Baby Deux - 9 Weeks

Week 9!  Even though we still have 31 looooooooong weeks left, I feel like this pregnancy is actually going by faster than when I was pregnant with W.  It may help that a) my husband isn't going to be gone the whole time b) I didn't just move here so I have friends and thus have stuff to do and c) I have a toddler to chase around all day.

I'm actually feeling a little bit better this week!  Despite W not sleeping well at all (he's waking up 2+ times a night and is a pain to get to go back to sleep) I'm not quite as exhausted.  I'm still having random waves of nausea but they come and go much quicker than they did last week.  And, I was actually able to get my butt out and go for a run!  All of this, along with the fact that my pregnancy acne is showing up already, really makes me think I'm closer to 10 weeks than 9, but we won't know until our first ultrasound on July 3rd.

Before I got pregnant, I was working out six times a week.  It was a complete habit, and I was happy with how my body looked.  Then the exhaustion kicked in and I could barely carry W upstairs to change his diaper, never mind go work out.  Now that I'm starting to feel better I really want to focus on staying fit.  When I was pregnant with W I ended up gaining almost 60 pounds; that's completely unnecessary, unhealthy (it probably contributed to my severe gestational hypertension), and it was a pain in the ass to lose the weight.  I ended up losing all but like 2 pounds of it, but it took me a year.  I do not want to go through that again.

So, I'm going to try and workout at least three times a week for the remainder of the first trimester.  Hopefully I'll feel good enough for the majority of the second trimester to kick that up to 5 times a week, and then when I get huge and miserable I'll go back down to three.  Sunday I went for a run, yesterday I went for a walk (but I don't consider that "exercise" although it's better than nothing) and today I plan to go to the small gym at the community center on base (it has a "kid's room" that W can play in) after W wakes up from his nap.  Then maybe after that I'll work on his swimming (aka work on him not freaking out as soon as he gets in the pool, haha) since the pool is right there.

Did you maintain your exercise routine during your pregnancy?

I'm Fat.

I tried to come up with a clever title for this post, but I've been doing laundry for just under 12 hours and so my brain is kinda mush.

But yeah, that title says it all...I'm fat.  Okay, so I'm not really fat, I'm just fat for my standards.  I was well aware of the fact then when you get pregnant you gain weight but I didn't realize how much it would really mess with my head.  If you followed me during my pregnancy at all, you know my biggest gripe with pregnancy was just having to sit there and watch myself get fat. And now I'm on my way to getting my body back but in all honesty, it isn't happening as quickly as I would like.

Two days before The Seamonkey was born I weighed in at 198 pounds.  At my initial appointment (at 5 weeks) I weighed 158 pounds.  The weekend of The Fourth of July I weighed 142 pounds but I completely stopped working out and eating right right after that.  I will be happy when I'm back down to the low 140s.

So, for the first month after The Seamonkey was born I just didn't worry about it.  I was still getting used to having a baby and I was losing weight anyway since I was breastfeeding (and Little Man is quite the hungry, hungry hippo).  But, on May 1st the work started...

First of all, I joined Weight Watchers.  I had a lot of success with Weight Watchers when I was preparing for my wedding to The Ex.  I loved it.  I liked the plan, I really liked the ladies at the meeting I went to, and I loved my meeting leader.  I just assumed I would have a similar experience.

...But I didn't.  The nearest center is like 45 minutes away, but that didn't stop me since I had such a good experience in Pittsburgh.  The first meeting I went to I just didn't feel it.  They seemed obsessed with sticking to the topic that Weight Watchers says to talk about that week.  The Leader really didn't include any of the members in the meeting; it was a lecture, not a discussion.  So I tried a different leader...same thing.  I think it is just the policy of that specific location to stick closely to the topic at hand and I didn't like it.

The fact of the matter is I know what I should eat to lose weight.  I don't really need the plan itself.  I just like the camaraderie that goes along with going to meetings and I just wasn't feeling it.  So after a month (where I lost 10.4 pounds) I stopped going.

