25-26 Weeks Pregnant: This and That

Sorry for the slow week. We’ve had a rush of freelance projects that needed attention. More work is never a bad thing, but it always displaces the things I seem to enjoy doing with my already limited spare time pretty quickly. As such, I though I’d throw together a little mish-mash of random thoughts, pregnancy “symptoms” and things that I’ve really been enjoying over the past weeks (25-26 weeks pregnant) — including some cravings.

Physically

Physically things are still going pretty good, but I’m definitely napping a lot more on the weekends lately, and feeling a bit slower. I’m not talking short little naps either, they are all 1-2 hours at least. To the extent that I’m pretty sure Neil has come to check to make sure I’m still alive.

Although physically I’m able to still do so much more than I ever thought would be possible heading into third trimester, random little things have become more difficult, and surprisingly none of them are happening in the gym.

• Sitting on the couch is comfortable in very few positions. Likewise getting off the couch looks ridiculous.
• Tying my shoes and buckling sandals is AWFUL. I have a feeling I will be in slip-ons more and more or Neil will be tying my shoes as the summer goes on. Very thankful my work decided to relax the dress code over the summer.
• Turning over in bed makes me feel like an orbiting planet.

 

Taken today at 27 weeks, things have been crazy!

Other random things going on physically:

• My belly is coming straight out like a little volleyball in the center of my abdomen, but is totally flat at the end, which is kind of weird-looking.
• Kaitlan little kicks are becoming full-on rolls and limb movements. I swear the other day I felt hands and fingers and she’s had a few cases of the hiccups. Hopefully she isn’t a frequent sufferer like me.
• My boobs aren’t feeling as obnoxiously large and heavy lately, which is a HUGE relief.

All in all, still feeling good and moving well. It’ seems crazy to say, but I’ve been pregnant and so conscious of every little thing for so long (seemingly), I’m having a hard time even picturing postpartum. I know I won’t gain possession of all of my body back (breastfeeding), but I can’t help but be a little excited for the other side with her out here with all of us and a little bit of physical normalcy.

Food

The further I get into this the easier eating on target has become. I have a pretty ambitious goal to continue eating as cleanly as possible through breastfeeding (1 year), so I still have quite a way to go. It’s so much easier now, so the amount of time doesn’t feel all that daunting.

I’ve had several questions about how I’ve been able to eat this way through pregnancy and if I’ve done anything to ease the road a bit. There really is no magic trick to eating well during pregnancy, you just have to grit your teeth embrace how it makes you feel (better I promise), then just approach it day-by-day. When I first started, going to the grocery store was depressing because it was a building full of food I was trying to avoid, but it was there, and other people were buying it. I dealt with aversions to both veggies and meat (mostly chicken) but continued eating both, realizing pretty quickly that the food tasted good, it just didn’t look good.

As you accumulate time and small victories, it really gets easier. And you have to cheat once in a while (or you become a hermit), but choose them carefully and make sure you are getting the fats and protein you really need that often mask themselves as cravings for junk. More often than not my cheats have been hearty burgers without excess cheese or sushi without raw fish.

It’s without a doubt a huge sacrifice, but it has far too many benefits to ignore. I’ve been able to remain very mobile and active, and have minimized unnecessary weight gain. I have great energy and hope that postpartum eating well will translate to better birth and faster recovery.

That being said, burgers and California rolls aside, I really enjoy my cheats, and I’ve had a few more cravings as I cross over into third trimester. A few of the notables:

• Twizzlers: I have mad cravings for licorice. I’m not deficient anywhere, so I know it’s purely because of taste/texture. Either way, it’s been a nice treat lately and it makes me so happy.
• Peanut/Almond butter: I think the toughest part about this point in pregnancy is that my stomach fills fast but the hunger comes again even faster. I’ve taken to keeping this stuff around for a quick nibble. Does the trick every time and I looooove it.
• Mio: This is more of a savior than a craving. It’s getting hot and humid out, and I have to drink a ridiculous amount of water. As water and unsweetened tea are the bulk of my beverage allowance and I’m really starting to miss alcohol, you can imagine how old this is getting at almost 1 gallon per day. I’ve been throwing Mio in my glass at work, and it makes it so much easier to get hydrated for the gym in the afternoon without disrupting my entire pod of coworkers.
• So Delicious Coconut Ice Cream Bars: Neil picked these up the other day and I’m in love. The box didn’t make it through the weekend.

