adoramichaels

December 22, 2017

28 Weeks Pregnancy Comparisons, Entering The Third Trimester

Only 3 more days until Christmas!!! Yesterday I reached 28 weeks in this pregnancy and I am definitely feeling it. My thyroid levels are actually slowly improving as our baby’s thyroid is now starting to work for her and she needs less from me, but I am starting to feel crazy tired already, which is highly frustrating. I honestly thought I would have more time and would be fine tired wise until up to the last month of the pregnancy or at the most two months, but oh well, got to play the cards you are dealt.

I am still working on my old workout schedule and my cardio workouts have not changed yet, but in two more weeks I am going to be working from a new workout schedule that I made more for the third trimester and in one week I’m going to start running down the stairs and walking up. The big change that was made this week has been my push-ups…. I have been doing normal push-ups up until now, but last week I had some pain in my lower right hand side that stuck with me for a few hours. I did research and it said that if you start having pain with any type of exercise, especially exercises that work your abs, you need to stop that exercise and modify it. So increasing my research I learned that the safest push-ups in the third trimester that are recommended are wall push-ups, so I have resorted to doing those for my workouts instead. It is always defeating when you have to back off and slow down more and more when your body is telling you to, but I know I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to our baby. So you got to do what you got to do for your children and health no matter how much you mentally don’t want to, which I am happy to do since motherhood always comes first to me.

Here are my comparison photos from my three pregnancies at 28 weeks. The top left is from my first, the bottom left is from my second, and the right is from my third.

Here is a front view from my second and third pregnancies.

You can definitely see my abs still trying to hold my stomach in as much as possible. So far honestly this pregnancy has been the easiest to deal with, but I know of course that the further along you get the harder things get. The one thing that is becoming crazy difficult right now is breathing, especially at night because she loves to stretch up by my lungs. I never had such an issue breathing with the other two, but I also felt like they were lower.

Once again as the weeks go by and more modifications are placed we will see where things lead to and how much my body continues to change.

December 8, 2017

Miracle Workers For Varicose Veins!!!

So a couple weeks ago I was in the kitchen on the floor crying because my veins in my calves were hurting me so much. In my first pregnancy I didn’t really have this problem in my legs (just in weirder areas), but in my second pregnancy closer to the end I was hurting pretty bad and could barely even walk at times. Now I haven’t even reached my third trimester yet and the veins have come back with a vengeance. I have spider veins in a bunch of different parts of my legs, my varicose veins on my lady parts hurt like hell most of the time, and my legs are already burning with too much pressure. So the night that I was crying cause I couldn’t take it, my husband took matters into his own hands and did some research and ordered me some compression socks, and let me tell you THEY WORK!!! Well, so far they work and I’m hoping they continue to work. The research into them is very interesting on exactly how they work and what they do for you and is worth the read if you ever find time. I didn’t know that athletes and people of about any age could beneficially use them too. I’m actually going to make my husband get some at some point since he drives a lot, and I plan to continue to wear them after I’m pregnant to help me heal faster from some tough running workouts. So it is definitely worth looking into and thinking about pregnant or not in my opinion!!! But make sure you also read the do’s and the don’ts with them if you do plan to get some!!!

December 8, 2017December 22, 2017

24 and 26 Weeks Pregnancy Comparison photos with Ultrasound Pictures

Made it to 26 weeks and now am an emotional mess. I am keeping up with my workouts except the exercises that have me on my back, those I cut out. I have resorted to just running stairs and doing my mobile elliptical since it has turned winter. My stairs have decreased to a 15 minute time since one day I tried to do 20 and I actually burnt myself out, which I have never done on stairs before. I felt like I was going fast when I got to 18 minutes, but my legs would only help me go up at a slow walk. So instead of pushing myself to exhaustion like I’m trying not to do and to try to save my knees from the added weight they are not used to, I decreased it. In January I plan to run down the stairs, but walk up for the 15 minutes and then in February I plan to just walk the stairs so I don’t fall or risk the baby’s life, but still work on staying active. I’ve never been this far along in the winter before in a pregnancy, so it is all a big adjustment to me to just having to keep the working out inside away from the extreme cold, snow, ice, and never ending darkness since the nights are so long right now.

These photos are from week 24 of all my pregnancies. First pregnancy top left, second bottom left, and third right.

These photos are from week 26 of all my pregnancies. Once again first top left, second bottom left, and third right.

