Pregnancy surprises

I think the biggest pregnancy symptom I've dealt with so far is immense fatigue.  Yeah, I guess the books mention it in passing, but when I think pregnancy, I think morning sickness, stretch marks, and skipping out on deli meat; fatigue that feels like I've been hit by a bus was never on my radar.  The books go something like this: in the first trimester, you're nauseous, probably vomiting, and only want to eat Saltines; in the second trimester, you get a surge of energy and feel like you're on top of the world, and the third trimester is Dante's seventh circle of Hell as you're just begging and praying for this kid to make his or her appearance in the world since he or she is pushing against your lungs and bladder, making it impossible to breathe and causing you to pee all the time.  While I can't speak to the third trimester yet, my pregnancy has been vastly different than what the books suggest I should feel.  I'm not complaining -- in many ways, I've been blessed to have a very easy pregnancy, and I feel very fortunate for that.  But, for the first time in my life, I feel like I'm finally understanding what fatigue is, and it's way worse than staying up all night in grad school trying to finish a paper.
The other day, one of my students turned to me and commented, "you look really tired."  Crap, I thought.  This really sweet, astute kid picked up on the fact that I feel ready to keel over at any moment.  If this is how I feel at 26 weeks, when I'm supposed to feel blissful and energetic in my second trimester, what will the next 14 weeks bring?  How will I continue to manage working full time/going to CrossFit/tutoring students after school/singing in two choirs while I'm not able to sleep well at night, despite how tired I am?  How can I manage to keep a house reasonably clean and make sure that I'm making somewhat healthy food choices on top of it?  I think it's starting to hit me big time that I can't do it all.  While I know my priorities will shift once my little one makes her appearance, I didn't expect how much life would change now.  My "I am woman, hear me roar" mentality is clashing with my desire to snuggle up on the couch with my cats and my blanket (right now, couch/kitties/blanket = 1; laundry and dishes = 0).
But, I'm slowly learning to be okay with it all.  I know that some days will be less tiring than others and ultimately, my most important responsibility is to listen to my body and take care of this little one and give her the best start possible.  And at the risk of being sappy, feeling her squirm and wiggle around puts a smile on my face like nothing else in this world.  Just like the surprise of fatigue, I figured that feeling her move would be cool, but I could have never been prepared for how amazing and awesome it is.  In the past few weeks, I've felt a new bond with my Lil' Puddin' (her nickname given by my eighth graders -- I absolutely adore it).  And this is perhaps the best surprise of all.
So, for now, vacuuming the house will wait another day (or two).  I'm going to stay snuggled up on the couch a little bit longer, sneaking in some small naps and breaking into ridiculously goofy smiles as she kicks and moves around.  I'm going to enjoy these moments of being at absolute peace, soak in my pregnancy, and take it all in stride as best as I can.

What has surprised you most about pregnancy or life lately?

Baby Gear

First things first, an updated picture from the box:

Thrusters at 24 weeks, during a WOD.  I adore the For Two Fitness shirt I'm wearing, courtesy of a friend!

With a few weeks left in the second trimester, baby registries and baby gear are my current focus (if nothing else, to stop me from thinking about the whole labor process).  With registering, I find myself completely overwhelmed by the different products that exist for babies, and I find myself hearing mixed messages.  Do you get the Bjorn or the Moby? Do you need the $300 video monitor?  Am I supposed to have baby gates ready to secure my stairs?  How many burp clothes and receiving blankets should I have on hand?  How do I know which swaddling blankets to try?  How many versions of the Jumperoo can possibly exist?   And what do I do about toys?  I already have nightmares of giant, Fischer-Price plastic toys taking over my house. (It's similar to the scene in Ghostbusters where the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man walks down the crowded street).  Am I supposed to have the swing that simulates the motion of a car, and do I need music/white noise playing in the nursery?  What baby books am I supposed to read to prepare for motherhood?  Do babies really need a lot of stuff?  As all these questions and more swirl through my brain, I try to keep in mind my desire to lead a minimalist life and to not get caught up in feeling like I need a bunch of unnecessary, miscellaneous stuff.  I like to keep things simple.  I want to be as natural as possible.  

So, what is the baby gear you thought you needed to have, and then realized you could definitely live without?  Any baby purchases that you're grateful that you made?

A new modification

About halfway into month five of pregnancy, I was so impressed with my ability to still do handstand push ups.  (Well, mostly.  I needed an ab mat or two under my head, but before pregnancy, I swear I was decently close to getting at least one HSPU Rx).  Kicking up to the wall and being upside down was such a great source of joy and a feeling of accomplishment.  There was a rush, a surge of excitement, a feeling of bliss in those few seconds.  I don't really understand why I have such a love for HSPUs, especially since I was the child who hated the monkey bars and could barely do a decent somersault or cartwheel.  While I've always been fascinated with gymnastics and used to obsessively watch competitions on TV as a child, I was terrified of gymnastics myself -- what if I fell and broke my arm or my neck?  Overly cautious, I was not an athletic risk taker by any stretch of the imagination.
So as an adult, falling in love with HSPUs was my redemptive moment -- my chance to reclaim was I was too scared to do as a kid.

Photo from Saint Clair Studio

Today's WOD was "Mary," an AMRAP 20 of 5 handstand push ups, 10 pistols (which are one legged squats) and 15 pull ups.  I needed a band for my pull ups and for support with the pistols-- I can do pistols on my left side, but not my right, and I've never figured out why-- and I put down an ab mat to help my range of motion for my HSPUs.  While practicing my HSPUs before the WOD, my back spasmed as I lowered myself down to the floor.  I shook it off, and figured it was bad form or an off moment.  But when the WOD came, I was barely able to make it through those first five HSPUs.  As I meandered over to the rig and stuck my foot in a band for pull ups, I called my coach over to let him know.  Was my form off?  What changed from the last time I was successful with my lovely, wonderful, HSPUs?

"You can't hollow your body anymore because of your belly.  I assume it's your lower back that's bothering you?"  I nodded.  So, we agreed I would do push ups instead.  Happily, I still have full range of motion for my push ups, and quickly got through the sets of five of "chest to deck" (which is more like "belly to deck") push ups.  But now, almost six months into pregnancy, HSPUs are off the table.

Good-bye, handstand push ups.  We had a great relationship while it lasted.  I'll be excited to see you again in a few months.  And at that point, hopefully I'll be rocking the kipping pull ups by then, too!