with my parents, Thanksgiving in Minnesota, and finding out the gender on November 27!

Do you have a prenatal workout DVD that you really like? Tell me what it is!

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Big baby purchases

4 Nov

During the slow times at work, I’ve been busy researching baby stuff and have been able to decide on some of the big purchases: car seat, stroller, crib and mattress. (Travis has agreed to all of these but he’s been so busy with work and hunting that I’ve been doing all the research.)

Car seat: Graco Snugride 30

Besides the good safety ratings this car seat has received, I like that the seat is compatible with several stroller options (including the stroller I chose, below) and is short enough to fit easily into an airplane seat (which we’re going to need when we fly back to Minnesota at the end of May for Travis’ brother’s high school graduation). I chose a gender-neutral pattern because car seats are good for about 6 years and we will almost definitely have at least 1 or even 2 more kids before that time is up. I’d rather not buy a new car seat for each kid, TYVM.

I went to Walmart last Sunday and played around with the infant version of this car seat. The 5-point harness is easy to undo and redo, it snaps easily out of and into the base (though it took me a while to figure it out), it has a little indicator on the side of the base to help you with the correct angle, and the seat seems pretty light. I compared it to the Baby Trend EZ Flex Loc car seat (the other one I was considering) while I was there and they seem pretty similar in weight and ease of removing from the base (though the button is located on the foot side of the car seat, not the head side, which I’ve heard some complaints about – doesn’t seem that big of a deal to me). The Baby Trend car seat had a longer canopy that could open from either side, which was nice. But the 5-point harness requires you to overlap the two side pieces and put them in together. I was not a fan of that at all (the Graco one allows each side piece to go in separately).

The different in harness and price makes Graco the winner for me.

Stroller: BabyTrend Expedition Jogger

I had originally planned to get a regular stroller and then a (used) BOB when our baby was older, but then I saw this jogger. It accommodates an infant car seat (Baby Trend, Chicco or Graco) but can also seat an older kid up to 50 pounds. It has parent and child cupholders and a big stroller bin below. The front wheel swivels for walking and locks in place for jogging. And the wheels are like bike tires, instead of plastic.

I wheeled this around in Babies R Us yesterday and while it’s slightly heavier than the more traditional strollers, it’s not that much wider and it rides smoothly. It’s easy to fold up, but doesn’t get very compact (kind of what I would expect with a jogging stroller though). The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is that the strap to adjust the seat recline was ridiculously hard to move. But for the price and the good reviews, I don’t think this can be beat. (And if we move back to Minnesota and are walking on gravel roads – which is highly likely – the big wheels will be a necessity.)

I did test out the Graco Spree stroller and the BabyTrend stroller while I was at Walmart. They both drive and turn very smooth and weigh about the same. The BabyTrend stroller has a quick release right on the handle for easy foldup but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to fold the Graco stroller. It could be easy to fold but I don’t know?

Crib: Graco Lauren Classic 4-in-1

This is a pretty basic crib that has gotten good reviews. It doesn’t break the bank. I don’t really care that it’s a convertible because we’ll probably use it as only a crib for the next 10 years or so (we plan to have 3-4 kids), but it’s nice to have that option I guess. And I really just like the clean straight lines. Done.

Mattress: Safety 1st Sweet Dreams Crib and Toddler Mattress

Like the crib, my main reason for choosing this mattress is that it’s reasonably priced and has gotten good reviews (on Walmart’s website, which is good enough for me). As with everything baby, there are a ton of mattress options out there but Travis and I agreed that a cheaper one (that’s still safe) was good enough for us.

………………….

I bought the crib, mattress and crib skirt/curtain fabric today, and we’ll buy the stroller and car seat next month. We’re trying to spread out our baby purchases by buying what we know we want (and won’t register for) now, so that all we’ll have left at the end are the things we don’t get from showers. In the next week or so, we’ll also be buying a futon for the new office and paint for the nursery.

Finally, a tip that you may already know: Babies R Us is pretty much the most expensive place you can buy anything. The Baby Trend stroller above was $150 there. I can get it online from Target for $100. Even with shipping, I come out ahead. So while Babies R Us is convenient and has a wide selection, it’s not the place to buy if you’re watching your budget.

