Week 28 – Round 3

Size of Baby (per “What To Expect”) – Size of a cucumber. Approximately 2.5 pounds.

Weight Gain – 19 pounds.  I can legitimately tell when the baby goes through a growth spurt.  A few things happen in no order:  her movements slow down, I eat more, and I am more tired.  By the time my energy level resumes, my belly is bigger and my weight has gone up.  Do a happy dance!

Movement – After a few days of less movement, things picked up drastically over the weekend.  Rolls rather than punches.  Even the girls can feel the baby move at this point. They often ask to touch my belly to feel the baby move.  Too bad I can’t get her to do it on command.

Sleep – I don’t want to speak too soon, but I think I have finally beat my sinus infection.  After a whopping TEN days on an antibiotic, the pain in my face has subsided enough that I am no longer taking Tylenol for relief.  Hence, this has made sleeping much easier over the past week.

What I miss –  Gosh, not much!  I’m savoring the last few weeks of my last pregnancy.

Best Moments this Week – Memorial Day festivities.  I am so thankful for those who sacrificed their lives to protect the incredible country that I live in.  While we didn’t have any big plans for the weekend, we did end up staying busy each day.

We had been to a crawfish boil before, but we had never been to a shrimp boil.  Saturday evening we joined some of my favorite Flywheel riders for our first shrimp boil.  We were unprepared for how incredible the food would taste.  My husband ended up eating more than his fair share of the delicious main course while the girls wore themselves out jumping up and down in the bouncy house.  We left with full hearts and full bellies before crashing once we got home.

Memorial Day weekend is a huge travel weekend for many of our Charlotte friends.  Since we had gone on our own vacation the week before, we felt no pressure to get out of dodge.  That said, after Flywheel and a family breakfast Sunday morning, we hit the pool for our first swim session of the summer season.

It used to be a process to get the girls to stay at the pool for an hour before they were overheated and ready to go home.  That phase has passed.  We can now spend at least 2-3 hours at the pool before I have to suggest we take a break.  Our youngest is the water bug.  She has caught on to using her legs and arms to maneuver around the pool and has no fear.  Let’s just say you have to keep an eye on her!

After two days of serious outdoor activities, we were sure the girls might hit the wall and take a nap for us on Monday.  Nope.  We had tickets to the Memorial Day Charlotte Knights minor league baseball game from a prior game rain cancellation that we opted to use.   Start time was 2:05PM.  We had tickets in a section that was situated in the scorching sun.  While an usher in a shaded section helped someone to their seats, we took the initiative to sneak into some seats that were in that section.

The biggest highlights of the two and half innings that we made it through?  The team store (we bought a girl’s soft bat and ball), Dippin Dots in the team replica hat and Homer the mascot.  After an hour and a half, we trekked back to the car with tomato faces.  It’s the effort that counts.  They enjoyed it while it lasted.

Looking forward to –  SUMMER! School is officially out.  We celebrated on the last day with the rest of my daughter’s classmates toasting to ice cream sandwiches on the playground.  I have taken the initiative to sign the girls up for some activities that they can participate in together this summer (as I anticipate I will experience some fatigue as the third trimester sets in).  

Gosh, ever since we got back from the beach my girls seem to have reached a new level of friendship.  The conversations that they have together are literally priceless.  The pictures don’t do justice how much they love (and hate) each other at times!

Cravings – Any and all food.  As I said before, any time the baby is growing I feel my appetite increase.  I feel like I was hungry all day every day this week.  With decreasing space for my stomach, I also walk a fine line of what is enough and what is too much.

Symptoms – Pregnancy literally goes to my head.  In ALL of my pregnancies, I have experienced significant symptoms in and around my face.  The most common?  Pregnancy congestion and sinus issues.  Next up?  Gingivitis and teeth pain.  The only time I ever use a Netti pot or feel the need to constantly be cleaning my teeth is when I am pregnant.

Workouts – After an incredible week at the beach (and some much needed time off), I was back on my full group and personal training schedule this week.  On the days that I feel the most tired, forcing myself to get a workout in tends to make me feel better.  Routine and consistency are everything to me.

• Monday – I taught my regular 6:30 AM Flywheel class.
• Tuesday – See my garage strength workout below.  Later in the afternoon, I taught my regular 3:30 PM Flywheel class.
  • Warm up (2 Rounds)
    • Row 2 minutes
    • Curtsy Lunge with Band Extension x 15 each side
    • Dead hang 45 seconds
    • Miniband around thighs walk sideways 10 steps, 10 front raises each direction x 3 rounds
    • Deadlift x 15
  • Strength Circuit (3 Rounds)
    • KB Swing to OH Press x 10 each side
    • Pull up x 10
    • TRX Squat x 25
    • Pushup to Tricep Dip pass through x 10 each
• Wednesday – EASY DAY!  Run/walk through neighborhood for 30 minutes (I accumulated approximately 2.5 miles).  At a training session with my group later that evening, I also got some hang time in at the bouldering wall.  Here is great drill to try for grip strength:  Hang 10 seconds, 1 Pull Up.  Do that as many times as you can before dropping.  Move your hands if you can!

