Trying Not to be a Mad Blogger

Good news (sarcasm)... I had this whole nice big, long, beautiful blog written out and pregnant me, I accidentally published it without adding the photo I wanted... Edited it... and boom. Blog gone. Pfft.

33 Weeks at the day of Chloe's shower - Driving is becoming an issue

Aaaaannd, I'm not going to re-do it. Haha.. I've been wanting to blog and write more but am pretty sure every blog would basically just say "I'm really uncomfortable and REALLY ready to have a baby."

So, to spare you of pure complaining, I would just like to take a moment and compare pregnancy to contest prep. That way my complaining is at least semi-entertaining ;)

1. You're too tired for anything other than what you need to do. At any moment, you really could catch a nap in your car.
2. Basically just counting down the weeks until D-Day, and you could name off how many days you have left.
3. Constantly feeling sick and depleted.
4. My body hurts all the time.
5. I'm really focused on my water and meals.
6. I bide my time waiting to lose weight.
7. I'm hangry all the time.
8. I have trouble getting down my meals (in fact, this salad I'm eating has taken me an hour to get down 5 bites).
9. You're hungry in the middle of the night. In fact, your hunger pangs wake you.
10. You have to pee ALL the time.
11. The biggest changes to your physique happen in the last two weeks.
12. Everyone thinks they owe you the input on your body/eating habits/sleeping habits.

I'm sure there are plenty more, but these are what go through my head all the time. And, before you go thinking that I'm really obsessed with wanting to be small again or concerned with the number on the scale, the reality is that the weight throws my posture off which has become incredibly painful. I still do yoga at home but absolutely nothing relieves the pain of muscle spasms like losing weight and correcting my posture.

Although it sounds pretty miserable, and it can be, I am the happiest girl in the world. Mr. Bang has MORE than stepped up to the plate in helping me do everything around the house - I should start calling him Mr. Wonderful. There are days where I come home from work, and he has the house clean, a fire going, and dinner in the crockpot - a pregnant lady could never ask for more!

While I am certainly ready to have little Chloe, I spend my time knowing that I am the only one that can hold her right now. I feel her kicks and jabs and know that these are the last days I will ever feel those. At this point, we plan on Chloe being our only little one so I truly do savor those moments when I feel her turn over, or have the hiccups, or move when I've poked her one to many times. :) Sigh, I'm getting all teary over this!

So, with that... I'm leaving you with a few pictures. :) The nursery is mostly done; we're missing the door to her room, which we're still in search of the perfect one and the mattress to her crib.

Here's where we're at currently - I have a couple more finishing touches to add and some of this will obviously be out of here (like the carseat) pretty soon. All of her clothes have been washed and put away. :)

Andy LOOOVES Chloe's room.

The light we chose for her room - I wasn't sure about it at first but I love the pattern it creates on the ceiling. So fun for a little girl!

The glider to the right of the door - Now there is a large basket covering that heater containing blankets, burp cloths, etc.

Such a beautiful atmosphere for a nursery

34 Weeks on my 30th birthday -

Big baby in there! I do wear stripes to make her look huge though. I'll do a better update in the next couple of weeks - Because lord knows we might only have a couple of weeks left! I have my last ultrasound tomorrow! :)

Coming Into the Final Lap (or, 12 Weeks Out)

I'm sure some of the moms I know are just going to flat out laugh at this post, and that's fine. I tend to be ambitious and over commit ahead of time. :) I know this about myself, and that's okay.

We are gearing up for baby! I was waiting until I was completely full term before prepping these meals, more as kind of a mind bender that there was NO WAY I would have a premature baby (like I am able to control that LOL). Whatever, mind tricks. But have taken the time to start stocking up on spices and buying loads of freezer containers.

Right Now Goals:
1. Have 5 weeks worth of clean freezer meals prepped for after delivery.
2. Room Ready
3. Continue workouts/yoga 3-4x a week until labor

Post-Birth Goals:
1. My overall goal is to breastfeed Chloe for a full year.
2. Have a meal plan laid out, and clean up my eating immediately after delivery (without lowering any kind of calories to ensure my body still produces milk. Lowering calories can tell your body that you don't want to produce. Our bodies are fickle and amazing).

Macro split: 40-40-20, calories starting at 2,400... I'm going to see how this goes for me. I've heard that some women have an insane metabolism while breastfeeding and it just depends on your genetics.
I tend to be mostly a mesomorph, meaning that I tend to gain muscle easily. So, I'm going to start high with minimal exercise and see how that goes for me. Changes will be made in the event that I stop producing milk or don't lose weight.

