![]() Hey ya'll! So this is my combined 16 & 17 week pregnancy update, seeing that I got a little busy during week 16. I had my 16 week doctor's appointment - woo hoo - and everything is looking a-okay. I'm also feeling great at this point, getting my runs in and really honing in on my diet to ensure that baby (and I) are getting a proper and nutrient-dense diet. Check out my stats for this week below: Current disposition: feeling pretty amazing overall. My mood is definitely in good spirits, especially waiting to hear where we are going to relocate our family next - we should know soon. Whether that is in DC or elsewhere, we are getting really excited about the prospect of moving, putting down roots and really starting to immerse ourselves into a community. A few of the things I am excited about is... buying a home (bigger than our 1-bedroom condo!), decorating a nursery!, getting Lincoln his own room, Ry & I having our own room lol, having a big kitchen that hopefully opens up into a living area, getting connected with a church community, etc. Man, there are so many things that I am looking forward to; sometimes it's hard to stop thinking about the prospect of our new adventure! Needless to say, Ryan & I are excited for this next big chapter in our lives, which includes welcoming our newest little addition and starting a new life in (potentially) a new place. All is well, and all is very exciting. Energy level: energy level is great, and I attribute a lot of this to the second trimester, but also to my running and to my diet. This has been KEY this pregnancy - I cannot reiterate that enough. Working out not only makes me feel great, but keeps my weight in check. My diet, which I've begun to fill with even more fruits and veggies has also energized me a ton. Diet: so as I said, I've recently been adding more and more fruits and vegetables to my diet and as a result, I've been decreasing my meat-based protein intake. My body isn't craving meat and it also makes me feel 10x better to substitute veggies & healthy fats for meat-based protein. I understand completely that protein is ESSENTIAL during pregnancy and that many physicians reiterate the importance of protein from meat. Yes, I get this, and I am in no way going to change my diet drastically, especially while pregnant. But, as I have been exploring vegan pregnancies, including that of Kimberly Snyder, a plant-based celebrity nutritionist, and Angela Liddon, infamous "Oh She Glows" vegan blogger, my curiosity has peaked and I've been realizing that a plant-based pregnancy is possible and may be, in some cases, healthier. At one point in my life, I did choose to go vegan and never felt better. Not only that, but I was incorporating loads of fruits and veggies into my diet and lastly, my weight was the best it had ever been. Never a pure vegan and after meeting my husband (a meat eater), I started re-introducing meat back into my diet. I felt fine with the re-introduction of meat, but there was something about the vegan diet that I missed. To my point, since becoming pregnant and exploring the pregnancy journeys of Kimberly and Angela, I really am fascinated by 1) how healthy their pregnancies were and 2) how healthy their babies were! Not to mention, both of them bounced back super quickly from recovery and pregnancy weight gain. As I mentioned, I am not cutting out meat-based proteins altogether based on my inspiration, I am just finding ways to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my diet through things like Glowing Green Smoothies in the morning, and maybe saving protein for dinner more often (which is generally what I did pre-pregnancy anyways). I've been feeling great doing this. I talked to my sister, an RD, who has encouraged me to try and eat meat-protein if I can and if I am going to cut back, then I need to ensure that my B12 levels are adequate, which goes hand in hand with folic acid - super important during pregnancy. But most importantly, she said, to go with what my body is telling me feels best. At this point in my pregnancy, decreasing meat intake and increasing vegetable (and fruit) intake is what feels best. P.S. a post from my sis on nutrition is coming soon! Maternity Clothes: lately, I've been sprucing up my wardrobe at BP Nordstrom. Seriously, love BP - cheap, trendy and cute clothes! I purchased that Socialite dress for $46 that you may have seen on my birthday post - if you didn't see, you can check it out here. I also got another Lush olive green dress and a pair of trendy leggings. It's amazing how adding a few new additions to your wardrobe can make you feel like a new woman - especially during pregnancy! The pieces I tend to gravitate towards aren't maternity, but are things that I can certainly wear throughout my pregnancy and are things I can also wear post pregnancy. I also purchased another pair of TOMS - these were actually courtesy of my gracious mama. I can officially say that I am now a TOMS addict. I always felt so-so about the style and look, but now being on my second pair, these are my favorite shoes for chasing around a toddler while pregnant. Weight Gain: so I weighed in around 137.5 lbs at my 16 week appointment, and since then, through 17 weeks, I weigh about the same. In fact, after running and going to the restroom (TMI), I sometimes weigh around 135.5 lbs in the morning. Hayley's nutritionist told her that I am on track for healthy weight gain (celebration!!), and she mentioned that women gain the most weight between 16 and 17 weeks. So, I am watching my diet but also welcoming healthy weight gain. That said, when I realized I weighed 137.5 lbs at my 16 week appointment, I started to double check foods I was consuming and cut out things that weren't pertinent to baby's nutrition. This includes things like beige food - aka unrefined carbs. So I've always been okay eating carbs and in fact sometimes I do better when I eat carbs because a piece of bread on an open-faced sandwich will fill me up longer than a salad will, thus reducing snacking throughout the day. However, being pregnant I feel my body reacts somewhat differently to carbs and really really stores carbs as sugar > turning them into unhealthy weight gain. I've happily been able to reduce my intake of carbohydrates through things like bread and pasta. Hayley's nutritionist also pointed out that it is key to watch the last meal of the day if you are concerned about weight gain, therefore, I really watch what I consume at night - especially things like sweets. But again, my sister reminded me that if you're body is seriously craving a cookie at night, it is okay and even encouraged to indulge in moderation. Doctor's Visits: I had my 16 week doctor's appointment last Friday, meeting with the nurse practitioner. I was weighed and had my blood pressure taken, etc. Lincoln was at the appointment with me and we were both able to hear baby's heartbeat - a solid 145 bpm! There are some myths that say the baby's heart rate can dictate the gender - I'm not even going to look into that this time around lol. I also had blood drawn to check for neural tube defects - prayers to that. Other than that, we scheduled my 20-week anatomy ultrasound/scan and 20-week doctor's appointment. At this appointment, the doctor can also find out the gender of the baby, which (sorry) we aren't finding out the gender until baby is born. If you are considering finding out the gender at 20 weeks or waiting until birth - I encourage the latter :) - a post on this coming soon. Until next week! xx, ILA
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