And I'm back....

Nearly two weeks ago my Doctor (finally) gave me the all clear to exercise again. For those of you that know me, you know that sitting on my rump for the past 3 months has been quite a challenge! So, upon gaining clearance I resumed my exercise routine with moderate-to-light activity of walking and spinning. Prior to getting pregnant I was in the process of getting my BodyPump certification and training for a 42-mile bike ride, so in total I was working out 6-8x per week. It’s quite a change to go from 100% to nothing and it’s been quite the change to go from nothing to something…. I honestly do not think that I was prepared for the reaction my body would have while exercising with the bean on board.

Here are a few lessons I’ve learned:

-          My body now demands a lot more water while exercising!

-          I can no longer bank on my exercise HR as an indicator of my intensity and must convert to using the RPE (rate of perceived exertion index.)

-          I have a fear of BodyPump (I know it’s possible to complete) and I really see no need for intense weight lifting while pregnant. Additionally, I’ve been discouraged to lift any kind of weight that would recruit my abs… so then what’s the point. I never have and never will be a girl that trains with 2.5lb. Dumbbell = waste of time!

-          What used to be my warm up is now my workout. It’s amazing how fatigued I get, quickly!

-          I have a crazy amount of flexibility, which I knew would happen, but now I understand the need to be cautious while stretching. I cannot imagine how this will intensify as my pelvic floor limbers to prepare for birthing.

-          I have a new found appreciation for the women that do magnificent things while pregnant (i.e. run a marathon, etc.) You go girl! That’s not me.

Today, I presented two workshops at a regional fitness conference as a continuing education provider. This has been a goal of mine since I began (professionally) in the fitness industry, nearly 10 years ago. I was a bit nervous that this old girl couldn’t get her groove back, but I did and I’m so excited to be feeling a bit more like myself at week #11 and a bit less like an alien has taken over my body. Of course moving forward I will continue to follow my Doctor’s orders of moderate-to-low intensity activity and have no grand delusions of returning to my prior workout status, but it feels great to be doing something good (aside from sleeping all of the time and eating well) for me!

Hormone free, that's me!

Today is my first official day sans IVF hormones. Now I get what you’re thinking… but what about all of the pregnancy hormones? And they’re still there, trust me the nausea and mood swings I had this morning confirmed it for me. Still yet, it feels good to wake up each morning without having to take an estrogen pill and progesterone vaginal insert (that’s right folks!) It’s also one step further toward a normal pregnancy!

Cheers to me, I’m  (IVF) hormone free!

The first trimester (part #1)

I’m happily 10 weeks pregnant today and eager to finish the first trimester. I’m writing this post for two reasons: 1) to chronicle my experiences so that I will not forget and 2) to let you in on what life has been like these past 6 weeks. I had a clear shift in the way that I was feeling at week #5 and again at week #7; however, other than being extremely hungry, tired and moody I’ve had a pleasant journey thus far.

We found out the good news at week #4, and as you can see I’m glowing and trying to stick out my gut in the photo below. I felt great throughout week #4 riding on the excitment and anticipation of being a momma-to-be!

Week #5 was the beginning of “pregnancy” for me. I began to feel nauseous in the morning (upon waking up) and in the evening. I spent a few days living on SeaBands and Saltine Crackers but willed myself not to get sick. I then started to correlate my upset stomach with being hungry. Pregnancy has created a ravenous hunger in me that I’ve never felt before and when I’m hungry, you must feed me!

Week #6 continued with nausea and fatigue; however, I shifted my eating from 3 square meals per day to eating 6-7 times per day in smaller portions at 2-hour intervals. This helped to stave off the ravenous hunger and prevent the onset of nausea.

In this picture I had only gained 1lb. although the size of my stomach would change drastically throughout the day depending upon digestion and the amount of water I had drank. In post #2 I’ll talk a bit more about weight gain and the eating marathon that was our weekend-jaunt to Mexico. Stay tuned and stay hungry!

Weird food cravings:

-          Ice Cream, which I gave up for lent because during week #4 I ate it every night and for the health of my butt size and baby I thought it best!

-          Pineapple

-          Arby’s Roastbeef Sandwich (no kidding!)

