cate's pregnancy update: Weeks 22-25

Happy Good Friday everyone! I hope you all are having a wonderful day thus far and are getting excited for this Easter weekend. : )

For those of you who are a bit confused about who we are, I'M CATE (THE "CATE" in Cate and ILa.) My amazing business partner is ILA (pronounced eye-luh). She is also my best friend. We've been besties since our moms were pregnant together! How crazy is that!? She was born just 2 weeks before me and we've been friends ever since! She and her husband Ryan and two littles, Lincoln and Denton, just recently moved to Nashville. My husband and our son Kai, and baby boy #2 coming in July, reside in Orange County California. I know there has been some major confusion with some of you thinking we are just one person. Now you know there are in fact TWO of us mamas. : )

On another note, here's a little update on my pregnancy for the last 4 weeks (22 weeks-CURRENT 25 weeks). Also, I go thru a little bit of my journey with my first pregnancy and all that I learned. I hope you enjoy!

PREGNANCY #1 AND #2 WEIGHT GAIN:

*TOTAL PREGNANCY #1 WEIGHT GAIN: 17 pounds

*25 WEEKS PREGNANCY #2 WEIGHT GAIN: Current- 19.6 pounds
-8 WEEK 5 DAYS- 124.6 LBS
-12 WEEKS- 129 LBS
-16 WEEKS- 129 LBS
-20 WEEKS-136.4 LBS (baby's size- 14 oz)
-23 WEEKS 6 DAYS- 144.2

Since conception, I have gained 19.6. I started at a weight of 124.6 pounds, and when I stepped on the scale 1.5 weeks ago at my 24 week appointment I laughed. haha! I don't even own a scale- never have. I will say, I was a bit shocked that I have already surpassed my entire pregnancy weight gain from my first pregnancy and I'm just 25 weeks. But that's ok! With Kai I only gained 17 pounds! Yes, that sounds crazy to most people, but that is just what my body did. I ate healthy but had some sweets every now and then but wasn't crazy strict. My goal was to be somewhere between 15 and 30 pounds. I maintained a healthy lifestyle by exercising and avoiding foods that weren't good for baby. At 7 months pregnant I went to A Natural Healing Center. I honestly don't remember how I stumbled upon them. There I was tested and received the following:

• Applied Kinesiology / Nutritional Response Testing (NRT) – using your muscles to immediately understand how all parts of your body are functioning
• Food Allergy & Compatibility Testing
• pH Testing – your Acidic / Alkaline balance tells much about your body
• Nutritional Evaluation
• One-on-One Food Coaching

I learned, through Nutritional Response Testing, that my body was intolerant (sensitive) to the following foods:
-casein
-gluten
-corn
-soy
-coffee
-chocolate
-egg yolk

After that, and of course my own research of the legitimacy of NRT, I cut out those foods, for the most part, for the last 3 months of my pregnancy and thereafter for about a year or more (or so). My holistic health practitioner told me my chances of having a baby with colic were pretty high, based off my body's response to those foods, and so I took action!

​I cannot even begin to tell you what a difference it made in my overall health and HOW I felt. Some of the above weren't a big shock to me because I was already a little educated on gluten and dairy (casein) and the effects of it on our bodies. But once I cut out those foods, especially the gluten and dairy, I felt more clear headed, alert, and energetic. Prior to that I often felt lethargic after certain meals and got "brain fog" after consuming healthy meals that I thought would give me energy. It was frustrating and annoying! ALSO, I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 20 and had read a book about a proper diet for an ADHD brain, which of course DID NOT include eating gluten. Why? KEY WORD- inflammation. 

THIS WAS ME!!!-
Gluten sensitivity occurs in individuals (particularly first degree family members of those with celiac disease) who have circulating antibodies characteristic of celiac disease, but could be asymptomatic or have fewer symptoms of celiac disease. Gluten sensitivity is a less extreme reaction to gluten, but can occur at any age and has a wide range of connections to different health-issues. Many people have trouble digesting wheat. Gluten damages the tissue that lines the digestive tract, affecting nutrition absorption.
Do you find yourself getting brain fog? (ME- YES!) In gluten sensitive individuals, gluten can actually shut down blood flow in to the frontal and prefrontal cortex, the part responsible for focus, managing emotional states, planning, organizing, consequences of actions, and our short term memory. This process is called “hypoperfusion” and is strongly associated with ADHD, depression and anxiety. 
swansonhealthcenter.com/health-issues/celiac/Swanson Health Center


MOVING ON...
That was a bit of a tangent, but I felt this was important to share my journey and compare my first pregnancy to this pregnancy. FOOD, yes food, plays such a MAJOR role in our pregnancies AND in the lives of our baby/babies. It's hard for me to see moms make pregnancy an excuse to eat whatever they want. If anything, pregnancy and nursing should be the time where we, as women, are most conscious and careful of what we put into our bodies. I believe in moderation and have definitely had my share of unhealthy food this pregnancy and last, but for the most part I've made an effort to eat well.

