Virtually everything I do these days is immediately preceded by thinking "I wonder if this is the last time I will _________________ before we have a baby". While I don't feel he's ready to make an appearance just yet, I can't help but think things like this before say going to the grocery store, or stopping for frozen yogurt "just because" after work, or taking a nap in the middle of a Sunday afternoon because my husband's Nascar spectating habit puts me to sleep. Life won't be this easy in three weeks or less (hopefully two weeks but I know it could be another three...) so I try and soak up all the joys of being unencumbered while I have time to do so.
Speaking of which, I used some of said free time today to try and find the nonalcoholic Moscato I discovered at a local restaurant on Friday girls' night out (PS-local friends, Billy's downtown serves booze-free Moscato AND champagne, and if you're lucky you'll get a glass for free!!). To my pleasant surprise, I found these and MORE at Kroger. Check out this selection!!!!! WHY DIDN'T I KNOW ABOUT THEM BEFORE NOW?!?!?!?! As my husband said, now I will know for the next pregnancy. Well yes, that's great, and I'm happy to share this info with my many friends who are also currently pregnant... but damn! I can't believe I'm just now finding this array of booze-free wines with two weeks left to go. It should be noted I can verify the Moscato and champagne are quite tasty, alas the Merlot is mostly grape juice with a touch of something that could perhaps be construed as a distant wine-cousin. There's also a red blend, I haven't tried this one yet, so if you get to it before me let me know what you think. If it's anything like the Merlot, I'll stick to the whites until I can drink the real stuff.
We've been doing a lot of reflecting lately, especially at night as we realize our evenings of peaceful sleep are numbered. Tyler is super excited; I am excited, but also a little scared/nervous/uncertain. The feelings of uncertainty I'm experiencing remind me of undergrad days studying and studying and studying for a major exam. You read, you take notes, you quiz yourself, you get together with friends in your class and study together, you make more notecards and still second-guess your preparedness. Eventually, you have to just trust that either you know the material or you don't, and no extra last-minute cramming or loss of sleep will improve your exam performance. So this is "Cramming for Baby 101", I suppose: re-reading the books I've already read at least once, reading these books together to discuss the material, quizzing each other ("So, when do we give him a bath for the first time? Do we use a washcloth or a sponge? Do the hospital nurses give you a tutorial on cleaning the circumcision site after "it's" done?) We read, discuss, reflect, and I just have to hope at this point all our studying will pay off in some form or another. At least with multiple choice exams you could narrow down your choices with some educated guessing, but I suppose that's what scares me the most about raising a child- there's a LOT of room for error. Luckily there's no one right answer for all babies and all children (so I've been told), so educated guessing may work just as well as studying someone else's how-to guide.
As we enter Week 38 this week, here's my progress thus far:
-Weight gained: 30lbs (as of this week)
-Pregnancy complaints: back pain is more chronic than acute, random bursts of nerve pain (according to Tyler due to nerve compression from baby position), fatigue in early afternoon-evening, eating very small meals very frequently (I feel like I can't eat "meals" anymore, rather I am constantly grazing)
-Pregnancy non-complaints- I'm not having any issues with swelling or skin/breakouts as some people warned may happen
-Workouts: With increased fatigue in early afternoon/evening, I've found if I don't workout by lunchtime, it's basically a waste of time. Last week (Week 37) I only lifted twice, and both lifts were pretty pathetic, going through the motions more than anything. Honestly this was the first time my entire pregnancy outside first trimester that I had a crappy lifting week. The weather was nicer so I was able to ::gasp:: fit in two days of walk-jogging! Last Thursday was SUPER nice, high of 71 degrees, so I took Rocco to the greenway and we snuck in a 4-mile jog-walk after work. Even though he's working extra hard these days being tethered to a 30lb-heavier me, he still seems to love our "runs". Trust me, I am NOT running at 9+ months pregnant... but as much as I can call it a jog, I do so. Thursday was actually mostly jogging with a few walk breaks, and yesterday I tried the same thing again with my friend Amy but T2 wasn't having it. Luckily Amy is a good sport and spent her workout time mostly walking with a few brief jogging spurts :)
This week I plan to get back in the weight room but cardio will be all non-impact: elliptical, swimming, maybe one indoor ride or two. There are many reasons a baby appearance this week would be inconvenient, so I'm going to try my best to not trigger labor. While I would love to see our little man and meet him whenever he is ready, this week just isn't a great time. I can hear some of you laughing at this statement, I KNOW babies have their own schedules. I say this partly in jest, but for real, I would love for him to come anytime after March 31st. If he arrives between now and that date.. ugh. We will cross that bridge if necessary.
In closing, I'm so glad my blog seems to have helped a lot of you (I have many friends who are pregnant right now!!) in respect to maintaining activity levels. I've had several requests for sample workout routines at various points in pregnancy with pictures, videos, etc. While I only have a few weeks to go with my own pregnancy journey, I'm happy to be a resource for anyone who needs it while I work on the outline for our book. These will certainly comprise a significant portion of my contribution, so if there are specific muscle groups or exercises about which you want more information, please let me know. As I've mentioned several times, this blog is unique to my experience and may not necessarily translate well for anyone else, but I'm thrilled at least a few people seem to have used it to their benefit. Any other feedback you wish to share, I welcome it, and hopefully I can use some of your shared experiences (if you authorize me to do so) in our book :)
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