Are you having/did you have a hard time deciding what to buy for your baby?

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Nursery plans

3 Nov

You’d think that because we’re going to find out the gender of our baby (on November 27!!!), I’d want to decorate the nursery gender-specific. (At least I thought I would.) But I don’t. I’m not into princesses or jungle animals. I could do elephants, whales or birds I guess. But really, I’d just prefer a simple, clean design similar to this:

LOVE the combination of yellow and gray. I want to do a more pastel yellow than such a “banana” yellow (which is what they call it) but I just love that room. I don’t love Carousel Design‘s prices though. A lovely crib skirt would run me about $125. At first, I thought that was worth it to get what I wanted (because I have not been able to find this kind of fabric or design anywhere else, and believe me, I’ve looked!). But then, I discovered that they sell the fabric for only $7.50 a yard. I can totally make my own crib skirt and curtains for that price! Here’s the fabric:

We’re going to paint the walls a light pastel yellow similar to this color (we haven’t fully decided yet):

We’re also going to use yellow sheets in the crib (which are also harder to find than you would expect!).

This is my vision for the glider:

(Mostly just the color, not really the style.) My parents said that they would buy us a glider as their baby gift to us! So I’m extremely excited about that. (Otherwise, I was going to buy a cheaper one from Walmart.) My parents are so generous.

The furniture isn’t going to be as coordinated. We’re getting a white crib and white changing station, but we’re using an oak-colored dresser that we already have (and it’s too nice to paint over) and a dark cherry-colored bookshelf (that I may or may not paint white). We don’t want to get rid of the furniture we currently have (since we’ll want it when we move) but we also have nowhere to store it. So I’ll just make do until we move to Minnesota (and get a bigger house). The closet doors in the nursery are also an oak color so at least it somewhat matches.

Once we get all of the big pieces situated, I’ll start thinking more specifically about what to hang on the walls. I might opt to make some of those more gender-specific. We’ll see. My parents are coming out here next weekend so let the (fun) nursery preparations begin!

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The things left undone

2 Nov

Ever since finding out I was pregnant back at the beginning of August, I’ve been learning one main lesson: how to find joy when life’s a mess. I had been learning this lesson before then too but there’s nothing like pregnancy exhaustion to take the wind out of your sails and fast (ok, well, maybe new mother exhaustion).

After years of being a morning person, I am back to setting and resetting my alarm clock to the latest possible time I can get up and still make it to work on time. And that’s even after getting 9 hours of sleep.

I feel accomplished on a weeknight if I do anything except walk in the door and plop on the couch. Making dinner, walking the dogs or doing laundry are big wins.

Though I would still describe myself as a person who loves to be active, you’d never guess it by what my weeks look like.

Many of the ambitious goals I set up for myself at the beginning of the year have been left in the wake of another goal’s fulfillment – getting pregnant. That would include working on my nonfiction book. (Another side effect of not being a morning person anymore.)

I don’t like the feeling of being behind. Of having so many things I would like to do but am not doing. Of spending so many days not being productive. God knows that I have used productivity like a safety blanket in the past. A way of reassuring myself that I am valuable, I’m doing something worthwhile, I’m in control.

So I’ve accepted this season as a very practical challenge from God to learn to let things go. (I know this lesson will come in handy when our baby is born as well.) No, I’m not accomplishing everything I’d like to. No, I’d rather not spend an entire weeknight on the couch doing nothing. But when I come home from work and have ZERO energy, or life is keeping me busy with just staying afloat, that’s the reality. And I can still find contentment and joy amid all the things left undone.

I recognize that there is a balance between legitimate rest and laziness, and it’s tough to maintain. Most mornings I reset my alarm out of laziness, and then regret it later. But instead of letting that shortcoming inspire a feeling of failure in me for the whole day or week (like I used to), I pray. I tell God that I didn’t do what I wanted to do and ask for His help to change. I want to get up early to read the Bible and work on my book. I want to exercise after work instead of watching TV. But I also want to give myself grace, like God gives grace. He doesn’t berate me when I fail. He just offers another chance.

I wrote this about a year ago and it is still 100% the reminder I need:

God is more realistic about my abilities than I am. Like QuatroMama writes in this post, I tend to set up my own (perfectionist) standards and then beat myself up when I fall short.

But God is realistic. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”He doesn’t ask me to be Mega Woman. He understands that I only have so many minutes in a day and if I spend time doing this thing, I don’t have time for that thing. If I’m exhausted and want to veg instead of clean, He doesn’t accuse me of laziness and not being productive, like I do to myself. Unlike me, He is full of grace, understanding, and patience.

This is where the Gospel makes all the difference. The Gospel allows us to admit that we fall short of what we wish we were, but reassures us that we’re loved anyway. And God’s love for us isn’t despite how we’ve disappointed Him, or failed to live up to His standard. Because when He sees us in Christ, He sees perfect beings. We are completely and utterly righteous in His eyes.“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgression from us.”

He doesn’t mutter “I love you” through gritted teeth while trying to not be mad over all the things we’ve done wrong. God’s love abounds for us. He lavishly pours out grace upon grace into our lives with delight.

In the words of John Piper, remind yourself, “I am holy and I am loved.” Even when life is messy.

I may not be accomplishing everything I want to accomplish today, but that’s ok. I truly believe that God would rather I learn to live in the freedom of grace and knowing I’m loved by Him no matter what, than cross things off my to-do list. This world is temporary; only the eternal things truly matter.

How do you find joy amid the things left undone?

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Pregnancy Update: 17 Weeks

29 Oct

Sorry for another crappy bathroom photo – my photographer (Travis) was up in the mountains hunting. Only 1 more weekend and elk/deer season is over (for Travis)!

Travis left for a work trip Sunday afternoon, got home around 8 pm on Friday and left for hunting at 6 am Saturday. And since he was working 14 hour days, I got to talk to him about 10 minutes all week. I was about to have a meltdown yesterday from not seeing him so I asked him to come home early to have dinner with me. We went out to eat at El Tapitio (a Mexican restaurant) and it was absolutely wonderful getting to spend some time with my husband. I so often take him for granted but not seeing him for an entire week reminds me how I love that man.

………………

Rewinding back to Saturday morning, I volunteered at the Kooky-Spooky 5K & 10K my good friend D was putting on with her new race company, All-Out Multisport Productions. I had to be to the race site by 5 am and it was 24 degrees outside. Brrr. I dressed warm enough though so only my hands got really cold (and then warmed up by hand warmers that D provided). I was in charge of packet pickup and late registration, and it brought back so many memories from when I worked for the triathlon company almost 2 years ago. Mostly good ones. 😉

Anyway, the race was awesome! D is an amazing race director – she thinks of everything, is very organized and doesn’t cut corners (she’s directed over 20 triathlons previously). She had about 170 athletes register, which I think is a great number for an inaugural race. There were great prizes, cool awards, burritos and chocolate milk for the athletes and volunteers, and tons of volunteers helping out. If you’re in Denver and looking for a 5K or 10K to do in December or February, definitely check out All-Out Multisport Productions. (I’ll be there volunteering too! Come say hi!) {D did not ask me to write this – they’re my own opinions.}

………………

We had another prenatal appointment this morning and Travis came along to hear the heartbeat. It was reassuring and amazing just like last time. Our baby’s heartbeat was 160 bpm – which seems a little high according to things I’ve read but the doctor said it was right where it should be so I’m not worried. I also had blood drawn for the quad screen test. We opted to not do the sequential screening test at 13 weeks because it seemed like nothing much more came from it than being informed. But our doctor explained that the quad screen was also used to personalize the late pregnancy care and labor setup if any abnormalities were found. So we figured why not.

I finally feel like my energy is returning. It’s not an overnight difference but I can finally think about doing something besides plopping on the couch after work – like make dinner! Or even walk the dogs! My workouts this week shows that:

Su: 1.15 walk with pooches

M: 1.7 mile walk with pooches

T: 1.15 mile walk with pooches, 25 min prenatal yoga

F: 1.15 mile walk with pooches

{I plan on doing a full post about prenatal workout videos I’ve tried but I’ll just say right now that I wasn’t a fan of that prenatal video – too much talk about delivery and creating a ‘safe environment’ for my baby for my taste.}

………………

Symptoms: Feeling emotional but with less acne! And I think I must’ve been bloated before and not known it because my belly feels smaller?!? (I’m measuring right where I should be though, not to worry.)

