Hellooooo! So here's an update, ya'll.
I'm moving right along! I'm yearning for the first trimester to me done with so I can have more energy and feel better! This photo was a little funny when we shot it because I don't have a bump but definitely feel a little bit more "fluff" than normal. Lack of working out maybe? haha PHYSICAL: Aside from no bump, 10 weeks has been pretty good to me. Woohoo! I'm feeling better than I was - that's for dang sure! However, I still don't feel AWESOME and still have the same 'ol fatigue here and there. At 9 weeks 6 days on December 26, I woke up with inflamed hips and thought it was from the light number of squats, leg lifts, and kickbacks I had done the previous day. NOT the case! For the next two days my hips were achey which I soon realized my body is preparing to give birth...hello! MENTAL: This is a mental game for sure! I'm so so grateful I don't have to work full time and give HUGE props to those pregnant mamas that do! It's hard for me to fathom the idea of having a 9-5 and actually surviving the first trimester SPIRITUAL: We're praying for baby and asking for very specific things in the baby's health such as perfect eyes, hearing, heart, and all things. FOOD: My appetite is pretty consistent, although I get full on smaller portions than normal. Non pregnant...pssch I can eat more than some men! #ilovefood I don't obssess over diet and frankly don't "diet". Ila and I strongly believe in food as a lifestyle. I've watched various people "diet" and fluxuate with their weight rather than have a cheat day or two or include "moderation" in their food choices instead of extreme "cutting out". Of course, different personalities work for different people. For us, however, choosing a whole food diet with a cheat meal or day or little treat is better than going off the band wagon as most of us are guilty of. The below are just some of my food choices for meals and snacks. I hope this helps! Or as Kai would say "lunch" for every meal. : ) REMEMBER protein, fat, and fiber at every meal! BREAKKY: 1. Gluten free organic quick cooking oatmeal with organic blueberries or apple and chopped organic nuts 2. Protein smoothie with greens and fruit (add organic peanut butter or other nut butter and be sure you have protein in there and not just fruit) 3. 2-3 organic pasture raised eggs with sea salt on sourdough toast with avocado and berries. LUNCH: 1. Green salad with veggies and a protein 2. Protein smoothie 3. Nitrite/Nitrate free turkey meat, hummus and carrots, 1/2 an avocado, a couple slices of apple ***With keeping your weight in mind and for blood sugar purposes, choose apples, pears, and berries over other high sugar fruits. DINNER: 1. Protein, salad, veggies (can add rice w/ coconut oil)- so yum! 2. Organic Soup- there are TONS of easy-to-make healthy recipes out there and so yum! Also great for leftovers! ***Your dinner meal can/will determine a lot of your weight gain. But remember to be gracious with yourself as well as smart for you and baby. : ) SNACKS: 1. Spoonful of Organic peanut butter -Sprouts makes a good one without sugar. CHECK YOUR LABELS! DO NOT SKIMP ON NON ORGANIC NUT BUTTERS! PAY THE EXTRA MONEY IF FEASABLE. 2. Tblsp of protein powder in applesauce -May sound crazy but if you have a solid protein powder and need a quick little pick me up try this. I don't recommend flavored proteins with this...I tried it, and it was NOT a memorable experience. Good laugh though! 3. Sliced apples and peanut butter 4. Hard boiled egg w/ Himalayan Sea Salt- If you can stomach eggs, do your very very best to have at least 2 eggs per day. This is a great little pre bedtime snack and helps balance out your blood sugar for the morning. This has saved me! (But I ike eggs...so there you have it!) FITNESS: Now that I'm feeling better, I finally started my boxing membership again and I can't tell you how excited I am to get my sweat on and build back some muscle! The classes I'm taking are either boxing, kickboxing, or cardio/boxing. I can pretty much do everything besides crunches and oblique work. However, it is important to strengthen your deep core. Even if I don't feel like working out and have no energy at all, I do my very best to get my butt in the gym because it gives me such an incredible boost of energy. It's just so worth it! Just remember, active mamas produce healthy babies but ALWAYS listen to your body! : ) That's all for now! Comment below with questions! Love, C
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Hey all! So I'm one week into the third trimester at 29 weeks. After having an amazing second trimester, my pregnancy symptoms are starting to act up now hitting the third trimester. It's funny how each of the three trimesters are true to the symptoms they're known for. The first trimester I had major naseau, food aversions and fatigue. Once I hit 12 weeks, or the second trimester (to the day), the naseau went away, I regained tons of energy and felt amazing. On the very day I hit the third trimester and at the present, my energy levels decreased and I began to feel lethargic. Not only that, but other third trimester symptoms like heartburn and swelling started creeping in. Literally to the day! Below are more of my pregnancy stats now that I am rolling into the final trimester. FYI Baby weighs about 2 1/2 pounds and is around 15 inches long. Crazy!
