First off, a huge thanks to everyone who weighed in yesterday with their thoughts on whether or not to do the 20 week anatomy ultrasound. I’m not sold on the long term safety of repeated ultrasounds, but I’m also not supremely worried about it either (obviously, I had 3 with Stella and 1 already with this pregnancy). Many of you mentioned needing the “peace of mind” from having the scan done, but I can honestly say that particular reason isn’t a factor for me this time around. Maybe it’s just being blissfully naive and optimistic, but at this point I’m feeling secure and relaxed this pregnancy about things, and I want to do everything I can to continue in that mindset. That being said, y’all raised some good points about not being near a hospital for this birth since we’re planning on a home birth (and we live 30 min from the hospital), so it might make sense to just go ahead and get the full anatomy ultrasound done to rule out any obvious internal issues that could have an affect on things post delivery. So ya – I think that’s the plan, but I really appreciate all of your thoughts weighing in on it – it never ceases to amaze me how different opinions and outlooks and feelings can be for different women on the same issue! We really do have to just do what feels right to us (and sometimes say screw the $400, it’s a drop in the bucket in the long run!).
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So even though I’ve only been writing these updates every couple of weeks this pregnancy, it still feels like things are still going crazy fast all of a sudden. My look of my belly has definitely “popped” in the past two weeks, and random people from town have asked me if I was expecting again (um, WTF, I don’t look THAT pregnant, and I would NEVER ask a woman if she was pregnant based on my current size / look in most clothing!).
It’s also fun that Stella is starting to get the baby thing a little bit. She doesn’t understand there’s a real baby in my belly, but she’ll point there when I ask her where the baby is, and she loves to grab the doppler off the headboard and try to find the heartbeat herself.
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So at this point I’m 4 months into this pregnancy, and I’ve gained 5# (it was 7# but I’ve fluctuated back down a bit). Yes, I’m probably overly anal about tracking this, but I know I come by it honestly (a decade of struggling with bulimia in your 20s will do that do you). I’m not freaked out by the 5# at all because I know that’s a totally normal amount to have gained at this point, but I saw a picture of myself last week that just made me cringe, and it has kick started me into getting back into the workout regimen. Since the all day puking started at 5w4d, I had completely quit working out, and it was showing, especially in my arms and belly (yes, my belly is getting bigger because of a baby, but there is a LOT of pudge on there too!). Nearly three months of zero exercise makes you flabby all over. Shocking, right?
At any rate, In the past couple of weeks I’ve jumped on the elliptical a few times, I’ve pulled out my C210k app on my iPhone and gone for a run, and I found a 30 day arms challenge for August to participate in. My goal is to go into this birthing time healthy and strong, just like last time, and that won’t happen if I sit on my ass for the next 5 months! While pregnant with Stella, I was waitressing and bartending full time, running stairs to the 3rd floor rooftop bar, carrying trays, and just generally moving my body. Now I’m at a desk doing nothing!
By moving my body a little extra lately I’ve upped my FitBit daily step count average to 5,000 from the 3,000 it’s hovered around since getting pregnant. My goal is to continue to increase that average. Pregnancy is no excuse for laziness – at least now that the debilitating first trimester fatigue and extended nausea have passed for the most part. I know I’ll feel better about everything in life if I’m being active and eating well, so it’s time to get back into that!
Oh Josey, two or three ultrasounds is nothing compared to what a lot of docs (ahem, mine) order. It made me a bit uncomfortable towards the end, but I remember an ultrasound tech laughing and telling me she did it EVERY DAY with her own kids. I’m not saying it’s not questionable, but, well, a lot of people have a lot done for a lot of reasons.
Good for you for resolving to work towards being healthier and stronger! It’s so easy to be lazy during pregnancy (um, me).
…and I totally don’t mean to bag on women who DO have a lot of ultrasounds b/c they’re high risk or have some situation that needs monitoring! I just question why so many “routine” things are done in medical practices now days when there isn’t a medical indication for it (especially when I’m paying out of pocket for it!).
