Hi everyone. I’m just sitting over here with a baby wiggling around in my belly. Last night he was acting so crazy in there that at one point when I was watching TV on the couch, I yelled out in pain because there was a super sharp jab/pain that I’ve never had before. This morning everything seems a little lower (my mom agreed!) so I wonder if he dropped/is dropping!?
My mom is still here but this week has been mostly business as usual. I’ve been teaching one class a day (yoga) except for Tuesdays when I also teach a strength class at the Y.
My class this Tuesday was SO much fun and I had a little over 50 people in class. I’ve worked so hard to build this class and have an amazing group of regulars. I’m getting a little sad to leave them for maternity leave because I’m not sure that teaching a 6:30 p.m. class will work in my schedule with a baby. This might be the end! 🙁
Luckily, the Y offers so many class times (and child care!) so hopefully I can find another class to pick up when I’m ready to come back. I always try to keep at least one class at the Y to stay connected because it’s where I got my start in fitness and I just appreciate the change of scenery so much.
Yoga classes have been going pretty well. I have definitely slowed down on how much I assist students in class and I do get a little dizzy from time-to-time from the combo of projecting my voice and the heat but overall, it’s still going well. I just can’t do more than one class a day anymore in the heat.
I’ve been spending as much time outside and walking as possible with the girls. The weather has been really nice this week.
Last night we walked about 3.5 miles. It was 60 degrees, sunny and there was no humidity. It was just the best walking weather. I love listening to birth podcasts while I walk on The Birth Hour.
Speaking of birth, we met with our doula yesterday. I love her so much and I’m so grateful that she’s going to be by my side to help me through the labor and delivery process. My doctor is amazing too but there is no guarantee that he will be on call when I deliver and also you don’t see the doctors a lot during labor from what I’ve heard. So…having a doula was important for me to have that constant support!
I’ve also been eating a lot of good food this week so let’s cover off on that now. 🙂
BREAKFAST
Smoothie bowls, of course. This week it’s been baby spinach, frozen cauliflower rice, frozen banana, cherries, blueberries and raspberries, omega-3 oil, collagen powder, peanut butter, dates and almond milk.
I also brought back sweet potato bowls two mornings. I mixed the sweet potatoes with mashed banana, raisins and cinnamon and then stirred in some cottage cheese when it was warm. I topped it with Wild Friends Almond Cashew Super Butter.
LUNCH
Arugula, avocado, turkey, roasted beets, feta, pepitas, dried cranberries and honey balsamic dressing.
Open-faced sandwich with mayo, avocado, turkey, tomatoes and pepper jack.
Another salad with arugula, canned wild alaskan salmon, beets, pistachios, avocado, dried cranberries and a mix of Trader Joe’s turmeric almond butter dressing and my homemade honey balsamic.
DINNER
Chicken thighs sauteed with jerk seasoning, coconut lime rice, southwest chopped salad from Trader Joe’s and lime crema. This was really good!
Another night we ordered delivery from La Shish Kabab via Postmates (use my code EZ8IN for free first delivery). I got the vegetarian plate, as usual.
And we got a couple of entree plates. This was the mixed kabab dinner. We had TONS of food.
In general, dinner has been a bit of a miss for me lately. I’m hungry during the day but by the time dinner rolls around not much sounds appealing to me. On this night it was grilled cheese on sourdough with fig jam, pepper jack, cheddar and bacon. (yum)
And on this night, despite having a fridge full of leftovers, all I wanted was egg and avocado toast.
Good thing I baked fresh sourdough this week! 🙂
I hope you guys have a nice Friday and a great weekend.
Could you feel anything different when your baby dropped? Did you have any mild cramping at the end of pregnancy?
What are you eating for breakfast these days?
You absolutely don’t see the doctor except for the very end. That was one of the most shocking things to me during the birth process. I just assumed my midwife – who I loved! – would be around a lot to help coach and reassure me.. but that wasn’t the case at all. I was so, so happy that we hired a doula because she was right by my side for 10 hours. All your food looks amazing, btw. I was a total carb monster during pregnancy.. that’s all I wanted to eat!
So glad you also had a doula there to stay by your side. I just know myself and that it will bring me a lot of comfort and calm! And carbs in pregnancy are LIFE.