• Thursday – Most of my run group was out of town or busy (except for my girl Cara!).  I reassured her that it would be okay for her to push pace ahead of me, but she insisted on staying with me as long as I was actually running.  Thank you for that.  I made it about halfway before I started walking on the recoveries.
  • 800m warmup jog
    • 6 Rounds (2:00 on, 1:00 off, 1:00 on, :30 off, :30 on, :30 off)
  • 800m cool down

I accumulated approximately 4 miles before heading home to get my kids up and moving.  We spent the morning at Chuck E Cheese before I headed to Flywheel to teach my 3:30 PM class.

• Friday – Sleep in.  Check.  With both kids out of school, I did my workout in the garage at lunch as my oldest ran around me practicing her own exercises. See strength work below:
  • Warm up (2 Rounds)
    • Jump Rope 2 minutes
    • Turkish Get Up x 5 each side
    • 15 Scapular Push Ups
    • 15 TRX Lunges each leg
  • 11’s workout
    • Perform 10 Pull ups, 1 Pushup
    • Next 9 Pull ups, 2 Pushups
    • Etc., until you reach 1 Pullup, 10 Pushups
  • Basic Strength Work (3 Rounds)
    • 15 KB Swings
    • 15 KB Overhead Press each side
    • 15 Side Raises KB
    • 15 Single Leg Squat TRX each

• Saturday – 30 minute WALK around the block!  Two miles is all I had time for.
• Sunday – Double time baby!  I taught the 7:30/8:30AM Flywheel class.  I have to admit this will be the last time that I teach back to back Flywheel classes with no break until the baby is born.  Mama needs time to hydrate and rest before jumping back on for round two!

Week 27 – Round 3

Size of Baby (per “What To Expect”) – Size of an eggplant. Approximately two and a quarter pounds.

Weight Gain – 18 pounds.  Despite taking several days off of exercise and over indulging at times over vacation, my weight stayed steady.  My guess is that I offset lost muscle volume with weight gain in other areas.  We will see once I start strength work again this week.

Movement – The baby is definitely kicking.  I came back from vacation with a serious sinus infection.  I’m talking severe pain on the left side of my face.  While the pain didn’t seem to affect our vacation, I must have exerted a lot of energy pushing through the discomfort.  I was completely exhausted by the time we pulled into the driveway on Saturday. I slept close to 13 hours that night.  What does this have to do with movement? My low activity level over the weekend allowed me to really feel how much the baby is moving.

Sleep – With the pain on the side of my face, sleeping has been an issue.  Thankfully, it has subsided some at night making sleep a little easier.

What I miss – Not being on medicine?  Not feeling pain in my face?  Completely unrelated to pregnancy.  I have to say it was hard to miss anything this week.  We had such an incredible trip with the family.

Best Moments this Week – As I mentioned above, vacation could not have gone better.  I even told my husband this trip ranked as one of our best ever (maybe even better than some of the individual trips that we have taken alone).  The amount of unconditional love that these kids share for each other and their family is so warming.

We rented a home at Wild Dunes on Isle of Palms in South Carolina for 5 days, 4 nights.  While we knew the home would be somewhat dated, we were unprepared for how outdated it actually ended up being.  Upon pulling up to the house, we found the garage door was so rusted out that you couldn’t even manually open or shut it.  I had my husband do a walkthrough prior to calling the rental office to let them know what damages were already present at the home before we arrived.  We opted to stay at the home either way due to location and the anticipation that the kids had upon pulling up out front.

While the kids loved the “holiday house” (my oldest daughter called it this all week because Peppa Pig calls her vacation, holiday), we vowed to spend as much time outside of the house as we could.  That said, our typical routine was to wake up, hit the beach, eat lunch at the house, finish the afternoon at the pool and head to dinner.

Last year, we had a hard time getting the kids to spend an hour and a half on the beach.  This year, we were able to squeeze in close to three hours before they were ready to call it a morning.  That’s right.  We were on the beach most days by 9 AM and breaking down the tent around noon.  The key to staying busy?  Lots of toys, snacks and a beach tent that they could break in.