This next comparison is from my second pregnancy and this pregnancy in a front facing view at 26 weeks. I’m sharing this comparison because I find it very interesting how different my stomach looks in both of them, even my belly button. My belly in the second pregnancy was definitely getting rounder at this point in the pregnancy, when in this one my belly isn’t quite there yet, and it looks like my abs are still trying to hold it all in on the sides.

PhotoGrid_1512644498343

These are two back views at 26 weeks of this pregnancy. My back muscles are still trying to hold in there and so are my shoulder muscles. When I don’t try to super flex you can barely tell I’m holding a big belly in the front.

20171205_205831

20171205_205754

So fitness is still progressing as much as it can be without being too dangerous for the baby. We went and saw our little one last week and she was weighing at about one pound and thirteen ounces. She was curled up sideways right under my diaphragm though, which explains why sometimes it is almost impossible to breathe, but makes me feel loved that she likes to be so close to my heart. Here are a couple of pictures of her.

November 16, 2017November 16, 2017

Pregnancy Stretch Marks Prevention

With my first two pregnancies I didn’t get any stretch marks around my stomach. I only got them a little around my boobs because of breastfeeding. With both of the pregnancies I used this. I had done research and research told me to use cocoa butter, well I tried using that, but I did’t feel like it was thick enough and it would eat my hands since my hands are super sensitive. This Vaseline thick cocoa butter that I found at Walmart seemed to work better for me. I had put it on every night after I showered since I like to take hot showers and I know that that dries out your skin. So what I did and have been doing with this pregnancy is rubbing it on my stomach before bed. The only part that sucks is that it doesn’t just disappear right away after you rub it in. It stays quite awhile. Also it ruins shirts. So I have a night shirt that I plan to throw away after this pregnancy that I put on after I put the stuff on so I only ruin that shirt. I’m not saying it will work for everybody, and I’m not saying that it is foolproof for me either. I’m not even entirely sure that it will work for me with this last pregnancy. Only time will tell. I am only sharing my experience and what I had used before that seemed to work for me in case anyone is looking for suggestions.

November 13, 2017

The Time Has Come (20 + 22 Weeks Pregnancy Comparisons)

Well now is sadly the time that I was hoping was never going to come. It is time for me to start backing off a little on my working out/exercising. These last few weeks I have felt way too emotional, depressed, and exhausted. It is getting to the point where I can’t even make it through the day without breaking down and crying and wanting to just lay on the floor and pass out. Even during working out or running lately I’ve stopped now more often than not to cry my eyes out cause of having such a hard time trying to finish. I know that I shouldn’t be this exhausted and tired during just the end of my second trimester. This is supposed to be the happy trimester where I feel great and energized again until the last one hits me. At first I thought that it may just be hormones that are causing me to be way too emotional and making it so I can’t hold myself together, but when I thought more into it I realized that my body is just not wanting to carry itself, and if my body is having this hard of a time functioning right now, I’m worried about the health of the baby.

This is hard for me to do because I am so used to pushing myself to my breaking point, and that is what I have been doing lately, but I have another life in me to worry and think about. This is the most I have done with any of my pregnancies. Some days sometimes more than three times a week consists of hour and a half long workouts that are the same as I was doing before I got pregnant. I had it in my head wrongly that I should be progressing just like I usually do when I push myself during exercise. Usually you get better and stronger, and it is hard to wrap your head around the fact that when you are pregnant you slowly digress and things get harder. I was doing so good for so long that I honestly wasn’t expecting the time to slow down to come so soon. I know I need to be easier on myself mentally because it is just part of the process, but it is hard when I’m always in such desperation to reach my goals and to be the best I can be, which sometimes I know that the me I want to be can be unrealistic. Multiple times my husband has told me that I’m going to kill myself with how much I’m trying to do at one time and how much I push myself. But I realize that my ultimate dream and goal is to be the best mother I can be, so I need to back off for now until my baby’s life isn’t in the brink. I want my body to be able to give her everything she needs and I need to be in a healthier happier state of mind especially with the holidays coming up so I can be the mother I need to be for my other two kids and for the baby when the time comes. Pushing myself to exhaustion and getting upset at myself for not seeing progress isn’t going to help anyone at all, least of all myself. Our baby’s life is more important to me than my desperation to not look like a failure and to feel some kind of success and self worth.

