Second Pregnancy: Weeks 39 & 40!
Here we go!
First off, I finally made a page with ALL of the handstand pregnancy photos here! For some reason I am trying to publish it to the menu bar but it won’t work. Anyway, it’s all organized and there!
Feeling fantastic. Almost too good.I’m afraid this guy won’t want to leave my womb until college.
I can’t stop moving. Cleaning, organizing, doing laundry. Mike asked me if I was obsessed with laundry because all I do is fold things and put them away. This is so out of character if you know me in person.
Yoga: I am SO SO SO grateful to have had extra time these past few weeks to get on my mat (I have pretty much been obsessed with how I can fit in a daily power yoga practice) and even more grateful to have extra time with Ella. Usually I pick her up from school and the afternoon is spent running around getting dinner ready and myself ready for work, and rushing out the minute Mike gets home. So I am glad I slowed my work schedule a bit (also had some clients away on vacation recently) to spend more family time together. Weez and I have been having a blast…and she wears me out more than all the working out I have been doing
I can honestly sit here at 40 weeks pregnant and say that I feel like I am in the best shape of my life right now. The difference between my first pregnancy and this one is incredible. I thought I was staying in fairly great shape last time but I just remember feeling SO out of shape at the end. Swelling with 6-7 pounds of fluid in the last week (yes in ONE week), and getting very winded. This whole pregnancy, aside from the very beginning, I have felt wonderful. I am just so glad my body was able to do all it did. I was able to push past my comfort zone, and keep going. I knew that is what was working because if I missed a day I felt it. I looked at this as my medicine. Getting ready for one of the hardest things a women physically has to do….LABOR! Let’s face it, labor is freaking HARD and now I know what’s coming. My recovery was pretty horrid last time (unable to walk to the bathroom without crying in pain for 3 weeks, etc), and I only can hope that the shape I am in now will help me to get put back together faster. That has been a huge motivating factor for me above anything else. I know my body will eventually bounce back “shape-wise”, I know it will take time and patience and I know what to expect this time regarding that (mentally) and how to deal with it. But if I can make the pain more bearable and learn how to deal with it and keep myself in shape to recover better and have a deliver faster delivery…I am sure as hell going to try!
You can’t predict or plan or know what will happen. Things aren’t always as expected and many times do not go the way you plan. All you can do is try your best to prepare your body and keep it healthy and strong as best as YOU can, whatever that means for you! Find your truth. Not mine or anyone else’s. That could mean resting more for you and simply finding meditation (yoga isn’t/wasn’t just about the physical for me) or staying fit in a way your body allows. Take advantage of it if you can keep active because man does it feel good! My first pregnancy I did what I could do then, and maybe that was all I could. Each pregnancy and woman is different. I am just so happy and grateful I had the experience I did this time around….. but it is not over yet!
My diet is also VERY different than it was 4 years ago. I was trying to eat more plant based/vegan. Ultimately during pregnancy it didn’t work and I was adding fish and eggs in a few times a week. Higher carb diet. which I realized postpartum and after many many years of always trying to go that direction that it was not working for my body. My diet now is higher in fat (including lots of grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, etc) and protein (not just limited to eggs and fish, I eat all pastured healthy animal protein sources). I don’t generally eat grains, except for treats (carbs come from fruits and vegetables), and I avoid beans which I learned really eat my stomach up! I gained half as much “weight” this pregnancy, haven’t had many cravings at all, stayed super active but again, we still indulged once or twice a week/when I felt like it.. on things that were worth it without any guilt. I feel very balanced with my diet…and prior I felt like I was always out of control with sugar cravings or needing to make alternative to sweet “treats” all of the time. Now I just eat the real thing if I want in moderation, and sometimes we will make healthier things at home…but don’t really need it. Pretty much the FlowTox principle way of life…post-FlowTox living.
Above all. I just want to say how exciting this journey has been. I have learned so much about myself and my body and how far it can go. I need to remember it and take it with me as I reach the next chapter, especially when I experience self doubt. I have proved so much to myself without even wanting to try to prove anything.. I love being pregnant and this little guy has been an awesome tenant! Now…we just can’t wait to see his adorable little face when he’s ready!!!!!!!!! I can not WAIT to see my little Weez become a big sister. My sweet little girl, she’s just the best!
Talk soon!!!
xo
Laury
