Pregnancy and Fitness

There is an absurd amount of advice and information to take in when you first become pregnant (and not all of it is wanted). However, there is one piece of information you should really pay attention to: your weight gain. Here is the recommended pregnancy weight gain break down based on BMI (calculator here):

Underweight = < 18.5 (gain 28-40 lbs)
Normal = 18.5-24.9 (gain 25-35 lbs)
Overweight = 25-29.9 (gain 15-25 lbs)
Obesity = 30+ (gain 11-20 lbs)

You can read more here.

Prior to pregnancy, my BMI was 19.1 so my doctor has recommended the standard 25-35 lb weight gain. That may seem like a lot, especially considering your baby should only weigh around 7-8 lbs. So what accounts for the extra weight?

Here is the break down according to WebMD — you know, that site you use to check your symptoms and pretty much find out you have cancer every time ;)

• Baby: 8 lbs 
• Placenta: 2-3 lbs 
• Amniotic fluid: 2-3 lbs 
• Breast tissue: 2-3 lbs 
• Blood supply: 4 lbs 
• Stored fat for delivery and breastfeeding: 5-9 lbs 
• Larger uterus: 2-5 lbs 
• Total: 25-35 lbs

So really, only 5-9 of those pounds is extra fat; the rest of it is stuff you kinda need. Gaining too little or too much both have their draw backs. Your doctor should discuss and monitor your weight gain over the course of your pregnancy, so be sure to mention any concerns you may have. 

One way to manage weight gain during pregnancy (particularly if you are like me and want to eat all the food all the time) is exercise. Again, this is something you should discuss with your doctor. However, in general, you can continue any exercise routine you had prior to pregnancy. The only caveats I have run into so far are:

1. After 20 weeks you will no longer be able to work out on your back due to the potential to compress veins and limit blood flow to your baby.
2. You MUST be able to breathe! When running, make sure you can talk comfortably the entire time. If you are not breathing, the baby is not breathing. This also means if you are using weights or resistance bands, do not hold your breath at any point. Be sure to breathe the entire time.  

Be aware, this is my particular pregnancy. Everyone is different. I cannot stress enough discussing your exercise routine and questions with your doctor. 

I worked out quite a bit prior to pregnancy. Most of my work outs consisted of running, circuit training, and weight training. I've been advised to be careful when using weights. If you do not know proper form, you can hurt yourself and potentially your baby. I've also been told to not increase the weights I use. Also, you should avoid exercises that involve balance or expose you to possible traumas (think volleyball, cycling, etc). 

All that being said, here is an exercise routine I did today. It took about 30 minutes and is a combination of walking, running, and weight training. If you do not have a treadmill (and the weather is playing nice) you could just take the walking and running outdoors. 

Warm Up

5 minutes easy walking at 3.5 mph

Set 1 — Repeat 3X

1 minute run 6.5 mph

8 bicep curls 

8 dumbbell tricep extension 

8 military shoulder press 

Set 2 — Repeat 3X

1 minute run 7.5 mph

8 hammer curls 

8 tricep chair dips 

8 lateral raises 

Cool Down

5 minutes walking at 4.5 mph

Twelve Weeks

I have waited nine weeks to be able to share this news: I AM PREGNANT!!! I am twelve weeks today and Josh and I are beyond excited. We spent last weekend getting in contact with family and friends. If I did not manage to get reach you personally, I apologize.

For both of my pregnancies, I knew right away. The first time Josh thought I was nuts and just making things up in my brain, but the second time around he picked up on it right away as well. One day he came home and declared "You look different. I think you're pregnant." We had zero basis for why we thought I was pregnant, we just knew.

I was so convinced, I took a pregnancy test at three weeks (one week before my missed period) as Josh was supposed to go into the field (for the millionth time). I didn't want him to know I was taking it because 1.) He would give me that "what are you doing?" face and 2.) I didn't want him to be disappointed if it came up negative since it was incredibly early to test.

