Pregnancy TRUE & FALSE

40 week mark....little did I know I would go on to 41 weeks!

I was terrified to become pregnant and now that my pregnancy is over, I have to say that many of the things I feared or was told were either BS or just didn't happen to me.

I stayed very active. I worked fulltime, attended my final semester of grad school, completed an internship, and graduated all while trying to sell my house.....And worked out almost daily.

 

Sure everyone is different but here is what I found to be true and what I found to not be true....

FALSE

1. No exercise.
     - total BS! I worked out my ENTIRE pregnancy. Ran up to 28 weeks and walked after that. Still walking (4 miles today with 12 days to due date). Also did body pump 3 days a week, just lower weights and at 20 weeks no abs or chest (lying down on back).

2. Your hair gets thicker and doesn't shed.
     -I have extremely thick hair, always have, and it still sheds just as much as it did pre-pregnancy.

3. Back pain/Sciatica
     - Didn't happen to me- guessing because I worked out and kept core strong I was able to easily support the huge belly.

4. You cannot sleep.
     - Slept just fine FOR THE MAJORITY OF MY PREGNANCY once I got the body pillow (which I discussed in an earlier post HERE). Towards the very end, it did become harder to get comfortable- awake or asleep!

5. You are tired all the time.
     - Again BS. I was tired in the first few weeks of the first trimester (probably because I was sick) and now towards the end I am noticing I am more tired (probably because I am huge) but I was not tired for a majority of my pregnancy.

6. You will swell up- both your hands and feet.
     - Up until last 2 weeks, I was still wearing my wedding ring and my shoes fit just fine. After long walks I noticed swelling, but so does my husband and he is not pregnancy- it is because it's 100 degrees out. Since I was a week late, I def noticed it at the very end.

7. Summer heat will kill you or you will be hot.
     -Maryland heat and humidity is hot for anyone. Being pregnant doesn't make you hotter.

8. You will have weird cravings- ie pickles and ice cream.
     -Gross and untrue.

9. You are skinny- you will be all belly.
     - Nope- try belly, boobs, thighs, and face. Yes- it is mostly belly, but it went other places too.

10. Your boobs will hurt badly and leak milk all over.
     - My breasts hurt in the first trimester, but that went away around the same time the morning sickness did which was 10 weeks. It felt like the soreness of PMS.
      -NEVER LEAKED, EVER while pregnant!

11. You cannot keep your beauty routine (color hair, nails, whiten teeth, spray tan).
     -Yes you can and yes I did. All were deemed safe by doctor.

12. You will pee your pants- like when you sneeze, cough, etc.
     -Happy to report this is untrue! Yes you will have to go more as baby grows and presses on your bladder and you are drinking a crap ton more water, but I never peed my pants!

13. Moody
     -Not true. Yes I was more emotional, but I felt really happy & excited throughout my pregnancy. People at work even commented that I was being strangely nice!

14. Bad skin- face
     -At first I noticed some skin issues, but I had also just started a new line of products. I stopped and went back to my old routine and my skin cleared right up and stayed amazing throughout.

15. Stretch marks- everyone gets them.
     -NO THEY DO NOT! At 38+ weeks I have none!! I used lotion twice a day beginning of my pregnancy and never stopped. My doc has even commented how I have NONE!!

16. Your nose will get wider.
     -Total BS. Didn't happen and the doc said it's a myth.

17. You can't have sex.
     -Yes you can and yes I did.

18. You can drink wine.
     -I didn't drink a drop of booze....did not want to even take the chance. What is one glass of wine anyway? The health of my baby was way more important to me.

TRUE

1. Weight Gain
     -This is obviously not a surprise and I was told early on by my doc, a pound a week was a good number/goal for me with my starting weight. Went a total of 41 weeks and one day- gained 45 lbs total.

2. Food Aversions
     -I was DISTUSTED by meat for months. The look, the smell, the thought of it- grossed me out. I began to eat yogurt and beans as other sources of protein. After a while it didn't bother me and I went back to eating meat.

3. Morning Sickness
     -The first few weeks of pregnancy were ROUGH. Constant headache, nausea, vomiting, stomach pain- like a permanent hangover. Luckily by week 10 I was back to normal.

4. People are nice to you.
     -This is totally true. Total strangers will hold doors for you, ask you how you are, etc. It was a strange thing to get used to, but was nice.

