39 Weeks Later--What's the Damage?

Whoa.

I am less than a week away from my due date.  I'm going to be a full-fledged mom in such a short amount of time.  It's getting real up in here.

As I approach my final week(ish) of pregnancy, I have marveled at the dramatic changes my body has undergone.  My once mostly flat belly is now as round as a beach ball (which my two year old niece truly thought I was hiding under my shirt!).  My boobs are huge.  There is no way around this fact--they seriously grew several sizes and I'm terrified because I hear that they are about to grow two more.  Help me.  And my bones have literally shifted to make way for baby's arrival.  Being pregnant is kind of insane.

After looking at how different my body looks now versus before, I can't help but think about the upcoming journey that is headed my way--getting back to pre-baby weight and shape.  While it has been nice to be more relaxed about calorie counting and exercise the last few months, I am ready to get back into a place where I am actively trying to improve myself and become stronger.  And to do that, I need to look at the current damage and assess goals.  So how did my pregnancy go for me?

Unfortunately, I don't have measurements from back in May when I got pregnant.  As you might remember, I had gained some weight back after injury and weighed in at 162.2 on the day I found out I was pregnant.  That means I have gained 23.2 lbs during this pregnancy which is right where my doctor wanted me to be.  They have been very happy with my weight gain and healthy during this pregnancy, and have commented on it every time I've come in.  I must admit, it has been nice to hear.

However, you can see that I have put on weight in areas other than just my belly.  That is partially due to the awesome swelling I'm experiencing right now (no wedding ring for me!), but I know that some of it is related to the extra fat you put on during pregnancy for baby.  And as always, it went straight to my thighs.  Booo.  Oh, and to my boobs.  Again, they are gigantic--growing 4 inches??  How is that even possible??

So what do I plan to do about the weight gain?  Well, I plan on being smart about it.  I'm told that the average woman loses an average of 12 lbs on the day she gives birth.  Over the next week or so she loses about another 5 in water weight.  The rest, however, only comes off with hard work and dedication.  Keeping in mind that I shouldn't start a workout program for 6-weeks after baby, I plan on starting out slow and building momentum until I can be working out at full effort.  I can't wait to go for walks in the sunshine with my baby.  (Dear Utah--I said sunshine, not snow!)  Once I'm cleared for exercise, I will be starting Crossfit at Hubster's gym.  I'm looking forward to the challenge and for adding some needed muscle.  Car seats aren't light, much to my dismay.  I need some muscles to be able to haul my baby around!

I would also like to get back to running, but in a more manageable way.  As much as I loved my marathon and the half marathons I did, I have lost ALL of my endurance training and need to start over from scratch.  I would love to run a 5k this year and hopefully a 10k.  It really depends on how much time I have to dedicate to both Crossfit and running.  And I want to stay injury free.  All the injuries I've had from running have really tainted the wonderful experiences I've had with my races.  Injuries are discouraging and really demoralizing.  So 2013 will hopefully be an injury free year!

With the renewed dedication to health and physical activity, you can expect me to be more vocal on this neglected blog of mine!  I have really missed the blogging community and the inspiration I get from each of you.  While I've been pretty much radio silent on both this blog and with commenting, please know that I have kept reading all of your journeys and have been so impressed with all of you (even if you are going through tough struggles and aren't impressed with yourself currently).  I can't wait to be a part of this active community again!

In the meantime, I will enjoy my final days spent with this view:

Feet? What feet?

39 Weeks (and 1 day)

Almost done baking this baby!