The night that wouldn't end... or begin?

I love bloggers that use funny images to tell their not-so-funny-to-them-but-hilarious-to-us stories.  (Especially like Crappy Pictures, and another blog that I can't think of right now...  pregnancy brain & all.  :p)  So, here's my version of how my night went last night.   (Click on them to make them larger if you must, but, I'm really no artist, so you aren't missing anything in the details.)

After a long night Saturday night, then a wonderful, but tiring baby shower, I came home & felt the need to wash ALL the new baby stuff.  Of course.  By 11:15pm I was beyond exhausted & ready to crash!

11:35pm - Just as I was about to drift off....

Why must my son cry out every night?  Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for the guy...  but he's 4.5 & I'm insanely pregnant.  Mommy needs a break!

I got him back to sleep, did a few things, since I was up again, and then got back in bed.

Only to be greeted with...

1:15am - "MMMMOOOOOMMMYYYYY!!", and more crying.  Still, no idea why.

This time he was more upset, but I got him back to sleep, had a potty break for myself (remember, I'm insanely pregnant), and climbed back in bed.

Then!  2;30am - I hear a car rumbling outside.  It's not a normal time for a car to be outside & we had a problem with cars being broken into a few weeks ago, so I had to get up & look to see what was going on.  I saw nothing.  *sigh*

Back in bed, and just drifting off, when...

3:00am - THE DOG BROKE OUT OF HER PIN.  Really??  Really.

I got her back in her pin, almost fell asleep, and...  

3:15am - SHE WAS BACK AGAIN.  I did consider driving her to a field & dropping her off.  But, as much as I wanted sleep, I'm not that heartless.  ;)  (Don't call PETA!)

3:25am - With the dog pinned in AGAIN, another potty break for me, and my body beyond exhausted, I climb back in bed, trying desperately not to cry, but I couldn't help it.  At least the hubby woke up enough to hold my hand, it really did help.

I couldn't really fall asleep, I was just too tired...  but I was also too tired to even move.  

3:35am - I hear BOTH dogs in our room.  I'm pretty sure I grumbled some things I won't repeat now...  

But the hubby took over & redid their pin so they wouldn't be able to get out again.

...and now that I've made my cartoons & told this much of the story, I remember that the 2nd dog visit was both of the dogs & the 3rd was just the mastermind.  Whatever...  the point remains - my dogs SUCK!  :p

Finally, I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep in!

6:30am - I hear the shower, then the hair dryer.  I swear the hubby was drying his hair for 30 minutes.  Seriously.  (I'm sure it was just 5, but the sound just would. not. stop.)

 I must've kinda drifted off again, 'cause when I rolled back over I saw it was 7am.  Time to get up & start the day...  and sure enough the wee one was waking up just about then.  Yay.

Happy Monday y'all!

My first pregnancy vs my second pregnancy

AKA: a pregnancy while not in shape/remaining inactive vs a pregnancy while in shape/remaining active.  :p

Friday I'll be 34 weeks.  Where has the time gone?  In some ways it dragged on & on, in others it flew right by!  The first trimester was definitely the longest for me.  Besides the total exhaustion of growing a baby, I had horrible, painful, ugly, cystic acne that made me a bit depressed & to make it worse, no-one knew I was pregnant, so it just seemed that I had some horrible teenage problem - in my 30s.  I survived it though, and while I still have scarring & my skin isn't fantastic still, it's nothing compared to what I went through (yet I'd do it again, really!).  The second trimester I was uncomfortable - stretching skin, backaches, organs moving around...  pretty much normal pregnancy complaints.  My skin started clearing up though, and I was feeling much happier, our secret was out (so less shame in the horrible skin problem) though my life became insanely stressful...  but over-all I didn't have THAT much to complain about.  The third trimester, I timidly report, has been fantastic!  I still have ankles (yes, really!), I still sleep on my stomach (yep, it's true, though I don't do it on purpose, I swear), I don't have a waddle (woohoo!), and I generally have enough energy to do "normal" daily activities.  I can still walk 2-3 miles at a stretch (though it is starting to get a little harder), I still help the hubby with mowing the yard, I'm still keeping the house spotless (being super pregnant & having a house on the market IS sucky, that I'll happily complain about!), and I generally do everything I would be doing if I weren't pregnant (other than the fact that I'm not running).  In the past week, I have noticed that I'm starting to get tired a bit more easily & can be a little less patient (by the way, patience has never been one of my virtues), but I'm still doing good.

With my first pregnancy, I wasn't in horrible shape, I mean I was at a healthy weight (though I'm sure my BMI wasn't too great), I had a good diet (I was a vegetarian, a very conscientious one, balancing my protein intake well), and I was able to do physically active things...  though not at a level of a truly "healthy/in shape" person.

With this pregnancy, I wasn't at my ideal weight yet, but I was close.  My BMI was in a healthy range, I had become physically fit to the point that I had gotten my hypertension (leftover from the first pregnancy) completely under control without drugs.  Remember, I even ran a half marathon while newly pregnant (granted, I didn't run it as well as I should have, but I was pregnant afterall :p).  My diet was very healthy (though no longer a vegetarian)...  at least until I hit the point of pregnancy that carbs were all I could manage to eat a lot of days.  :p

My first pregnancy, I gained way too much weight, I believe 55-60#s was my final number (at 37 weeks, when my son was born).