Neither of my babies ever noticeably dropped, I can attest to that because my HORRIBLE heartburn never went away until the moment after I had them (it’s so crazy how fast the pregnancy symptoms dissipate after labor!). I had mild cramping towards the end of both of my pregnancies (the cramping turned into contractions with my second) and also remember some fairly painful kicks and jabs in those last few days!
Good to hear that you also had some cramping. I haven’t had any in so long that it kind of threw me off a bit!
Thank you for your picture of Dowd Y. I used to live in Charlotte and the #1 thing I miss is how amazing the Ys are!!!
You are so welcome! The Ys are so amazing here. We are lucky!
It’s been so exciting following your pregnancy!
I think there have been previous comments about this (lol) but just want to add another request for a grilled cheese tutorial post! Would love to know the technique you are following/cheeses you are buying, etc. I think most of us learned how to make a grilled cheese sandwich as teenagers, but your sandwiches seem to be on another level : )
Thank you for following along! 🙂
I will DEFINITELY add a grilled cheese tutorial to the topics to blog about soon…especially since it’s been such a staple in pregnancy! 🙂
Didn’t remotely notice when or if she dropped substantially before I went into labor, but did have phases of mild to rather noticeable cramping starting 2ish weeks before I delivered. A few times before things got going, when I sat on the toilet I could swear I felt her head engaging and ramming my cervix from above. The final time that happened, my water broke with it. Wishing you so much luck! The key to a natural labor and delivery for me was breathing deeply and imagining the muscles of my uterus working away, and my cervix opening. Knowing the process was not harming me. I had read in Ina May that the more I breathed, the more (faster) opening would happen. It truly was the case for me. And as far as pain is concerned, 2 minutes on, 2 minutes off!
Hey Rachel – thanks for sharing your experience! That is so crazy about being able to feel her head!
I appreciate the tips and hoping all that yoga breathing I practice will come in handy! 🙂 My biggest takeaway from Ina’s book was definitely that you have to surrender and “go with it” rather than fight it. I’m really trying to move myself out of a space of fear around it and trust my body will do what it needs to. <3
Yes, I totally know that feeling! It is very sharp and painful — it’s the baby’s head bumping into your cervix. I would experience it a lot when walking and it would stop me in my tracks.
Good to know! 🙂 Thank you!
I’ve been loving greek yogurt with some local granola from a German bakery – tomorrow will be sourdough toast since I finally made a loaf after my move, hooray!
Do you have Publix in Charlotte? The one in Raleigh handed me a flyer today for National Grilled Cheese Day on April 12 – free samples from 4-7pm 🙂
Greek yogurt + granola…especially when homemade/local…is such a good combo! Yes, we do have publix here so that is great to know about the grilled cheese. 🙂
I hope you have a great weekend too Jen!!
I don’t know if it was related, but I felt super short of breath when I was driving to work one day and by the mid morning, it looked like she had dropped. I wonder if she pushed her legs in to my lungs as she pushed herself down. I definitely had cramping and some mild pains in my hips just about a week before she was born. And I was afraid that contractions would come on all of a sudden, but they were definitely gradual.
Breakfast these days has been either Greek yogurt with fruit or Honey Nut Chex with almond milk. 🙂
Yes I had cramping towards the end! And with my first baby he dropped about 2 weeks before I had him. It made me waddle and it hurt my pubic bone. You are getting close, I am so excited for you!!
This week’s eats look good. Does riced cauliflower add texture to the smoothie? How much do you add?
Jen, I’m feeling the same about dinner lately – meh. I’m not really interested in cooking or eating around dinner time. I’m not much of a breakfast eater either, so I’ve been trying to eat big healthy lunches. I’m still trying to do green smoothies or smoothie bowls for breakfast, but I’ve had a hard time getting those down lately, so sometimes it ends up being a yogurt or banana bread. ??♀️ I didn’t expect this in the 3rd trimester! Oh, but I can always eat ice cream ?. ?
Hi Jen!
What guidelines have you been following as far as eating lunch meat while expecting? I’ve been DYING to have a turkey sandwich since finding out we were expecting but I’ve been a little leery of trying one with the possibility of listeria. Just curious as to what advice you had been given?