My Pregnancy: Week 30

I really should start carrying my actual camera... oh well. These pics were too cute to pass up, but they were taken in the dark and the rain and on a phone.

On Wednesday (technically the last day of week 29) I snatched 100 lbs at the gym!  Power snatching has been my favorite lift during pregnancy and I had been hitting 95 without any issues, so I decided to load it up and go for it.  It felt great.  I honestly feel like my belly gives me some extra power through my hip drive.  My pre-pregnancy PR is 105# so I cannot wait to see what I am capable of when I am not growing a person!  The WOD was "death by burpees and rowing" so 15 minutes of that, not particularly enjoyable but I took my time and didn't completely hate it.

Friday was pretty typical, except that I thought the workout would take me 30 minutes and instead I finished in 19:42.  I subbed 5 calories on the bike for the 200m runs and I did 65# for all three lifts.  The snatches were good, the clean and jerks I probably should've gone heavier for because they felt super easy, but the thrusters did not feel great.  I wasn't squatting to depth, but I was still feeling a little something in my left knee and for some reason switching from the front rack position to an overhead grip wasn't feeling great either.  I'm thinking I'll probably just switch to dumbbells for any future thrusters since they felt fine last week.  Still have my pull ups!

Saturday morning started nice and early because this preggo was craving donuts!  We took a trip to the newly opened Duck Donuts in King of Prussia and it was awesome. You can customize your donuts any way you like and they make them fresh right then and there.  They were delicious!

Then we took Mela to Valley Forge and did about 1.75 miles in the shade.  I had to take a ton of breaks, but I feel like I haven't been doing enough walking lately (since it's been so unbelievably hot and humid).  It was nice to get out and get some exercise in before it got unbearable.

On Sunday Shayna came over and we did a ton of work in the nursery.  We opened up the last of the random gifts that hadn't been touched, organized the diaper changing supplies, tried out my Boba wrap, did lots of laundry, and she set up the rock & play.  We have so much adorable clothing, it's legit overwhelming!  I'll be changing baby girl into new outfits just to try and actually get her into everything.  Mela isn't quite sure what to make of all the new stuff in the house, but she didn't hesitate to get cozy in the middle of all the laundry.

Monday I had my 30 week appointment where I met the last OB in my practice... and I did not enjoy her demeanor.  It was little things throughout my appointment that turned me off but the specific incident that really drove things home was when I asked her about Red Raspberry Leaf Tea, which keeps being brought up in my natural birth facebook groups and is supposed to help strengthen the uterus and shorten labor.  First she acted like she had never heard of it, which I'm definitely calling bullshit on, and then she told me "do not drink anything like that because you will go into premature labor, have the baby at 30 weeks, and she will go into the NICU and you'll be going home without her."  Ummmmm what?!  How about "I do not recommend this product" or even "this type of product may cause premature labor"?  Either of those would've been professional answers to my inquiry.  But instead she went with intense fear mongering and left me hoping she'll be on vacation when I give birth.  I'll be using my Hypnobabies bubble of peace when I see her again at the beginning of September.

Tuesday we went for another hike in the park.  We headed to Midgley Lane and hit the trail that used to be right outside our door.  I still really miss having the park right in our backyard!  We did about a mile including a large hill at the end, but I felt really good and didn't need to take many breaks at all since the temps were only in the low 70s.  It's crazy what a difference the temp makes for me.  We let Carmela off the leash (for only the second time ever) for some creek stompin'!

Wednesday morning I hit CF.  We started class with a clean & jerk complex, an 8 minute EMOM of a clean liftoff, power clean, and split jerk.  I worked up to 100# and it felt great.  My coach joked with me about straightening out my bar path, but I really do think I'm going to have to break some bad habits when I'm not pulling the bar around a huge belly.  The workout was dubs, handstand push ups and clean and jerks, so I ended up doing the assault bike, some dumbbell strict press, and clean and jerks at 80 lbs.  It was a shorter workout and I guess I took it pretty easy because I recovered very easily compared to what I've been used to.