As I was trying to be super sneaky, I only glanced a the test window. It appeared to be negative so I tossed it in the trash. About an hour later though I had a nagging feeling. You barely looked at it, go look again. So like a completely crazy person, I dug it out of the trash. Sure enough there was a faint line. However, I still had my doubts. What if it was an evaporation line (which can happen if more than 10 minutes has gone by since testing)? So I tested again. BAM. Pregnant.

Josh, understandably, did not believe that this was a positive test as the second line is barely visible. I scheduled a doctor's appointment for that day to confirm the pregnancy. The urine test came back positive and the following day I got my hCG results from my blood work. To this day, I have no idea how the at home pregnancy test was able to detect my pregnancy. My hCG came back 13.6; the at-home test I used can only detect 25 or higher. Basically, magic.

Of course, I had to go through the nonsense of convincing doctor's I was not nearly as far along as they thought I was since I don't have normal cycles (in fact, in 2013 I only had 9). There was some initial concern as they were convinced I was 4 weeks, not 3 weeks, and 13.6 is low for 4 weeks. It wasn't until I was 7 weeks by my count and I had my first ultrasound that an OB was able to date the pregnancy and agreed with me.

At 11 weeks I went in for another ultrasound to make sure the pregnancy was progressing as it should. Due to my previous ectopic pregnancy and some terrifying bleeding at 8wks4d and 9wks5d I was considered high risk. Thankfully, everything is looking great and I am now considered a low-risk pregnancy :D.

The 11 week ultrasound was hands down the single most amazing thing I have ever seen. At 7 weeks we could see a heart beat, but the baby largely resembled a jelly bean. By 11 weeks it had taken on a much more human appearance. It has a profile with a little nose and jaw, but my absolute favorite thing was when it began to bounce around. When the ultrasound first started it would bob its head around and wiggle its arms a bit, but then suddenly it bounced to the top of the screen and gently floated back down.

Since calling my family to let them know, I started getting a lot of the same questions so I figured I would compile some of the most frequently asked questions here:

1. When are you due? March 2, 2015.
2. How are you feeling? Great! I had one day of morning sickness/nausea (lucky me) and my energy is coming back. 
3. Will Josh be home? No, Josh will not be home for the birth. This sucks quite a bit, but it's an unfortunate reality of the marine corps. They do not fly fathers-to-be home for births.
4. How far along are you? I am exactly 12 weeks today!
5. What is the gender? We don't know yet :) We will find out around 20 weeks.

Some other stats that are just fun:

• The baby is now approximately 2.5 inches long and is the size of a large plum (however it only weighs half an ounce)
• At 7wks1d the heart rate was 143; at 8wks3d it was 180, and at 11wks1d it was 150. The heart rate rapidly rises during weeks 5-9 then decelerates to anywhere between 120-160 BPM after 12 weeks. 150bmp is the average for 12 weeks.
• I crave tomato products (spaghetti sauce/marinara in particular) and sour candy.  

Here are some progress pictures (more to come on Facebook) although I don't really look much different yet:

8 Weeks	12 Weeks

If you have any questions or just want to chat, give me a call or shoot me a message :)

 About Samantha Bookwalter

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Samantha Bookwalter is freelance writer and social media specialist. She specializes in web editing, copy editing, copy writing, social media management, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.

School Supplies for Teachers

Back to School season is in full swing in my town (and I assume all other towns that contain children). The displays at the front of Walmart, Big Lots, and any store that sells pencils are dedicated entirely to school supplies. This, of course, is not news to anyone over the age of five.

Nor is it news to any adult with a facebook that teachers have to pay for many of these supplies out of pocket. According to this study, teachers are forking over on average roughly $500 of their own money per year on pencils, pens, post it notes, dry erase markers, tissues, etc.

Some individuals are inclined to think So what? but I ask you: Does your job require you to buy your own stapler, your own printer paper, and more? I doubt it. I have yet to encounter a work place where I was expected to pay money to do my job. If I ran out of staples, I went to the supply closet to get new ones. Hell, we even had FREE coffee, sugar, and creamer. We also had free cider and tea.

