Nighty-Night!

While I didn't find any extra energy before the clock ran out on my second trimester, I have discovered another plus to exercising. Sweet, delicious sleep. I fall asleep practically as soon as my head hits the pillow and I only wake up if my daughter is calling for me. When I was pregnant with her, it seemed like I woke up on the hour, either to pee or because I was tired of laying on a particular side. Now, every once in a while, I do get plagued with insomnia, usually when I've been awakened after midnight. But definitely an improvement still over my last pregnancy. I can only hope it lasts!

Bikini Season

It was nice and warm this weekend, and not windy! So out came the bikini.
I've learned recently that pregnant women in bikinis make some people uncomfortable. Probably the same people who think that women who nurse should stay home or go to a bathroom. Luckily, I have yet to meet any of the people with these odd hang-ups, or if I have, they were smart enough not to say anything to me about it. :)
Anyway, I've worked pretty hard to stay in good enough shape that I feel fine baring my belly to the sun! I already loved my belly, but it had the same winter pallor as the rest of me and a little tan does wonders! Do slather on sunscreen though because while most skin tans, stretchmarks do not. No thank you zebra skin LOL.
To any pregnant woman that has not used a pool, find one ASAP. It was just getting warm when I was due with my daughter, and I was so big and out of shape that no one could convince me to put on a swim suit, let alone get in a pool. But today I got in the pool and it was... awesome. Awesome is the only fitting word. I don't feel like my belly is particularly heavy, but the sensation of weightlessness felt great. I did variations of the leg slimmer Pilates moves with absolutely NO pubic bone or round ligament pain. And while I didn't want to get my hair wet, I spent some time just kicking and got my heart rate up a little without getting hot.
Ideally, I like running when it's in the upper 50's or in the 60's, then I just start to feel too hot. Now I know to just get in the pool if I couldn't get a run in in the morning! I'm going to look up other workouts to do in the water.




Side note, I notice that since I've quit the long runs, my quads are losing definition. My "generous" thighs need all the muscle definition they can get, but I apparently put too much emphasis on the hamstrings and butt and need to pay more attention to my quads. Hopefully I'll find some exercises I can do in the pool LOL

Prenatal Fitness Discussion

I recently asked a friend due just after me to fill out a questionnaire because she's always been in great shape as long as I've known her. Elise happily obliged me. I decided to open it up to entire discussion board dedicated to women due this July. I asked that women still exercising at least 3x/wk at moderate intensity respond. I was disappointed that I got a mere 4 responses from a board with over 9 thousand members! Surely that can't be the ratio of pregnant women still exercising to those taking it easy. Then I thought maybe I shouldn't have limited it to mom's still exercising and asked about those who had given it up already and why. *shrug* On the positive side, it's easier to evaluate the answers!
Interestingly, not everyone that responded was particularly fit before getting pregnant. I think that's great. You CAN improve fitness while pregnant.
For one lady, this was the fifth pregnancy that she's exercising through.
The women do a wide array of activity: running, walking, yoga, pilates, elliptical, biking, swimming, and surprisingly most are still strength training! I'm impressed with this because women tend to shy away from strength training, pregnant or not.
Unless they experienced intense nausea/vomiting that kept them from normal activity, let alone exercise, they found that exercise helped them get through the typical first trimester experience.
Nearly all had received criticism. Usually from people who are misinformed, about both the safety and the benefits (some seem to think there are none for the baby, that it's simply for the vanity of the mother-to-be). But they were happy to politely enlighten. And most had also received support for their active lifestyle.
One mom-to-be aptly related labor and early motherhood to being like a running in a marathon; how could maintaining one's strength and stamina possibly be anything but beneficial?
I asked all the mom's to come back once the baby is born to share how long they ended up maintaining an exercise routine (all planned to until they went into labor or it was medically counter-indicated), what their labor was like and their babies' stats.
Again, big thank you to all that participated!

Victories!

