on being pregnant

little miss has to hug the baby daily.
not a flattering picture, but cute.

So, I am at the halfway mark now. Just past really. 21 weeks. Getting there. Getting big. The kicks. The heartburn. the Braxton Hicks contractions. It’s all happening. And so suddenly! I was just honestly getting my head wrapped around it…THIRD BABY…But then my next door neighbor has her baby and my older sister has her baby and now September feels VERY far away and I feel VERY pregnant.

Whoever said that the second trimester was the “energy” spurt of a pregnancy obviously didn’t have a four year old and a two year old.

Energy? What energy?? WHERE IS MY FRICKING ENERGY??

I am also at the point where I have gained enough weight to feel awkward and big, (but not quite enough where you get the stares and the condescending pats.) I told my sister the other day (one of the never-been pregnant one) that I don’t feel pregnant I feel like I have gotten fat. Quickly. Really, really fat. She assured me I look pregnant, not fat, but I have my doubts. Really though, the weight doesn’t bother me, it’s just a pain in the ass. You know? By the time I get to the end of my pregnancy it’s like I am dragging around the weight of a toddler attached to each foot. (Stop calculating, I will tell you, its FIFTY-SIXTY EXTRA POUNDS!!)

As of now I have gained precisely half of that upper limit and have officially reached the point where I try and economize on bending over. Bend over to put away the milk, take two shuffling steps (while still bent over) to pick up the crust of the peanut butter sandwich Mr. Four-Year-Old threw on the floor…hmmm while I am down here maybe I should cut my toenails again, its been awhile.

You get the idea.

the day before little man arrived

It’s also to the point where I have to lay on my side because lying on my back feels like I have a 20lb weight squashing my internal organs, oh wait…(yes, I know I said 30 lbs, the other ten has gone…elsewhere…)so I flip and flop all night. At least I am still lithe enough to do that easily. Not looking forward to month 8 when you have to put only the silky sheets on the bed so as to minimize friction and make the flipping and flopping easier. (You think I am joking? Totally not.)

Sorry. Can you tell I am tired?

There are things you can do though, and I am going to start as of now, taking better care of my beat up old body.

Managing the low back pain. This is totally the worst, all that pulling and aching from that belly, ugh. Pelvic tilts work wonders for this, as does a little light yoga, several times a day, even just 10 minutes at a time. (Pelvic tilts are what they sound like, get down on hands and knees and gently rock your pelvis up and down, like 20-30 times.)

Posture. I am so guilty of slouching over in my mom chair on the laptop. Today I have started pulling the laptop down onto a low table and sitting cross-legged on one of our wooly rugs on the floor. And sitting up REALLY straight. I need to do this more. My midwives explained that you need to think of keeping your belly straight and with as much space as possible to get baby into a good birthing position (and to relieve back pain and to help with heartburn and digestion too!!).

Exercise ball. Just sitting and rocking around on it really stretches and soothes the pelvis.

six days before little miss came

Yoga. Went to a prental yoga class for the first time this pregnancy just last week. I NEED TO GO EVERY WEEK. We shall see. (Easier said than done) Like I said though even a little yoga around the house helps. Especially downward dog and pigeon pose (too hard to explain, google for directions)

Supplements. I am kinda crazy about this because I really think they help and the science of it makes sense. Babies need a lot of Omega oil (DHA and all that good stuff) for brain development, so, we should give them as much as we can as their brains are forming! I take a (slightly nasty) fish oil, liquid supplement. I give it to the kids too. (You have to get the good stuff though, the el-cheapo brand from Walmart etc is made with crap quality fish full of mercury and formaldehyde. Ew.) I also take probiotics and Vitamin D and prenatal vitamins. Vitamin D is important for pregnant and nursing moms, in large doses. My doctor recommended 5,000 to 10,000 IUI daily.

Rest. Oh my gosh. I need to go to bed earlier. I need to start choosing the 9pm bedtime over an extra hour with dada or on the computer. Naps. Naps don’t happen. But, at least closing my eyes to rest every other day with baby girl for a bit would be good.

the belly, in its current state. pardon the armpit.
its really hard to take a picture of your belly
by yourself...

Inversions and rebozo. You can google both these things but this is the best website (one of my former midwives!) I am a freak about helping baby get into the ideal position for birth. Apparently I have a slightly tilted uterus which makes my babies present in a difficult way (my current chiropractor insists she can help me and reduce my long painful labors...here is hoping!!) Little man was a c-section because of this…and because I didn’t know about things like inversions and rebozos. I know now. Little miss was a home birth, presented the same way, and came out after months of rebozo-ing and inversions, some lunges during labor and lots and lots of efforts (and the support of my fabulous midwives!)  (I should do birth stories someday. Would it gross people out? Hmmm. I will I think.) So, inversions are basically putting your hands on the ground, legs up on your bed, and letting your belly sag down. Look at this site for directions. You can do it on your own, nightly, just for a few breaths. Here is where you can find rebozo info. It’s a traditional Mayan thing, with a long piece of cloth, used to kind of wiggle and lift the belly. There are lots of videos on Youtube.

Oh. Also. Green things and protein. Daily. I went in to my midwives recently and found out I was slightly anemic. Not a big deal but enough to contribute to the tired, dizzy feeling. I was CRAZY about green things and protein last pregnancy and I need to get back to that. One easy way is my green shake which, typical me, I had stopped making regularly. Now I don't try anything funky just a handful of spinach, a banana, some yogurt or kefir and orange juice.


 

Any mommies have other things to add? Any tips?

Okay. I need to do this stuff. Isn’t it awful that one of the hardest things to do as a mom is to take care of yourself?? But this is when you gotta switch your mindset maybe. I need to take care of THIS BABY…by taking care of myself.

In any case, I am at my parent’s farm today. I napped in the chair while the kids played and now I am blogging while my mom makes dinner. Being taken care of is a good thing every now and then.