6 months...

I know everyone says it, but I can't believe how fast pregnancy goes by.  Ten months sounds so long, and it is long...but it still goes by lightning fast.  I've been pregnant since January.  Well, December technically, but I didn't know till January.  So yeah, I've put in the time.  I have roughly 3 months to go.  Maybe 3.5 if in true fashion of a first child, it shows up late. 

 

According to my handy iPhone app, my fetus is the size of a hot house cucumber- 14 inches?  And about 2 lbs.  So crazy to think something that size is inside of me now.  I regularly forget that I'm pregnant and have this big round belly in front of me.  Then I see myself in the mirror or in a store window, and remember.  Or I feel some little kick or punch and I remember.  All in all, I think it's a pretty good sign to have moments where I don't feel pregnant.  Like I've mentioned before, I feel really good.  Sometimes I feel guilty for feeling so good because I know that is not the experience of every woman.  I know I still have time for things to take a drastic turn, and I could be faced with a few months of discomfort, but for now, I am focused on enjoying myself!

 

I insist on making it to as many of my noon time CrossFit classes as possible.  I'm averaging 3 times a week instead of my usual 4 days, mostly due to increased work duties, not because of pregnancy.  The workouts I feel the best after are the ones where we lift heavy weights and work up a sweat versus what people might consider traditional cardio such as running or the elliptical.  I've noticed that if I lift heavy enough weights fast enough, it IS cardio!  Just last week, I even hit a PR that I was not meaning to...strict press.  I was able to get 95# up overhead without any help from my legs.  My previous PR was 85# I think.  I like to think I had 2 extra arms helping me out.  However, I severely decrease my working weight on things like deadlifts, cleans, snatches, OH squats, and thrusters.  On the weekends, I've been walking a lot.  I just feel so much better when I move.  I know what I'm doing probably isn't the most conventional, but I feel like I'm listening to my body, and not pushing too hard while still holding onto some of my pre-pregnancy abilities.  I think the fact that I had been crossfitting for quite awhile before becoming pregnant helps immensely with knowing what I'm capable of, and when to back off a little. 

 

Heartburn occasionally rears its ugly head at 2am, but usually after I stand up, use the rest room and prop my head up with another pillow, I can return to sleep with no issues.  My fabulous sister got me a body pillow for my birthday, and wow, that thing is a pregnant woman's dream.  It has helped so much with the hip/pelvic pain I was experiencing during sleeping and rolling over.  There are also like 1,000 ways to contort the pillow so I see it has a future in my life post-pregnancy too.  On the eating front,  I can't seem to get enough fruit.  As all my favorite things come into season- nectarines, cherries, strawberries, melons...all I want is fruit, fruit, fruit.  Chocolate is not appealing to me (very weird) but fruit...I think I had 3 bowls of melon today and easily could have had 3 more. 

 

Food- food is the most amazing thing, especially after a workout.  Food tastes so good.  Especially things like mexican spiced chicken breasts (cumin and chili powder) on a salad with guacamole.  Or hunks of meat and vegetables cooked in the crockpot.  Or a plain burger patty.  Even the simplest things taste like they have been sent from heaven. I notice that I get full a lot faster, probably due to this thing pushing up on all my organs and stuff, so I really have to be careful to slowly enjoy what I'm eating and wait for those first cues that I've had enough.  Digestion is slower, and I'm just more comfortable when I have less food in my stomach at a time.  Pro-biotics have been a must, and I've been taking one with every meal rather than just one a day. 

 

When I started telling people I was pregnant, I was most often told about the physical changes that take place.  Perhaps people talk about those most because they are the most obvious.  However, I have been so suprised at all the mental work that goes on as well.   First, when I  discovered I was carrying a life, I wanted to know everything immediately.  I read, googled, talked to moms, trying to get everything figured out so I could be the bestest mom ever.  Then, as time went on, I realized there are more questions than answers, and everyone has a different opinion on what is best.  I relaxed a bit and began to come to grips with the unknown.  Next the drive to protect something that Ive never seen kicked in (literally, once it started kicking) and I panic if there isn't any movement for what seems like a long time.  Usually movement is felt shortly thereafter, but this cycle repeats itself several times throughout the day and night.  I imagine that this protective instinct is getting fostered during pregnancy, and will only get more intense after the baby arrives.  Currently, I'm at peace.  I've had 6 months to realize that I can not predict what may or may not happen in pregnancy or child rearing.  I must just take everything as it comes, and react appropriately for each situation.  I immediately felt so relaxed once I took the pressure off myself to LEARN everything and KNOW everything.  I've completely accepted that I do not know what is ahead of me, but whatever it is, it will be exactly what I need at the right time.