The pool was a much easier option to prepare for.  We were within walking distance to the main boardwalk pool.  The girls were even able to walk themselves (swimmies and all).  After about an hour in the pool, both girls picked up on how to use the swimmies to maneuver their way around.

We often caught our youngest (the social butterfly), swimming away from the family to join other groups in the pool.  Absolutely hysterical.

On Friday, we took a break from the beach to head to the Children’s Museum in Downtown Charleston.  This is such a great experience.  The kids have mock playrooms and a ton of hands on activities, including: a pirate ship, water play room and grocery store among many other things.

We parked such that we could take a stroll through the market and pick up a Peace Pie before we got back in the car and headed back over the bridge to Wild Dunes.

Looking forward to – Is it too early to say:  OUR NEXT BEACH TRIP.  November 2017!

Cravings – I’m going to use this section to talk food and restaurants that we visited while on vacation.  NOTE – all of these restaurants are kid friendly to toddlers.  We were able to take both girls to all meals with no technology or toys.  The atmosphere was entertaining and the food came out quick enough that they did not get bored.

• Acme Low Country Kitchen – Located on Isle of Palms, we arrived shortly after 5PM. Getting to dinner early is imperative to avoid long lines and waiting.  My youngest daughter fell asleep at the table while my oldest enjoyed saltines and talking to us about her day.   Hands down the best meal of our trip. I ordered the grouper special, over top mashed potatoes and fresh vegetables.  
• Taco Boy – Again, we arrived shortly after 5PM.  My kids love Mexican food – rice, guacamole and quesadillas.  We also knew we could get something quick that we could enjoy.  This was one of my personal favorite casual restaurants when I worked in Charleston several months of the year. I ordered a veggie rice bowl with a side of grilled chicken.
  

  

  

   

• Morgan Creek Grill – Located a few miles from Wild Dunes, this restaurant sits perfectly on the intercostal waterway and hosts live music every Thursday – Sunday.  We chose to go on a Thursday, again arriving early and when we knew music would be playing.  To avoid overindulging in mercury for the week, I picked a lower mercury seafood for dinner.  Crab cakes with a side of grits and collard greens.  Let me note, my oldest daughter had grits for almost every meal.  Her favorite.

   

   

  We enjoyed music outside following dinner.  While we relaxed, the girls enjoyed dancing and playing in the sand.

• Sea Biscuit Cafe – Breakfast.  Our best breakfast of the week.  I kept it simple with a veggie egg white omelette, some hash browns and a biscuit.  GET THERE EARLY.  While the line moves pretty quick, it gets long FAST.

Symptoms – Feeling like I got punched in the left side of my face.  That’s from the sinus infection though.

Workouts – I started the week strong before taking plenty of rest and relaxation time off the rest of the week.  Granted we were on our feet a decent amount of time while on vacation.

• Monday – I taught my regularly scheduled 6:30 AM class.
• Tuesday – I did a strength workout in the garage before hitting the road for our beach trip.
• Wednesday – Beach day 1 – I did no planned exercise routine.  That said, we walked over 5 miles between moving on the beach and going to the pool.
• Thursday – In an effort to feel like I did something, I spent some time during lunch doing a super low intensity Tracey Anderson Pregnancy DVD in the house.   It was more so stretching than anything.  Done in 30 minutes.
•  Friday – Okay, okay, I can only take off so many days now.  I woke up and went for a 30 minute walk/run on Friday.  I caught the most incredible sunrise. Run 10 minutes, jog 5 minutes.  Repeat.

• Saturday – I tried to survive the significant pain that I was experiencing in my face.  Hence, I did not workout.
• Sunday – I rode my bike around the block twice.  Once with each girl.  I sat on the couch ALOT.

Week 26 – Round 3

Size of Baby (per “What To Expect”) – Size of a turnip? If anyone eats those? Approximately 2 pounds.

Weight Gain – I have been craving not so good for me foods.  French fries.  Burgers.    Salt.  More salt.  See picture below.  At least I have been compensating it with a decent amount of fluid.  I have gained 18 pounds and I eat a lot.  My level of activity has been significantly higher with this child due to several factors, mostly attributed to: being a mom of two and expanding my fitness services.

Movement – FINALLY movement has really picked up.  I have to say, I was getting a little worried that she wasn’t moving all day like I remember the other two.  Again, I think with my level of activity, I don’t pay attention as much as I used to when I would sit at my desk job all day.  She’s there and boy is she kicking!