So I’m slowly going to back down. For example after my hour long workout today I ran 2 miles instead of 3.5, which I don’t mind at all since it is starting to get freezing out making it harder to run anyway. Depending on the day and what my body tells me will depend on how I take my workouts. I might cut my hour ones in half or my biking or running mileage down on some days. Other days that I have half an hour workouts I’m probably going to do the whole workout and cardio routine like I have been if I feel up to it, until I hit near the end of my pregnancy and know I need to cut way down. I’m beginning to see that maybe P90x and 21Day Fix Extreme and Core De Force may not be the best to do when you are 36 weeks pregnant. I will just pay more attention and listen to my body and give my body what it needs when that time comes like I am deciding to do now.

Here are my comparisons for week 20 in all my pregnancies and week 22 in all my pregnancies. We will see if I manage to keep up with the staying more fit this time around like I have been, which may be possible since I am still and still plan to do more in the fitness department than my other two pregnancies even with backing down a little.

Week 20

Week 22

As you can tell in my arms in the second set of pictures that I am way more muscular than I was in previous pregnancies. The picture of me in the blue shirt right above is from my second pregnancy and my arms just look so small to me compared to now. so weight lifting and push ups and things like that that I have been doing has definitely helped with keeping the muscles there.

November 8, 2017

Spreading Thin

IMG_20170730_063031_547

I’m breaking

I’m failing

I’m tearing at the seams

I’m hopeless

I’m trying

growing more tired it only seems

Can’t hold myself together

Can’t talk with any skill

Can’t get through the day

With any extra time to fill

I’m running

I’m planning

Trying not to break down

I’m working

I’m grasping

No comfort to be found

I’m fauxing a smile

That’s getting worse every day

I’m trying to breathe without crying

Trying to keep monsters at bay

But every day they seep closer

I’m closer to giving up

Just need some time to rest

Just need some time to slump

Need some time for myself

Time I’ll never have

that time doesn’t exist

In my world or my head

Need as much time as i can savor

For my dreams and my goals

When in reality I’m failing

Dying, becoming skin and bones

I’m running myself ragged

Running myself sick

Trying too hard for everything

Spreading myself thin

October 13, 2017August 6, 2020

18 Weeks Pregnant Comparison Photo and Life update

Here is the latest comparison photo at 18 weeks for my last pregnancy and this pregnancy. The changes are starting and I’m slowly starting to lose my form as the baby grows bigger. I’m still fitter than my last pregnancy and can still do more than I was able to before. Makes me super sad though looking back at old photos from right before this pregnancy and seeing how great my abs were though. Really hoping that after this pregnancy I can get back to where I was and maybe even faster than last time. Can not wait to FINALLY get to work on my fitness without regressing and see how far I can get with my body if my thyroid levels agree to cooperate. Here is my last ab photo I took from June 24th before we found out we were pregnant on July 4th.

So you can see where some of my sadness is coming from 🙂 Will be a challenge to get back to that point again, but can’t wait to try when the time comes. The baby is doing great though 🙂 and looking cuter and cuter 🙂 This is from two weeks ago.

22050074_10156808273678677_8858332974756447897_n

On a side note, I’m so sorry that my posts have been made not as often as I would like. This last week was full of appointments and family emergencies and such that time escaped me once again. I’m actually supposed to be at the moment finishing packing up and getting ready for a wedding that we have to travel a ways for that I’m in. But HOPEFULLY super soon I will have news on my latest book that should be published soon and will be able to share that 🙂

September 29, 2017

Pregnancy Update 16 Weeks Living The Fit Pregnancy Lifestyle

21768476_10156800378473677_738235468665467142_n

Two weeks more down and what feels like a billion more to go when I think about it. Luckily, I have been crazy busy as always, which is helping time fly by. It looks like my routine compared to my last pregnancy is still helping my body keep its shape so far. I feel Dawn getting bigger. Sometimes I already feel uncomfortable, especially when she starts moving around like crazy on some days. My left ankle is starting to act up and swell a bit already, which happened a little in my last pregnancy. When I see the doctor Tuesday I plan to ask him about it if my pregnant brain doesn’t take over and make me forget like I have been doing lately. AMAZING news though is that after two months my thyroid is where it is supposed to be, which has helped a lot with the depression and finally having more energy to tackle the things I need to do and tackle with a more positive energy. We see baby Dawn tomorrow to see how she is doing and let our other two girls experience the joy of seeing their little sister. Hoping all goes great. 🙂

