Surprise! We are so excited to announce our first baby is due this June!
I am 21 weeks pregnant and over halfway to the finish line. It has gone by so fast, and most of it has been spent “hiding” the pregnancy from you all, students in my live classes, and even my colleagues for a bit. I never understood why people didn’t shout it from the rooftops the moment they knew they were pregnant, but after trying for 9 months with no pregnancy, I immediately wanted to wait. We even waited to tell family (even though we saw my entire side of the family 3 days after finding out) until we had out first ultrasound.
Now that everyone knows, I couldn’t wait to share the news with you all.
We found out in October, on our 7th wedding anniversary. I felt great, except for some queasiness while flying to visit family, and then week 6 hit. I was folding laundry after spending the day at a conference (learning about gut bacteria, funny enough) and suddenly felt very nauseous. That nausea lasted for about 10 more weeks and I sent much of it trying not to puke while teaching a class, sleeping as soon as I got home from class, and eating loads and loads of bread. The funny thing about being pregnant is that you have no idea what types of foods you’ll be able to eat and what your body will have an aversion to.
Once the second trimester hit, I started to feel less tired, took less naps, and was able to eat a little more variety in my foods. I had some energy to workout more doing barre classes (not yoga, it still doesn’t feel quite right) and even doing some behind the scenes filming as of late. During this trimester, I am enjoying feeling like a human again, and soaking up every moment of it before the third trimester fatigue hits. I am also enjoying the tiny pokes and kicks I feel each day from this little guy or gal.
Here is a little rundown so far at 21 weeks:
Body Stuff:
- Weight gained: 15+lbs (I haven’t weighed myself in a week), which is right on track for halfway.
- Aches and Pains: I have a psoas injury from years ago that flares up once in a while. As the baby grows and stretches things, I have had some pain there, but nothing I haven’t felt or dealt with before.
- Pyriformis/Sciatic pain: on the opposite side, I get “hip” pain that hurts when I stand or walk. After walking it out though, it usually feels better. Heating pads help as well.
- No back pain. Yay!
Baby Stuff:
- Size: about 9oz on last appointment (19 weeks) and the size of a mango. This week we are about the size of a pomegranate while the baby continues to grow.
- Gender: we are having a reveal party on the 13th of Feb
- Kicks throughout the day, especially in the morning and early afternoons when I sit down to work at my computer
Food & Cravings:
- Lately its been all about sweets. Ice cream and cookies are my new best friends.Luckily, so are most fruits.
- I have also been craving tofu, since most meats have just seemed gross the entire pregnancy. Chicken was the first meat I really craved when I was vegetarian, and now, the thought of it makes me cringe most days.
- Vegetables are back on the table, although I prefer them cooked to raw most of the time, unless I am craving a salad or specific dressing. For the first trimester, most vegetables and fruits (except watermelon) were too gross to eat. Unless those veggies were on a pizza or in a noodle bowl, I didn’t want anything to do with them.
- During the first trimester, I wanted watermelon every day. The juiciness helped quench my thirst, since I was thirsty all the time (and usually am by the end of the day still)
- It is so strange how this is the time you want to eat the best, but doing so just isn’t possible. Due to the nausea, I made a promise to focus on eating what I could, rather than worry about if it was the healthiest thing around. It was better to eat something than to pick at my plate of food and eat nothing at all.
Workouts:
- During the first trimester, I really didn’t do much beyond teach my own classes. I would do barre 2 days a week (teaching) and then demonstrate some of the barre moves and yoga poses the rest of the time.
- Now I am doing barre 3-4 times a week, some of it on my own and some while teaching.
- I am also walking around my neighborhood for 20-40 minutes a few times a week with my dogs.
- I love yoga for many reasons, but the physical (asana) practice that I am used to just doesn’t feel very good. And most seated poses that involve twisting, folding and being on my back, which also do not feel so great. So for now, my yoga is more about what I teach and what I practice off the mat.
Sleep:
- I pee all the time and wake up a few times a night to pee.
- I sleep pretty well, but need to surround myself with pillows to support my belly and back as I change positions, and to prop up my hips if they ache.
- The nights I don’t sleep well, I can really feel it the next day
- For awhile was falling asleep around 8:30pm on the couch every night.
Belly: getting huge 😉
So far, it has really been quite nice. I don’t have a ton of pain or stiffness, besides hips stuff, and I am no longer feeling sick all the time. Even when I felt sick, I was still able to rest when I needed and eat what I needed, so it wasn’t so bad. It is pretty awesome to feel those little kicks and I can;t to explore even more as this little baby keeps growing.
For all of you that have known for a while, or just a few days, thank you for your kindness, your love, and your support.
I know it can be a little hard to know what to expect from a blog and blogger, and any site, when the person running it becomes pregnant.
Here are a few things I want you to know:
- Things on the blog will remain the same format: I won;t switch suddenly to a Mommy blog or to a super personal blog. All weekly posts and recipe will remain in the same informative, nutrient and ingredient focused format. This site is a Health and Wellness site, where I offer recipes and programs to help get healthy, and I intend to keep to this way – although there are some big announcements coming up about this as well, so stay tuned!
- When I do post a baby update, it will be extra (not the post for the week) and go into the “Baby” category. Most of my updates will be posts on Instagram, so follow @thehouseofhealthy for #babybump pics and updates (including a gender reveal in a few weeks)
- I’d love for you to leave comments on the baby posts. Advice, suggestions, and exchanges between you all are welcome.
- I will continue to blog, although maybe not as frequently at first, when the baby is born.
Again thank you all. We are so excited and can’t wait for this new chapter to start!