3. Start with walks around the block (which is 3 miles in the country :) ) within a week after delivery until my body is ready for an easy weight lifting split (no cardio, only a 10 minute walk warm up). I'm excited to give my body the chance to reset my metabolism!
4. Enjoy every minute of my time with my little one :)

I will be working on the meal plan in the next few weeks, and will be ABSOLUTELY be looking for good clean freezer meal recipes, so feel free to share! :)

Week: 28! Officially at my 3rd Trimester and 12 weeks from meeting our sweet Chloe (I'm actually at 29 tomorrow)

Weight Gain:  30 lbs (@ 155 lbs) - Gaining weight like a champ! LOL! Yes, that does mean that I've gained 12 lbs in the last two months. And this is the one time in my life that I'm not giving myself a hard time over the gain. :)

Sleep: Pretty awful, but let's be honest... It isn't going to get better anytime in the next year or so. I'm just praying little Chloe has inherited her papa's sleeping habits: HARD as a log. 

Miss Anything? Lots of things. Mostly margaritas and non-pregnant sex. It's true, having a little person in the bed is very similar to knowing your dog is watching you. 

Symptoms: I hate telling people this, but I'm still getting sick. And often, like 3-4x a week still. Again, I haven't been diligent about keeping up with preventative measures because I'm really tired of doing the fruitless preventative measures.

I also have at times unbearable back pain, but yoga is a tremendous help with this. Something new, I'm experiencing a new nerve compression - It feels like the baby is an alien and is going to come crawling out of my abdomen. But seriously, like a really intense sunburn on your upper abs. This is due to my posture being off and compressing a nerve in my upper thoracic spine. Awesome.

Mood: Depends on what minute of the day it is and the last time I ate. Right now I feel fine. Ask me in a few hours, and I might have a meltdown. haha! Mostly I just crave holding my little baby in my arms. 

Cravings: Fruit, cinnamon, and chocolate. I found myself getting wrapped back into a cinnamon roll habit (Okay, just to reiterate.. these rolls are pretty amazingly delicious... made with biscuit dough and not too much icing... They are so fantastic with coffee in the morning), but quickly realized that my craving for these was simply due to wanting/craving cinnamon! (Okay, that and comfort eating from getting sick nearly every morning still.) So, I quickly bought some cinnamon cream cheese for my P28 Bagels, and BOOM! Breakfast is now both satisfying and filling. 

Diet: Not too bad. Now that I've come to grips with the fact that the nausea and sickness I experience is never going to change until little Chlo makes her arrival, I'm trying not to get too caught up into eating everything in sight just because I'm STARVANG and wanting to comfort eat. I allow myself one treat per day, which usually is something like angel food cake and strawberries, and am also eating a good amount of fruit everyday. 

Still working out: In the last few weeks, I've only made it to yoga twice a week and the gym another 1-2x a week. This is a VERY busy time for us business-wise (taxes, W2's, etc.), so I'm giving myself the flexibility and sympathy I don't typically when it comes to my workouts.

Stretchmarks: They're happening. I mean, I already had them so I'm not concerned about it. It's just re-stretching out my old ones on my love handles. Luckily, none ON the front side of my belly yet. :)

And introducing another new category... "Belly Button Watch"
Still In. :) But getting shallow. 

Baby Room Progress: 

WE DID IT! Actually, Mr. Bang did ALL of this. I wish I had a good before picture, because this room was CRAPPY! It was seriously our junk room that we kept the door closed to when we had people over.
Mr. Bang painted the entire room, including the trim... He painted the dresser gold, the cabinet in the closet white, and the cute little pink table. He also completely put together the crib and the glider with ottoman... And he put up the cute letters I wrapped in yarn. Now, it's just time for details... organizing the closet, getting some drapes put in, and pictures on the walls.

So yeah, we are moving right along. This little baby will be here before we know it, and it is so hard to believe that we'll have a new person living with us! And it's time to get on making my freezer meals, so PLEASE share any great recipes you have! 

Have a great strong week friends! Spring is around the corner! :)

Goals & Reflections

It occurred to me this morning that I was nearing the end of the year and I couldn't even remember what my goals were for 2013. Course, life had other plans for me and my body but still! I took a look through this blog just to refresh my memory and to my dismay I couldn't find where I had actually set any in stone!

So... I'm ready to make some goals for 2014... It's going to be a BIG year in the Bang house. Some things we're not ready to talk about as they're still in process but we do have a baby coming which is a huge change in any household.

1. Natural Delivery. I REALLY don't want a C-Section (and firmly believe that OB's hand these out more than they are needed... but that's a whole other discussion). So my daily decisions are made with thought to delivering Chloe naturally; staying strong and eating right is the only way to even remotely have a say in this.
2. Back to Normal Weight. I know the baby weight can come off rather easily for breastfeeding women if a plan is in place, which I've already been working on one that will be prepped far ahead of delivery (frozen meals, etc.). And of course all of this is to be Back on Course to Compete in 2015. Depending on when Chloe makes her arrival, and how those first few months go will determine when I compete again. I've never gotten around to competing at the Emerald Cup, which I had planned to do TWICE and haven't... So that's on my bucket list. But, it is reasonable to assume that I've lost muscle mass over the course of being knocked up so this will take some considerable planning. However, I genuinely hope that I can spend time healing my hip and rebuild through the end of 2014. I'm sure I could push myself to compete in the fall of 2014, but I don't want to overwhelm myself... Having a new baby will be a significant change to our lifestyle.
3. Stay on course with paying our debt and growing our business to hopefully be on track to stay home after my maternity leave is over. This is going to be a big BIG year for us, but more on that later. ;)
4. Write! I really miss blogging and even journaling to get all my thoughts out of my head. There are so many I just can't contain them. lol!

