I am actually writing this at 25 weeks, but last week was a little crazy. The photo below was taken at 24 weeks, my six month mark!
In just a few weeks I'll be into the third trimester, it's weird how time can feel like it's going SO SLOW and yet I can't believe this baby boy will be here in less than 4 months!
To prepare for childbirth I'm taking a Hypnobabies course. I've been listening to the pre-class tracks for a few weeks now. On Saturday Garrett and I attended our first of six classes. For anyone who has never heard of Hypnobabies, it is a technique that uses positive birthing affirmations, deep relaxation, and self-hypnosis during childbirth to create a comfortable experience for mom and baby. There is also an educational element to keep mom informed and prepared for all the possibilities of childbirth. Attending our first class was definitely a new experience for Garrett and I, but a very positive one.
I have to put a note in about Garrett here. I have to say, he is has been incredibly supportive about this whole process. I was impressed at our Hypnobabies class at how on board and ready to learn he was. He also got me a massage for Christmas that I finally used this week. The hardest thing about second trimester has been my back pain, so getting a massage was lovely and very much needed. I can't tell you how much I have appreciated his help and mini back massages too.
We've had lots of new babies arrive in our family recently. Kyra had a baby girl Reese, Summer had a baby boy Sebastian, Jessica had a baby girl Miriam, and Karmin had a baby girl Grace. Now it's just be me counting down the days until we meet our baby boy!
Story Time:
I have been very blessed that this pregnancy has remained low risk, and has had very few scares. Remaining low risk allows me to continue working towards a natural birth, which is something I have wanted from the start. I had one small scare around 23 weeks when I overdid it walking, yes walking...I have tried to remain active but your body changes during pregnancy so you do what you can. For me, that doesn't include marathons or muscle busting weight lifting sessions. I usually do 30 minutes of cardio 2x/week but decided to try walking on one particularly beautiful day. I did an hour and walked about three miles. I haven't had any bleeding or spotting so I was surprised to find some spotting when I got home. I had also been feeling some uncomfortable pressure, like intense Braxton hicks that took my breath away while walking. I called up my midwife and she asked if I had been drinking water, which I hadn't because I didn't want to take my water bottle with me. She suggested that I had dehydrated myself which can sometimes cause the uterus to contract. It wasn't till I got home that I realized just how worn out I was. I spent the rest of the day on the couch with a water bottle. As mentioned, I have been blessed that it was nothing serious. But it did startle me.
So what did I learn from this?
They say everybody is different, well every pregnant body is different too. Garrett and I had gotten to a good place working out together before I got pregnant. I danced for a very long time as well which taught me to push myself, often past my limits (sometimes leading to injury). So it was frustrating to me to find that, I wasn't one of those women you see on social media who could keep doing everything I had done before.
There is a season for everything, and right now my season is about listening to my body and being kind to it. I try to stay active for our little baby and myself, but pregnant "active" for me required a change of mind set. I had to learn when to say, "slow down" or "not today". And that's okay.
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