I have finally succumbed to the “listen to your body” rule and officially decided to stop running. I’m totally bummed about it but I just know that something doesn’t feel right. If you tuned in to last week’s Pregnancy Diary, you’ll know I was going to try to use a belly band to see if it helped, but it totally didn’t. The belly band was great and helped my belly feel more supported, but the weird tugging/cramping feeling I’ve been getting while running stayed the same. I visited my doctor this week for a blood test to rule out Spina Bifida and while I was there I discussed my exercise concerns with my OB. I explained to him that I totally didn’t feel this way with Lily and that cardio was a breeze this early on. He told me that this is SUPER common in second and third pregnancies. First, your baby is sitting lower so it’s a totally different physical experience and second, many second- or third-time mommies feel a lot of the things they were feeling around 30-35 weeks the first-time way earlier the second time. He said it’s totally normal to be more uncomfortable but to definitely listen to my body when it is telling me to stop. So, for the rest of the pregnancy, I’ll be using my Peloton bike, walking or using an elliptical. My strength training has been fine, besides being out of breath faster, so I’ll keep that up as normal.
Image by Molly Lou Photo
During my 16-week OB visit for my blood test, the nurse informed me that I would also be getting an ultrasound. This time around in my pregnancy, I am choosing to keep my ultrasound exposure to a minimum. I’ve already had two which I think is PLENTY for not even halfway through my pregnancy. Then, we have the big anatomy scan at 20 weeks. I’m hoping I can limit my ultrasounds to those 3 for the entire pregnancy. It’s not that I don’t love seeing my little bub in there, but there are studies pointing to the potential risk of ultrasound exposure during pregnancy. Before I say anything else, Lily had probably 5 ultrasounds while in my tummy and she is PERFECT. I mean, seriously, everyone raves about how intelligent and social she is. So, not to panic if you’re already doing a lot of ultrasounds. I just think being aware of these studies and already knowing that my pregnancy is healthy and normal, there is no need to expose my child to the potential risks. Luckily, my doctor was supportive and just did a very quick doppler to check for the baby’s heartbeat. It was still there and still strong, so we were able to call it a day.
Still feeling the little boy kicking around in there and it just about makes my heart explode. I’ve been off of dairy for a week to see if it will clear up my skin, so far I haven’t noticed much of a difference. Ah, hormones. I’ll keep you updated! I’ll be traveling with Lily by myself back to my hometown of Buffalo, NY this week. I’m going to be keeping track of my experiences this time so that I can write posts about traveling with a toddler and plane travel with breast milk. Stay tuned!
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