This pregnancy, I'm up almost 30#s, which is more than I hoped to gain, but it's pretty much "all baby", not fat being stored all over my body.  I can't see another 30#s being added in the short time I have left - yay!

My first pregnancy, my blood pressure spiked & I developed pre-e.  I was admitted to the hospital after my 33 week check-up, and released to my house for very strict bed rest (I was allowed to get up to pee, bathe, & go to my dr appts - twice a week).  I was sent straight from my dr appt to maternity observation at least once a week because my bp wouldn't go down.  I was in pre-term labor from 33 weeks on (but never felt the contractions, making it a bit more scary for me!) & ended up delivering a healthy (other than some jaundice) baby at 37 weeks - 10 minutes before I was scheduled to be induced (due to the pre-e).  ((Yay for NOT having to be induced!))  I was in labor 36 hours & pushed for hours...  but he got here without either of us experiencing any major trauma.  ((Yay for no resulting c-section!!))

This pregnancy, I've passed 33 weeks, with healthy blood pressure readings, no other complications, and NO BED REST!!!  

My opinion?  Being in shape makes a huge difference in the outcome of a pregnancy.  This one has been a walk in the park compared to the first.  I seriously forget I'm pregnant at times.  (Don't send the hate mail, please...  it ain't over yet.  :p)  I just feel so normal!  I can't predict how things will turn out over the next 3-6+ weeks, but I feel like everything will be just fine!  I do have gestational diabetes, and I do still think that if I had kept running there's a chance I wouldn't have developed it, but who knows?  Type II diabetes runs in my family, so I think the odds were stacked up against my anyway.  To be honest, the GD isn't *that* awful either.  It's keeping me from using pregnancy as an excuse to pig out & gain weight, that's for sure!  It's also teaching me even more about nutrition, which is always a good lesson.
If I do this again...  I will definitely get back in shape first & stay active.  Pregnancy can actually be a beautiful thing, and I might even miss it when this baby comes.  ...maybe.

Still walking along...

For a while, I quit putting any effort in.  I felt alone, left out, and sad.  All of my running friends became too busy with each other & I'm not even sure if I was an after-thought anymore.  I think that if I had continued to have someone to run with me all this time, I'd still be running at this point.  So, here's a tip - find a friend, significant other, running group, maybe even a dog - just find someone that will commit to helping you get out there run while you're pregnant.  (Assuming you want to keep running while you're pregnant that is.)  Or, maybe just a treadmill would do it, I think that would've keep me going too.  I just didn't want to do it alone.  What if something happened & I was out there alone?  or, the days I was tired...  I had no-one pushing me to get out & try to run anyway.  It was just me.  Sometimes in life you really do need more than yourself.  (Trust me, that's hard for an independent chick like me to admit!)

I'm happy I ran as long as I did, it was better than quitting day 1, but...  I'm actually very disappointed in myself that I didn't keep running.  I truly intended to, & it wasn't that it really got that hard, physically (not that it was easy though), I just chose to have a big ol' pity party instead.  Which, as a pregnant woman, is completely normal I'm sure.  Heck, as any person it's normal.  When life changes for you & you suddenly feel all alone, that's hard!  Very hard.  Just getting up some days is a downer when you feel alone.  If you've never felt that, I hope you never do.  

I really can't express in words how difficult the past few months have been for me.  I actually did attempt once, but I quickly deleted the blog post because I wasn't looking for a pity party, I just wanted to get my feelings out.  Knowing that not only am I going through a (very healthy, yay!) pregnancy, which alienates me from friends who don't want (or need!!) to slow down their own lives, but also that I am about to move hours away from the people I know & love...  Well, who wouldn't feel alone & been more apt to take every little thing personally?  Add to that the tremendous amount of stress I've been under with all that's going on in my life, and, well, it's amazing I'm not sitting in a dark room crying all the time if you ask me.  ;)

All of that aside...  I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes at 27 weeks.  I kick myself MORE because I truly believe if I had kept running, my body would have been processing things more efficiently.  Why I didn't feel I could keep getting out there & get it done - even if I was alone, I don't know.  Hopefully, should we decide to have another child, I will just get my arse out there & do what the baby & I need to stay healthy!  (Also, hopefully, I will own a treadmill by then (if there is a then).  ;))  My blood sugar is under control with no help other than a modified diet.  I am sick of eating (6 times a day!!), and I feel like I am on protein overload, but between following the diet & getting back out there & walking as much as I can, any chance I get, I am keeping things under control!  Sweetie Pie Sparkles (lovingly named by his big brother!) is healthy & I think happy (or he hates me & is actually beating me up??) & I am healthy & actually finally happy & comfortable with where our little family is right now.  We might be stressed to the max, but there is so much to look forward to in the next few months, that I have to believe everything will work out just fine!  (Plus, this is my very last week as a working mom, which alone is reason to be happy!!)

I updated my mileage for the year so far.  It's nothing to most people who read this, but I'm just shy of 49 miles so far & I'll take that & be happy.  It's better than 0, right?  Besides, this 8 month pregnant lady can still walk a 5K & there's plenty of non-pregnant folks that can't.  I guess that's the solace I get to take.