Yep, Still No Workouts....

I wish that I had a workout update for this (alleged) running blog but, alas, my biggest workout these days is walking up and down my stairs a million times a day. Not that I don't consider that a workout because I kind of do. I mean it never fails that whatever Noah wants is downstairs when we are upstairs or my phone rings upstairs when we are downstairs. And, me being me, I take the stairs the same way I always have - at a jog. So, yeah, that is my current workout of choice until little old Liam comes.

Speaking of which, this week marks 36 weeks so we are in the home stretch folks. I'd like to think that he will make an early appearance (he is a Shealy after all!) but I am not holding my breathe. I am fully counting on him being a week late just like Noah - then I will be pleasantly surprised if he comes sooner. My sciatic nerve will be pleasantly surprised too, as that has been what this baby has used to tap dance on for the last week or so. It's fun...really (not really)....

Anyway, things are pretty much the same otherwise. I don't feel like I have much to write about these days. It's like we are in a holding pattern until April 12th...at which point I am sure I will have tons to write about as my life will be thrown upside down. In an awesome way!

My Sugar High

Okay, clearly I did not plan this pregnancy very well. Oh, sure, I was smart enough to be pregnant during winter instead of summer and all that, but I forgot one very important detail when thinking about the timing of having my baby. The entire last 6 weeks of this pregnancy are occurring just as they bring out....Easter Candy! Now every time I enter Target I am inexplicably drawn to the holiday section where there are two entire aisles of nothing but Easter goodies. Why is it that when Chocolate is shaped like an egg (filled with cream) it is so much more irresistible?

Of course, all of this candy anxiety is compounded by the fact that I have not really been working out. I know, I know, but I am so exhausted these days that I have given myself permission to take the next 5 weeks off. If I make it out for a walk great, if not...well I guess I won't become a fitness flunky in one month. The funny thing is that as my working out as slowed down so has my weight gain at my doctor's visits. I was consistently gaining around 4 pounds between every visit, but in the last month I have actually lost half a pound. I think without all the extra working out my body has stopped being as hungry. That has been true for me in the past - when I don't work out, I naturally eat a little less. Anyway, all of that to say that I am holding strong at a total pregnancy weight gain of 19 pounds so far.

I am very excited for the next several weeks. I finally feel like I see the light at the end of the tunnel and that baby is almost here. And with him spring and warm weather...and the return of my running self! (That is of course unless I turn into a giant chocolate bunny first!)

32 Weeks

Okay, here are the status updates...

weeks pregnant: 32

weight gained: 19 pounds (feels like 8 million)

gliders considered, and then thrown out, as options for nursery: 8 gazillion

exercise in the past week: none

husbands almost lost due to me being "crazy pregnant lady": 1

Went to the doctor yesterday for the usual boring appointment. I hate when people ask how my appointments go. They do the same thing every time - pee in a cup, weigh-in, listen to the heartbeat, blah blah, etc. I mean it's good that it is all boring because that means everything is healthy but there is really never anything to report. The good news is that despite being sure it would happen, I haven't hit 20 pounds of weight gain yet (that will happen for sure in 2 weeks though) so thank goodness for small victories, and the doctor was pretty sure Liam is head down so no worries about a breech baby (he was breech at the last ultrasound.)

Anyway, even though I haven't exercised in almost 2 weeks and therefore feel like a whale I am going to follow through with my promise to post belly pictures. (Otherwise my readership of one - thanks Julie - might drastically drop as a result of totally boring posts.) So, without further ado...

32 weeks from the side...

....and front.

Boom! Is that effective birth control or what!?

A Winter Surprise

I wish I could honestly say that things are great, but I am 32 weeks pregnant and when asked how things are my typical response is, "ehh". I mean, I am fine, baby is fine, life is pretty normal but I am sooo sick of being pregnant that I am just trying to take the next two months one day at a time. (Kind of like running a marathon...one mile at a time, right?)

This weekend we had a nice distraction from the norm though. It snowed! In Charleston! Noah was so excited I thought he would burst and it was so much fun to enjoy a few inches of snow from his little 3 year old point of view. He did it all - snowman, snow angels, throwing snow balls. His hands and feet and nose were completely numb and we had to practically drag him into the house because he was having too much fun to voluntarily quit playing. Of course, the snow melted almost as quickly as it came but it was a fun little surprise that we did not expect.

In baby news...we painted the nursery and are currently debating about what kind of chair we might purchase for it. We have also chosen a name - Liam Taylor. Finishing up the nursery and calling Liam by his name makes it seem very real that he is coming. Despite all my whining and complaining the pregnancy really has gone by fairly fast. Even so, I am anxious for him to just get here already. I want to meet him and watch Noah with a brother and get back to feeling more like myself. I am already thinking about what my running goals will be and what races I want to do in the fall. How fun to think about running again and meeting all three of my boys at the finish line! Well, that is about it for now. I have a doctor's appointment on Tuesday so I will update later with scary stats, like weight gain (ahh), and maybe even a belly picture. If I am feeling brave!

My Aching Back!

Where do I start? Okay, pregnancy update.

Last week I went to the doctor for my 28 week exam and the ever so fun gestational diabetes test. Actually, it wasn't all that bad. Had to drink a bottle of the orange liquid but it tasted like gatorade so I just tried to pretend I was on mile 10 of a long run and that guzzling that sugar drink was what I wanted to do most in the world. And the blood draw? Well, I have had my blood drawn on almost every visit to the doctor so that was no big deal either. Now the scale, that was another story. All I have to say is that the scale was not my friend last week - I did not like what I saw there. I am chalking it up to heavy, winter boots and the fact that fasting for the diabetes test meant I had no food to "move my system" that morning, meaning maybe there was an extra pound that disappeared later in the day! Too much info? Sorry...