Weight Gain: 15 lbs to 16 lbs. I have maintained this 15 to 16 pound weight gain for about the past month. While I would normally be concerned that I'm not gaining the recommended 1 pound per week and have remained so constant at 146 lbs., I am still right on target for a 25 to 35 pound weight gain. Again, last pregnancy I gained 20 pounds in the last trimester, so I wouldn't be suprised if that happened again. Given that baby still needs to pack on roughly 5 pounds or so, I will at least gain 5 plus pounds - hopefully a little more. Exercise: My energy level has officially tapered off at 29 weeks. I am so thankful that I've felt energized throughout the majority of my pregnancy, but unfortunately I've hit a point in which my energy levels are at an all-time low. Currently, our family is in Aspen, CO for Christmas, so in all fairness, the altitude might also be affecting those energy levels. However, if the altitude isn't to blame, I'll place the blame on third trimester pregnancy symptoms. It may just be hormones at this point or the extra energy used to grow and carry baby.. whatever it is, I am super lazy as of late. Generally, my personality is to get up, energized in the morning, ready to seize the day, especially after having a bit of caffeine, which I am still incorporating into my diet (especially now!). The past few days, I have gotten up in the morning, feeling like I don't want to get out of bed. And when I do get out of bed, I am not looking forward to tackling the day only because of how lethargic I feel. All I want to do is crawl back into bed and regain energy, but even if I crawl back into bed, I am not rejuvinated from a nap or relaxation. Boo. I'm hoping this is just a little phase I'm going through and that I will regain that energy as my body adjusts to the third trimester symptoms. As it relates to exercise, I am not motivated AT ALL to workout. I do notice, though, when I do workout I gain energy (duh!).. it's just tough to get to the point of getting myself to exercise at this point in the game. At this point, yoga/streteching, pilates, and toning classes are what I have been focusing on. Also, walking on the treadmile at a brisk pace and on a slight incline has been helpful and low impact, while also helping increase my heart rate. Nutrition: My eating habits are all out of wack at 29 weeks pregnant. I think it's fair to blame this on the shrinking size of my stomach paired with acid reflux. Lately, it feels as if I have no room in my stomach and thus, have no appetite at all. I am used to eating certain portions throughout the day and knowing my hunger cues extremely well, but when I eat those same portions, I fill up WAY faster than usual. To top it off, I literally never feel hungry, but also know that I need to eat, so I feel like I'm kind of shooting in the dark. I start to eat, but then stop quickly because it feels as if there is no room in my stomach to fit any food. Even with small quantities of food, I get acid reflux, which also makes me want to stop eating. You'd think the silver lining would be that I feel leaner because I'm not eating as much, however, it feels the opposite. Because of the acid reflux, I feel that full, disgusting feeling, as if I've eaten too much. I'm one of those people that hate overeating - it makes me feel super nasty - so, I have this constant feeling like I've eaten a huge meal when in fact I've just eaten a small portion of a meal that I would normally eat. So bizarre! Thanks, third trimester pregnancy symptoms... Pregnancy Symptoms: Acid reflux. I'm still practicing my warm lemon water in the mornings but it's not working like it used to. I'm really having to incorporate portion control and eat tiny tiny meals (more like grazing) throughout the day. Hoping this acid reflux goes away! Also, itchy skin. The skin on my belly is definitely thinning out as my belly expands, creating that itchy feeling. I don't have the line on my belly yet (it's called something - linea nigra or something). I developed this around 8 months with Lincoln, so we will see if it happens with baby number two. Fatigue - yes! Ugh, I dislike being tired. Also, restless leg syndrome. I notice I get this later in the evening, generally when we are driving home from a dinner out. It doesn't bother me when I'm asleep at night or anything like that; only certain times while driving in the car. Fetal Movement: This baby still likes to move, but isn't moving quite as much as he/she had been a few weeks ago. I'm actually thankful for this because I was starting to think that my baby was going to be super hyper, and as a mom, I don't think you want two super active kiddos haha!! Baby has also gotten the hiccups a few more times, but certainly not as much as Lincoln had gotten them. He hiccupped all of the time. Predictions About Baby's Gender: Initially, I thought we were having a girl without a doubt. I gravitated towards all things girl, including nursery decor. Not only that, but I haven't gained the weight I did with Lincoln. I have been eating a heck of a lot healthier this time around but in my first pregnancy, I definitely didn't pig out (even though I wasn't as strict with my diet) - and ended up gaining 60 lbs, when I feel like I really shouldn't