This blog post outlines the ridiculousness of this situation. However, this example summarizes the point quite well:

So, let me get this straight— someone who is teaching our future leaders, doctors, lawyers, bankers, basically anyone who will be living for the next 50 years, is having to pay money to do their job? What if you went to the hospital and you needed, say a shot? You pay for the syringe, medicine, alcohol pads, and the materials needed for the nurse and physician to do their job. If they told you that either a) you needed to pay a supply fee for the syringe, medicine, alcohol pads and the materials needed to perform this job or b) you had to bring the supplies, you would probably either pay the fee, or bring the supplies so that the nurse and physician could do their jobs.

So why do teachers have to spend their own money for supplies to do their job when other professions do not? At first, I thought schools should incorporate a stipend in addition to teachers' salaries to account for this out of pocket expense (I still think this is a good idea). Then I wondered why parents weren't supplying their kids with the tools and supplies they needed to succeed in school in the first place.

Of course, there is one possible answer: they can't afford it. The economy sucks and everyone knows it. Then there is the significantly more obnoxious reason: they don't think they should have to. The blog post I linked to above contains just such an example. A woman needs to buy six EXPO markers, but there are only packs of 10 remaining. Here is her direct quote:

I’m not paying $6.79 for them. Then we would be giving them 4 extra markers. I’m not doing that. This is just ridiculous, they can buy their own markers if they want to use them.

As the saying goes, it takes a villiage to raise a child; however, it seems some adults have forgotten this. Teachers are not asking for supplies because they enjoy counting EXPO markers at night. They aren't asking for supplies because they get a sick satisfaction out of parting you from your hard earned money.

They are asking for supplies so they can educate your children.

Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions. Perhaps the woman with a vendetta against 10 packs of EXPO markers was simply having a bad day. We are human and we say things we don't necessarily mean when we're frustrated. But this does not help solve the problem at hand.

Teachers need supplies to be able to educate children to the level they deserve. Every child needs supplies to succeed in school. It is as simple as that.

With that in mind, I made a trip to Big Lots.

I often times find myself wishing I was able to make a difference in the problems that plague the country. I want to feed the hungry, house the homeless, and supply the schools. I can't do these things, at least on a large scale. The task of making a difference is daunting and I find myself overwhelmed before I've even begun.

Today I faced a similar wall. I can't possibly supply an entire classroom, much less an entire school. And then I remembered the starfish story. It's tired and worn, but the gist of it is even though it is impossible to save all of the beached starfish, you can make a difference to the ones you save.

(I just compared your children to starfish. I have no regrets.)

My sister-in-law teaches second grade, so I asked her what school supplies she runs out of first. She told me post it notes, dry erase markers, and pencils. So I got those and some other supplies I found on various lists online (you'd be surprised how many teachers blog about school supplies).

I put together three supply containers. Here is what is inside:

• 3 boxes of tissues
• 3 double packs of post it notes
• 2 apple-shaped packs of post it notes (because they're teachers, duh)
• 2 packs of paper (150 ct)
• 2 packs of pencils (15 ct)
• 2 packs of blue pens (10 ct)
• 2 packs of erasers (12 ct)
• 2 rolls of tape
• 2 packs of black dry erase markers (2 ct)
• 2 packs of color dry erase markers (4 ct)
• 2 packs of 4x6 index cards (100 ct)
• 2 packs of 3x5 index cards (100 ct)
• 1 thank you note

Here are the supplies in their containers before I put on the lids:

As I said before, my sister-in-law is a teacher, so one of these is for her. Thanks for what you do and good luck with the upcoming school year :)

I cannot make enough of these to solve the school supply problem. I can't even make a dent. But I can help when it is possible. If you are reading this, I ask you to do the same. Donate a pack of pencils, markers, crayons, whatever you can—it will not go unappreciated.

 About Samantha Bookwalter

Google+

Samantha Bookwalter is freelance writer and social media specialist. She specializes in web editing, copy editing, copy writing, social media management, HTML, CSS, and other web-related acronyms. Samantha has an affinity for health and fitness; in her free time she enjoys working out with her husband and researching recipes that are not only healthy but delicious too.