Sleep – Well, all of that talk that I was not having any symptoms came back to haunt me. The cold that I mentioned in my last post has continued to linger.  I woke up Saturday with a stuffy right ear that I couldn’t hear out of.  I immediately packed up the girls (while my husband was at his workout group) and went to urgent care.  Low and behold, I had an ear infection and sinus infection.  I felt like someone punched me in the side of the face.  The doctor prescribed me a Z-pack in which I waited to pick up because I HATE taking medicine while I am pregnant.  After tossing and turning from tooth pain (as a result of my sinus infection), I was convinced to start the antibiotic. Insert sad face.

I know someone who isn’t having a problem sleeping.

What I miss – I don’t want to wish away this pregnancy because I am essentially wishing away weeks of my two oldest daughters childhood, but I truly miss not worrying about everything I eat or drink.  Recent thoughts, “I wonder if the woman at Dunkin Donuts accidentally gave me a caffeinated coffee, not decaf?”, “Does that fish have mercury, I can’t remember? Search Google”, and “if I can have a 4 ounce glass of wine, could I have a craft beer?”  I stuck to scallops and a wine “spritzer” at a family dinner at Cafe Monte.

 Best Moments this Week – MOTHER’S DAY! Happy Mother’s Day to all my moms out there.  This was a busy weekend for us socially.  Very rarely do we go out both Friday and Saturday night.  My grandparents (the girl’s great grandparents) came to Charlotte to visit with my sister.

Four generations of women.  Three generations of moms.  That’s a pretty special moment.  The girls call my grandma “Gigi”, my mom “mimi” and my grandpa “Grandpapa”.  We celebrated Mother’s Day on Sunday, however, the girls shared their very own special gifts with me from school all week.

We topped off a great weekend by checking out Two Scoops Creamery in the Plaza Midwood neighborhood.  I don’t mind if I do.

Looking forward to – As my husband and daughter’s would yell as they fist pumped their arms in the air, “BEACH! BEACH! BEACH!”  Last vacation before baby number three arrives is closing in.  That means summer and some good quality time with my sweet girls.

Cravings – See weight gain above.  Salt.  More salt. Beer.  Just a few more weeks!

Symptoms – Belly bumping and a bad head cold.  That’s that!

Workouts – I actually got some good solid runs and strength workouts in this week.  Given how I have been feeling, I have to say I was impressed with myself.  At this point in my last pregnancy I was done running (for several reasons).  I managed to pull off over 10 miles this week (albeit slow).  Maybe I was motivated by these incredible Flywheel moms to be who are completely rocking their first pregnancies.

• Monday – I taught my regularly scheduled 6:30 AM Flywheel class.
• Tuesday – Strength work in the garage!  Two to three solid strength days a week is enough to leave me feeling confident and on track to be ready to work post baby.
• Wednesday – 30 minute easy run with some strength work.  I also was able to manage some legless bouldering at Inner Peaks that night with my OCR training group.

• Thursday – I circled back with my run group for an early morning speed session.  I don’t really have “speed” anymore, so I just try to keep moving.  I got dropped in a one mile warm up.  They waited on me to start the rest of the workout.
  • 5 minutes hard, 2 minutes jog, 30 seconds rest (repeat x 4)

I ran three rounds at which point I found myself conveniently in front of my house      and called it a day. I still managed to squeeze in 3.5 total miles.  I also headed to Flywheel that afternoon to teach my 3:30PM class.

• Friday – Strength work in the garage!
• Saturday – I can’t even believe how slow I ran, but I got four miles in.  I only say this because my back typically begins to hurt the slower I run.  It is just more comfortable to walk.

• Sunday – I taught a double at Flywheel on Mother’s Day (7:30/8:30AM).  I will admit that I was exhausted after a long weekend of social events and 90 minutes on the bike.  I actually fell asleep sitting up in my mom’s living room chair post brunch.

Week 25 – Round 3

Size of Baby (per “What To Expect”) – Size of an eggplant (approximately 1.5-1.75 pounds)

Weight Gain – 17 pounds.  Bump keeps growing and growing.  It’s hard to believe we are already this far along!

Movement – A lot more movement these days.  The movement has started to grow from my lower abdomen up my belly and above my belly button.  I can certainly tell when she stretches out.

Sleep – I got SICK this week.  Just a common cold, accompanied by a lot of coughing and phlegm.  The cough will keep me up at night if I don’t prop my pillows up on top of each other.  I actually pulled back significantly from exercise this week and slept with a humidifier on for one night.  That said, at this point in my pregnancy, I have been able to relieve some of these symptoms with Sudafed, cough drops and nasal spray.

Best Moments this Week – One word.  STAYCATION.  My husband and I love some alone time, but we also love some time with our two girls.  That said, while an extended “baby moon” would have been nice, we spent a night out in Charlotte and opted to take the girls on a beach trip before baby number three gets here.

