This especially rang true when the day after we arrived in Nebraska we found out a baby was in our near future. I didn't have a period the whole time we were in China for some reason. Three weeks after we got home It finally came back for one whole day. Neither of us thought I was able to get pregnant yet. HA! Boy were we wrong. And man am I glad we were wrong! After the first day's shock of the positive test that resulted in immediate bursting into tears on my part, we were excited. :) The extent of our conversation on the Saturday we found out went something like this, "What are you thinking?" "I don't know, what are you thinking?" Every day after that we have become more and more excited!! Weeks 6 through 11ish included relentless nausea, loss of appetite, and fall-over fatigue! I battled the nausea pretty well with regular doses of Vitamin B6, and ginger and digestzen DoTerra essential oils. All three helped so so much!
The first few weeks in Lincoln, I also developed a terrible cough. I was getting in maybe 10 miles of running those weeks, trying to take it easy so the cough would go away once and for all. Finally I conquered it. Running in the first trimester was insane. I could not believe how little energy I had while running. My pace had gone from a daily 7:40 to 8:15 minutes per mile to 10:30 mins/mile, which caused me to be se out of breath and exhausted you'd think I was sprinting miles on end. Some days when I would struggle to peel myself off the couch, I would tell myself, just go for 2 miles and you'll feel better. I'd do it, feel good for a bit then get struck down with the nausea and fatigue all over again. But I NEVER regretted a run or a long walk. Somewhere around the 8 or 9 week mark, I was able to get my miles back up to the mid 20's per week. I was feeling a little stronger, still nauseas but the running seemed to help with that. If I skipped a morning workout, I'd find myself a whole lot more sick throughout the day.
With the start of the 2nd trimester, I was beginning to feel a bit stronger in regards to running. I had some days where I could easily run 8 miles at 8:50 pace, then other days where my pace would creep back up in the high 9's. It's funny to think back to a 13 miler my brother, Kris, and I did together the Saturday before moving and how freaking hard it was for me! I felt like I was absolutely fighting to keep up, especially the last half, little did I know I was pregnant!
The hardest part about running while pregnant, at least for me, is the pressure I feel in my low abdomen. Basically feels like my organs are getting squashed in there the whole time, until I have to pee and then it just feels like I'm going to lose it, but at least a full bladder helps with the pressure feeling :) During my long run's I tend to have to pop a squat on the side of the trail at least once, sometimes twice! The constant need to pee while pregnant is no joke, especially when running! I'm so grateful to be able to run throughout all of this. It means so much to me to do something I love with the little babe that I love so much inside of me. I really hope I will be able to continue throughout the pregnancy. Finger's are crossed so we will see!!
Next appointment with my midwife is next week and I have been counting down to it ever since my previous appointment just so we can hear the heartbeat again!! Yaay!!
