36 Weeks - 1 Month Left!

I haven't been updating in a while... trying to get everything in order before my little boy arrives in only 4 weeks! I just had a maternity photo shoot last Thursday (35 weeks preggo) and they are posted on my Facebook. I highly recommend capturing this moment, especially when it's your first baby. the photographer, Brooke Daniels, lives in Stafford, VA, and I highly recommend her for any family/lifestyle photos you may need. Her work is amazing.

Anyway... as for my pregnancy, I am feeling great! I have a few bad days here and there, but I am still managing to sleep well, exercise regularly, eat well, and basically feel good. I've had no problems with backache, swelling, or any other of the common physical pregnancy symptoms. I also am fortunate enough to have no stretch marks on my belly! I do have some on the butt, thighs and boobies, but they are battle wounds, lol! Not worried, totally worth it for the end result.

My weekly workout schedule is somewhat more lax now and has been for about 4 weeks. Mind you, I begin my 9th month tomorrow (36 weeks). I am lifting 3x weekly, walking 2x weekly and stretching 2x weekly. I don't hit every body part every week, but I rotate through in 2 weeks. I usually pair two bodyparts together for each workout, and it lasts 30-45 minutes depending on those body parts (longer on the leg days). Walking in my neighborhood for about 25 minutes, 1.5 miles or so, usually once a week and then just being active around the house, running errands, etc. 2-3x weekly. Normally I wouldn't count "being active" but it makes a huge difference when you are 8-9 months preggo! It feels like a workout, lol! And I am keeping my back, hips and legs limber by stretching twice a week. I really think that my fitness and strength prior to pregnancy has helped me feel so good even this far into it. Rock on!

Moving Along!

Here I am with nearly 11 weeks to go. Pretty soon I'll be in single digit weeks! I feel great, but the anxiousness of his arrival is growing daily. I do notice it's harder to maneuver this cumbersome body around, and if I'm standing too long I might get a little grumpy, but other than that, I feel great.

His movements changed, about two days ago, to fluid, pressing, turning motions. Not too many jerks, flutters or kicks anymore (although I do feel those). I can SEE him underneath my belly when he turns over on his side or presses his feet or knees up into me... it is sooooo cool, but a lil' freaky too!

I spent the last two Saturdays at local figure competitions with two of my clients. Here's a pic from Aug. 15, with my client Robin and my BFF Heather. I'm 28 1/2 weeks pregnant here!

99 Days to go!

Yeah baby, I am in double digits counting down until Baby Carpio is born! In weeks, that equates to only 14 as of this coming Wednesday. Heck, that's shorter than most of my contest prep phases!

I am feeling great, all things considered. I occasionally get tired feet, swollen ankles and an achy back, but it's fairly short-lived and doesn't interfere with my everyday activities. (I'm still on my feet for 4 straight hours in the mornings training clients!) I'm also trying to remain as positive as I can throughout my pregnancy. First, I know it's short-lived and the pain will soon be over. Second, it's the most unique and important experience in my life to date, and I want to try and enjoy it and remember it for the good, not the bad. It seems to be working so far. :)

Last Week's Workouts

Since I haven't posted any details of my workouts in a while, here's an excerpt of what I did last week. In fact, starting last week, I decided to pair two bodyparts together and work them in superset fashion. This will help me get a longer workout at a slightly higher intensity, both of which will be beneficial to my anaerobic and aerobic conditioning.

Mon - Walk/Jog (20 minutes)
Tue - Quads/Chest (45 minutes)
Wed - AM: Prenatal Yoga (45 minutes); PM: Shoulders (30 minutes)
Thu - Back/Hamstrings (45 minutes), stretching (10 minutes)
Fri - Bis/Tris/Calves (30 minutes), followed by Arc trainer cardio (15 minutes)

It's a Boy!!!!!

Just got back from the US appointment this morning. Yay, it's a little baby boy and we are so excited! I was right on the guess, and so were 99% of our friends and family. About 30 boy guesses and 1-2 girl guesses! Here are a few pics - the entire album is on my Facebook page though.

Back from Florida

Dave and I had a great time visiting the family in Florida. While we only spent 4 1/2 days there, it was quality time with my Mom, sis, her hubby and my nephew. We are ready to leave VA for good and relocate to the sunshine state!

Here's a pic from our adventures at Washington Oaks Park near Palm Coast, FL.

Baby is Kicking!