5. People ask you questions.
     -And it does get annoying answering them (especially from strangers and especially towards the end of your pregnancy). Some questions are so weird, like "are you having him normal?" Referring to if I am delivering vaginally or by C-section- either of which is NORMAL and will be decided by my doctor and the baby's position- not a choice. Or "are you breast feeding?" Again, no ones business but my own. And my favorite, "are you returning to work?" Having a baby that costs money, not delivering a trust fund.

6. People share their stories.
     -Everyone wants to share their story- either how they delivered, their pregnancy, or their wives (or just someone they may know) story.

7. You need maternity underwear.
     -I did not buy any maternity underwear. I did switch from thongs to briefs about 20 weeks in, but nothing maternity.

8. Increased urination
     -Yes. You drink more water and baby sits on bladder. True!

9. Skin
     -Although my face looked great, my back broke out which never happens. Around 36 weeks, it finally began clearing up.

10. The GLOW
     -Many people told me I had the glow. I think my face was just puffier which filled in some fine lines, but hey not a bad side effect. I noticed fine lines were less noticeable, prob because of the weight gain.

11. Pregnancy brain aka forgetfulness
     -VERY TRUE. Maybe because you are preoccupied & stressed with the idea of a human growing inside of you that you will deliver and care for, but I became very forgetful during my pregnancy.

12. Constipation
     -Occurred when taking OTC prenatal vitamins. Once I switched to prescription, I was fine.

13. Heartburn
     - Very mild and was really like acid reflux. It happened when I ate stuff with tomato sauce- so I avoided it and was ok. Tums helped too.

Post-Pregnancy Body Shapers

In the news there has been a lot of talk about celbs using waist trainers or cinchers to shape their bodies.

 

 

 

Little did I know, similar type devices have been used by new moms to recover after child birth. Girdles are basically compression garments that work by drawing in stretched muscles to provide a 360° support structure around the torso, thus, reducing strain on ligaments and joints in the lower back, pelvis, and buttocks. By reducing any stress in these areas may enhance your body’s ability to return to its pre-pregnancy alignment, shape and to lose the post baby tummy faster.

 

Designed to support the stomach area, these are a little different than the cinchers which are considered dangerous and pose health risks.

 

Yes the hospital will provide you with a girdle, but I decided to buy two on of the most popular ones on the market, in hopes they will be more effective and more comfortable.

 

Here are the two I purchased...guess in a few weeks I'll be rocking one of these! I'll provide a review of them after trying them out.

 

Belly Bandit

 

First was the less expensive option, sold by major retailers like Nordstrom and Bloomingdales.

 

 

 

Belly Bandit Original, $49.95

Sold at various department stores

HERE

 

(found new on Ebay for $27 including shipping)

Bellefit Girdle

 

The way more pricey option and only sold on the Bellefit website, although I found on Ebay and Amazon.  I decided to buy this one, as I think it maybe easier to wear under clothing and without riding up. 

 

Bellefit Girdle

$108 (sale)

Sold at www.bellefit.com

 

(Found new on Ebay for $70 with shipping, also saw on Amazon)

 

Piyo

 

 

 

 

 

Piyo is the newest home workout series from Beach Body (the ones who sell P90X, Insanity, T25).

A friend of mine is a coach for them and after seeing her advertise it on Facebook, I decided to give it a try. The Piyo set is a total of 4 DVD's with a few workouts on each. Each workout ranges anywhere from 25-50 minutes and is a mix of both Pilates and yoga (hence the name). Most workouts can be done barefoot and with a yoga mat- so it's nice that you don't need a lot of equipment. Unlike other videos I have done, this one is also nice because I do not find the host/trainer to be annoying (like in  Insanity) and there is no jumping around the room like a maniac (like in Insanity)!

 

I was skeptical at first, but in only 6 weeks I have noticed a big improvement in my body definition, strength, and flexibility. I sure couldn't do a backbend or crow before I started!

 

I do not sell this nor am I compensated in anyway to advertise this....I have had a few people ask me about it since I started and I thought I'd pass on the info :)

 

Crow!

Paleo: in my own words

 I decided to post today all about my experience with Paleo. I have had a lot of people ask me about it and by NO MEANS am I an expert. I'd like to share what I have learned from people, books, and research on the internet. I have included info and links to all of this information.

 

A few months ago my husband and I decided to begin eating Paleo. Good friends Cassie and Kris recommended Paleo and helped answer many of our questions. Both look better than ever and we couldn't help but want to at least try out this Paleo thing!

