HappyBabyJumpingTimes

Our little spaz loves his bouncy seat, a gift from his "aunties" back in Milwaukee.  We're training Weston to capitalize on his nearly off-the-charts height percentile by working on his vertical jump, complete with a little Adidas warm up outfit from Grandma.  Doesn't he look like Ari and Uzi from The Royal Tenenbaums?

Body After Baby

First of all, thanks to everyone that's ever said to me in the past seven weeks, "You look great!  You don't even look like you've had a baby!"  It's the nicest thing that can be said to a new mom.  (Okay, maybe "He's beautiful!" is the nicest thing that can be said.)  The point is this: Regardless if the woman really looks great or not, it's a wonderful thing to hear.

I've got to admit that shedding thirty pounds in 2 weeks is an amazing feeling.  What's tough is getting the last 10 pounds of baby weight to go.  Weston is gaining weight faster than I can lose it.  It's like a race.  By the way, he's unofficially at 12 pounds and 9 ounces and over 24 inches long.

He's not really this huge--I think it's the camera angle

Anyway, I was very diligent about going on walks for the first 5 weeks with baby.  We walked about 20-30 minutes almost every day.  Now, I've graduated to the Couch to 5K running program.  I picked this under the advice from my sister, who's an avid runner.  So far, I like it.  It's no more than 3 days of running a week, and each session takes about 25 minutes.  It's very gradual, too.  I used to run quite a bit back in the day, but never ran during pregnancy.  I tried; it just felt weird and uncomfortable.  Now things feel *almost* normal.  However, let's just say that breastfeeding puts a whole new meaning on the word "support."  If I keep at this, in two months I should be ready for a 5K and perhaps a bit closer to my pre-baby weight.

The exhausted family 

Enjoying Milwaukee

I really want to just type this:

No baby news yet.

I can't do that to you readers, who, according to the statistics page on the blog, have been checking the posts on here more than I visit the bathroom each day.  I think that's impressive, mostly because I can't believe how often I'm in there.  I'm honored that you're reading this.

I went with Nate to school today, so I've been at UW-M's campus all afternoon.  I really can't stand being in the apartment.  It was nice to get out again, and the campus is close to Lake Michigan, so I packed a lunch and waddled down to a nice bench with a spectacular view of the lake.  I would have kept going after I ate, but there were no bathrooms of any sort on the way and I felt like I was going to pee my pants, so I had to cut my walk short.  I still have some time before Nate's done teaching, so I could go for another little stroll.

I have an appointment with my midwife tomorrow morning, and at that time, she'll let me know if I'm dilated or effaced.  I've been using evening primrose oil (EPO) and drinking raspberry leaf tea, neither of which are supposed to start labor.  The oil is supposed to soften the cervix, and the tea tones and strengthens the uterus.  Since I wasn't hardly effaced two weeks ago, the midwife suggested 2 grams of EPO nightly.  I'll find out tomorrow if my efforts have been worth it.  Oh, and as of right now, I'm not getting on the scale.  The medical assistant can go ahead and write "refused" on my chart.

Bowling for Belvedere

Last night for date night, Nate and I went bowling at my suggestion.  At the shower a couple of weeks ago, my cousin's wife told me that she went into labor with both her boys after she went bowling, so away we went.  My mom came with us as our "chaperon."  It was loads of fun, even though I had a horrible first game.  It took awhile to get used to how my center of gravity has shifted.  After my hips opened up, I came back in the second game like a champ and ended up with a 163.  Apparently, my mom had the highest bowling average of her career while she was pregnant with my sister and me back in the days when she was on a bowling league.  Go figure.

Aches and Pains

The past two weeks have provided some phenomenal insight into the world of sciatic nerve pain.  One website describes it as coming on suddenly, causing immediate distress.  I would say that's an understatement.  I have woken up in the middle of the night on several occasions in agony, as if my entire left side were on fire.  Thankfully, it doesn't happen every night and it seems to be only when I lie on my left side.  I spoke to my midwife about the increasing pain I was experiencing, and she referred me to a physical therapist.  I was able to get in last Monday, and she spent about 45 minutes with me, giving me several exercises to do to strengthen my hips.  The weight of Mr. Belvedere puts pressure on this nerve, which causes the irritation.

