Weeks 39-41: Fit Pregnancy Update

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Weeks 39-41

As I watch my due date come and go, the anxiety and discomfort is becoming much more challenging. This baby seems to be sitting very cozy! One thing pregnancy has taught me is patience. I have never been a very patient person but having babies has taught me to be patient in life and trust the process.

The last couple weeks have seemed like an eternity and my belly feels like it is getting bigger by the day. I am glad the baby has had a growth spurt but nervous about how big she will be. The one thing I know for sure is that she cannot stay in my belly forever!

I have tried just about every home remedy for inducing labor naturally and nothing seems to be working. I have eaten four pineapples, bounced my heart out on an exercise ball, walked what feels like a million miles, eaten almost an entire jar of jalapeños, had pizza twice, and of course, sex. The one thing I did not try was Castor Oil. The possible side effects not only seemed uncomfortable but I had also heard scary stories of castor oil gone wrong. After every method failing to induce labor, I am now a firm believer that babies will come when they are ready and labor is just one more thing we have no control over!

I would be lying if I said this pregnancy was as enjoyable as my first. Being pregnant and carrying a healthy baby to term is truly a blessing. With that being said, I felt constant guilt of not fully enjoying my pregnancy. I am so thankful to have had a full term heathy pregnancy but I could not wait for it to be over. Lack of sleep, hormone induced moodiness, and constant discomfort made the nine months pass by at a snails pace.

As mentioned multiple times throughout my posts, exercising has been the number one best thing that I could do to feel somewhat normal during these past nine months.  Hormonal changes in our bodies during pregnancy can cause a variety of different thoughts and feelings. I have felt on edge 99% of the time and easily annoyed or irritated at just about anyone or anything. What I hate most about these feelings is that I feel robbed of fully enjoying the last couple months of my time with my daughter before baby #2 arrives.

I know I will miss my pregnant belly and feeling the baby move and kick once she is here. It is easy to forget how uncomfortable pregnancy can be once you see their sweet, tiny little faces! Hopefully this will not be my last pregnancy. However, I look forward to some much needed time to recover before we consider a third baby.

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Todays Date: 05/06/2017-05/19/2017

How many weeks are you: 39-41

What trimester are you in: THIRD!! YAY!

How big is the baby: Pumpkin-Watermelon

Weight Gain: 25 pounds

Food Cravings: I have been craving some homemade chocolate chip cookies!

Food Aversions: A lot of food aversions. The weather has been so hot and the discomforts of pregnancy are causing a lot of food aversions.

Gender: GIRL!!!

Diet: My appetite has calmed down a little and now there really isn’t much room left for food after the baby’s growth spurt. Smaller meals and a lot of snacking seem to be the best option at this point. It is much harder to track your diet when it involves a lot of snacking but at this point, the only way to be comfortable after eating is to eat smaller meals and snacks.

A typical day looks a little like this:

Breakfast:

Whole wheat toast with peanut butter and honey

Coffee

Couple hours later:

Protein shake with almond milk, peanut butter with 1/2 banana

Cereal (occasionally)

Snacks until dinner:

Crackers with Cottage Cheese

Wasabi Almonds (Yum)

Rice Cakes with Peanut butter and honey

Crackers with hummus

Chicken with hummus or guacamole

Hard boiled eggs-1 whole egg and 2 whites with a piece of fruit

Popcorn and a piece of fruit

Ground turkey with avocado and vegetables

Toast with avocado and 2-3 egg whites

Dinner:

Chicken, salmon burger patty, or turkey burger patty

Vegetables or large salad with tomato, avocado, olives and balsamic vinegar

PM Snack if still hungry:

1/2 c. Nonfat plain greek yogurt with 1tbs. peanut butter and 1-2 packets of trivia

Cereal- Cheerios or Rice Kripies

Weekly splurge: Pizza! My husband and I had deep dish pizza TWICE IN A WEEK! I was secretly hoping that it would induce labor but it only resulted in horrible heartburn.

Exercise: I have not given up yet! Because my body is so used to staying active, working out actually makes me feel a lot better at this point. The anxiety during the last couple weeks of pregnancy can be hard to cope with. Exercise helps alleviate some of those anxious feelings and is a natural stress reducer. Despite feeling huge and uncomfortable, I have still managed to workout about four days a week along with long walks with my daughter. I continue to do weight lifting and cardio but the intensity is much less. Doing higher repetitions with less weight is the best option at this stage of my pregnancy. I obviously do not want to focus on building muscle at this point but I do hope to maintain as much muscle as possible prior to delivery. I have been doing  A LOT of squats. This is one of the best exercises to prepare for labor. Give this routine a try.

On my due date, my husband and I went to the gym together to help get my mind of the waiting game. I did interval training for 2000 steps on the stair climber, battling ropes and some weights. I was confident that would help get things moving but of corse, it did not. Two days later I was back in the gym. However, this time I did 4000 steps on the stair climber for 65 minutes. Being that I was three days overdue, I was confident something would happen but of corse, nothing! On the fifth day past my due date, my husband and I did an evening workout together. I felt a surge of energy and had a great full body workout with weights and cardio. The next morning, I woke up in labor!

Ramp up your walks with this “No Excuses Stroller Workout”. There are so many exercises that can be done while walking your kiddos. Here are some of my favorites.

I currently have the Uppababy Vista stroller and absolutely love it. I did so much research and testing of strollers prior to choosing this one and this was by far the best one. It maneuvers extremely well, the storage basket underneath is very large, it easily folds up, it is very light weight and there are many options to convert to a double stroller. I use it instead of a shopping cart at most places because of the large storage capacity. People comment on how nice the stroller is all the time. I could go on and on about how much I love this stroller. As a mom, we need things that are convenient to make our lives easier and this stroller does just that.

 

Aches and Pains: Normal discomforts during the last couple weeks of pregnancy. My feet are starting to swell by the end of the day which is very uncomfortable.

Have you felt the baby move: Yes, she’s very active at times. Her movements have become much slower because she is running out of room.

Labor signs: Still having contractions off and on but nothing consistent yet. The contractions seem to be most noticeable at night.

Maternity clothes: I cannot believe I have made it to the end of my pregnancy without purchasing any maternity clothes! I was able to use some of the clothes I had from my previous pregnancy and I spend most days in workout clothes.

Sleep/Dreams: Sleep this pregnancy has been a struggle. I am up a lot to use the restroom and falling back to sleep is always hard. There have been a couple really great nights of sleep recently but it is not often enough.

Favorite moment of the week: Eating pizza again and homemade chocolate chip cookies! I had many splurges this pregnancy but pizza is always my favorite indulgence!

Looking forward to: The arrival of our baby girl any day now! I am very excited to have my husband home from work for a few weeks once she is born.