have put on that much weight given my diet. So the lighter weight gain makes me think it may be a girl? Or maybe I'm just luckier this time around. Also, in the beginning with this pregnancy, I was a little defensive when people would tell me they think that I'm having a boy - as if to protect the fact that I'm having a girl, which was the reverse of what I felt in my first pregnancy. I would get defensive when people said I'm having a girl. But truth be told, at this point, those feelings have subsided majorly and I feel equal towards each gender in all ways. I even think that it may be a boy at this point, which would be super exciting. Two little boys would absolutely rock my world. Who knows!! Either way is a huge blessing. Thoughts About Delivery: My new OBGYN is all set and ready to go. I also know the hospital I am going to deliver at, although I have yet to visit and check out the premises. I also haven't pre-registered or done any of the delivery preparation stuff. It's funny because in my first pregnancy, I had all of this stuff done wayyyyy before it needed to be done (like a crazy person); second pregnancy, you are much more relaxed and go-with-the-flow. But I really do need to start getting prepared for delivery, including doing a tour of the hospital facility, pre-registering and doing things like driving and knowing the route to the hospital, making preparations for family to come out, designating someone to watch Lincoln through my delivery, etc. All of this I haven't really given much thought to, and like I said, last time I had excel spreadsheets, word docs and powerpoint detailing every step of my delivery plan lol. I will say that I do know that I am going to get an epidural. During my last pregnancy, I knew I would get an epidural, but also wanted to try and go as long as I could without getting one to let my body progress naturally. Once those contractions kicked into high gear, I'm telling you that I have never felt a pain like that. I don't say this to scare people, only to make it real that contractions are no joke. I am a tough girl and have a decent pain threshold, but contractions are insanely painful in a unique way that almost makes your body go out of control. Now, the thought of not getting an epidural is a little bit silly to me. I am absolutely getting an epidural. I'm not sure about timing - when I will get one, i.e. at what phase. It worked perfectly during my first delivery (and I will do a post on my delivery story with Lincoln). Essentially, my water broke and I started having mild contractions. We booked it to the hospital and the contractions gradually started getting stronger (but not unbearable), then they started to get stronger and stronger and then it seemed like out of nowhere, I was in a state of uncontrollable and out-of-body pain from the contractions. The epidural gal had come by asking me if I wanted the epidural earlier (before the pain had gotten to this point), and I told her I was fine - because I thought that I was! However, knowing what the contractions feel like at around 5 to 6cm dilation is a whole different story than at 2 to 4 cm dilation. Ideally, I'd love to get the epidural right around 4 cm dilation, but I know that timing this can be quite tricky. I expect that my delivery with baby number two will be even faster than with baby number one - which was around ten hours total from my water breaking to deliverying my son. They even had me "labor down" for about an hour and a half which I thought was unnecessary (although I'm not sure) -- because I'm pretty sure the nurses and doctors were attending to other patients lol. So all in all, I had a quick first delivery. That said, I WILL be getting an epidural with this baby, it will just be a matter of when. There is a part of me that almost wants and likes to feel the pain to know that I made it to the point of pain, and then to get an epidural. I don't know why but it makes me feel like I in fact "labored." If I get the epidural too soon and feel no pain at all, it may be weird to me to have not felt that pain. SO WEIRD. I know. I don't know why I feel this way. Why torture yourself when you can easily get an epidural right away? We will see what I ultimately decide, but I do need to start thinking about it. Preparation for Baby: So the nursery is coming together slowly but surely. It's harder than I thought to plan a nursery because Lincoln is going to use the baby's crib until the baby outgrows the mini crib we have for him/her. Once Lincoln outgrows the crib, he will hopefully be ready for a toddler bed - we got him the cutest bunk beds!! But until then, it's all about logistics. So as of now, the baby's crib is in Lincoln's room, so it's hard to plan a nursery without having a crib as a centerpoint. I trust it will all come together soon, but I am running short on time with only 11 weeks to go. Not to mention, I have an entire home to furnish!! Other than nursery interior design, I do have a lot of the supplies that I need for baby. A lot of those things I used and use for Lincoln is what I will use for baby. I should probably go through a checklist of items I need - yes, that is a good idea! We will do a post on preparation for baby soon - I for sure need