I’ve totally been lazy myself, but I just know I’ll regret it if I continue that for the next 5 months!
When it’s routine for a “high risk” pregnancy (especially mine, which I usually think of as fake high risk, cause really, everything’s under control–I think), it’s questionable too, to be sure, but, personally, I have to practically undergo an interrogation and sign a consent form to refuse. Cost of participating in a high malpractice-suit area of medicine, I suppose. I remember being very agitated about it with Mira (because who doesn’t need yet another thing to worry about?), but for me, at least, it needs to be a “chill the eff out” area. It’s interesting because the same practice was super calm about me refusing amnio/CVS and refusing a D&C with my first m/c.
P.S. I’d take it as a compliment that people are asking if you’re pregnant now. They must be damn sure you’re a fit woman. 😉
Well, I’m lazy all the time, not just during pregnancy. So there’s that 🙂 Good for you for getting back on track!
I’m so glad you’re doing the ultrasound. The reasoning with the home birth sounds right to me. Also, just like the poster above, my BFF had her first at 29 weeks, so her doc had her getting ultrasounds every two weeks with her second! He’s an awesome 1-year-old now.
I’ve been lazy too, I was basically told not to exercise for the first trimester and including the IVF prep before that, I didn’t work out for basically 4 months. Then I was lazy, I’ve been trying to get back into it, but I let my gym membership lapse. I’m walking and have bought a pass to the local pool which is covered in the winter, so I should be able to swim nearly daily until delivery. I’m hoping to keep up with it. But seeing others struggle too keeps me motivated to try to continue. I’m glad you’re getting back on track! I read recently that women who really watch their weight in the second trimester, typically end up at a healthy gain during the third trimester when it becomes more difficult and draining to move around. I’m up 23 lbs at 27 weeks. I was hoping to stay under 35 lbs, this does not bode well for the next several weeks unless I get my butt in gear (and stop eating donuts!
Aw, your pics are so cute! I can’t believe you’re really pregnant again! And Stella is old enough to find her baby brother or sisters heartbeat with the doppler. Where does time go? I am so happy for you! Sounds like a good idea to get the scan just in case there is anything you’d want to know or need medical intervention for post delivery. Didn’t even think of that! The blogworld is so helpful that way!
Ha, she can’t actually do it! She just likes to hold the wandy part on my belly, her belly, etc. 🙂
Lol. I don’t know how challenging it is to find the hb so I pictured her just putting it there and listening. I clearly think Stella is advanced. 🙂
I hear ya! My nausea/vomiting is finally settling somewhat now at 15 wks so I definitely need to start exercising again at some point, but with chasing 3 little ones around I am exhausted! With my last 3 I gained about 28-30 lbs (I am tall and on the slender side) so I am guessing I will be in that ballpark this
time around (I am same as you, up about 5 lbs at this point maybe?)
So is the nausea/vomiting pretty much gone now? I hope so! Also waiting for your cloth diaper post! 🙂
You look AMAZING!!! And… I’ll keep quiet about any ultrasounds since I had 10 and needed every single one of them for my insane peace of mind. 🙂
LMAO, of course you had 10 Cathy. 🙂 And thanks!
I’ve been so much lazier this pregnancy and now that I’m in the final countdown I can tell I’m not as strong and healthy as I was when I went to birth Taylor. My OB even said that had I not been in shape, they would have went to c-section as I pushed for 2.5 hours with Taylor. But since I was strong and SLOOOOWLY progressing, they let me deliver her vaginally.
Kudos to getting back on the workout wagon. I just pray my little guy doesn’t require 2.5 hour of pushing. But after flinging my almost 9lb girl through my lady parts, this one should just fall out, right? RIGHT???! 😉
Ha, this is my worry too! I pushed just over 2 hrs with Stella, and I SO hope I don’t need to do that again. She was 8#2oz at 2 weeks early. We shall see though!
SO happy to hear you are feeling better and are able to get up and work out again!
