This pregnancy has flown by with the exception of the last few weeks. If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen some of the excitement this little guy has given us lately, but more on that later. I just want to again say thank you to everyone who prayed when we were in our few weeks of waiting anxiously for better news. You never know how fiercely you will protect your own baby until you have to, and every single person who reached out made us feel more at peace. Since our little guy is due any day, I figured I better recap this quick so I can have it for my memories. If you also enjoy reading it, thanks for joining my journey xo
Symptoms
For most of the second and third trimester, I really loved being pregnant. My nausea slightly returned in the third trimester, but was manageable. I was able to continue with my exercise routine and personal training clients up until the last two weeks, for which I was so thankful! And, I had in the back of my head that this may be the last time I am ever pregnant which allowed me to soak in each day a bit more. However, the last two weeks have passed SO slowly. Gigi came 2 weeks early and I was starting to dilate at 34 weeks, so thought for sure he would be early. Obviously, each baby has a mind of their own since he still has not arrived and we are almost at 40 weeks! Maybe this blog post will put me in labor :)
Nutrition
Thank God I was feeling better, so unlike my limited diet of simple carbs in the first trimester, I ate like I normally do.. lots of fruits, veggies, nuts and whole grains with a little bit of seafood, meat and dairy. The only food I really craved was cheese and by the third trimester, I could only handle little meals throughout the day as my belly felt SO full. I enjoyed treats here and there, but tried to fuel my body with nutrient dense choices as I knew I felt better when I did so!
Workouts
With Gigi, I developed SPD, which created a lot of discomfort during my third trimester and limited my cardio to walking as running and cycling became too painful. During this pregnancy, I only dealt with pain for about a week, so I was able to continue spinning, LISS on the elliptical and incline walking for my whole pregnancy. This was my typical workout schedule during the second and third trimester:
3-4 30 to 45 minute cardio sessions either on the spin bike or elliptical, where I tried to really get my heart rate up and work on my endurance for labor!
2 strength training sessions each week that I created to be pregnancy friendly, but also help maintain muscle tone and reduce pain associated with a growing belly
My rest days consisted of long walks or prenatal yoga. Movement helps me to feel better mentally and physically, so I tried to move almost every day
34 Week Scan
As I mentioned above, we had a little scare with our baby boy during the third trimester. It came as a bit of surprise as I was feeling well, and so far all of his tests have been normal. Our doctor offered us an extra ultrasound at 34 weeks to "check his size," but really for us to get a better 3D picture of him to have as a keepsake. Since my entire pregnancy was during COVID, my husband wasn't able to come to the appointments, but he was able to come to this ultrasound. We were both so excited to listen to his heartbeat together and see his little squishy face on the screen.
The ultrasound technician started moving around his body to check his size. She went over his leg length, looked at his little toes, but then studied his heart for quite some time. Like, just long enough that I knew it was atypical. I asked her what she was looking for and she just said that she wanted to check something with the doctors. She proceeded to get an adorable shot of his little button nose and chubby cheeks, and I went to meet with my doctor while Nick left to wait in the car.
Our Doctor came in to chat with me, and said they did something on the ultrasound that lead them to a concern with his heart. She made us an appointment with a pediatric cardiologist to do some further testing. I went to the car, told Nick and just cried at the thought of anything being seriously wrong with my baby.
The next few weeks we made multiple visits to the Pediatric Cardiologist. He was a gentle man, who comforted me through the tears that came at each visit. We did our best to stay positive, and trusted that God had this all figured out already. After weeks of testing, and very limited answers, the final test led them to believe he had a healthy little heart overall! I couldn't have been more thankful.
We still have to take him for further testing once he arrives, but are focused on enjoying the rest of the pregnancy, and his birth. Someone reached out to me while all of this was happening and said she went through something similar with her last pregnancy. She mentioned feeling angry as she felt all of the testing and constant "what if" conversations with the doctors stole the joy from the pregnancy. I couldn't have agreed more. Suddenly, I was terrified for him to leave my body as I felt my belly was his only safe place. I longed for a "normal" test result so I could be at peace that my little boy was going to enter this world safely. But in a way it was a blessing in disguise to remind me how complex growing a human truly is, and how the Lord is the only one who truly has control.
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God." -Phillippians 4:6
Now, I continue to wait, not so patiently on his arrival, and you bet I’m doing all the wives tales to put me into labor. I cannot wait to hold you sweet boy, whoever you may be.
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