Sleep: No more tummy time for me. I alternate between both sides and laying on my back with a pillow under one side so I’m tilted slightly. But I’m sleeping pretty good overall.

Cravings: Ice water, soft pretzels with the fake gooey cheese (which I had at BWW on Saturday after the race – so good!)

Weight gain: 9 lbs total

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Elk Camp 2012

23 Oct

The best thing about elk camp this year was that I wasn’t miserably cold during the day OR at night like I have been in past years. That wasn’t a side effect of pregnancy though – Travis just did a better job in keeping the stove stoked.

The worst part about elk camp this year was that we didn’t get an elk. 😦 It happens. We’ve been lucky the past 3 years.

It was cold and rainy when I got up to camp Friday night – and before we went to bed, that rain turned into snow. We woke up to this on Saturday:

Beth and I spent most of Saturday in the tent. We read, played Bananagrams and talked about baby stuff. This is what the dogs do while we’re chilling in the tent:

 

They lay on my bed.

The guys came back for lunch and then it cleared up a bit so we went on a walk on the road near our campsite.

 

 

The guys came back around 7 and we ate dinner around the campfire.

Sunday, we hung out in the tent until the afternoon and then the sun came out! So we went on another hike on Ute Pass Trail. We were camping and hiking in the heart of hunting territory so we have to wear blaze orange and keep the dogs on a leash.

It’s hard to find any “easy” hikes around in the mountains so we just took a lot of breaks on the uphill parts.

When we got back to camp, I made a fire (with quite a bit of help from Beth) while Beth started on dinner. Then the guys came back, we ate and went to bed around 9:30 (while was late compared to the previous 2 nights!)

Monday was by far the nicest day we had. It was 60 and sunny. Beth and I went on another hike up Morgan Gulch. I forgot my camera so I don’t have any pictures. But it was pretty. We saw a pack of about 8 deer on the top of a ridge. After our hike, we ate lunch with the guys. They went back out and we sat in the sun for a while reading and doing a crossword. I actually got a little sunburned! Then it was time for me to head home.

Even though camping is a lot of work, it’s fun to get up into the mountains. And I got to do a lot of reading and hiking, which is what I wanted! I finished the book Unbroken – VERY good book. It’s a little intense (since it’s about POW camps during WWII) but the ending is awesome. And it gives a different perspective to WWII than I had ever read about before.

 

 

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Pregnancy Update: 16 Weeks

22 Oct

This past weekend was the most productive one I’ve had in months. Due to Travis’ travel schedule for work and hunting seasons galore, this was the only weekend we had to move his home office before my parents come in November. Travis’ parents took the big dresser, full-size bed and elk antlers (yay!) from our guest bedroom home with them when they left last Friday. So Saturday morning, we started straight in on moving the office.

While we had the rooms emptied out, we decided it would be the perfect time to rent a carpet cleaner and try to get out some of the stains from the previous owners and our dogs. So we rented a Rug Doctor from King Soopers and went to town. We cleaned the rooms now known as the office and nursery and hallway on Saturday night. Then Sunday morning before church, we moved all of the furniture out of our living room and cleaned that carpet.

Professional carpet cleaner

All the furniture sitting in our kitchen

Travis’ new office

After church, the carpet was already pretty dry so we replaced all the furniture. Travis had to leave for a work trip by 2:45 so we quick moved all the furniture from our master bedroom to the office and nursery and after he left, I cleaned that carpet. And now I’m sleeping in the office until he comes home. 😉 But we got all the carpets in our (small) house cleaned! And let me tell you, I am SO glad we did that. It didn’t completely remove all the stains but it removed a lot of dirt. Our carpets were DISGUSTING. We should’ve cleaned them before we moved in 4 years ago, but we didn’t think about it at the time. I also discovered that a lot of dog hair can accumulate under our bed over the course of 2 years. Ew.