On top of dieting I also started working out...Last spring I had purchased and completed TurboFire (a Beach Body workout {like P90X or Insanity}) and loved it, so I started that on May 1st.  That I still love!  And although I only workout 4 times a week (their schedule calls for 6 days a week) I haven't missed 1 day of my schedule yet!

On the left is May 1st, the right is June 1st

I almost look normal again from behind already! lol

So, since I decided to stop Weight Watchers I started a different program...Body By Vi.

BBV is a meal replacement program.  Their most popular plan is replacing two meals a day with their shakes but since I'm exclusively breastfeeding, I'm not comfortable cutting my calories by that much so I'm just having a shake for lunch (I did get the okay from Wesley's pediatrician before even considering the program).  Trying to explain the shakes would be stupid since they have a bunch of awesome videos on their site, lol, so you can just go there to get the deets.  And, if you get three other people to start the program you get your shakes for free every month so you can go directly to my site for any info: http://agmhinson.bodybyvi.com/

I know a bunch of women on base who are getting awesome results on the program, but if you have any questions about it for me, just ask!  If you're intrigued by what you see on the site I encourage you to at least try it since they have a 30 day money back guarantee...if you don't see the results you want just send whatever product you have left and they'll give you your money back!  I actually had my first shake today...BBV, ice, light chocolate soy milk, and peanut butter....and it was seriously delicious!

So yeah, I'm fat, but I'm working on it!  Did you obsess over your weight post-baby?  How did you lose your baby weight?

Until next time...

Pregnancy Week 14 - and a whole bunch of bitching

Mleh.  I feel like a bad Mom-to-be.

First of all, why does it seem like every pregnant woman out there can "just tell" what they're having before a doctor tells them but I have no flipping idea? Seriously, I don't have an inkling in either direction. I don't have dreams where the sex of the baby is obvious in any way.  I don't have any sort of gut instinct.  I seriously have no idea.  But shit, neither did the ultrasound lady at my last appointment!

And on top of that, I don't like being pregnant.  No I haven't gotten sick like some women do (and I feel horrible for them) but I just don't enjoy it.  Yeah, it's cool in the morning when I'm cleaning the kitchen and singing Kings of Leon along with my iPod and I realize The Sea Monkey might be able to sorta hear me since it can hear now (and it's much more likely that a fetus will hear the mother than outside noises).  Then I feel bad for my Sea Monkey cuz I have a horrible singing voice. But I don't like it.

I want my body back.  Really bad.  Sure, it's cool not dieting, but I would start dieting again and get my body back if that were okay.  But its not.  I also want to actually be able to work out.  I have a pretty low resting heart rate, but as soon as I start working out it spikes.  Pre-pregnancy it was not uncommon for my heart rate to sit at around 175 for the majority of a workout.  It was completely normal for it to spike up to the 190s a couple times throughout a workout.  This isn't good for growing fetuses.  Depending on what you read, the general consensus is keep your heart rate around 140 during pregnancy workouts.  For me, that's walking.  Maybe jogging for a few minutes occasionally  Eff that dude! So, I bring the dogs on multiple walks a day, but I want to actually work out.  I want to do a Turbo Fire workout, and sweat, and be short of breath, and feel like I actually accomplished something at the end of it.


I also want sushi.  A nice spicy tuna roll - yummmm.  Then I want to eat a medium rare steak.  Nice and bloody.  And have a Wild Berry Mojito from Applebee's.  And just not worry about every.little.thing that I put into my body.  And be able to go to Starbucks and order a Venti iced coffee with skim milk and mocha syrup.  And drink the whole thing.  Caffeine and all.  And maybe be a little jittery after the fact, but also be super productive for like an hour.  Then take a nap.  Because that's what Starbucks does to me.