Starting about 3-4 days ago I began feeling faint little kicks. To explain for those of you who haven't been there, it feels like someone flicking you with their finger, only from the inside out! It also sometimes reminds me of when you go over a speed bump or a hill on a roller coaster, that stomach wave up and down feeling, only not quite as strong. Now I notice the kicks nearly every time I sit down for a meal or lay on the couch for a nap. They come in series of 3-10 in a row! It's awesome!!! :D

18 1/2 Weeks

Feeling great - my best so far! The past 2 weeks I've experienced more energy and no more morning sickness - yay! I have noticed it's been a bit difficult to sleep (to stay asleep, that is). I spontaneously wake up 2-3 times throughout the night, plus the 1-2 times that my uterus-pressed bladder SCREAMS to me, lol.

I've also just recently noticed the ligaments in my lower abdomen are stretching. I've felt the ligaments in the sides of my back and sides of my abs stretching for about a month now. Just this week, my joints have gotten really loose and hyper-mobile due to the relaxin (which allows the hips to spread for delivery). If I stand and twist I will feel/hear a knee or ankle crack/pop. Very weird!

Since I feel good, I'm eating better and exercising more. Each weight workout takes me about 35-40 minutes. This week, my scheduled looked like this:

Mon: Shoulders
Tue: Triceps, Calves
Wed: Hamstrings, Biceps
Thu: Back
Fri: Quads, Calves

I typically go for a long walk with my husband 1-2 times weekly and/or spend an hour or two doing yardwork. That's my "cardio"!

My next prenatal appointment is this coming Monday. Will have the urinalysis to check for sugar and protein, weight, blood pressure, and fetal heartbeat check.

15 Week Photo

Here's a progress pic for you all. I have the full set on my facebook gallery. This is the most recent taken 3 weeks ago at 15 weeks.

Pregnancy Update - 15 Weeks

I will be at 15 weeks tomorrow! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. Thank you all so much for your congrats and well wishes. :) It was awesome to celebrate my first Mother's Day and hubby took me out to lunch and a shopping spree for maternity clothes, lol!

My 6th through 10th week I dealt with a lot of morning sickness and fatigue. 8 hours of sleep each night plus a 2-3 hour nap during the day (love my job as a PT!). I had to eat whatever I could, and I was HUNGRY! Forget chicken breasts and veggies, lol, I was eating ravioli, breaded chicken patties and canned and frozen fruit. Now that the queasiness is gone and fatigue has lessened, I am back to near-normal off-season eating habits and am working out about 3 times a week.

Just had a prenatal appt. Monday and I weighed in at 166! The most I've ever weighed, and to think it will go up at least another 15 lbs. is kind of just funny. I'm averaging about 5 lbs. per month so far. I did start at 150 and 16% bodyfat so a lot was dieting rebound at first, especially with the strict and sudden diet changes I had to make to hold down food and get enough calories for baby.

In another month I can find out what the baby's gender is! Dave and I will be taking trips to see all our family this summer, while I'm still feeling well in the 2nd trimester, and before lockdown begins, ha ha. California, Florida and Pittsburgh are on our schedule.

I'm having a baby!

My 2009 plans have been decided for me! This will be the first year since I began competing in 2003 that I won't be suiting up, strapping on the heels and spraying on the tan. It's a bit sad but it is more than made up for by the coming of our first little bundle of joy!

I became pregnant around the beginning of February. I was well into dieting mode and only 9 weeks from my first show of the season. I had just weighed in, checked bodyfat and taken pictures (149 lbs., 16.6%). Three days later, I found out I was pregnant.

I will be journaling my mood, emotions, training, diet, etc. on my blog for the next 8 months.

Weeks 1 – 4:

I felt great and like I said, really didn’t know I was pregnant until about the 5th week. The only symptoms I noticed were during week 3 when I had extreme fatigue, low back pain, slight nausea, hot flashes and constipation. But since all of those symptoms could also be attributed to contest dieting and an extreme heat wave of weather, I was only mildly suspicious! Those symptoms subsided and it took almost 2 more weeks for me to find out I was pregnant, of course when I missed my period.

Week 5 – 6:

Week five was ok, but fatigue was beginning to set in. I started making initial changes to my diet and training this week. I stopped caffeine cold turkey (but a week later, resumed it in less than 200mg daily allotments) and added much-needed extra carbs due to the low blood sugar associated with pregnancy (and believe me, I noticed!). I also added calcium and iron to my supplement plan, in addition to my USANA multi-vitamin/mineral and sublingual liquid B complex.

Week 6 has been the worst! Constant nausea (though no vomiting) and insane fatigue – worse than dieting/training for a fitness competition. And believe me, if someone told me it was harder than that, I wouldn’t have believed them! I go in for my initial appointment in an hour. I need the reassurance that I’m doing everything right and not taking anything that may be harmful to baby…

Got to see my baby today! He/she’s a little kidney bean – soooooo cute. The baby’s only about 1 cm in length, but I got to see his/her heart beating very rapidly. It’s confirmed that I’m 6 weeks and 6 days… due date November 3!