I am so happy! Weather is starting to finally warm up and when I walked into the grocery store yesterday, guess what I saw?? Watermelons, cantaloupes, corn, peaches, and more of my favorite summertime produce! It's still the beginning of the season, so prices are a little high and the products are a little small, but it won't be much longer before they are ripe, cheap, and ready for consumption. I have had a particular craving for fresh peaches with this pregnancy and in a few weeks I'll finally be satisfying it. Hurray!
Speaking of pregnancy, did I mention that my second trimester is now OVER? Hallelujah, I'm in the final stretch of this thing. I have had so many unexpected obstacles to staying healthy in this trimester. There's been a lot of trial and error, but I am eager to share my successes and tricks with all of you today. I apologize ahead of time if some of the information is TMI (and also if you're male and reading this). But I did promise that I would be completely honest with you all, a commitment I intend to keep. And who knows, maybe some of you are experiencing these problems (or will in future), but have been too embarrassed to ask someone else about it. Allow me to be embarrassing for you!
Sciatic Pain/Round Ligament Pain
I could not believe this but I started experiencing sciatic pain around week 14! I thought that surely this was some kind of cruel joke nature was playing on me, but it was for real. I hurt. For those of you who are lucky enough to have skipped this unpleasant sensation, allow me to briefly describe it to you. Sciatic pain is sharp, fierce pain felt in the lower back, from a pinched nerve in that area. Imagine the area just above your butt feeling like it's on fire. That's sciatic pain.
Round ligament pain set in shortly after that. I had never experienced this before, so I wasn't sure what to
think about it at first. Imagine wearing a bikini bottom and feeling sharp pain or pulling along the front borders of it- the area where your leg meets your core and/or in front of your pelvis. It usually just lasts for a few minutes. I started getting this pain during or after exercising. But I know some people getting after staying in one position for a while and then moving suddenly. Depends on who you are I guess.Anyway, as you can imagine, it's hard to exercise when you're constantly in pain. And then I heard of this wonderful invention (thanks to my doc). It's called a maternity belt. Basically, it's fabric that you velcro under your abdomen. It supports those ligaments as well as the extra "belly" you're carrying around. You can find them around $30 on Amazon. I finally took the plunge and bought one (the Gabrialla kind, but I don't think it really matters what brand you get). The results were amazing! No pain during exercise or after. What a huge relief.
The other intervention that made a huge difference was yoga. If you remember from my 1st trimester post, I was doing half an hour of yoga once a week. Then when my doctor told me that yoga really helps with sciatic and round ligament pain, I started doing it every single day. It took a few weeks, but since doing it consistently, my pains are completely GONE! Now I can't start my mornings without completing a yoga routine. And not only has it helped with my pregnancy pains, but it does wonders for my spine. I feel so completely refreshed and stretched out after doing yoga.
Incontinence-
This is the part of my pregnancy that gets a little uncomfortable discussing. I noticed around week 16 that I was starting to dribble urine a little during running and zumba classes. It was only a little bit, but still quite embarrassing (especially when I'm teaching the class!) I learned that Kegel exercises help strengthen the muscles that are in charge of releasing urine, so I started doing those. But it takes about a month of solidly doing Kegels every day before you start to see results. I taught Zumba every week! So I started doing the Kegels, but also picked up a pack of incontinence pads at Target. They are basically like pads you wear during your period, but thicker and more absorbent. I wore them during my runs and zumba workouts and never had to worry about my little problem showing on my pants again. If this is a problem you're experiencing, don't let it keep you from working out. The pads are a simple solution. And even if its embarrassing at first to wear them, it's totally worth it to stay healthy and fit during your pregnancy!
Eating in the 2nd trimester-
I've had much less food aversions this trimester. I'm back to eating vegetables without wanting to throw up. Cravings are tolerable, thanks to my philosophy about indulging cravings. I continue to eat 5-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day and adhere to the plate technique for portion control. I'm still eating 300 calories extra worth of healthy snacks per day. So there haven't been many obstacles to eating healthy in this second trimester. Sorry I'm just not that exciting in this area of pregnancy. If however, you are still struggling with cravings or food aversions, I suggest you read my post from the first trimester. Hopefully it gives you some useful tips to get you through the next few months!
Exercising in the 2nd trimester-
Here the types and amount of exercise I did weekly during the second trimester.
Running- 1/2 hour, 2x/week
Zumba- 1 hour, 2x/week
Yoga- 1/2 hour, every day
Walking- whenever I need to run an errand :-) Usually 2-3x week
Stats for the second trimester- if you recall, my first pregnancy, I was not eating a healthy diet and did absolutely no exercise. So these are my comparisons to this pregnancy
Energy level:
1st pregnancy- energy level picked up in the second trimester, but I was still a couch potato. I thought my body needed to "relax" as much as possible.
2nd pregnancy- energy level is up, but I'm using it to stay active, chase a 2-year-old, and keep my household up and running. And the more I move, the better I feel!
Feeling:
1st pregnancy- generally feeling "blah". I never wanted to get up or do anything. I felt consistently lazy, never wanting to get up or go out.
2nd pregnancy- feeling happy and energized. Every day I look forward to getting out of the house and doing some fun activity. Staying inside and watching TV gets me bored!
Bodily appearance:
1st pregnancy- At this point, starting to get too big for all my clothes. Not because my belly was too big, but I was gaining a lot of weight in my butt and thighs.
2nd pregnancy- Still fitting into all pre-preggo pants, as long as I wear a belly band. My legs and butt don't look like they're putting on pounds at all. My arms haven't swollen up yet, so shirts are still fitting great as long as they are long enough to cover the belly :-) Basically, the belly is really the only thing that's been expanding
Weight
1st pregnancy- At my 18 week check-up I had gained 22 lbs
2nd pregnancy- At my 22 week check-up, I had gained 6 lbs
FYI: Baby Mia (she's a girl!!!!) is doing very well. She's actually measuring a whole week and a half ahead of schedule. I am so ready to get through these last few months and meet her! Stay tuned for my next update on tips and overcoming obstacles in the third trimester! Here's a quick comparison of the "just barely pregnant" look and the "finishing my second trimester look".
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