Anyway, I'd like to say that last week was a wonderful workout week but it wasn't. I did not go - not even once. I have been so exhausted lately that I couldn't find the motivation. Plus, I was still partially incapacitated from the run I had attempted the previous Sunday.

*TANGENT...I could put this anecdote under a separate post entitled "Things that really stupid people do" but I won't. The Sunday before last our icy cold weather suddenly turned into sunshine and 65 degrees. It was gorgeous and all I could think about was how much I wanted to run! So I figured, screw it, I'm going. It can't hurt that much right? Well, I went for two (slow) miles and the answer to my question was, yes, it can hurt. A lot. Not so much during - except for my bladder - but afterwards was awful! I couldn't walk for about half a week. Seriously!*

So, all of that to say that working out did not happen last week. All that did happen was my back decided to scream at me every single day until by Saturday I had the worst tension headache and backache that I have ever experienced. I am going to have to admit defeat and get a prenatal massage or something because the sheer volume of knots in my back and shoulders is astounding.

I am glad to say I am back on track this week. I went to the gym this morning and did 40 minutes on the elliptical and plan to get in a least 4 days this week - I hope :) I am getting so impatient for the baby to get here. He moves around so much and the movements are so strong that it makes me want to meet that little person so much. Plus I really feel like having him out in the real world will be much better news for my back!

Random Thoughts I Have Been Having

Being almost 7 months pregnant I feel as though most of my thoughts are completely random these days. (I may indeed give new meaning to the word frazzled). Anyway, here is a sampling of random thoughts that I have been having lately....

~I must teach my 3 year old to be better about cleaning up his toys. Bending over 2 million times a day to pick up some random train or another is getting quite uncomfortable!

~ I wonder how much longer my extra small maternity shirts will last. I am guessing not much longer. Despite the fact that I am not drying them they are getting to the point where they can't stretch much more around the belly. Ditto most of my workout shirts. Question...Where in the hell does one find affordable maternity workout gear? Pretty soon I will have to start snatching my husbands stuff.

~ (While working out on the elliptical) Hard rock is my motivational music of choice to really push myself to sweat and work hard. It makes the workout seem easier somehow. Am considering bringing my iPod running play lists to labor and delivery room and listening while I push. (After all that is an endurance sport right?) Hope nobody asks me what I am listening to though. My guess is that not many women want to listen to Rage Against the Machine's Bulls on Parade while bringing their children into the world.

~ Am making conscious effort to eat well but all I really want is a giant piece of cake! (Have wanted said cake ever since I took Noah to a birthday party last weekend and they offered the parents a piece of yummy chocolate cake. Of course all the parents said no, and not wanting to be the hungry pregnant women, I demurred as well. But I really wanted it. Bad.

~ Is my husband's statement, "You don't even look pregnant from behind" really true?

~ I am soooo tired I wish I could fall asleep and just wake up again in April....except....

~ I only have 3 more months of life with "just Noah" and want to enjoy every moment we get to have together just the two of us. It's so weird to think about having to split my energy and attention between 2 children. I hope I can do it!

Happy New Year...(if there is anyone still reading this)

So my guess is that there is no longer anybody actually reading this blog anymore seeing as how I have not updated it in forever. However, I am going to blab on and on anyway, if for no other reason than to make myself feel better. Also, I have obviously been slack about the belly pictures but I do have a picture of us on Christmas Eve where the belly is clearly vi sable.

Quite frankly, it has been hard to find the motivation to update my "running" blog when I am no longer running. This whole being in the middle of pregnancy thing is totally messing with my mind. I am 26 weeks, which sounds good, until I realize that I still have 14 weeks left. That's over 3 months, and at the rate I am going it is going to be a long 3 months. Up until recently I have felt pretty good, but in the last couple weeks I have been having all sorts of annoying things crop up. First of all is lack of energy. I spent all of yesterday feeling like I had been run over by a mack truck. Walking up the stairs made me tired. Also, I have been having outrageous heartburn, which I think I have finally figured out is caused by consumption of caffeine. So now I have to pick between my addiction to Diet Coke and my desire to not have my esophagus feel like it is on fire. And, of course, as I was expecting, the bigger I get the more miserable I feel. Bending over is starting to feel like a chore and my back is killing me! And let's not even talk about the fact that none of my pants are managing to stay up for more than 3 minutes at a time.

Lest you think all I do is bitch (and lets face it, it's probably what I do 80% of the time) there are some good things going on. Finding out that the baby is a boy meant that we got to start shopping for all the fun things like a stroller, car seat, crib, etc. This month we are going to start decorating the nursery which I think will be so fun! Another fun thing is that I think we have decided on a name which I am really surprised about. It took us almost up until Noah was born to agree on his name and this time we came to the agreement very easily. It was a name we both had at the top of our lists and it was pretty easy to figure out that was the one we should go with. Of course, I can't tell you what it is yet because we are keeping it a surprise until he is born. Also, I have been continuing to work out. I have tried to make it to the gym 4 times a week and usually spend about 45 minutes to an hour on the treadmill or the elliptical. And then there is my everyday workout called, just trying to keep up with Noah. All of that has allowed me to only gain 13 pounds so far, which is much better than I did when I was pregnant last time.

So, I am looking forward to the next 3 months going by quickly and getting to meet this baby and to no longer being pregnant. I have already made tentative plans to run a half (or possibly full marathon) with my friend Julie in the fall so this summer I can't wait to get back into running shape!