There are also things I have no real desire to eat. I wouldn’t call them aversions, but considering how popular they are as cravings with a lot of women, I find it noteworthy:

• Potato chips: At my worst, I used to eat a full bag of Doritos on a Friday night, now I could care less about them.
• Pickles: While I could probably eat buckets of sauerkraut, pickles just don’t sound all that awesome.
• Lemonade: I think I burnt myself out on lemonade in first trimester when I wasn’t feeling 100% and someone said it helped. This summer beverage is ruined for me for now.
• Cheese: Neil buys little blocks of fancy cheese for himself to munch on throughout the week. Once and a while he’ll cut me off a little square, but I could take it or leave it. Like chips, one of those things that I used to eat en masse that doesn’t hold a lot of appeal anymore.

CrossFit

Here’s a little sampling of workouts from the past few weeks with some of the substitutions I’ve made. As you can see, they are slowly being morphed to be “Jessica-friendly” more and more. As far as warm-ups, I can still chug through 250-400m runs, and Burgener and relay warm-ups, however anything involving jumping, chest-to-deck, or ab-induction, like bed bugs are out. If I’m on my own, I really like doing light thrusters or wall balls. The thruster is a good all-over movement and incorporates squats which at this stage I’m always trying to get more of.

5/31/14

Little work while waiting to begin coaching the 8AM free class at CrossFit Fringe.
50 wall balls
75 lb hang clean and jerk and snatch practice

5/28/14

Strength:
E2MOM x 16 Minutes (Every 2 minutes on the minute for 16 minutes)
1 Bear Complex (Mid-Level Weight) – (Completed at 75 lb)

WOD:
Four Rounds For Time :
5 Muscle-Ups (2x C2B/Ring Dips) – (Completed at the chest to bar and ring dip scale)
5 Deficit Handstand Push-Ups – (Completed push-presses at the 75 lb weight used for bear complexes)
5 Pistols Ea. Leg – (Still rocking these)

5/27/14

WOD:
For Time
100m Walking Lunges
800m Run (Scaled to a 800m row)
100 Air Squats

Strength (Perform Post-WOD):
Push-Press
5 at 75% (65 lb)
3 at 85% (75 lb)
ME at 95% (85 lb)

5/24/14

Memorial Day “Murph”
For time:
1 mile run (Scaled to a 1 mile row, although it arguably a scale, it was a lot more comfortable)
100 pull-ups (Completed)
200 push-ups (On parallettes to reach full depth)
300 air squats (Completed)
1 mile run (Scaled to a 1 mile row)

5/22/14

WOD 1: 5 Minute AMRAP
15 Air Squats
5 Strict Pull-Ups (Used red band)
Rest 5 Minutes

WOD 2: 5 Minute Cap
800m Run (Scaled to 400m)
ME Row (Meters) with remaining time (Made it to around 24 calories)
Rest 5 Minutes

WOD 3: 5 Minute AMRAP
10 Hand-Release Push Ups (On parallettes to reach full depth)
10 Box Jump (30/24″) (24″ box step-ups)
Rest 5 Minutes

WOD 4: 5 Minute Cap
Run 800m (Scaled to 400m)
ME Row (Meters) with remaining time (Made it to around 24 calories)

5/20/14

Strength: Snatch

EMOM x 7 Minutes
3 Reps at 65% Max (65 lb)
Rest 3 Minutes, Then…

WOD: 5 Rounds For Time
HS Walk 25ft (Strict press 65 lb)
6 Strict HSPU (Pike push-ups)
3 Muscle Ups (3 ring dips/3 pull-ups)

5/19/14

Strength:Deadlift
3 at 70%
3 at 80%
ME at 90%

WOD: For Time
Using 60% of ME Deadlift Weight (Scaled to a 55 lb KB to centralize weight)
15 Deadlift
30 Wall-Ball (Completed as prescribed)
12 Deadlift
24 Wall-Ball
9 Deadlift
18 Wall-Ball
6 Deadlift
12 Wall-Ball
3 Deadlift
6 Wall-Ball

Time is flying!