The time has come to let you all know why I’ve been such a slacker with my posts. In case you didn’t guess from my NEED for meat, I am pregnant with baby #3! We’re very excited around here to welcome a new tiny babe into our home. There have been some definite differences with this pregnancy compared to my previous two.

First of all, when I got pregnant for the first time, I hit five weeks and I was sick. I didn’t throw up a lot, but I was constantly nauseous (wishing I COULD throw up to see if it might help). I was miserable, and waiting for the first trimester to be over so that I could feel well again, like I’d been promised by so many wise mothers around me. I was assured that when I hit 13 weeks I would feel great. That milestone came and went. I waited. And waited. There was no easing of my symptoms. I was devastated. I did get some relief around 16 weeks, which lasted about 6 weeks or so, then the nausea returned. It wasn’t very fun, but I was happy and didn’t have any other responsibilities, leaving me free to lie around on the couch all day if need be. I continued to feel somewhat sick throughout the rest of my pregnancy, but delivered a beautiful baby girl right on her due date, and all memories of illness were gone.

Pregnancy number two came at a very different time in my life. I was in school full-time, entering my last semester before I graduated with my Bachelor’s degree. Week five rolled along and I was down and out again. This time, I had a toddler to care for, classes to sit through, exams and papers to write, and other general mom duties (clean house, laundry, grocery shopping, etc.). It was really hard. I spent a lot of time in classes with my head on the desk, just wondering when it would be over. I skipped a lot, and decided to get away with what I could to pass. I ended up doing pretty well that semester regardless, and graduated in April when I was 20 weeks along. The day of graduation I was lying on the floor in my cap and gown while my friend (who was 21 weeks pregnant) tried to find me some juice and crackers. I was able to rouse myself and the emotions of the day carried me through after that. I had about the same story as the first pregnancy, feeling sick off and on until the very end. But once again I delivered a beautiful and healthy baby girl who wiped away the pains of pregnancy.

As you well know, my husband and I decided to embark on a juice fast  in March of this year. It was hard, but well worth it. We felt better than we ever have, and were excited about changing our eating habits for good. Ten days after completing the fast, I got pregnant. I didn’t even take a test until I was almost 8 weeks along, because I was fully expecting my period any day. When I finally realized that it wasn’t coming, I thought, “Hm, maybe I’m pregnant.” This was bizarre to me, because I felt GREAT. I had been eating really well and exercising every day, and I hadn’t had one hint of symptoms. Okay, that’s a lie. I was EXHAUSTED. But that came right around the time when I took the test and realized a baby was coming. I have never had problems with infertility, my first daughter was conceived basically the minute after I said, “I think it’s time to have a baby.” My second daughter took a little longer, about 8 months of trying. That was hard, because the first one came so easily. But I was grateful when it happened. This time was basically a repeat of the first. We had been talking for months about when would be a good time to start trying, then realized that we KNEW it was time, and any time would be a good time. I was shocked when it happened so quickly, and that I felt so good.

The reason I’m going into so much detail is that I attribute how I’m feeling to the way I’ve been living the past few months. I don’t think it’s a coincidence that I did a juice fast, got rid of all the toxins in my body, and then got pregnant immediately after. It’s been proven many times that good nutrition and exercise can help with infertility. It’s no wonder that with all the poison in our bodies that they wouldn’t always work correctly. I don’t mean to be insensitive. I have people extremely close to me in my life who struggle with infertility and I don’t mean to make light of it, or say that you just have to eat better and you could get pregnant. I don’t mean that at all. I’m just saying that for me, I believe that how I’ve been treating my body helped this time, and has continued to help me feel good while pregnant. The times I’ve been sick have been after eating sugar or other junk. Every time. It’s no coincidence. If I eat well every day and exercise, I feel amazing.

Here is what I’ve been doing. I wake up, and start juicing. I drink our morning green juice. I do have to plug my nose again while drinking it, and I have to drink a lot of water in between gulps. The smell really gets to me, and I did throw it up once when I put in a lemon. The smell/flavor was just too overpowering for my sensitive pregnant nose! I have been adding fresh ginger to mine to help with “morning sickness.” It takes me longer to get it down, but once I do I let it sit for a few minutes then I feel great. It feels so good to get all of those vitamins and minerals into my body, knowing they are helping my baby too. I eat a piece of toast or bowl of oatmeal with my girls and I’m good to go. After about an hour, I exercise. I was able to continue as usual with Jillian Micheals dvds until about 9 weeks along. Then I started to notice my knees aching a bit after one hard workout. Since then I’ve slowed down and just listen to my body. I get tired more easily, but I’m still able to do Jillian’s modified moves, some running, weights, and yoga. On days that I don’t work out I can feel it. I am significantly more tired, and more prone to feeling sick later in the day.

Overall, I can’t complain. I will do a separate post on cravings, because that’s a big topic. Since this blog is centered around nutrition/food, I think it’s a good point to address right now. For now, I’m anxious to find out what this little bean is (boy/girl) and I’m really happy that I’m not lying on the couch all day. I am due December 31st, making me almost 12 weeks right now. I apologize for my lack of posting, and hope to be back at it with 3 posts/week soon!

Thanks for sticking with me.