Good for you for making this plan! I was always so impressed with how strong you were and how you described Stella’s birth. You’re right, it’s so important. I’ve been a sloth but I don’t know if that is going to change, since exercise seems to make me crampy, and crampy makes me anxious. Looking good, very organized of you to alternate bra colours!
Ha, I screwed up month 2, so now i HAVE to alternate! 🙂
First off, you look awesome in those pictures! I fully believe that making a fitness plan is the way to go. You KNOW that being healthy and strong helped you to have a wonderful delivery with Stella. Delivery in a sense is like a marathon. You have 5 more months of training to get in. So do the best you can & you know you will not regret it!
Sounds like a great plan you have in place to stay in shape. I hope you feel great throughout the rest of your pregnancy.
You look pretty fabulous, I have to say. I would have no doubt that you are indeed pregnant!! Good for you for deciding to get your butt moving. I’ve recently made the same revelation – that the laziness is really doing me no good in the long run. I’m still feeling iffy some days, but I’m determined to get moving, and as Nacho and I have proclaimed August to be taxi-free, that means I’ll be upping my fitbit steps A LOT.
Oh, and I put together a personalized 31-day strength challenge for myself (jumbled together from a couple different places). I’ve actually added it to my blog despite not having written about it yet… (http://nobabyruth.files.wordpress.com/2013/08/august-challenge_31.jpg)
Anyway, keep me accountable and I’ll return the favor, ok??
I like it!! Great plan. 🙂
You look fantastic!!! 🙂 And definitely pregnant rather than just a food belly 😉
I think doing what feels right for you (and Charlie) is the way to go with the ultrasound. Sorry I didn’t comment on your other post about this.. so behind.. but I see so many others did. I know in Nova Scotia now, ultrasounds are becoming less routine. With Alidia I asked for extra ones for my own piece of mind. No idea how I would feel next time around… but I do think going with your gut is the way to go 🙂
You look so cute! And 2nd babies show sooner, didn’t you know? I was offered a subway seat at 12 weeks this time around!!! How’s that for an ego-blow. And I’d already gained 15 lbs by 20 weeks. But I started 5-7 lbs under my pre-preg weight last time, so I figure I needed to make that up. And I get soooooooo hungry in my first half of pregnancy I pile on the pounds but then I gain very little (<10) in the last half so it evens out.. We all handle it differently, right?
I did prenatal yoga about 4 x a week when I was pregnant with Smudgie, plus constant walking, since I live in the city. I still walk a ton, but this time around I just don't have the time to get to classes as much. Right now I average one run a week (2ish miles) and one yoga class. Doing more is such a tricky trade-off between losing time with Smudgie or LG vs. feeling more fit. How do you think you'll handle all that? Can you work out at home?
Oh, and on the u/s thing– my docs are experts here in NYC in high-tech ultrasound diagnostics (they've published lots of research in journals on it). I asked them with Smudgie about safety concerns, since I needed monthly growth scans thanks to low Papp-a. They said unequivocally that the studies and literature on both humans and other mammals over several decades of research show negligible long-term risk. They were emphatic on that point–and they were also totally supportive of my decision not to have a cvs or amnio. So take that for what it's worth!
I have an elliptical machine at my house, so I can do that during my lunch breaks or after Stella is in bed. If I go for runs, I’m gone for an hour, and honestly, I think it’s good for Stella to have one-on-one Daddy time, b/c she is SO anti-Daddy lately if I’m around, and it drives us both a little nuts!
So cute about little Stells and the baby. Other folks are just nosy….and expecting you to be expecting. Everyone does after the first baby. The ultrasound thing….your call….I did find it weird that the first time I felt Livi in my belly was after the ultrasound reviewing her sex…the long one….she kicked like crazy the next day….hopped up on gamma rays or just pissed off….I don’t know. Good idea to be conservative but smart as well. You’re right…you don’t look that pregnant. Didn’t know you had bulimia…..tough stuff. Enjoy your pregnancy!