September 19, 2017

Gender Revealed and 2nd + 3rd Child Comparing Pregnant Figures at 14 weeks

First off, we had our gender reveal party. As you can see from the above picture for our last baby we are being blessed with our third girl. As you can also see we had a lot of fun with the gender reveal and the party went great. 🙂 I’m so happy that our idea worked and we were able to dig through whipped cream with our faces in the beautiful sunshine to find the pink or blue pacifier. No one knew the gender except the two people we had open the envelope minutes before to put the blue or pink pacifier in the pie pan of their choosing and cover it with whipped cream. No one also knew, except my husband and I, how we had planned to present the reveal. Everyone was laughing and so surprised and excited when we had them come out to all the whipped creamed pies lined up in a row. It definitely worked out better than I thought it would. My husband is the one who found the pacifier, but I was the one who got to wipe it off and tell the crowd the gender with it still in his mouth.

The next picture I have posted is me at 14 weeks with my second child on the left and me at 14 weeks with my third child on the right. It looks like working out with weights and programs on top of running and biking instead of just running like I was doing in my last pregnancy is definitely making a difference. Even though my abs and four pack I had are slowly going away, I’m keeping my figure longer. The baby is continuing to grow at to me what feels like a fast rate. Every day the movements are stronger and now my husband can even find her right away with his hand and feel her movements without as much effort as he had to put in before. I’m interested to see if the difference will keep progressing. Happily I am still having more energy than I did in my first trimester so the work outs are not as hard as they were a couple weeks ago. I’m also excited that in less than two weeks we are having an elective ultrasound and get to see the baby and how much she has grown.

September 12, 2017September 12, 2017

My Pregnant Workout Schedule

Being a stay at home mom and not having the freedom to really leave the house and go to the gym since my husband never really knows what his day to day work schedule is going to be and sometimes ends up being gone days at a time sucks, but I make the best with what I can. One of the best programs I have bought and continue to use has been Beach Body on Demand. I’m not trying to sell it. I’m not a salesperson or coach or whatever for the company. I am just stating that in the past two years I have used it it has been very beneficial. There are so many different levels of programs to choose from fitness wise that it has let me gradually increase my fitness levels since I’ve started it after my last pregnancy and it lets me try out different types of workout routines and instructors to see what works best for me and what I like. This above is the workout schedule I have made for myself combining and switching between three different beach body programs. The programs I have chosen are P90X, 21 Day Fix Extreme, and Core De Force.

Reasons I picked these programs

P90X– This program I have completed before for the whole 90 days without missing a single workout. I wanted to challenge myself this pregnancy and see if I could keep up with it.

21 Day Fix Extreme– Another program I have completed more than once. I chose this one over 21 Day Fix because I felt like this one was more at my level and more challenging. The biggest reason I chose it though was because I wanted at least two days a week to have only a thirty minute workout so I didn’t tire or stress myself out too much with always having lack of time while being pregnant.

Core De Force– I had never done this program yet and wanted to try something new. A friend of mine said that the workouts are pretty much pregnant safe and it would give me the chance to work on my core without putting too much stress on the baby.

The reason why I switch around with the three is to keep myself from getting bored these next nine months. You may ask why I don’t just switch to a different program if I get bored, but the further along you get in pregnancy the harder the workouts become to do so I want to prevent trying something new and hurting myself. I want my body to grow accustomed to the programs I have down so that I can keep up as much as possible later on and know when I need to start modifying more or not. Right now I’m not needing to modify too much. There are some exercises I refuse to do like superman- banana to keep too much stress from my uterus and there are a few exercises I modify if I start feeling too out of it like burpees, but I have already gotten stronger this last month and have been able to do the original exercise instead of the modified version like I had to my first go around with a few. I am well aware that that will change though the further along I get in the pregnancy. So I will keep doing this schedule sequence. Once I get to the bottom I will continue to write out the sequence how it has been, which has been nice so I’m not doing the same workouts by each other since each program has a different number of workout routines.

On Top Of That

Besides just this workout schedule I continue to also do my cardio. Which is a lot simpler of a schedule. On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I run 3.5 miles, unless I am unable to then I run 20 mins stairs. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I bike 7 miles, unless I am unable to then I do 30 mins on my mobile elliptical. I have stopped running every day like I used to because my knees started having a hard time with the constant heavy impact routines. So that’s why I now also bike to have a lower impact cardio in my schedule to save my knees so I can continue what workouts I want to for many more years to come.