 

Well what is Paleo? It is not a diet, it is a lifestyle. Simply put it's an approach to consuming food that is GOOD FOR YOU. No calorie counting, no points! This diet is gluten-free as well. It's also called the cave man diet (this is explained below in an illustration).

 

My husband wanted to lose weight and he did. 20 pounds in the first month!

I wanted to feel good and after examining my own diet, I realized I was consuming food with ingredients I could not even pronounce! (for example: Diet Coke, Crystal Light, Lean cuisine....yup all CRAP!)

 

The first few days I had a pounding headache...it was the sugar withdrawal. Like a drug addict, my body was detoxing! After a week I felt good. Today I feel great, I have more energy, sleep better, and feel full :)

 

 

Basics: what TO eat and what NOT to eat

 

Shop the outside of the grocery store: Meats, fruits, and veggies. You only dip into the inside isles of the grocery store for nuts, raisins, cooking and baking ingredients (like arrowroot starch), and occasional spices. My fridge is stocked and my pantry once full of boxed items (cookies, crackers, cereal, bars) is pretty bare.

 

Simply put:

Eat:

 

Meat (grass fed if possible)

Poultry

Seafood

Veggies

Fruit

Nuts

Seeds

Eggs

Healthy Oils (coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil)

Avoid:

 

Grains (wheat, flour, pasta, bread, oats, rice)

Legumes (any beans, peanuts, peas, soybeans, soy anything)

Dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt)

Processed Foods (anything basically out of a box)

Starches (potatoes, corn)

Vegetable Oil

Anything with gluten

 

Drink:

 

Water!

Herbal Tea

Fresh squeezed fruit or veggie juice

Sparkling water

Coconut water

 

Here's are some cheat sheets:

 

 

 

MORE swaps:

 

Mash Potatoes...cauliflower mash

Pasta...spaghetti squash

Breakfast Potatoes...butternut squash

Sugar...coconut sugar

Granola bars....Larabars (read label, most okay and just contain dates, nuts, and fruit. For example these flavors: carrot cake, coconut, apple pie, cashew cookie) & That's It bars (just contain fruit!)

 

But WHY?!

 

Too much of the food we consume today is not food, it's chemicals! Eating food that is good for you, simply makes you feel good.

 

Here's a simple break down of the WHY.....

 

 

NO BOOZE! What?! 

If you are trying to loose weight, avoid alcohol.

 

1. If your body is trying to process food, it can't process all the booze too.

2. When you drink, you want to eat and you want to eat BAD food! Have you ever gotten drunk and said no to pizza and yes to raisins?! No I didn't think so.

 

For more on this go here

 

 

If you want to drink....it wont kill your "diet". Remember....NO BEER!!

 I go with the wine option. Patron is also your best tequila option.

 

 

for more explanations go here and here

 

Paleo Problems

It's not easy to give up your favorite foods. It's also not easy to not just be able to grab and go foods. There is a lot of prep work, planning, and shopping. It gets easier after time. It's also pricier. For example regular pickles (that are made with sugar and chemicals) are about $3 less than Grillos Pickles but guess what...they are DELISH!

 

  How to get started!

We began by purchasing these books, which are full of shopping lists, recipes, tips, meal planning, and more.

 

 

Everyday Paleo, by Sarah Fragoso

Website

 

This book is really good for understanding the yes and no of what you can have and great dinner ideas.

 

 

Make Ahead Paleo, by Tammy Credicott

Website

 

This book is the best! Easy recipes, good tasting, lots of desserts, crockpot meals, and freeze ideas!

I cant say enough good about this book!

 

I will post some of my favorite recipes I have found here on my blog too!

Hope this helps :)

 

 

 

 

 

Saying Sunday (+ a confession)

Today I vow to stop drunk smoking. I am not a cigarette smoker, however when I get drunk (not drink) I light up and smoke away. I know it's terrible and goes against my diet and exercise routine.

So today, I promise to do this. I know my future self will thank me.

 

What are you going to do today?

Be Kind

 

 

 

As you can see your motive may differ, but your action should remain the same...be kind.

26.2 on 11-24-12

Last year I ran my very first half marathon (See post here ) and this November I am running my very first full marathon and couldn't be more nervous and excited at the same time :)

Running has become my ultimate stress relief and don't feel the same if I skip a run.

miles...ugh.

And no, don't worry I won't be putting any tacky sticker on my car to show off my ability, but I do think I may buy this little charm to add on my Ravens necklace.

Well here is some of my awesome inspiration....hope it can inspire you too!

and remember: