I get it

When I started this blog, I had a few intentions. 
1) To share my experience as a pregnant person trying to stay as committed as possible to the healthy lifestyle I had adopted
2) To hold myself accountable (nothing like putting your goals out there for the world. i.e- 20 people that read this. THANK YOU!)
3) Connect to other mamas out there; currently pregnant or not.  Fit enthusiasts or not! 

Here was my fear.  That this blog would be perceived as judgmental or discouraging versus uplifting, encouraging, and a place to discuss how to give our babies the healthiest start possible. 

Here is the thing.  My first pregnancy I was 20 pounds heavier than I should have been.  I looked bad, slept bad, felt bad.  Then got pregnant.  And I used that pregnancy as an excuse to eat what I wanted, not exercise and honestly, just do whatever I damn well pleased.  I failed my glucose test the first time, passed by the skin of my teeth and had my doctor tell me that I needed to make wiser food choices for the remainder of my pregnancy.  Did I? No! I felt miserable the last trimester, had terrible heartburn, wanted to be induced because I was so big (as was the baby), failed to progress and had a c-section.  Total weight gain of that pregnancy- 40 pounds.  

Not much compared to some, right? But the thing is, none of the choices I was making, was helping me grow a healthy baby!  I had to come to terms with the fact that my birth plan was so far from what I envisioned in my mind.  I had to come to terms with a body that I didn't recognize as mine.  And two years later, after my second baby and pretty much the same patterns (I started out at a more reasonable weight), having to leave my newborn to have my gall bladder removed..probably a result of my terrible habits.  

I see it all the time. People who mock my ideals this pregnancy or make remarks not completely at me but ones that apply.  People who say, "well I am eating for two now." "You're supposed to gain weight during pregnancy." "I would never diet.  I want a healthy baby." And I feel judged. I feel like they are saying I don't want a healthy baby.  Don't you see?  We both do.  I have just been on the other side.  

At the risk of not being popular, I am having a healthier pregnancy now than I did my previous two.  Doctors recommend a weight gain range for a reason.  Pregnant women should gain weight, a REASONABLE amount, put on by healthy foods, but mostly by the way our bodies change.  That weight accounts for the fetus, placenta, extra blood, fluid, etc.  Not because we can eat the flavor of the day from Culver's every night of the week.

At the risk of continuing to not be popular, pregnancy isn't a sit on your butt card either.  Your body can grow a human and still be physical.  Women birthed children in caves, in fields, in their log cabins with midwives while tending their other children, doing housework (like legit work), and working the land..all up until labor began!!  Now, I am not saying to push yourself and put you or the baby in harm's way.  Listen to your doctor.  If there is a medical condition that dictates taking it easy, by all means, kick your feet up.  But that isn't all of us.  It certainly wasn't me.

So can I just say, I get it.  I embrace my expanding belly that makes it hard for me to button my pre-pregnancy pants.  I embrace the 1000x a day I am running to the bathroom.  I embrace the stretch marks from my previous pregnancies. I embrace the number on the scale going up.  I embrace that I get winded more easily, my runs are now walks, and that I just can't keep up quite like I used to with my boys.  I think we should embrace every beautiful aspect of pregnancy.  It is a joy, a blessing, and something I am so grateful for.  

But, this blessing, is a responsibility.  A responsibility to give our babies the best, healthiest start.  I embrace that too.  So know that I get it. Whether it's your first pregnancy or your fourth, we all want the same thing.  This is just my journey to have the healthiest baby I know how.