Panic has begun to sink in at 24 weeks pregnant. My last update was a month ago at 20 weeks and while I still feel like not much has changed, a lot has.

Baby

Baby is the size of an eggplant which feels larger than I am. I guess it depends what kind of eggplant we’re talking about here. Baby is growing hair (allegedly) and kicking a lot. He moves more than Tommy did in my opinion at this stage. He kicked Tommy the other night which was very cute. Now Tommy loves to put his hands on my belly. I fake the kicks for 99% of the time by just flexing my abs quickly but he loves it.

Weight Gain

At 20 weeks I had gained about 10 lbs and now I am hovering between 148 and 150 lbs. This means I’ve gained almost a pound a week since for a total of 13-15 lbs! I am pretty sure this is normal. Experts recommend gaining between 25-35 lbs total. I gained exactly 30 with Tommy and I’m on the same weight gain curve as I was last time.

When I was pregnant with Tommy I noted during my 24/25 week pregnancy update that my weight used to fluctuate 2-4 lbs any given morning before pregnancy but while I’m pregnant it doesn’t. This still holds true oddly.

Workouts

I love comparing my baby updates. You probably could care less but oh my gosh, check out this entry on my workouts last time around…

Last week, I decided to take class at Barry’s Bootcamp on Monday and Tuesday after I taught. The classes were hard but I felt good. I just didn’t run as fast as I normally do and didn’t lift as heavy of weights. Wednesday I took a spin class, Thursday I rested and got a prenatal massage and Friday I died when I tried to do my long run.

It was total defeat. I could barely keep up a 13 minute mile pace jogging. It was HOT. Like in the high 80’s and I had a terrible head cold. I was going to run 10 miles and I was happy I got in 9 even if it took me 2 hours to complete. I thought my running days were behind me!

This week, I took it a little easier. I ran 30 minutes on Sunday at a good 10 minute mile pace. I felt strong again. Monday I took a Pilates class on the Megaformer at BTone. Tuesday was an easy 45 minute run and yesterday I ran for 60 minute alternating between 3 minutes at my fast pace (9 min/mile) and a 3 minute walk. I managed to fit in 5 miles and saw this beautiful sunset. I felt so much better thanks to the cooler temperatures and clear nasal passages.

Lolololololololololololololol.

What!? Who am I? Who was I? Who is this girl that did these things almost 6 months pregnant! I ran 9 miles in high 80’s with a terrible head cold as well as two classes at Barry’s Bootcamp and spin in the same week!?

Here is what I did the past week for comparison:

• Sunday: Prenatal Yoga
• Monday: Taught my Mommy + Me class at Burn Fitness
• Tuesday: 30 minutes on Peloton
• Wednesday: 30 minutes 2nd Trimester Strength Training
• Thursday: Rest
• Friday: 20 minutes on Peloton
• Sat+Sun: Rest

Mondays I teach my Mommy and Me class. I don’t work out on Mondays but count my exercise as walking to and from the studio as well as demo’ing the moves.

Honestly, taking care of Tommy these days feels like a workout. I got 9000 steps for the day without “working out” yesterday. Just leaving the house in the morning for daycare requires me to just sit and relax for twenty minutes afterwards. I just feel like I finished a challenging workout.

My goal has been and continues to be getting 4 days of exercise, usually consisting of 2 cardio days and 2 days strength training days. I’m usually able to achieve this but since we went to the cape this weekend and Nick was away, I did not.

Symptoms

After fighting a dry cough/cold for two weeks, I finally feel better… except for one small thing. Around day 10 of my cough, I noticed my ear was blocked. I *think* that while trying to use a netti-pot to clear my sinuses, water somehow migrated towards my left middle ear which is the worst. I had a tube put in when I was a child and if I ever get water in my ears, it is a bitch to get out. It is still blocked and I have significantly reduced hearing as well as constant ringing in my left ear. I think I have to honestly wait until baby and see it clears up after labor and if not, see an ENT.

I’m also super tired between 3:30-4:30 pm. I literally just want to lie on the couch all day which is what I did when I was pregnant with Tommy but now I can’t because I have to parent a toddler. I do cave into screen time during this hour when I know we should be doing an activity but I honestly am just exhausted. Either way, I know I shouldn’t worry about this, as my gynecologist told me this is competently normal.

Heart burn is another fun symptom I’ve got again, but other than that, I feel great. Since I”m not working out like a maniac, I’m much less achey and way more comfortable!

I also find it funny that I’ve gained the exact same amount despite working out 1/4 of the time and intensity.

Looking Forward To…

Hitting 26 weeks. It’s known as the week in which if you were to go into preterm labor the baby could potentially survive! My friend Lauren had her son at 26 weeks and he’s doing amazing. At only 24 weeks, I really can’t imagine this happening but neither did she.

I’m also looking forward to warmer weather! This has been a brutal winter and we are gearing up for another storm tomorrow. It’s insane. I just want to be able to go outside and let Tommy run around and get some serious vitamin D. Thank god my prenatal have some in them.

Feeling…

I’m starting to feel nervous and anxious. Tommy is the best and full of energy. However, it is a challenge to get out the door at 8:45 am to get to daycare. I think about next year with a newborn and getting out the door by 8 for his new school and it stresses me out. Tommy is just in a phase where it’s hard to make/eat breakfast and brush my teeth while trying to get him to do the same, make his lunch and get him dressed WITH shoes, etc… It just feels like it’s a lot more work than it should be and to add a baby to the mix, just gives me anxiety.

This weekend, we went to the Cape to just hang out with sister and her daughters since both our men were away. Tommy crawls out of a pack n play so I tried to get him to sleep in a toddler bed. He slept for 3 hours but as I was about to fall asleep, he woke up and did not go back to sleep until 4:30 am and woke up promptly at 7 am. This left me with 2.5 hours of sleep myself. I guess this means, we have to transition him before the baby comes to a toddler bed because I cannot deal with that type of sleep deprivation. Any tips?

Anything else…

The due date is creeping up fast. We still haven’t planned a babymoon for just the two of us and I really hope to make it happen. Nick has been traveling a lot for work and who knows when we may be able to get away just the two of us again!? It’s funny how by this time I was registering for baby gear and birthing classes and here I am planning to be on Cape Cod a week before my due date enjoying the 4th of July festivities. If I go into labor on the Cape, worst case scenario, I give birth on the side of the highway. Best case, I make it back to Boston to deliver! It’s funny how much more relaxed I am about labor, delivery and the newborn phase. I feel prepared.

I wanted to add more here about cravings but going to save that for an entirely separate post! Any questions, let me know down below. Going to do another Facebook live soon and would love to know what you’d like to hear.