it!! And no, my hospital bag is not yet packed. I packed this way in advance for my first, and he ended up coming one or two days after his due date, so this time around I think packing my bags about a week before will do the trick. Oh, the joys of being a second-time mom... :) xx, ILA ![]() Ohhh the first trimester joys! Why is it I don't recall it feeling this debilitated the first time with Kai? Hmm... maybe because it wasn't! It's INTENSE, ya'll...! I'm experiencing very similar symptoms as with my first pregnancy; however, this second pregancy I feel worse and have stronger symptoms more often... as in most of the day. I remember the "hungover" feeling kick in around late afternoon when I was pregant with Kai but felt ok besides exhausted the other part of the day. Here's a little breakdown of the weeks up until now: WEEK 5 and 6: EXTREME exhaustion, felt like absolute yuck/blah/hungover/semi-miserable off and on throughout the day, and getting up in the middle of the night to pee (therefore, sleep is interrupted and not so great). Again, different than my first (from what I remember)! My uterus doubled in size (FACT) and I found it difficult to suck in at times. I had a bloated feeling off and on. Already feeling a bit uncomfortable sleeping on my back unless my knees are up. Who sleeps with their knees up?! WEEK 7: To the day, I felt I had turned a corner for good and then two days later I was back to feeling amazing - NOT! What the heck?! Bloating feeling also continued... I'm now very careful when I brush my tongue because my gag reflex is hypersenstive. Don't worry, no vomiting going on over here! WEEK 8: Still feeling the major blahs and like I want to fall asleep or curl up in a ball on the couch and moan the feeling away. LOL! However, I do have moments, sometimes up to a couple hours, of feeling good or even great, usually after I've eaten or worked out and gain some energy and brain power. BAM! For me, the trick is to eat small meals or snack throughout the day on healthy, whole foods. And no, I haven't done it by the book. I've had some sweets, pizza two times, and non organic food when we go out to eat. And frankly, 90% of the time I don't feel like cooking and choose something that is quick and easy - no not fast food! But let's be honest, we're #mamaskeepinitreal and I know some do it by the book but that's just not my personality. Also, sometimes you just feel like altogether CRAP and have the just-feed-me attitude - no matter what it is. Well sort of... ; ) With all that said, I am still being VERY conscious of my intake of whole foods and buy only organics. FOR MY "YUCKY" FEELING: Sufficient protein and my Thorne 5-MTHF vitamin along with my Shaklee Vita-Lea multivitamin/multimineral w/ iron seem to help the most. Also the Shaklee Stomach Soothing Complex tablets help my tummy. Sometimes I have to really force myself to take all my vitamins because I know they give me a boost (of course after I've eaten a balanced protein packed meal). I'll be doing a blog post on my prenatal vitamin regimen soon! I notice if I don't eat soon after I wake up in the morning, my blood sugar drops extremely low, and I start to feel worse than yuck. So, I get my buns downstairs and cut up an organic kiwi or two and stuff it in my mouth and almost instantly I feel better. I then get going on a little breaky which consists of sourdough bread w/ grass-fed butter topped with 2-3 scrambled eggs and 1/2 an avocado. This really has been hitting the spot for me. Let me also reiterate something you guys may have seen on our Instagram or heard me share on a story about sourdough bread. It MUST have the ingredient "sourdough starter" (more to come on this in another post). 8 WEEK DR. APPOINTMENT: We went to the doctor last Thursday for our first check up and ultrasound. I was 8 weeks 1 day apparantly. We got to hear the baby's heart beat and all was great! I have a small cyst on my right ovary which the nurse practioner assured me was very common and said more than likely it will disappear very soon. Hakunamata friends, hakunamatata. I weighed in at 124.6 pounds and five feet 5 1/2 inches and measured 8 weeks 5 days on my ultrasound but still have a due date of July 26. We were told ultrasounds are not 100% accurate, and that is why my due date is based off the first day of my last period, which was October 19 (while we were in South Africa)! I barely remember any of this since my first pregnancy which is funny. It seems like so long ago that I was 24! And let me just say this time it is a MUCH better experience having my wonderful husband by my side! He is simply amazing and of course made the entire doctor's office laugh out loud pretty much our entire appointment. He even thought it would be comical to get on the scale to be weighed, and of course it was. What a dork! OVERALL PHYSICAL BODY CHANGES: Very little. However, I can now fill out my bra SIGNIFICANTLY more (not complaining). Thank you for reading! Ila and I love sharing our journeys with you and hope it inspires, helps, or encourages you! Comment below if you guys have questions or anything you want to say. Ila and I would love to hear from you! Yours, H thursday december 15:
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