I am 4 months along in this pregnancy!
In some ways I can’t believe I’m 4 months along; in others, I can believe it because those first 3 months felt really long with how sick I was and having to keep such a big secret. But this past month went by a lot faster thanks to feeling better and two trips (Minnesota and Oregon) that made the time fly by. I still feel like I have a long ways to go, but I know it will go fast.
Mostly I am glad to be feeling SO much, much, MUCH better! No more nausea, extreme tiredness, vegetables are back in my life, and running has also dramatically improved.
Cravings
My more intense ‘must-have-X-right-now’ cravings have subsided dramatically. I still have cravings from time-to-time, but they don’t feel too much different than the normal cravings I would have outside of pregnancy. While traveling, I did have my fair share of donuts, ice cream, and candy, but now that I am back cooking in my own kitchen, I’m eating my usual diet of whole grains, lots of vegetables, fruit, lean proteins, and healthy fats.
Aversions
No aversions any more! I am back to eating vegetables, coffee, and everything that I normally eat. I know I am lucky because some women deal with aversions well into the second trimester and beyond. There are a couple of random food items in our pantry (a container of mixed nuts and some snack crackers) that make me nauseous just looking at them because they remind me of the first trimester.
Physical Changes
I have definitely gained more weight this time around, and there’s already a small bump forming that was not present this early with Cullen. I’ve definitely gained the weight in my butt, hips, and boobs. (Close friends and family have noticed. Ha!) It’s been hard to embrace these changes because I get worried that I won’t be able to lose the weight after having the baby. I know it is very common to “pop” sooner with successive pregnancies as your body has done it once before. I’ve also had to buy some new clothes (maternity jeans already, a size up in underwear, new bras, and some longer shirts in the next size up) because there were a couple weeks when nothing was fitting. Now that I have a better-fitting clothes, I feel better about myself as well.
Running
My last pregnancy post included some very low mileage, but I am happy that the mileage has been creeping back closer to about 30 miles a week now. I’ve also been doing some more structured workouts each week.
Week 14: 27 miles + Heart Run 5K
Week 15: 18 miles (sick)
Week 16: 30 miles
Week 17: 27 miles
Week 18: ~40 miles (predicted miles)
Overall, things have been going MUCH better this trimester! I’m not nearly so out of breath that I need to stop every 0.5 mile like I did during the first trimester. While I still don’t feel like I did pre-pregnancy, I’m enjoying my runs and feeling much better about it all. I usually try to do one track/interval/speed session a week, and will continue to as long as I can.
This past week while Craig and I were in Portland with my sister and brother-in-law, we had a fun little gender reveal with just the four of us. Like I mentioned in my previous post, I was on the fence about finding out the gender, but Craig really wanted to know. At the same time, Craig didn’t want to do a big party for a gender reveal, and I wasn’t set on that either. We were either considering going out for a nice dinner and then opening the envelope (which I had held onto for about 1.5 week at home, unopened!) or getting a couple of cupcakes with the appropriate colored frosting on the inside. I did want to capture the moment on video and in photos, and I thought it would be fun to share in the experience with my sister and brother-in-law in Portland during our trip, so we opted for the cupcake option.
And I’m so glad we did it this way because I never want to forget my reaction, and I can’t stop watching this video.
I’m off to do a long run–barring that I feel okay since pregnancy running can change so much from day to day. I ran 11 miles last weekend, so I hope I can stretch that to 12 and then feel confident about doing a half marathon next weekend!
I love Craig’s reaction too! Haha!