For more on Gluten see the links below:
swansonhealthcenter.com/health-issues/celiac/
authoritynutrition.com/6-shocking-reasons-why-gluten-is-bad/

FITNESS:
This pregnancy, I feel strong and am building more muscle than with my first pregnancy. My workout with my first consisted of mainly reformer pilates once a week. I did little cardio, besides walking and walking a handful of times. I also did Zumba and other various group female pilates mat classes, as well as total body fit classes. I tried a bit of everything. It was difficult to find prenatal classes and instructors that knew what to tell me to do or to avoid, so I felt a little bit in the dark for a while. THEN I met Erica Ziel and her business Knocked Up Fitness and it CHANGED EVERYTHING!
Her pilates reformer classes helped change my body and prepare me for the whole birthing process, as well as my recovery postpartum. Check her out, mamas!

My weekly workout consists cardio boxing/kickboxing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings. I usually attend the Saturday morning HIIT class as well and in between the other days I sometimes will do some variation of a booty exercise- usually squats or lunges and maybe I'll throw in some push ups. If I don't make it to Saturday morning, I'll do a mini workout session in our backyard and break a good sweat. If you struggle. like I did with my first pregnancy in the beginning, to know what you can and CAN'T do, you can follow along my fitness journey with #fitwithcateandila. Also, as I mentioned, Knocked Up Fitness is an incredible resource!! Check out Erica's Prenatal Sculpt Workouts HERE!

PHYSICAL/SLEEPING:
Overall, I feel amazingly energetic, strong, and balanced. The only thing that has been a little difficult is my sleeping. I told you all in my earlier updates that I have been getting up to go pee in the middle of the night since the very beginning at 5 weeks pregnant. What the heck! This goes along with a second pregnancy, or at least can, because uterus knows what to do and now there is more pressure on my bladder than with my first.  I also feel Baby B move LIKE CRAZY. This week I kicked or punched me semi-softly in the nether region. It made me a little nervous because Kai did that to me when I was about 8 months pregnant. I was lying in bed, peacefully, and all of a sudden he thought he'd get my attention, and he sure did! The pain and shock actually brought me to tears. Hoping I don't experience that with this one!

I have been using my amazing bamboo body pillow- not those crazy looped ones. : ) This is magic for me and does wonders for my hips when I sleep. I was actually more achey my first pregnancy, with my expanding hips and all. Now when I sleep I can no longer lay on my back because I feel short of breath (TOTALLY NORMAL). This happens because it basically cuts off circulation and air flow by putting extra pressure on the blood vessel- vena cava. This only just happened three weeks ago when I was 22 weeks pregnant. Up until then, it was still comfortable for me to sleep on my back with my legs slightly propped up (or with the help from a pillow).
*IF YOU DON'T HAVE A BODY PILLOW, GET ONE! I sleep with about 3 pillows and it's divine, and I even manage to spoon with my husband. 

ANEMIA:
Unfortunately, based on my recent blood test, I'm still on the spectrum of being anemic. Boo!
The good news is it is not getting worse, but I still have to be extremely proactive in eating iron-rich foods on top of my iron supplement. It's a bit of a pain, but I'm grateful for the overall health of my body. I am still recommended to eat beef or chicken liver once a week. Did I tell you I almost threw up in my mouth the last time I tried it!? oh my gosh... Anyone have any good recipes for a pate? I'm dying over here! haha!

EMOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL:
I'm feeling wonderful. Sometimes I do notice I might be a little more agitated at times, but that usually has to do with low blood sugar. 

DIET/LIFESTYLE:
I have been eating more sugar and bread than I'd like to admit. From here on out, I'm making an effort to reduce my gluten and sugar intake- not just for me but for the baby. I drink TONS of water, eat a ton of organic pasture-raised eggs. I cook them in the morning or for lunch and also keep a bowl of hard boiled eggs in the fridge for on the go or when I'm short on time. Kai also loves them! We add a little Himalayan sea salt and yum! My food journal consists of a protein smoothie with avocado toast on sourdough (with sourdough starter), eggs and nitrite free bacon, overnight oats or chia pudding, etc. I eat a lot of organic lentil soup, avocado, berries, pears, apples and organic (no sugar added) peanut butter or almond butter. (I love cashew butter, but it's so dang expensive!) We'll eat grass-fed ground beef with grilled onions and a veggie. Usually I throw in a salad and do my best to eat spinach every day or 2x a day (in my smoothie or with my eggs). This is just a quick overview of what my diet looks like. I will be doing a more in depth food journal for you in the next few weeks. : ) This will include a grocery list of all my favorite brands and things to buy. Also, if you have any questions regarding what constitutes "healthy eating" during pregnancy, please message us, and we'll be glad to help give you some recommendations to the best of our knowledge and experience. 

That's all for now! I'm taking the day off work to spend some time with my hubs and Kai. Thank you for reading and following along with me on my journey to maintaining a healthy pregnancy. : )

All My Love,

Cate