Wednesday we had another baby class at the hospital called "Welcoming Baby, a Family Affair."  It went over what to expect immediately after delivery, at the hospital, and after we get home plus the basics of newborn care.  The classes through Paoli Hospital have been great so far and I'm looking forward to our breastfeeding class in two weeks.

Other updates this week:

• Sleep has been hit or miss.  Sometimes I roll around throughout the night and have to get up to pee, other times I sleep wonderfully and don't have to get up at all.  Dave's still loving my pregnancy induced snoring.
• I haven't experienced anything like the heartburn I had the weekend before.  I've had a touch here and there, but nothing that has kept me up all night.  I'm trying to avoid eating super late dinners and laying down after eating, but I haven't been perfect with it.
• My feet ache horribly when I get out of bed.  The first few steps to the bathroom are super painful.  And I woke up to a charlie horse in the middle of the night Friday.  The worst!!!!
• I've been having a bit of pressure/pain down in my pelvis.  The OB said it's because the baby is head down (yay!) and totally normal.
• I'm up 45 lbs which officially puts me over 200 and I don't give a shit!  I feel good and my doc doesn't seem to be concerned, so it is what it is.
• The baby's movements are now visible from the outside!  So cool.

My guess date is 2 months from today... OMG!

My Pregnancy: Week 28 & 29

Week 28:

I spent the first part of Week 28 still down in Cape May.  Dave had to come back and work Wednesday through Friday since he's trying to save some vacation for when baby comes, but I spent 10 whole days there and it was so lovely.  I got to the beach every single day except Thursday when it rained on and off all day so I spent the entire day in my PJs, only left the house to walk Carmela, and took 2 naps.  It was a super relaxing week and floating in the ocean was wonderful.

Baby has been having a party in my belly!  I've been feeling kicks for a while now, but over the past week or so, the movements have been a lot more intense and sometimes I feel an entire body part sticking out.  And before I would typically feel the movements when I was relaxing or laying down, but lately it's been at random times too.  According to The Bump app she's almost 15 inches, so I guess she wants to stretch out.

On Monday I had the dreaded glucose test to check for gestational diabetes.  Women on the internet made it sound like it was going to be the worst thing I've ever had to drink, but I honestly think it just tasted like overly sweet orange soda.  I downed it in 2 minutes and felt a little gross right after but it wasn't bad.  No news is good news, so I was happy not to hear from the doctor.  Yay!

My shower was almost a month ago, but we've been so busy that the nursery still looked like this.

And it was starting to give me anxiety!  By the time we got home from vacation, I was itching to nest.  I made a nice long to do list and I split my free time between organizing and writing Thank You notes (which I meant to take down the shore with me but totally forgot).

Before my vacation, I was planning on hitting up a local gym so I didn't take a 10 days off from CrossFit.  I was scared that if I spent that much time away, I'd be done for good.  But I did SO much walking, some dancing, and a little bit of swimming and I just wasn't feeling a formal trip to the gym.  Honestly, carrying my beach bag across the sand felt like a pretty good workout every day.  But on Tuesday, I was back at it!  I hit the gym at 6 am for some front squats (not going below parallel anymore), box step ups, and dumbbell squat clean thrusters.  My quads were screaming during the workout, but otherwise I felt great.

Week 29:

Friday's WOD was 20 rounds of 3 burpees (squat thrusts), 3 chest to bar pull ups (regular kipping pull ups), and 1 squat snatch 115/75 (I did 75 and was dropping under the bar, but they were mostly just power snatches).  I hadn't done pull ups in a few weeks, so I thought they might be gone, but they still felt fine.  The girl at my gym who is due 2 days before me said she didn't feel great afterwards so she was probably dropping them, but I didn't have any ill effects other than ripping my hands in the last two rounds.  The snatches felt great and I finished in 25:01.

Friday night our friend Rachel came over and we chowed down on some pizza and a delicious chocolate peanut butter pie she brought over to spoil me with... and then I had the worst sleep of my life.  I was tossing and turning with heartburn pain all night and even threw up in my mouth a little, twice!  It was AWFUL.  I've never really had heartburn before, so it came as a shock.  I had a repeat night of crappy sleep on Saturday with the same feeling.  Apparently, that's a thing now.  The internet advises eating smaller meals throughout the day, avoiding eating 3 hours before bed, and avoiding laying down after eating in general, so I am trying to incorporate those changes.