It only takes a little bit of time together here and there to make a big difference.  We headed uptown for some relaxing time at the Ritz Carlton pool before heading out for appetizers and drinks (mine a “mocktail”) at Sea Level.  Gotta love hanging at the bar while watching the Kentucky Derby.  We headed out post horse race and enjoyed dinner at BLT.

How had I never been here?  Have you seen the size of the popover dinner rolls they bring you BEFORE dinner even starts?  Big mama was hungry.  Unfortunately, I fill up very fast given the small amount of space my stomach has left in my midsection.  I couldn’t even eat the whole thing before my steak came out.  I highly recommend the restaurant for food and service, but I caution you in that you may be sitting within eighteen inches of the table beside you on both sides (which can be awkward if another restaurant patron wants to listen to your conversation – as was the case in our situation).

We were in bed by ten and up by eight.  Even staycation didn’t slow us down.  It is easier to relax knowing the girls are in good hands.  My parents made all the stops Saturday afternoon/evening and even Sunday morning.  The girls absolutely loved the Disney Pixar show at the Belk Theater.

Looking forward to – I mentioned our upcoming beach trip with the girls, but before we get there, my husband and I will be celebrating our five year anniversary on Friday.  It’s hard to believe it has only been five years.  We have certainly been busy.  I found out I was pregnant with my first child a little less than eight months after we got married.  It’s easy to see how we could already be expecting our third.

That said, I have been trying to spend some quality time with my youngest daughter in the days leading up to summer vacation and our third child arriving.  Both my husband and I have worked hard to maintain separate relationships with both girls (i.e. individual time in which their real personality can shine without the other dictating).  It’s certainly a special time.  They still describe us as “awesome”, “fun” and “the best”.

Cravings – I’m loving some good old fashioned hearty meals.  In other words, steak, potatoes, beef broth soup and veggies.  I could still do without the sweets.  I met my husband uptown this week for lunch and enjoyed a spicy soup and noodle combo.

Symptoms – Congestion, but I’m sick.  Did I mention my belly has gotten bigger?

Workouts – Since I was sick, I did significantly pull back this week.  Listening to my body is key to making sure baby stays happy and healthy (especially at this point).

• Monday – I taught my regularly scheduled 6:30 AM Flywheel class.
• Tuesday – I did a short strength workout in the garage before teaching my standard 3:30 PM Flywheel class.
• Wednesday – what started as a planned 30 minute run turned into a 30 minute walk.  After running for 10 minutes, I started to feel cramping and called it.  It was a beautiful day.  I had purposely parked my car near a nail salon so when I was finished I could get some “me” time in.  I don’t do the whole nail routine often, but I did both a pedicure and manicure post walk.
• Thursday – whatever cold was developing came on full force Wednesday evening.  I dropped out of my usual run group workout to get some much needed rest to be able to teach my 3:30 PM Flywheel class.
• Friday – I slept in AGAIN!  Going on three days straight.  A huge rainstorm made a mess of our garage.  While I was moving some things around with my youngest daughter, I snuck in a 38 minute workout.  I got ALOT done with her in the garage and in a short amount of time!  I also maxed out at 8 pull ups in a row.
  • 2 Rounds
    • Jog in place 2 minutes
    • SKLZ single arm roll out x 10 each
    • PVC single leg hip hinge with rotation outwards x 10 each
    • Sandbag Deadlift x 15
  • 3 Rounds
    • Static Squat with Should Mobility x 10 each side
    • Pull ups x 10
    • Goblet Squat x 15
  • 3 Rounds
    • Side crunch on Bosu x 15 each
    • Single Leg Squat with TRX x 10 each
    • Squat Thrust x 15
• Saturday – After communicating with my doctor Friday night about what over the counter medications I could take, I started to feel a change towards the better by Saturday.  I was invited to the Lululemon Southpark store to test out their newest sports bra – the Enlite Bra.  I warned them in advance that I was pregnant.  They were all game to still have me visit the store.

I joined several other fitness personalities in Charlotte that I had never met before.  This is why I am glad I decided to go.  Not only did I buy into the bra, but I connected with some absolutely fantastic women.  We bonded over a fitting, a 5k run and some breakfast.  Let’s be serious though, the bra is $98.  I get it.  Mouth drop.  Ladies,  everything at Lululemon is wearable and returnable.  If you are interested, put it on, run in it and see what you think.  I’m sold.  Biggest thing for me was not feeling trapped in the straps.  No chaffing.  No need to take it off immediately post run.

• Sunday – I swapped my early Sunday class to teach the 2:45 PM class that afternoon.