yoga baby; 30 weeks

Do I look bigger on odd numbered weeks?????

Week 30

Only 10 weeks to go... even more exciting and terrifying.

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

Cravings: Grapes, mostly. Not very interesting. I did really want In N Out earlier this week. Didn't manage to get over there though. Sad.

Aversions: I have a love hate relationship with food right now. I always want to eat, but I am always always feeling completely stuffed. So, I'm averse to everything and nothing.

Energy:  Comes and goes.

Missing: I'm kinda over missing things. Same stuff though - clothes that fit and are comfortable, fitting in small spaces, all the foods I'm not supposed to eat, all the drinks I'm not supposed to drink, etc.

Movement: My favorite thing right now is when I first get into bed and am laying on my side and part of my belly is resting on the bed. He stomps/punches into the mattress like "what is this? get it out of the way!" out of frustration. It makes me laugh every time.
He's big enough now that he can "kick" both sides of my belly at the same time, which is cool and scary.

Feeling: Achy, but generally good. I am always thirsty. Always always always. I can have a full glass of ice water and I'm thinking about when I need to get up for more. Weirdly, this does not make me have to pee more, which makes me think I may be really dehydrated, BUT you wouldn't think that if you saw how much water I drink.

Wearing: Tunic tops and leggings, maxi dresses, shorts. None of my old clothes. Well, almost done of my old clothes. I wake up in the morning, stare at my closet and say aloud "I hate clothes".

Yoga: Still one of my favorite parts of every week. I love that I can feel strong, like I'm getting a good workout and not hurting my joints or feeling like I need to support my belly. I have been taking major advantage of being able to get upside down as often as possible - especially since I'm carrying so low, it gets really uncomfortable sometimes. Inversions help move him up and out of my pelvis, so I can relax.

Can't Live Without:  Still my body pillow and ice water. I've started propping up pillows on the couch/floor/bed so I can lay on my stomach without actually laying on my stomach.

Getting Ready? The baby's room is furnished! Last weekend my mom was going to come over and me put up the decals I got on Etsy, but the weekend got away from us. On Sunday night I did manage to lay it all out flat so the edges won't curl up.
OH! I almost forgot and am adding this after hitting *publish* - I started putting up the decals last night. I'm a little worried about where some of the pieces are going to fit. The room is not very big, but I'm confident we'll figure it out.
I haven't been buying much because I don't know what we'll get at the shower. Once I see what we don't need, I'll probly go on a bit of a shopping spree.

I did start to work on an emergency kit in the last few days. We're gonna keep it in the baby's room because in the event of an emergency, that's likely the first place we'll go. I'll tell you about it next week. ;)

pregnancy is uncomfortable

What I'm doing here I call my "belly stretch". I do it whenever my insides feel especially squished and I just stick my belly out as far as I can. It feels great, but usually as soon as I relax, I'm right back to feeling squished again.  Also, Panda Bear cracks me up in this picture. 

There. I said it. Pregnancy is uncomfortable.

Don't get me wrong. I am so so so happy and feel so very blessed to be able to grow this little human and bring him into the world, but I don't think there's a rule anywhere that says I have to be happy when my back hurts and my clothes don't fit.

Since I have just gotten into my third trimester, I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about some of the pregnancy symptoms that I've personally experienced thus far and how I'm dealing with them.

Sciatic Pain - Especially on my right side, since about the halfway point, I've been dealing with some sciatic pain. I've considered myself fortunate lately because I have the knowledge and understanding of how the muscles and bones work to optimally stretch it out. One of the key ways I've been able to work out my low back is literally curling myself into a ball and using the floor to hit points. If you have the stability and need to focus on one side more than the other, you can actually just hang out in a ball, letting only that part of your back hit the floor. My mat provided a really nice firm, but not hard/painful surface for me to work into my low back. I also found that by getting into a supported back bend like bridge pose with a block under my sacrum helps take some of the compression out of the low back and, if you're feeling stable, you can play with weight distribution.
The biggest thing for me, personally, has been working on engaging my glutes when I do lunges - not letting myself sink into the hip/pelvis. Even though it can feel better on the front of the hip to stretch it out, it puts all the extra pressure on the low back, so simply by keeping my glutes and pelvis engaged, I'm helping my low back.

yoga baby; 28 weeks

Week 28

SEVEN MONTHS! 3rd trimester, yo! Sheesh, how fast this is all going! So exciting and completely terrifying!

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

Cravings: Cake. I made a chocolate bundt cake after my last post, and for the entire following week I still wanted more cake.

Aversions: Not any one thing or things in particular. Sometimes I just have zero appetite for real healthy food. I'll think to myself how I'm not hungry and food sounds terrible, but 10 seconds later I'll be on the couch with a popsicle.

Energy:  Major energy drop these last two weeks. I crash hard in the afternoons. Sometimes my energy is never that good to begin with. I pretty much feel like I could sleep all day every day.