Food aversions:

-          Chicken (a texture thing)

-          Salmon (again a texture thing)

-          Bacon, the smell of it cooking in our house sent me into quite a sickness one evening during week #5

Things I miss the most:

-          Working out

-          An Italian Sub (yummo deli meat)

-          Caffeine free Diet Coke (trying my best to limit NutraSweet)

Blessings!

Spring has sprung early on the East Coast and so have the many blessings of babies in our little world! Just three short weeks after finding out that the” little bean” had officially entered our world, we also found out that my brother and his wife have a little one on the way as well. These babies will be a first for our family and I think that Nana and Pap’s brains’ are going to explode with baby joy! Slated to be born just 1 month a part from one another, we’re so excited to see the special relationship and bond that these cousins will share. Both my SIL and I have been trying for quite some time and my heart is so filled with love at this moment at our many blessings.

I’m also thrilled to share the news that during the month of November, two of my cousin in-laws are expecting as well. In total, both sides of our family will expand by 4 this fall! It's crazy the amount of baby fever going on in our world!

I would also be remiss not to share the abundance of joyful baby news I’ve received from friends (both old and new). This spring carries with it so much joy and hope.

An old friend recently sent me a message that “those of us that have experienced infertility feel the blessing of pregnancy x10.” I have had the pleasure of having this feeling and it’s indescribable! For those of you reading, still waiting, I’m sending my “sticky pregnancy vibes” and prayers in full concentration toward you!

Transition.....

First, I want to apologize for the nearly month long hiatus I took from posting to this blog. Blogging was a New Year’s resolution, and I refuse to let myself fail at this. Unfortunately, I’m bad with transition, and I’ve come to a turning point in my blog that transition is a must.

I would like to joyfully introduce you to our “bean in the oven” as we like to lovingly refer to it or my dog Lola’s “birthday baby,” who is due 10/21/12, 1 week after her birthday.

This is a photo of the bean at 8.5 weeks; the head is to the left and the rump to the right. It was a quite the active little baby that morning and we’re fortunate to have a follow up ultrasound tomorrow and to get to see the bean again.

I’m not out of the “woods” in terms of being done with the first trimester, but I have graduated from my fertility practice back to my OBGYN practice. At this point in time, we’re so connected with this little person that there’s no denying he/she exists and is ours. And with that, I wanted to share our news with you!

For this child I prayed and the Lord has granted me my petition which I asked of him.”- 1 Samuel 1:27

So, I face a blog turning point. For those of you who have followed me "one step at a time" throughout my journey with infertility, I thank you for taking each step with me and ask that you continue to follow our journey in pregnancy and parenthood. I will continue to write with truth, faith and hope.

For those of you following my blog still struggling with infertility, I continue to pray for you each and every day. Stay strong and maintain faith that in all things God does, he does with great purpose, as our sovereign God. He does have a plan for you and he will provide all things in his time.

When God speaks to you.

Let me preface this by saying that I know I’m keeping many of you in blog limbo and I don’t enjoy doing it. Unfortunately, my type-A personality has gotten the best of me and I just need more time to digest our news and formulate a plan prior to sharing with the rest of the world.

Although there are only 10 followers subscribed to this blog, I see that nearly 200 people click on each post, so thanks to all of the anonymous folks “unofficially” following. I’d love for you to officially follow, just click on the follow button.

That being said, I want to revisit 02/16/12, the day that I drove to the fertility clinic to take a pregnancy test…..

God doesn’t clearly speak to me often and I’m so jealous of those that continuously receive loud and clear messages. I love to listen to Spirit 95.1FM and often hear callers say that God must have played this song for them because it was perfect timing. I always wish He’d give me what I needed in a package such as a song when I really needed it.  As I was driving to the fertility clinic that morning, I began to get really nervous about ¼ of a mile away and just prayed aloud for God to see me through this. And then he spoke to me with a song that’s quite popular at the moment and on the radio all of the time, but it wasn’t until this day that I really heard the lyrics. I was so grateful to have this reassurance and will share the song with you below, if it’s what you need this morning; I hope that it speaks to you.