The stick had barely read a positive pregnancy when I got on my phone and downloaded one of those pregnancy apps. I also purchased the book "What to expect when you're expecting." And because I had the app and the book, I thought I knew it all. If I had a question about whether or not it was safe to eat a hotdog, I could find the answer on the app. If I wanted to know what in the world was a mucus plug, the book had me covered. And as informative as these two items were, nothing, not the book or app or the doctors, told me a safe way to exercise. They just said do it if you feel comfortable, oh and no riding bikes or horses for the next 9 months. Wow, thanks guys!
Now not to rag on any of the doctors (they do great work!), but I wish they had told me a little more. Or at the very least directed me to someone who knew about what I could do. In the first trimester I continued with my regular workout routine of circuit training 3x a week. But somewhere along my 8th - 11th weeks I was utterly exhausted. I worked 10-hour days and by the time I drove home and ate dinner and spent about 10 minutes with my husband, I would find myself knocked out by 9 pm every night and thus no longer worked out. My second trimester I started to regain my energy and it almost felt like I wasn't even pregnant, well, except for the growing bump that is. I started doing my workouts again including my burpees (because hey, I wasn't lying on my back because I knew that was a no no), push up's and pick up basketball games. Around my 15 week mark, my husband broke his foot which meant I had to do everything including walking the dogs, getting groceries, bringing all the groceries up to the third floor where we lived via the stairs as there was no elevator, and all the house chores. I wasn't complaining and at the very least it kept me active but I wasn't able to keep up with my workouts anymore. At least not like I wanted to. Fast forward to week 30 and we purchased our home which had a big yard which meant I didn't have to go on such long walks anymore with the dogs. My husband had his boot removed and was cleared to begin weight bearing activities so I he began to take on a bigger load with the house chores. All of a sudden, my activity level dropped. Third trimester took a toll as well because I had pubic symphysis dysfunction (PSD) which had gradually gotten worse since around week 24.
Let's talk my eating habits...I didn't go crazy and eat every single Oreo in the package, but I did have a my fair share. I was enjoying my pregnancy to it's fullest (no regrets over here!), but they probably didn't help my PSD. By the end of my pregnancy I had gained nearly 50 lbs!
My water broke around 8pm on a Friday evening during a Friendsgiving and despite my water breaking (mind you, it was a small gush followed by an uncontrollable trickle unlike the cinematic gushes all over the floor), I didn't want all eyes on me so I had dinner and when I had stayed a respectable time, my husband, mother and I excused ourselves and called the doctor on the way home. The doctor on call was busy with another laboring mother so it took her some time to get back to us. Meanwhile I was at home with my swollen feet up on the couch. And other than some wet panties, I had no other symptoms that would indicate that I was in labor, not even contractions. When the doctor finally got back to us to come and get checked, I was much calmer than I had expected - again, this may be because I wasn't feeling any contractions.
I was admitted after the doctor confirmed my water had in fact broke and they had me walk around the L&D wing to speed up the labor process. However, it wasn't happening fast enough and the doc said I could no longer wait and was given pitocin. All of a sudden I went from 0-60 and the laboring pains intensified too quickly for my body and mind to acclimate and adjust and I requested for an epidural, stat! After I got my magic drug I was able to relax and 26 hours later I was told I was ready to push. I didn't take any birthing classes and I was going off of what people had told me or from what I had read as well as a kind nurse who was coaching me through the entire process. But learning on the fly is hard when you are trying to push out a 7 lb bowling ball from a tiny hole. Several pushes to "find" my muscles (that epidural makes pushing a million times harder) and an hour later I finally delivered my little guy.
So there you have it, a quick version of my first pregnancy. Stay tuned for pregnancy number two which is a completely different experience!
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