It’s funny to look back and see I did updates almost weekly when I was pregnant with Tommy, my first child. I did them more frequently with Connor, my second than I currently am doing but I must admit, I google them for reference all the time this pregnancy.
How much weight did I gain? What was I craving? How was I feeling? I do this with places we’ve visited, too. I’ll google “Sarah Fit Rome” to remember the name of a restaurant to give it as a recommendation… those days are long gone but you get the idea. A blog is a very handy public personal journal when you have a terrible memory!
So let’s get to the quick update, shall we???
Weight Gained
This is a tricky one. I’ll share that I currently weigh around 157 lbs at 25 weeks pregnant with my third kiddo aka just shy of 20 lbs to date.
I am not positive what my starting weight was since we didn’t have a scale, we were on lock down essentially for the month before I got pregnant and then I didn’t get weighed until I was 9 weeks and the scale said 138 lbs which I was convinced was light but close to my Tommy preconception starting weight! Regardless, this is more than I have weighed at 25 weeks during my previous two pregnancies.
I credit this to not living in the city (less walking), cravings all the sweet treats and it being a girl. Am I already blaming my daughter for things out of her control!? Kidding. I have heard people tend to gain more with girls but who knows! I hated sweets with both boys and was walking 7K steps daily compared to like 3-4K these days so I’m not surprised.
My total weight gain with the boys was right at 30 lbs but for this lady, my goal is 35 lbs.
How are you feeling?
This is everyone’s favorite questions. It’s sort of like the “Hi! How are you?” when you’re expecting. Does the person on the other end really care how I’m feeling? Is it just the polite thing to say? Are they curious because they were miserable?
I’m feeling great, just tired! I honestly forget I’m pregnant most of the time. I am turning the corner though where I could always go for a nap even 20 minutes after waking up. I do 1 Nespresso pod a day usually which is around 80-100 mg of caffeine I think. Some day’s I do two and reserve one for the afternoon.
I have a little bit of heart burn and sure I’ll never turn down a foot rub. Sleep is starting to get uncomfortable. I’m waking up to pee at least once and wake up often with anxiety (see below for more on that).
Exercise: What I’m avoiding
I’m always active during my pregnancies since they have been complication free thus far. Currently I’m doing the FASTer Way To Fat Loss workouts 3-4 times a week and the Peloton 2 times a week usually. I do HIIT workouts on Monday and Tuesdays, full body strength on Wednesday, upper body on Thursday and legs on Saturday!
I am avoiding planks, pushups, burpees, any crunches and most plyometric movements in a plank position.
On the Peloton, I have lifted the handle bars and try to keep my effort level max at an 8 vs a 10 pre-pregnancy. This is hard to do with a leader board because I’m so competitive. I’ve also added in some bike bootcamp classes that I’ve been enjoying! Cody, Robin and Jess Sims have all surprised me in a good way. If there’s a move I can’t do, like a renegade row, I’ll do a bird dog row instead. See my Instagram TV series for prenatal modifications for more details.
CRAVINGS!!!
I don’t have a ton of cravings but I really need to go to Blackbird Donuts soon. I love all things sweet but I’m not a crazy pregnant person driving to the grocery store at 8 pm. I’ve been eating a lot of dates because I’m trying not to eat all the Halloween candy before October 31st.
I’m more turned off by things like red sauce pasta dishes, teriyaki steak tips and Beyond Burger meat. Regular burger meat is fine, oddly. We’ve been having old school tacos a lot lately. They have been hitting the spot!
With the boys, I lived for eggplant parmesan and Caesar salad but this pregnancy, I could care less about either of those two. With Tommy, I was repulsed by sweet potatoes and salmon. This time around, I am happy to eat any fish and all veggies! The more veggies the better!!! I think my food cravings are similar to what they were with Connor to be honest.
Doctor’s Appointments
This has been a big shift since pregnancy #2 due to the pandemic but my next appointment is at the end of the month and I will go from not seeing a doctor for 10 weeks to seeing a doctor every 2 weeks! Every other appointment during my 1st and 2nd trimester were virtual so I have only been to the hospital three times since getting pregnant essentially (I’m 6 months pregnant). I’ve had two other virtual appointments.
Prenatal Anxiety
This has caused me some added anxiety on top of the typical prenatal anxiety I usually experience.
October is Pregnancy & Infant Loss Awareness Month. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan declared October as a month to recognize the unique grief of bereaved parents in an effort to demonstrate support to the many families who have suffered such a tragic loss. One in four women will lose a baby during pregnancy, delivery or infancy.
Reading the testimonials from women who have experienced these losses on Instagram and Facebook have given me pause for sharing the joys of my pregnancy, as they should. I do feel guilt in potentially causing any emotional distress of women mourning the loss of a child unexpectedly on social media.
I want to acknowledge the pain and suffering parents endure and help normalize talking about such losses but I have to admit that these stories have triggered serious anxiety for me, especially being pregnant in the middle of a global pandemic.
There is a thread on the Peloton Fan Page on Facebook with women sharing their stories about loss and it’s so, so sad. I read them, I wanted to hear them but instantly my head began spinning with all the possible negative what ifs over the next 15 weeks.
I am very interested in being induced at 39 weeks to avoid anything potentially going wrong the final 2 weeks of pregnancy (I was induced at 41 weeks with both boys at 9 lbs) but am nervous my doctor is not going to listen to my request. It’s almost like I’m holding myself back from believing I’ll have a healthy baby girl come January. I’m nervous of setting myself up for heartbreak.
I’m sharing this in case someone else is reading this and expecting and feels the same way. Sometimes it feels better to get this stuff down on “paper” but other times it just feels like I’m complaining. I’m not asking parents not to share their stories, share away!
I want to know your story but prenatal anxiety is something I’ve always dealt with and it’s no different this pregnancy. Instead of fearing ISIS or giving birth on the side of the highway in Cape Cod summer traffic, I’m now fearing Covid-19 and hate groups gaining power in our country among other things.
Baby’s Movement
Baby girl is starting to move around a bunch. She isn’t causing me much discomfort yet and I love feeling the movement, especially since I haven’t heard a heart beat since late August. My placenta is in front so I don’t feel as much movement as someone whose placenta is in the back.
Shopping
I started buying clothes… not too much but I have literally nothing for the lady to wear except gross boy hand me downs. Trying not to buy too much though as she’ll be living in pjs the first few months quarantined at home with us.
