yoga baby; maternity photos

Earlier this week, I met up with a friend of mine at Wildwood Park in Thousand Oaks for a little sunset maternity shoot.

I'm not gonna say much else other than that. I am so happy with these photos. Have a look!

yoga baby; 34 weeks

Week 34

With just about 6 weeks to go, I am already feeling huge, but taking my weekly pictures has been a shock. 

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: All I want are carbs and sweets. I still don't crave specific things - except I NEEDED to make these cookies last week (and I did). 

Aversions: Cooking. Haha, oh, that's not an aversion, that's just laziness. I have been better about eating vegetables though. Hoorah!

Energy:  I've been napping almost every day. On weekends I'll nap for an hour +. Weekdays they're shorter and usually just a little pre-bedtime shut-eye. BUT I did have a really great workout on Monday. I wrote about it a little bit in my weekly workout recap, but I started dance central spotlight with such lightness! It was such a nice change from my new norm of lumbering around. 

from power to prenatal; transitioning my yoga practice

You guys know me a little bit, right?

I'm a fitness fanatic and I like to push myself to the limit. I think I've briefly mentioned this is some of my posts lately, but the transition from my former to current yoga practice has been tough - not just physically, but also mentally and emotionally. It's hard to go from your personal limit - where the line is usually in your head because 9 times out of 10 you ARE strong enough to finish this set - to your pregnancy limit - where your body says "Nope, sorry dude." and you actually need to listen because otherwise your body will crap out and really, you don't want your body making that decision for you when you're 7 or 8 months pregnant.

Working out so hard that you pass out or throw up is not really an option at that point. Not that that's comfortable in any situation. I've only worked out that hard once and I immediately regretted it, but going from a super active and fit person to someone who goes on walks, gets winded walking up stairs, does prenatal yoga, and dances with an Xbox in her living room... has been a challenge.

Despite wanting to push myself to my former limits, my body just won't do that anymore. Now that my belly is actually starting to get in the way during yoga, I thought I'd take some time to document how my practice has changed and why...

Here are some of the ways I've had to adjust my yoga practice to accommodate for this little person.

Take a wide stance
...in everything.

Forward fold - I cannot fold forward with my feet together or even hip distance apart anymore. The belly will not allow, so I take my feet wide apart so there is room between my legs for my bump and I can still get a good stretch in my hammys.

Don't be afraid to step off the mat. I did this for the first time about two weeks ago. I've been doing this modified twist for months, but just recently I had to step my front foot off the mat so my belly didn't get squished by my thigh. I was surprised, but it happened and that was that. Now my front foot is nearly always off the mat in this pose.

No more headstands (at least until this extra weight stops throwing off my balance and compressing my spine). I've been doing handstands and supported shoulder stands when I feel like I need to invert. I can't do regular shoulder stand either because it's too difficult to breathe.

yoga baby; 32 weeks

Week 32

Last Sunday was the 5th, exactly 2 months from Thor's EDD. From here on out, it's looking like *less than two months to go! *fingers crossed*

Here's what's happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: Nothing in particular. I have been eating a lot of bagels for breakfast lately. I actually really wanted an onion or everything bagel, but I always opted for something more mellow because I didn't want to smell like onion all day, but this week I gave in and got an everything bagel... and it was glorious. 

I also wanted to briefly mention second breakfast because it's real. Every week day around 10:30/11, I get the munchies. 

Aversions: Vegetables. Not in a real aversion kind of way, I am just really not excited about eating them most times, which is weird because I usually love veggies. 

Energy:  Depends on the day. Usually I'm pretty good, but some days - especially in the heat we've been having - I could nap every day and be happy. 

Summer in October; The Pregnancy Clothing Chronicles

Am I actually writing a blog post about this?

I think I am... even though the weather is cooling down (now). I'm also not including any pictures in this post because there is nothing glamorous about complaining about how your clothes fit.

Last Sunday, after spending the better part of the day in yoga clothes - having taught at 830am and then taken yoga at 1pm - I got out of the shower around 5pm so hubs and I could make our one outing of the day together; a quick run to Target for a new video game.

I showered before he did. I always do when we are planning to go out because it takes the length of one husband shower for me to get my face on. Usually that works out perfectly.

Usually was not this past Sunday.

This past Sunday I got out of the shower and started looking through my clean clothes for something light and flattering to wear into the 100 degree heat. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT I FOUND????

Nothing.

I found nothing that fit all of these criteria; clean, light, and flattering.

Maybe I just needed to do laundry? Yes, that's possible.

but I think I know what else you're thinking - "you're pregnant, Alyssa, get over your definition of flattering", but it's actually not that hard for me to find flattering things... usually (by my standards anyway). I kind of love my shape right now. When adorned appropriately, pregnant bellies are downright adorable and I'm proud to have one.
The trouble was finding things that were flattering and didn't also make me feel like I was wearing wool - because when its 100 degrees outside and you're pregnant, everything is itchy and hot.

I dug around and found a pair of clean, black maternity shorts with an itchy belly band that I can't fold down anymore because my son is too large and won't tolerate that kind of discomfort/tightness around the lower abdomen any longer, and a tank top that I only kind of like when I'm not pregnant, but was one of the few shirts in my closet that was long enough and could be easily paired with the shorts.

I was not comfortable. I was sweaty and itchy and all I wanted was to turn around, go back home and put on my pjs.

The next best option was to use this time at Target to buy things that looked large and comfortable... which is exactly what I did. I bought myself three super soft cottony things - a GOM nighty (on sale, woot!), this lattice back dress in black, and a really long cozy tshirt.

I wore them all within the next 48 hours, and today it is 20 degrees cooler than last weekend, so I may never need to wear them again. *face palm*