Missing: Mostly the above. Energy. I was talking to a fellow pregnant friend about what workouts we used to do pre-pregnancy, and it really got me missing my tough workouts. I miss being able to challenge myself. I miss being better at things. Ha. I know that sounds terrible, but I really miss feeling strong.

yoga baby; 26 weeks

 Week 26

It only took six and a half months, but look at that, an actual bump. Haha. We had a growth spurt this week. That's more that a couple cheeseburgers.
It's been a busy week...

Lots happening with me and the tiny one...

Cravings: I'm just constantly hungry. Even when I'm full I'm thinking about what I'll eat next. I've been wanting some cake or donuts or similar lately. Haven't gotten around to that. Maybe that's why I still want it.

Aversions: No outright aversions. I just get home from work, look in the full fridge and think how I am really hungry, but not in the mood for any of what's in there.

Energy:  I feel fine, but I wipe out quickly. I get a lot of second winds - if you can even call them that. I'll work on a project for a while, tire out or get bored, and then get back up and on it again with equal or even more vigor.

Missing: Fitting in small spaces - like between my car and the closed garage door. I also miss my pants. Hahaha. Good thing it's too hot for pants anyway. I'm pretty excited to wear shirts with sleeves again when it cools down.

yoga baby; 24 weeks

Week 24

According to the internet, that means I'm 6 months pregnant. 6 MONTHS? Like whoa.
I was poking around on Instagram last weekend and exploring the hashtag #22weekspregnant... someone posted a picture of themselves and said "officially 6 months pregnant today! #22weekspregnant" and all I could think was "someone is not good at math"

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

Cravings: Same same. It's hot though, so eating things that cool me down is good.

Aversions: Still not really having them. Food and I are generally friends. I did eat too many tomatoes recently, so I've been having fewer tomatoes. Not completely avoiding them though.

Energy:  Same. 70/30 good days to bad days.

Missing: I need to briefly mention how much going out to dinner has been disappointing lately. Nice restaurants like to serve a lot of things that are not preggo friendly. It gets frustrating. When I picked the restaurant for my birthday dinner with my parents, hubs says "the menu looks 'meh'" and I said "you do know that pretty much every menu looks like that to me?". It ended up being really great though. Pleasant surprise all around. They even made me a blackberry mint lemonade since I couldn't order a cocktail. It was lovely. Maybe I'll try to recreate it on here.

Feeling: Groggy in the mornings - like all the way til practically lunch time.

Movement: He is getting so much stronger. I used to only feel him move a couple times a day. I knew he moved around a lot (little man flips up a storm every time I see him on an ultrasound), but I would only feel a little bit of that. On Monday night, hubs and I were making dinner and he just went nuts. Some of the strongest movements I've felt so far. It's a little scary to think he's only getting stronger because the first one was so strong and such a surprise I actually said "whoa!" aloud. It's my own fault for calling him after a Norse God.

Speaking of... look what my mom made my honey for his birthday...

GET IT?!

Wearing: I hate clothes. My mom says "Haha, just wait." but I feel like on some level I will hate clothes less as I am bigger because I won't just look like a chubby person in certain outfits.

Yoga: I can still do arm balances - well, some of them, the ones that don't require belly squishing. Also, my energy is pretty great in class. Apparently I'm not supposed to jump back into chuttarunga anymore since it puts extra strain on the wrists, but my wrists feel fine, so... I haven't decided how I feel about that restriction yet.

Can't Live Without:  Ice Water. I have a giant tumbler filled with ice water on my desk at work at all times. If it's not there, I feel crummy.
My body pillow. I don't have a snoogle or a boppy or anything. It's just a giant body pillow from BBB. Even on nights I don't sleep on my side, I like to have it there to lean on or throw my leg over. Plus, I'm a blanket gatherer, so now that its a bazillion degrees out at night and I don't want blankets, I can just hug the pillow and it stays pretty cool.

16 weeks to go, y'all!

yoga baby; 22 weeks

Week 22

One of my other pregnant friends said this best. The days are long but the weeks are fast. It rings so true.

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

Cravings: Meh, I was telling my girlfriend last week that my cravings are less cravings and more a complete lack of self control. Do not take me to the grocery store hungry. Bad things will happen.
Also, if there are french fries and lemonade around, I could pretty much have that 24/7. No craving necessary.

Aversions: Still not really having them. I started eating more veggies lately. Hooray me!

Energy:  Same. 70/30 good days to bad days.

Missing: Wine. I'm planning a redo of my 30th birthday for January or February in which much wine will be consumed by yours truly. Complications may ensue because of breastfeeding, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Also, Tracy (Shutterbean) talked about eggs over-easy in one of the last JTB podcasts and I maaaaay have gotten a little misty.

Feeling: Iced tea is my besty. For reals. I feel a headache looming. I drink some iced tea. I feel better. Best ever.
Still having the occasional round ligament pain. I'm so glad I know what that is now.