And I'd like to be able to take on as many DIY projects I want without people drilling me about whether or not I should be using spray paint.  I do it outside.  With a flipping mask on.  Leave me alone.  And I'd like to be able to go to Home Depot to get some normal paint for a project without almost throwing up then passing out in the bathroom.  Yeah, that totally happened yesterday.  Okay, so I didn't 100% pass out, but I completely blacked out, turned white, got freezing cold but starting sweating profusely.  Thanks hormones, that was so sweet of you. I love sitting on the floor in a public restroom in near tears by myself.

It is completely normal to get light headed or even faint in early pregnancy.  Since I felt better right after, I decided to just take it easy for the rest of the day instead of seeking medical attention.  Plus I have another OB appointment tomorrow, so I'll be able to talk to my doctor about it.


Then, after going through all the things I hate about being pregnant, I feel horrible.  I'm so lucky that we were able to get pregnant with so much ease.  I'm so lucky that I haven't gotten super sick. I realize how lucky we really are.  But that doesn't change the fact that I, personally, don't really enjoy being pregnant.  Maybe I'll feel differently once my belly pops and I look cute instead of just chubby.  Or once my skin clears up completely (it is getting better - whether it's the Proactiv or just the fact that I'm out of my first trimester, we'll never know).  Or maybe once we find out whether The Sea Monkey is a boy or a girl so I can really start planning/decorating/shopping and I can feel more connected to the baby.


Or maybe I'll never feel better.  Maybe I'll just never enjoy being pregnant.  And I'll feel bad about it every step of the way.  But that won't matter once I have the baby (and can workout, and diet, and eat whatever the hell I want).  


Did you love being pregnant, or did you dislike it like me? Any advice at all?


Until next time...

Random Updates

I blame moving for feeling like I've fallen behind. In reality I missed one, maybe two, of my normal posts, but I honestly feel like SO much has happened, so I'm just gonna do an update post...

1 - We moved! Yes, we're in our house on base, and I couldn't be happier. Our house is awesome, but it'll be WAY more awesome once we get more furniture, lol. And once we get a few more pieces I'll be happy to share the whole place with you. For now you'll have to settle for a picture of the outside (below).

2 - I quit my job at Michael's. I know, I'm pathetic. But honestly, its quite a hike from our new place, so the commute isn't really worth 4 hours of minimum wage. And standing in place on a cement floor was giving me back spasms. I asked if I could be switch to working on the sales floor, thinking walking around would hurt less and they said no - I was hired to be a cashier. So, eff them. I'm over it!

3 - I forgot to take an 11 week photo of my belly growth. I'm kinda pissed at myself for it. But in the grand scheme of things, its no big deal.

4 - I think the end of my first-trimester-exhaustion is in site. First of all, I've actually been cooking dinner. And not feeling disgusted by it. And yesterday I brought the dogs on not one, but two walks (a short - 25 minute - one in the morning and a longer - 40 minute - one in the evening) and I went to the gym! I did 3.5 miles on the treadmill, running some and speed walking the rest! It felt great! And this morning I brought the dogs on a short walk and I'm getting ready to head to the gym soon! Go me!

5 - The Sailor may be shipped out as early as next week. Hopefully we'll get more details today.

6 - I'm making all sorts of decorating/DIY plans. But, I'll just share them with you all as I actually start them, I just wanted to give you something to look forward to, lol.

Ummm, I think that's all for now!

Until next time...

I know I should work out...

...but I don't wanna!
And I don't even have a good excuse, like being pregnant is making me feel sick. I feel fine! Bloated - yes. Nausea - nope!
I don't wanna work out because I hate our shower, lol. First of all, the water smells funny. And no, it isn't pregnancy spidey-senses kicking in because The Sailor smells it too. It is NOT refreshing. And on top of that its really soft water. Which is supposed to be better than hard water, but it makes me feel slimey. Slimey does not equal clean in my book.
But the worst part of this shower is I'm pretty sure it was designed for midgets. Not kidding. The shower head doesn't even reach my eye level (check out the picture below).  I basically have to do a back bend to wash my hair. That kinda hurts my growing uterus.
Needless to say, I hope the showers in base housing are better! But, I'm gonna make myself go workout now.
Until next time...