I also have a small hole in my abdominal muscles (diastasis recti), which is a common symptom in pregnancy, so she gave me some exercises to do to correct that.  I've been pretty diligent about doing these simple exercises and so far, I've been feeling better.  I haven't awoken to the excruciating pain in the past six days, but I do notice that I'm sore in my hips in a different way, perhaps due to the exercises that I'm doing.  Who knows.

Those Braxton-Hicks contractions are happening more and more frequently, in preparation for labor.  They are so weird--like my belly is tightening up in a giant abdominal crunch.  They don't hurt, but they can be uncomfortable.  I almost always get them right after I stand up from sitting down, which makes for some awkward first steps when trying to walk.

Body After Birth

I hope Nate sends me this card:

I Think I'm having a Contraction...

I'm fairly certain that I had one of those Braxton-Hicks contractions tonight.  These are those false contractions where the uterus tightens up in preparation for labor, which, dear reader, is just over two months away!  Yikes.  Anyway, I felt this pressure in my belly, and when I touched it, my protruding gut was rock hard.  It didn't hurt, but I certainly noticed it.  It relaxed after about a minute.  My mom said that she used to get painful ones with my sister and I that would stop her in her tracks.


As an aside, she also said that she would sit on the steps of our patio when she was pregnant with me (and then later with Mary) and cry because she was so fat.  We made our mom pile on 60+ pounds each time, most of which was water weight.  I think our older brothers were much easier for her.


Birthing class #2 was pretty exciting, mostly because there were two women in labor while our class was going on.  One gave birth right as class started, and the other woman was audible throughout class.  The looks on the faces of the dads was priceless.  I'm not sure when she delivered.  I could certainly feel the energy!  The night before was a full moon, too...


We talked quite a bit about exercise and many of the benefits of keeping up with exercise during pregnancy.  There are all sorts of statistics about the benefits to both the mom and the fetus.  I found all the myths that we discussed rather interesting.  Here are a few:

MYTH: Pregnant women should not exercise more than three times per week.

TRUTH: Following a doctor’s approval, it’s recommended that pregnant women engage in 30 minutes or more of moderate exercise daily, five or more times a week.

MYTH: Pregnant women must keep their heart rate under 140 beats per minute during exercise.

TRUTH: Instead of counting beats per minute, use the Borg Scale (measures perceived exertion) or a simple talk test to assess intensity.

I currently swim once a week, use the elliptical machine about 2-3 times a week, and take a weight training class twice a week (Power Flex).  Oh yeah, and my homework was 200 Kegels a day for the next week.  So exciting...

Almost 100 Days Left

It's really hard to believe that I'm over halfway through this pregnancy.  Yikes.  This Thursday will mark 25 weeks, and then in a few weeks after that, I'll be in the third trimester.  And I'll get bigger and bigger and bigger...  The baby is well over a pound by now, and it's kicking and punching away like a champ.  I still can't get over how weird that feels, and I love it when Nate puts his hand on my belly and feels it moving around, too.

I'm pretty grateful with how well this is going.  I didn't have morning sickness, no complications thus far, and my husband has been beyond wonderful.  I could do without the leg cramps in the middle of the night, though.  Holy cow.  Those are pure evil.  What's up with those, anyway?  I've had three in the past month, and the most recent one was over Christmas.  That one was so utterly painful that it brought tears to my eyes at some ridiculous hour of the night.  I woke Nate up with my strained breathing, and I was in so much pain that I was practically paralyzed until it passed.  Stretching before bed has been helpful, and I think exercising has its benefits, too.

Oral hygiene

I had a dentist appointment this morning that I was rather dreading.  I normally love the dentist.  I love taking care of my teeth.  I love flossing every night.  I love brushing for 2 minutes with my Sonic Care toothbrush.  I love my hygienist.

However, this morning was awful.  In the past week or so, my mouth has turned into a wreck.  My gums are swollen, my teeth feel like they're going to be squeezed out of their sockets, and when she flossed my teeth after brushing them, it felt as if I had never, ever flossed before in my life.  And, on top of that, they found a cavity.

Thank you, hormones!

I did go swimming yesterday, and that felt great.  For some reason I can button my favorite pair of jeans today, so that's delightful.  Another teacher at my school is due a week before I am, and she happens to be the physical education teacher with keys to the pool, so we went swimming for a half hour.  It was a safe way to cut loose: