I'm feeling great this week and really enjoying the second trimester. I thought I'd post an update today telling everyone what I've been up to these last couple of weeks and tell you more about our child birthing classes (2 classes down, 10 to go!).
Since Week 17, I've been successful in keeping up with my 5AM workouts at the gym across the street and, in the evening, started incorporating more pregnancy-specific workouts since learning a few in our first child birthing classes. I've also been taking prenatal yoga every Saturday morning at a great yoga studio and have been loving that. After having taken hot yoga (95-degree hot vinyasa flow, for any curious yogis out there) prior to getting pregnant, these prenatal yoga classes have been such a great change of pace and are actually something I look forward to every week. The classes focus stretching, balancing, relaxing, breathing, strengthening key muscle groups, and rubbing our bellies...all without getting too sweaty! Plus, I love knowing that although they don't really feel like workouts, I am still doing really good stuff for my preg-o body and should aid in the delivery of lil' fryebaby.
As mentioned in previous posts, we started child birthing classes two Sundays ago. So far, Billy and I are both really enjoying it. Our instructor is extremely kind and easy to hang out with, making the two hours every Sunday afternoon go by very quickly. The class consists of our teacher and six couples. Five of the couples are husband-wife duos, similar in age to Billy and I (or so they appear) and the sixth couple is a woman and her mom, who's generously filling in for the husband who is unavailable due to work commitments. All the couples are due around the same time we're due...one couple due in mid-October, three couples due around Thanksgiving (including us), one in December, and one in January. Three of the couples are planning to deliver their babies at non-hospital locations (birthing center or home) under the care of a midwife, and the other three are planning to deliver at local hospitals under the care of their OB/GYN (i.e. Billy and Erin's plan). I'm really enjoying the balance Billy and I are trying to find in this first baby journey...balancing our natural birth goals with the security and familiarity of a hospital birth. It's great to know that we have some of the best OB's in the region and and are planning to deliver at one of the best hospitals in the nation; but equally fulfilling to know that we're not just going to hand over this entire birth experience to them, and instead are educating ourselves as much as possible and bringing our own unique birth plan to the hospital. Maybe this sounds overly-optimistic...who knows?!? At the end of the day, though, I'm embracing the fact that every decision that will be made on delivery day will ultimately be Billy and I's and we will hopefully understand what will be happening during each phase of the delivery and when we need to rely on our fantastic resources to ensure a healthy fryebaby!
So, a little more about child birthing classes...
1. Week 1 we learned about the importance of prenatal exercise. I thought this would be all about cardio and walking and swimming, but I was surprised when the homework was a set of unique exercises specific to labor and delivery preparation. Here are a few examples:
-Pelvic rocking (a.k.a. cat / cow poses): get on all fours and imitate the cat and cow poses...my favorite "exercise" by far...especially helpful in the middle of the night when side-sleeping becomes completely uncomfortable.
-Squats: normal squats, with the goal to strengthen the legs to allow for long stints of squatting during labor and delivery, as shown below (p.s. I am no where near being able to squat like this...so jealous of the women who have no problem keeping their heels on the ground when they get in this position).
-Tailor sitting (i.e. sitting on floor cross-legged): our instructor suggests we sit on the floor (as opposed to a chair or the couch) as often as possible. It's crazy how much this works your back muscles and your posture, plus helps with flexibility through the hips. Who knew sitting on the floor and watching TV could be counted as a workout?!?
2. Week 2 (earlier this afternoon) we learned about the importance of prenatal nutrition. Our instructor prepared us for this class by asking us to log our food intake for the last week, paying special attention to our protein intake. I was surprised to learn that I need to aim for 80-100 grams of protein every day...that's a lot! Luckily, as all of you know, eating large amounts of anything has never been an issue for me, so I'm keeping up with the protein goals pretty easily. We learned that I should also be getting plenty of dairy, healthy fats, grains, orange/yellow Vitamin A & C packed veggies & fruits, and, of course, green veggies. I went grocery shopping after class and filled the cart up with all sorts of good stuff...fingers crossed I can do a little better this week, as last week's log was not one to be proud of (worst food entry: Thursday's dinner...chili dog at the Nationals baseball game).
3. I can't get over how wonderful it is to have your husband with you at these classes. As many other moms may be able to attest to, it's rare to find a dad who's going to read all the baby books and peruse online blogs and chat with all their dad-friends about all things pregnancy / baby like us gals do...which can make mom (i.e. me) feel a little alone in wide world of pregnancy information overflow. Now that we're taking the classes together, everything I'm learning, Billy is learning with me. Every piece of advice we're receiving, Billy is receiving, too. Our instructor talked to us about the importance of breastfeeding today and it was so great for Billy to hear about all the benefits of breastfeeding and for the instructor to let him know that the best thing he can do is to provide me with support and encouragement during the initial challenges that every woman seems to experience when they first try to breastfeed. I was so happy to see Billy engaged in the class and know that he is excited to support me in this monster-task that many moms feel they bear the complete burden.
4. My favorite part of class is the forced relaxation time at the end of class. The last 10 minutes of the first two classes has been a time for me to lie down on my side and attempt to relax...while Billy gives me a little massage in my back and observes me trying to relax. Who cares why we do this or what the benefit will be, if any....I just embrace the fact that I get to sleep and Billy is forced via peer pressure to give me a massage!
So, that's enough about child birthing classes...not sure I'll ever post on this subject again. Weeks 3 - 12 get into the "meat" of the class and may become non-appropriate for this modest blog :) However, if I learn anything especially cool or interesting, I promise to share!
As for Baby Bump progress, I'll share an observation instead of a progress photo this week. My favorite word to describe the baby bump so far has been "cantilever". I never noticed the cantilever-"Frank Lloyd Wright Falling Waters"-quality of a woman's pregnant belly until I started developing my own little cantilevered bump. I always imagined a bump that gently grew out of the body, like the hump on a camel...not a severe angle that protrudes from the body. Cantilever is the only way I can describe it...
Here's to each and every mom's architectural masterpiece that is her preg-o belly!
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