Movement: Thor (that's what we're calling him until we reveal his name) does barrel rolls, especially when I lay flat on my back - occasionally when I bend forward. The feeling makes me think of a large fish in a small tank swimming in circles and hitting the sides.
I also felt the first real kick a little over a week ago. I was stressing about the stone fruit recall (after having eaten an entire Costco pack of pluots by my lonesome), so I was looking to him for reassurance - just something to tell me he was OK and we didn't get Listeria, and he just kicked me right in the center of my palm - snare drum style. I said thank you and we went to sleep.
Since then he's been partying up a storm. I feel him for kick and punch and roll for a minute or so a few times a day.

Wearing: I got two more foldover skirts from Target. I heart them so much. I wear them every Friday in my weekly pictures (except week 20, sorry about that).
I used my birthday discount at Anthropologie to buy myself a really cute mid-length dress with a lot of room for my tummy. It's hi-low, which makes me a little nervous, but its long enough in the front that it won't be a problem.
I have had some success in the shirt department. I found a couple at Target and my mom realized she had a shirt she never wore in her closet that I would like, so I have a decent collection of long comfy shirts that cover (and will continue to cover) the stretchy tops of my fancy maternity pants.

Yoga: I am the queen of modifications. Wide stance forward folds. Make room for the belly. I'm still twisting and it totally works as long as I plan ahead and have my legs out of the way. Twisting chair looks ridiculous when I do it because my feet are so far apart. Not glamorous.

Gender: Pretty sure there's still a little dude in there. My mom was so funny when we told her he was a boy. She hasn't spent much time around little boys since her brothers (so, we're talking 50 years), so she was saying she has no idea what to do with boys. Silly momma.
I'll drop this category for my next update. We all know he's male.

18 weeks to go, y'all. This business is flying by!

yoga baby; 20 weeks

You'd probably see more of a difference between weeks 19 and 20 if I were in my standard Friday foldover skirt outfit, but I'm teaching this morning, and changing seemed like a pain. 

Week 20

This here is madness. How are we already at the halfway point???????

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

Cravings: I really wanted strawberries with whipped cream 4th of July weekend. Someone posted a picture of berries with cream and that was the end of that. I also kind of got annoyed with someone over the weekend talking about cravings. They were just saying things like "its what the baby wants" and "baby's in control"... and I was thinking to myself, "Me control. No baby control. Me." When I say things like that I am definitely joking around, so I got annoyed. Like I said two weeks ago, my cravings aren't desperate. I just decide something sounds really good, and usually, because I'm pregnant, I use that as an excuse to get it. Sorry for being mini ranty.

Aversions: I really did not want brussel sprouts last week. but I'd hardly call it an aversion. I am still trying to like salmon. It just... its so... bleh. I can stomach it. I'll eat it because it's good for *us, but I still don't like it.

Energy:  Great some days, barely there others. I would say I'm about 70/30 good days to bad days.

Missing: I told hubby I wanted a coffee cocktail served with a raw egg and unpasteurized milk last weekend. We all laughed. In all seriousness though, I could totally go for some tuna sashimi.

Feeling: Still getting headaches. I am taking magnesium every day now though. Still waiting for that to kick in. I think it's helping. Someone recommended I try adding a B supplement too, so help me hold on to less tension  and have more energy or something?  Which would in turn make my head hurt less? I'm not sure. I'm all for trying things though, since I can't take *most medicine. The midwife (as well as a friend of mine) told me that a little caffeine won't hurt. So I've been having some ice tea or iced coffee in the afternoons when I feel them coming on. So far so good.
I was having super fun sharp cramping pains the last week or so, which I've since learned is round ligament pain. I was a little worried for a minute there, but since it's totes norms. I have peace of mind.

Wearing: Maxi dresses and *gasp*... my first pair of maternity jeans. My mom and I went shopping and she treated me to a really nice pair of jeans that I should be able to wear for the duration - provided my butt and thighs stay roughly the same size. Plus, I figure, it's summer - how often am I really gonna want to wear jeans? I ended up with two pair of sexy stretchy topped shorts too. ;)
I am having SUCH hard time finding tops I like to go with them though. I don't like clingy - especially not when its 90 degrees and sticky outside - but add to that the furnace that is my belly and I really really don't like clingy. So, my shirts need to be flowy and relatively long. I got a Stitchfix this week, and I even adjusted my sizes in my profile to accommodate the whole giant front of my torso, and I told them I wanted long and flowy... and it was still a fail. I sent everything back except the necklace they sent, which I wasn't even that crazy about, but I didn't want to have wasted my styling fee.

Other: My belly button is a little stretched out. It looks a kinda weird - not abnormal or anything - just round, which its never been before. It used to be long and skinny, so now it's just a little stretched out. It's the most noticeable where my belly button piercing used to be.

Gender: They's a HE! We're having a baby boy!

You may have already seen on facebook or instagram. Were you right?