Since I was on a roll with all that cleaning, I also got a car wash (biggest waste of $10 ever) and vacuumed out all the dirt from elk camp, cleaned both bathrooms, gave the dogs a bath, did laundry and the dishes, and walked the dogs both Saturday and Sunday. I think I earned a night on the couch tonight.

I also went shopping for more maternity clothes after work on Friday. I bought a pair of skinny jeans and the cutest sweater from Old Navy and some way-comfy black pants from Macy’s. I expected Macy’s maternity stuff to be expensive but it wasn’t – a lot of it is Motherhood Maternity. I think I’m good on maternity clothes for a little bit now. Sadly, the fun green skinnies from Old Navy are being returned. They just didn’t fit right.

On a different note, the coolest part about pregnancy right now is that when I lay on my back, I can feel my uterus in my lower abdomen. And when I lay on my stomach (very briefly now because it’s really not that comfy), it feels like I’m laying on a ball. The Biscuit is growing!

{Side note: I found a children’s book at Walmart yesterday called Biscuit Visits the Pumpkin Patch. I totally bought it, even though Biscuit is a dog.}

Workouts:

Su: 90 minute hike

M: 60 minute hike

Sa: 1.5 mile walk

Symptoms: Tiredness and a little irritability

Sleep: Most nights, I no longer have to get up to pee, which is nice. I can also sleep on both sides now – perfect timing because time on my stomach or back is fasting disappearing.

Cravings: Big salads (my salad streak has returned!), fruit snacks

Weight gain: 8 lbs total

My next prenatal appointment is a week from today. Travis is coming this time so that he can hear the heartbeat!

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Pregnancy Update: 15 Weeks

17 Oct

My biggest dilemma this week is still What to Wear. I have a handful of maternity shirts and plenty of pre-pregnancy shirts that still fit but I am down to zero pairs of pre-pregnancy pants (because for some reason, I really don’t want to buy a Bella Band) and 2 pairs of maternity pants. I do have 2-3 skirts that are fall appropriate and still fit but unfortunately all my fall/winter boots are too tight on my calves!  I don’t think that has anything to do with pregnancy weight gain – I think it’s more a lasting effect from marathon training. Regardless, I’m also on the hunt for a new pair of boots. The problem is, I am the pickiest boot buyer ever. I would say that I like about 5% of the boots that are out there. And while I like black boots on other women, I just can’t imagine myself wearing them. So I’m trying to find a flat or low-heeled camel colored pair that I like and aren’t more than $100. I’ll let you know how that works out for me.

Anyway, so there is more maternity shopping in my future this weekend, just for pants. I asked the other girl at work who’s pregnant what stores she recommends and she said Macy’s, H&M, Old Navy (the one near our work sells maternity in the store), and Kohl’s. The green Old Navy skinnies I ordered arrived yesterday but I’m not sure they’re going to work out. They’re really tight in the legs but the belly is really loose. I really thought that finding maternity pants would be easier than finding real pants – due to the elastic waistband and all – but frustratingly, that’s not the case.

Workouts:

M: 1.15 mile walk with pooches

Sa: Hour hike with mother-in-law

Symptoms: Still exhausted

Sleep: I’m sleeping fairly well but the limited sleeping positions have started to annoy me. Until just last night, I haven’t been able to sleep on my left side at all – after about a minute, my stomach hurts. So I’ve been alternating between my right side and my back (since my doctor said it was fine until 20 weeks). In the mornings, I usually roll over onto my stomach for a little bit too – it’s getting less comfortable but I miss sleeping on my stomach a lot. The other weird thing is that I’ve woken up several nights completely sweaty but I don’t feel hot. Maybe my dreams are freaking me out? Speaking of which…

Dreams: I’ve heard it’s common for pregnant women to have crazy/vivid dreams but the thing I notice most about my dreams is that I will have the same dream all night long. Even when I wake up and roll over, I fall back asleep to the same dream. Which is nice when it’s a good dream.

Cravings: Potatoes and potato chips, big salads with lots of dressing (at least it’s veggies!), fruit snacks (these have calmed down quite a bit)

Weight Gain: 7 lbs total (need to lay off those potato chips!)