Week: 23!!! :D  -17 weeks out!!-

I was surprised to see that I've only gone up one pant size. My legs feel giant to me. 

Weight Gain:  18 lbs (@ 141 lbs)

Sleep: Definitely difficult. I've gotten to the point where not only is sleeping uncomfortable by itself (hanging belly twisting my spine for hours...), but Baby Chloe has a habit of waking me up kicking ALL the time. 

Miss Anything?  Anything body related. I miss it all... Miss my abs, miss being limber enough to hop up on a chair, I miss wearing cute little anythings that make me feel sexy. Feeling sexy is a valuable commodity these days... And not for Mr. Bang, but for me. The last time I remember desiring a smaller body and feeling sexy in my skin this much, was when I was about 185 lbs and made a huge commitment to change my lifestyle and lose the weight.

Symptoms: Still sick somewhat often. About 2-3 times a week I'm still getting sick in the morning, and it is just in the morning. I have to admit that I've quit being diligent about preventing this... but let's be honest, you'd get pretty sick of fruitlessly trying to prevent getting nauseous for over 4 months too.

Mood: Mostly good, feeling so excited for our little one. Now that the holidays are over, I'm starting to feel the sense of urgency in working on the baby's room. Nesting. :)

Cravings: Fruit. All the time and sometimes tuna. I mean, I want carbs when I'm hungry, but I haven't had any crazy cravings. Every now and then I crave chocolate, but not a lot. I even go scavenge around the cafeteria at work, and the only things that I ever choose are fruit or a tuna sandwich on high protein bread (I also bring my own olive oil mayo to work, and load the sucker up with tomatoes, pickles and pepperoncinis). 

Diet: (Now, when I say diet, I just mean my regular eating meal plan. The word "diet" does not indicate that I'm trying to lose weight in any way, shape or form.) Going awesome! See my post about my meal plan from a few weeks ago. I don't stray too much from it, the hubby and I really enjoy eating healthy and wholesome meals. I also really notice when I am consistently eating this meal plan, and drinking enough water, it drastically reduces my fatigue. 

Still working out: See my post from a couple weeks ago about my excellent flexible workout schedule. I plan to switch this up in the middle to end of February just for something new and getting me focused on smaller timelines, like in 6 weeks I get a new workout. *Mind Tricks!* I totally did this all through prep too. :)

I would like to say, however, is it ever hard to workout now! Adding on the excess pounds and still trying to do the same workouts is crazy hard! I feel like I'm doing the "Add the Weight Back On"  Challenge from the Biggest Loser. 

The Sacred Pregnancy Obedience Rules: I'm quickly finding that some of these pregnancy obedience rules are basically just my life now, not out of choice, but out of circumstance. If I tried to hang out in a room full of paint fumes, I would likely barf. Or clean the catbox. Even if I tried to drink more than the recommended amount, I would get heartburn alllll night and be sick ALL the next day.
I am still eating some tuna a few times a week, but that's mostly because I'm trying to not eat the deli meat. Although, I do eat the deli meat sometimes. ;) And as for the occasional glass of wine, it is my savior right now. Having one once a week is a really nice break from the reality of being and feeling really pregnant. Although, this is usually followed by a full night of heartburn and feeling sick in the morning. 

One Month Goals: Finish Chloe's room clean-out project. I've Craigslisted a bunch of furniture that was all stuffed into her room - I try really hard not to become attached to furniture or completely replaceable objects. Our house is just tooooo small to keep so much in it. We are planning a home reno-party pretty soon just to help us get Chloe's room done and finish breaking out our last wall between the dining room & kitchen, which will require a new support beam. Hubby doesn't want me around the paint fumes, so I'll make food while everyone else drinks beer and paints. Luckies!

...And let's welcome our newest category:         "Stretchmarks"
Yep, got em. But really these aren't new for me. I'm very petite and knew this would happen quickly because of the simple fact that I had them when I was large around my love handles area and they aren't new... Old ones stretch back out pretty easy. (I know you all can't see my face or even see any emoticons so let me just tell you that the look on my face is pretty annoyed. I get a lot of "get over it" 's and "they're your tiger stripes" encouragement but it still doesn't dispel my disdain for stretching them back out. I am sure I'll be proud of birthing my baby, but I feel no connection between being proud of her and the stretch marks). I am doing Shea butter everyday though! I'm gonna fight those suckers to the death! 

Well, I hope you all had a wonderful new year! Two things:
1. What is everyone eating for lunch these days? I really need a new option over tuna...
2. What are your goals/resolutions for 2014? I'd love to encourage you in your goals!

Until next time! :D