Today's lesson: the importance of water

It is finally spring and it is once again freezing cold. BOO! This mama is ready to get her boys outside to play and I am ready for long post-dinner walks! Anyone else?

Last week was a ROUGH week for this mama.  I wanted to eat all day, every day.  And I wanted to eat J-U-N-K!  I could not understand what my problem was.  I typically can decipher between being bored and wanting to eat and actually being hungry.  The problem was, I felt hungry all the time!! Not only that, but my skin looked horrible.  Break-outs and dry.  We are in the second trimester here.  That is supposed to be all cleared up! ;)

On Friday, my family headed north to meet the rest of my family in Chicago. There are a lot of March birthdays so we were getting together to celebrate.

(You're thinking--"I thought this post was about water?" I'm getting there) 

It is about a 4.5 hour journey and I downed both bottles of water I took withing the first 2 hours. Then we got to the hotel I was super thirsty again.  And again at dinner.  Saturday we ran around all over, doing things with the boys.  I had packed some water but again, drank it all in the morning so was only getting sips here and there throughout the day until meals.  

It wasn't until dinner on Saturday after the sweet waitress had refilled my water glass, no joke, for the 6th time, that I realized- I am probably dehydrated. 

I mean, DUH! Our body needs water all the time to make our vital organs work at their best. But when we are pregnant, hydration becomes even more crucial.  When we get dehydrated during pregnancy, we are putting ourselves (and our babies!) at risk for a slew of things like headaches, nausea, cramps, dizziness.  In the third trimester, it can kick us into preterm labor! No bueno!

I had always followed the rule to drink half my body weight in ounces of water each day.  But did you know you need more than that during pregnancy.  You actually need 10-12 glasses, about three liters (or 102 ounces).  And as fit mamas--for every hour of light exercise, you need an extra glass.  I am sure we could count chasing our littles around as light exercise to that number goes up! 

I know what you are thinking. I need an IV to be able to get that much fluid in my body.  Right?!? I mean we have kids, a house, jobs, and a plethora of other things that take up time in our day. How can we possibly get this much water?  

Here are some tips I have been following the past few days that have really helped me in the water battle:

Total that up,each glass being 10 ounces, and I am drinking 110-120 ounces.

 For me that is easiest. I don't have the time, or the memory to carry around a jug of water all day or constantly refill a glass.  So timing them with my meals is helpful.  It is also easy for me to drink while working out...because, hello, I am working out! And drinking at night alleviates the need for snacking.

That is a lot of water and to be honest, it can be pretty boring.  So jazz it up!! Here are some great recipes I have found on Pinterest to jazz up your water if you get tired of the bland taste.  Lots of women with morning sickness have trouble drinking because of the blandness. Try these! 

via theyummylife.com

Couldn't find original source

So bottoms up and happy drinking! 

~Bekah