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Pregnancy and Weight Gain

16 Oct

 

{source}

Hey friends. I’m back from elk camp, which I’ll recap when Travis gets back with the camera. I also forgot to take a bump picture this morning so I’ll do my 15 Week update tomorrow.

Today I wanted to share my thoughts on weight gain during pregnancy, two aspects in particular: food and body image.

Food

For an average-sized person like me, the recommended amount of weight gain is 25-35 pounds. And despite the familiar idea of eating for two, the extra calories required daily to grow a human being are pretty much 0 in the first trimester, 300 in the second trimester, and 450 in the third trimester (again, for an average-sized person like me).

It’s funny, though, how prevalent the mindset is of eating whatever you want now that you’re pregnant. All of a sudden, eating an entire chocolate cake by myself is not only acceptable, it’s encouraged. “The baby needs chocolate!” I can’t lie and say that I haven’t already often said “Hey, I’m growing a baby” as an excuse to eat more than I would normally (mostly to avoid being hungry an hour later), but I haven’t been demolishing everything in sight either. I may be pregnant, but I still can’t stand the feeling of being too full.

All that said, my approach to gaining weight during pregnancy is going to be the same as my approach was to maintaining weight before pregnancy: Intuitive Eating. The main two principles of Intuitive Eating are 1) Eat when you’re hungry and 2) Stop when you’re full. Sub-principles are 3) No food is off-limits and 4) You feel better when you eat healthy foods.

Now that I’m in the second trimester, the amount and quality of food I eat is especially important to The Biscuit. I’ve been pretty consistent in eating at least one serving of vegetables a day – last Thursday and Friday I had enormous salads for lunch (which cost me $7.50 each at the work cafeteria, no big deal). Tonight, I’m going to buy and prep the ingredients to keep that salad streak going. I’d also like to start cooking dinner more often – even if that only means making our own mini pizzas instead of throwing in a frozen pizza. I’ve also been putting strawberries on my cereal for breakfast and eating an orange and grapes or canned fruit for snacks during the day. {Side note: I love canned mandarin oranges.}

That’s about where my healthy eating ends. The rest of my diet has been a mashup of fruit snacks, licorice, potato chips, ice cream, pickles, sushi and white dinner rolls. And the love for meat I had during Weeks 5-7? Pretty much gone. Even chicken tastes kind of weird now.

To sum it up, my eating habits since becoming pregnant haven’t been the greatest and I’m aiming to improve them for the sake of my baby. But I’m not going to be a Nazi and count calories, or use a checklist to make sure that I’m eating everything I’m supposed to be (like the one that What to Expect When You’re Expecting has). Even in pregnancy, healthy eating is about making good choices, one at a time.

Body Image

Before getting pregnant, I’d heard pregnant women whose bellies were growing lament the loss of their former shape. I always thought it was kind of silly – I mean, what do you expect when you get pregnant? Having your belly grow is inevitable. But now I have a different perspective/understanding of that lament.

Don’t get me wrong – I love that my belly is growing because it makes pregnancy so much more real. But I wasn’t expecting to feel the same apprehensions as the other women I judged. There are days when I wonder if I’ll ever be able to run a 10 minute mile again, or ever have a stomach that’s even remotely flat. There are days when I feel like my belly is just fat, not baby, and compare myself to other women who have barely-there bumps even at 19 weeks. I wonder if my boobs are still growing, and if they’ll ever return to the sufficient size they once were.

Probably the biggest struggle I have in regards to my body image is my fear of getting out of shape. For the past 8 or 9 years, I’ve been consistently active. Over the past 3-4 years, I’ve done sprint and Olympic triathlons, half marathons and a full marathon. Now, I count cleaning my house or walking the dogs as a workout – because honestly, I don’t have much energy for more. I went on 3 hikes this weekend with my mother-in-law, each lasting between 60 and 90 minutes, and that was my limit. I get tired a lot faster and easier than I used to, and I’ve already noticed that my fitness level has dropped significantly. I keep waiting for the “second trimester energy” to kick in but so far, I feel just as tired as I have the past 3 months.

So just like with eating healthy, I am just going to take it a day at a time and try to do as much as I can. If that’s only 2 workouts one week, that’s what it is.

How did/do you feel about gaining weight or losing fitness during pregnancy?

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