On Sunday I spent a lot of time in the nursery and I'm feeling much more prepared now!  The room is a lot more organized and I have a better feeling for what I still need.  I also ordered a few decor items and have an improved idea of exactly how I want to decorate.  Now I just need to force Dave to hang some things ;)  He did spend some time putting together our pack & play though!

He also spent some time Sunday installing our new dryer!  Our old one died when he tried to be a good husband and wash our sheets while he was back at the house for a few days and I was still hanging in Cape May.  I'm so happy it happened now and not when we have mountains of newborn laundry!  Dave was extremely enthusiastic about doing a load of laundry Sunday night and kept saying "I don't know why I am so excited about a new appliance!"  I do, we're old lol!

We took our first baby education class at the hospital on Monday night.  It was Happiest Baby based on the book Happiest Baby on the Block.  It was all about calming your baby in the first 3 months of life using the 5 S's: Swaddle, Side/Stomach Hold, Shush, Swing, and Suck.  The instructor was really awesome and I feel like we learned a lot.  And now I don't need to spend time reading the book.

Thursday marks 30 weeks... then we'll be in single digit countdown!  Here comes the torpedo tummy!

My Pregnancy: Week 27

The last week of my second trimester was a good one, especially for Dave!

Dave had two vehicles, neither of which were car seat approved, so he sold his old Jeep and upgraded with his new dadmobile a 2014 F-150 with 34K miles, a huge cab with plenty of room for car seats and dogs, and all the extra towing crap he wanted.  It's easier to drive than I expected, super quiet, and we won't have to borrow a truck anymore (which we've done 3 times in the past 2.5 weeks).  It was a great purchase!

We also officially booked our doula this week!  We're using our Hypnobabies instructor Keli Engleson.  To save a few bucks, we booked her Birthing Day package instead of the full package (which would have additionally given us 2 prenatal and 1 postnatal visits with her).  Since we've already taken the class with her, we didn't think we were missing out on too much and we can always book a postnatal visit with her after the birth.  I'm really excited, I am confident that having a doula will be a huge help in having the birth that I want.

I know a lot of people don't really understand the role of a doula.  From Keli's website:

My roll as a doula is focused on what the mother and couple needs so that the mother can rest assured that her physical and emotional needs will be met throughout her labor and birth. I work with you before labor and delivery answering questions about what to expect, providing information and your options for you to make informed decisions, assisting you in developing a birth plan, teaching you active labor postures and techniques, therapeutic relief, along with providing continuous support during labor and birth and the initial postpartum period.  During labor and delivery I provide continuous, knowledgeable physical and emotional support and answer questions you and your partner have about what’s happening.

People have suggested that Dave could be my doula... but how many births has Dave attended?  Keli will not replace Dave as my birth partner, however she will bring years of experience and a level head to my birthing time.  So when I am experiencing the most intense sensations of my life and Dave isn't sure how he can help me, she will be able to show him some massage techniques or show us an alternative position I can try.  Or when the doctors are pressuring us into a non medically necessary intervention and in the heat of the moment we forget everything we've learned, she will be there to present us all the benefits, risks, alternatives, and evidence based information. 

Otherwise the rest of the week was all about the beach!  We celebrated the 4th of July down in Cape May with visits from my mom, sister, and Shayna all while being pampered by my in-laws.

I didn't do any formal workouts all week, but I did ALL the walking.  Somehow my pregnant booty survived going out 5 nights in a row.

After the fireworks on the 4th, we went out for a ridiculous night of karaoke.  Kimber, Pete, Shayna, and I all got our time to shine on the stage, but the grand finale was when I rapped Missy Elliot's Work It and the crowd went wild!  It was absolutely hilarious and I couldn't stop giggling when it was over and everyone was coming up to high five me.  On our way out, some girl came up to me and said I gave her hope for her future self.  It was such a fun night.

And now, goodbye second trimester!