Healthy Pregnancy

Healthy Pregnancy

When I found out I was pregnant my mind was racing. I did that happy laugh cry…1 minute I was excited, the next 30 seconds I was crying. It’s a big responsibility, creating a whole new HUMAN BEING that is SOLELY dependent on YOU!!!!

Ahhh!!!!

Where do I start??!!!!

I started reading books about pregnancy. SO MANY BOOKS!!!!

How do I keep myself healthy? How do I keep MY BABY HEALTHY?

After 12 weeks Josh and I started telling people. Finally!!! Those first 12 weeks were scary for me. I worried about my baby. You hear about so many emotionally terrifying stories about miscarriages. I worried so bad it made me cry some days. Luckly, I had so much support after we announced. People are so loving and caring they just wanted to share their advice and opinions.

Because of my lifestyle people kept on telling me:

“Eat whatever you want and eat more.”

“You are eating for two!”

“DON’T DO CROSSFIT!”

“You can NOT workout everyday.” .

So naturally,  I asked my doctor.
Contrary to what everyone else was telling me. She told me to have my healthy carbs, protein and healthy fats each meal. The first trimester I only needed about 2000 calories a day. Going into my second and third trimester I needed an additional 200-300 calories a day.

If you think about it, you’re creating a baby, not a full grown human….SO it makes sense that you only need about 300 calories extra a day.

I also asked her if I should stop Crossfitting? Do I stop working out? What are my restrictions?

I was surprised with what she said.

The way society portrays the way pregnancy... It’s a little dimension to women, if you think about it. It’s in movies and in shows, how women are suppose to act, look, and feel during pregnancy. I DID NOT want to become a stereotypical pregnant lady. Because according to society I was suppose gain a lot of weight, eat a bunch of junk food, wear sweat pants and become bipolar (to my husband I might have been a little, boarder line, bipolar.)

So yes I was surprised when she said I could continue working out as long as I am not at a calorie deficit and to listen to my body.

Basically, my goal at that point was to exercise to stay healthy, nothing else.  NO PRs (personal records)! Yay!!! I was so excited!!!

I am not going to lie. Even though my main concern, throughout my whole pregnancy. was my baby’s health I had other motives for staying healthy. Being a mother was a new role to me and a very important one but I was still a wife. I wanted to make sure my husband and I were still connecting intimately, for the health of ourselves, individually and our marriage. So I wanted to look good for my husband, while staying healthy for my baby, and myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I had a donut and Taco Bell once in awhile. I did have cravings, but let’s face it, I feel like I have struggled with cravings all my life. I mean there is always something I would rather eat than vegetables. I mean let’s be honest here. I also struggled some days, getting to the gym was the hardest part.

Throughout my whole pregnancy I did crossfit. I learned that all the motives to staying healthy was helping me keep my baby healthy. Towards the end of my pregnancy my metcons (metabolic conditioning, cardio workout) became very basic.

Lunges, light weight barbell movements, kettlebell swings, Russian kettlebell swings, rowing, step ups, power walking…basic.

At that point I was doing metcons because the doctor told me that it would help my recovery post labor, because I honestly didn't want to go to the gym anymore. Luckly, I had my husband and friends that helped me stay motivated towards my goals.

I remember telling my husband, “This Crossfit better pay off!”

By the end of the pregnancy I had gained about 30-35 pounds.

I did get a lot of negative comments about Crossfitting while I was pregnant, but I also got a few positive ones. I was feeling good. No swollen ankles or feet!!! Why would I stop? My body was feeling great and my baby boy was growing at the appropriate rate.

As the due date came closer I was getting nervous. I WAS HORRIFIED!!! My body was preparing for the MIRACLE OF LIFE!!! The biggest change my body was ever going to make in a short period of time. What if something went wrong? How was I going to have the strength to do it??!!

I still remember being at the hospital and FREAKING OUT about labor. My husband had a lot of work to do!

I was admitted to the hospital Sunday night. My doctor and I went over the birthing plan months before. It was pretty simple, epidural and no episiotomy. I trusted my doctor.

I wasn’t dilating fast enough so they gave me some pitocin and of course the epidural . A little before 4am I started pushing.

After about 30mins my son was born. YUP! Thats you read write, I ONLY PUSHED FOR 30 MINUTES. 35 to be exact. No stitches needed.

My son was born Monday, July 28, 2015.

My doctor, which was present for the majority of the labor, said that the crossfit paid off.

At this point, I didn’t know 35 minutes was short time for pushing. I was a first time mommy. This was all new to me. Since my pregnancy was different than the majority of the people I interacted with I wasn’t sure what the outcome would be. Especially with the choices I made at the beginning of my pregnancy. For the most part I did something different than most people. I ate in moderation, exercised daily and still worked full time the entire pregnancy.

Obviously, I can't say this is for everyone, but I do know that doing my best to stay healthy did help my pregnancy. As a mother I did what I thought was best for my baby and myself. Thats all that matters.