This Week's Pregnancy Thoughts

Hey y'all,

So I am officially in Week 30 of my pregnancy. I have to say that the third trimester so far has not been as fun as the second.

First of all, my back really hurts. Apparently Baby B is hanging out on the right side of my belly, which is stretching those muscles in such a way that where they connect in my back aches a lot.

Secondly, I'm getting more tired. I really feel so much better with an extra hour of sleep. Luckily, I haven't been waking up a lot or anything, so if I go to bed early enough, I can get my 9 hours.

Thirdly, I feel like I am past the cute stage and into the big huge Lauren stage.

Fourthly (is that a word?), just when I am getting more serious about getting more exercise, it is getting harder to walk. My muscles just feel really strained. I think I am going to try yoga instead. I am hoping it will help my back, too.

And I have to just tell you, I have never in my life tried yoga because I am seriously in the running for the most inflexible person on the planet. I always imagined myself making a total fool of myself in a regular yoga class, so I've never tried it. But the other day my back hurt so badly by the time I left work that I walked straight across the parking lot to a little store and bought a yoga mat. I also ordered a prenatal yoga video from Netflix. So we are going to see how this goes. It may be a joke if I can't do any of the moves :), but I am seriously hoping that it helps me feel better, look better, and that it also helps me prepare for labor.

Speaking of preparing for labor, I am amazed at how some women are just not taking that seriously. There are literally six pregnant women in my office right now, two who are just a few weeks behind me. One of them is just not worried about this labor thing or preparing for it at all. I guess she figures that everyone does it, and she'll get that kid out one way or another (I think she probably also just hates exercise). I, however, have been reading all the pregnancy books I can get my hands on, and I am very aware that exercising along the way can help a WHOLE lot. One thing I read, in particular, really got me "motivated," if you can call it that (maybe more like "freaked out"): "You wouldn't try to run a marathon without training for it; why would you go into labor without preparing for it?" WHAT? Do you mean to tell me that delivering a baby requires as much physical and mental training as a marathon?? So I got a little more motivated and have been fitting more walks into my week. But like I said, walking is getting a little harder and slower, so I'm going to try to add the yoga thing to my walking routine. My friend, April, told me the other day that she was running--running--all the way up to delivery for both her kids. WHAT??!? But that girl popped her last baby out in like 30 minutes, so maybe there is something to that, if you can do it without falling over. :)