19 Weeks

Today marks my baby's 19th week growth b-day! As excited as I am to almost be to that half-way mark of my pregnancy, my mind has been focused on another little baby today... baby Lucas Aaron Robinson Jr., my precious nephew born this morning at 8:10am, at a whooping 8 lbs 15.4oz. Big boy! I am so happy for my bro and sis-in-law for their precious babe! And if my little boy is born exactly on his due date, Lucas and Tyler will only be 21 weeks apart (can you spell trouble??). Anyways, props to the other Mrs. Robinson for carry that heavy boy for 40 weeks (while working 12 hours shifts as a nurse), to Luke for buying and fixing up a house in time to welcome his little one home, and to the Tay monster for her new little brother. SO excited for you all :-)

As for my pregnancy journey... it has become quite the adventure this week. I feel like my belly is just growing and growing like a weed. It's so hard to believe I'm getting as big as I am because I wear mostly workout clothes and sweatshirts all day, so when it's time to hop into the shower or get changed or something, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and am like "When in the world did I get so BIG?" (although I guess I haven't really seen anything yet!) It just surprises me everytime! The other day I went into school with Jordon to help him teach PE, and we did a relay with the 1st and 2nd graders in which they had to dribble a basketball while running. Well when I dribbled the basketball, and it kept catching just the tip of my belly when it bounced up! haha. Never had that happen before!

Despite my growing belly size, I have been super active this week which I am LOVING. Being couch-ridden is probably the worst form of torture for a exercise physiology major/avid exerciser. Finally having the energy to get outside and move has been awesome. I've been running almost everyday with my tennis girls, walked up to and back from the park on Sunday in that beautiful weather, played some tennis with Jordon, and have been taking the pups for walks as well. I even did a plyometric workout with the tennis girls last Friday, which exhausted both them and me!

As excited as I am to be moving again, it is VERY frustrating. I have been exercising like a mad woman since I've been in college, so I am very used to pushing myself harder and harder each time I workout... I even consider walking in the middle of a run a sin. However, I obviously cannot be doing that while pregnant, and there lies my problem. I've had 2 experiences of EXTREME fatigue after working out "too hard" in the last couple weeks. I work out and feel great about it, but then half an hour later my whole body feels just exhausted and I cannot do a thing. Its difficult for me to gauge what is "too hard" for my pregnant body when I'm used to having such a higher tolerance pre-pregnancy. So I'm slowly learning to adjust my activity levels... it's still frustrating though. I know my baby will thank me for the physical activity later in life, but obviously not if it is too much, so I really need to learn that balance.

My belly is also just starting to be uncomfortable. I have that massive scar running from 3 inches above my belly button to the top of my pubic bone, so it is in the middle of belly-central and is stretching like crazy (and it hurts!). The midwife said it won't interfere with the pregnancy or growth or anything like that, but it will be a (literal) pain. I also notice all of my abdominal and oblique muscle get really sore easily. I did 3 loads of laundry a couple days ago, and going up and down the basement steps and bending over and such left me SO sore that night. Who knew doing laundry could be so physically demanding? And to top it off, I'm having a lot of round-ligament pain (pain from the stretching of the ligaments attached to the uterus), so anytime I sit down or stand up, I get twinges of pain. Sigh.

Yes, I'm officially one of those whining, complaining pregnant women... and it only took 19 weeks!

But on the bright side, I do have a WONDERFUL blessing growing inside me, so it is definitely all worth it. I cannot wait to meet my son! 40 weeks seems like way too long to have to wait for a baby, but as Jordon keeps reminding me, these past 19 weeks have flown by, so we can expect nothing less from these next 21. Also, after recommendations from 3 moms/mommas-to-be, I finally invested in a Beband.... a wonderful piece of elastic that slips over the top of your jeans and keeps them up while you leave them unbutton and unzipped. Yes! It is by-far the best invention in the world. I don't think I'm ever going to take this baby off.

Anyways, thanks for continuing to read about my pregnancy-escapades... I appreciate all the encouragement from family and friends! And I know Tyler does too!