I've been hanging on to several large pairs of jeans in anticipation of needing them again while pregnant (just as I've been saving several pairs of 26s in anticipation of needing them when I get a tapeworm LOL). I went through them earlier this week and they're not just ill fitting, they won't even stay on. But it makes sense. I haven't even reached the weight I was at my first appt at 9wks in my pregnancy with Emberly. So I added them to my Goodwill donation pile, because with less than 14wks left, if I keep exercising and eating well, I'll be hard pressed to gain the 30lbs it would take for those pants to fit!
It felt really good for those pants to not even being close to fitting! Victories. Small victories.
And tracking my food is going well! I'm trying to pay closer attention to the amount of sugar that's added to foods that I wouldn't normally suspect. Some days I'm surprised at how much food I can eat and still come in under 2400 calories. It's all about making healthier choices. Which, for me, is really all about not having the bad choices in the house!

Taking notes...

So I am nearing the end of my second trimester. But I still have a couple weeks, and I want them and their energy entitlement! Why have I passed out between 7:30 and 8 the past few nights? Maybe it's the sugar withdrawal, so I'll keep eating well and hope that I still have some weeks of feeling relatively energetic ahead of me.
I still feel great during my workouts. Wednesdays have turned into a light day of walking and strength training because my pubic bone just can't take two days in a row of running.
A mom friend told me about a woman at her Y that ran and swam up until the day she went into labor and her "labor" was only 90min. And at 3wks post-partum, when she's regaling this tale, the only evidence of her pregnancy is a still visible linea negra (where's mine by the way? I don't remember when it showed up for Emberly...). I'm really trying to envision myself still running come 39wks, and 90 minutes from pregnant to baby is definitely an inspirational incentive!
Okay, so here I am, still looking pretty fit at 6.5mo. Please ignore my face. I hadn't been crying, I promise. I guess that's just what I look like at 7am after a night where pregnancy insomnia tortured me from 1-3am LOL





And yes, those are my snazzy christmas gift nikes, colors courtesy of my two year old ;)

Apparel Awareness

Around 22wks I discovered that even my longest workout tanks wanted to ride up to my new "waist" under my boobs. I'm constantly tugging at the hem and it's... annoying. Since I didn't try to workout last time, I naively expected my current wardrobe to get me through the whole thing. I scored some empire waist tops at the Champion outlet for $11 after Christmas and while those are plenty wide, my belly still peeks out of the bottom.
I thought I'd go ahead and list some links for places where I've found good looking maternity athletic apparel, for those that have budgeted for such and expense (it's not cheap to cover a baby belly)
http://www.fitmaternity.com (this is also where I picked up my support belt, which I wore during my half marathon, and has helped keep me still running at 25 weeks).
http://www.maternityactivewear.com/aboutus/home.php
http://www.fit2bmom.com/
http://www.runningskirts.com/maternity-skirts.html these seemed really cool, but the price tag, not so much
http://www.bornfit.com/

Nike and Athleta also have tunic length tops with some spandex which should work over a belly, but again, not cheaply. And people that know me, know I'm a budget girl.
So, since our budget priority is a decent maternity leave, I'm really doubting that I'll be springing for any of the lovely options I listed and I'll be working out in my sports bra when the last of my longer tops just refuse to stay down:

I ran 3mi like this today, and I admit, I felt weird and like people were staring at me at first, but I told myself, "you've walked down runways in underwear and swimsuits, get over it!" I didn't even remember until afterward, that my best friend and I got naked on Baker Beach more times than I can count every summer when I lived in California. So, stare! LOL

Refocus

When I found out I was pregnant, I was amidst a serious weight loss expedition and I was using Sparkpeople to journal my food. I continued to do it even afterward, obviously changing my goals from keeping my calories under a certain level to making sure they reached a certain level, including 80g of protein per day.
Well, I quit right before the race, about a month ago. I felt like I knew what I was doing and just didn't want to do it anymore. But I think I should start again. Between homemade cakes, cookies and Easter candy, the last week has been a sugar fest. I need my calories to count, and the only way I'll feel accountable to myself is if I'm honest and put it down where I can see how it all adds up.
So tomorrow, I'm back to journaling food. I'll be 25wks, and as of this morning I'm up 11lbs, so I can still keep this pregnancy within the 25-30lbs range. Here's to new focus for lean, mean baby and mama!