Pregnancy Mid-Way Point

20 weeks?! Is this real life?? If you're looking for a pregnancy update, here it is. 20 weeks down, 20 weeks (-ish) to go until we get to meet this little McVicker (Baby M). We are holding out on the gender until the little one arrives. This was a picture I snapped on our vacay to Chicago. Sometimes it's so bizarre to feel and see my body. For how much it has changed, I really don't feel that it has physically. I haven't experienced any aches and pains so far (knock on wood) and I still do pretty much everything I did prior to finding out I was preggers. I have no idea how much I weigh, but my jeans were still wearable which is awesome because I don't plan on wearing them this summer at all (Hello, dresses!!!!!! -saving grace), so I didn't have to buy any maternity clothes for this trip and hopefully at all for the rest of the duration as long as temps cooperate. I have a ton of dresses and skirts, so they should come in handy! 

Sleeping has been great actually, I would say that I am sleeping better now than I ever have. Which isn't truly saying much since I don't really like to sleep however, I have noticed I do enjoy sleeping more now, my body seems to need it and I oblige. I have added two pillows to the mix though, one between my knees and the other I basically spoon and prop one of my legs up on while sleeping on my side. If my body wakes me up at 3am on the weekend, I am able to fall back asleep normally for an hour and a half to two hours to get some more rest where normally I would spring up and head straight to the gym. Speaking of the gym... 

Fitness is going okay, definitely have reduced my intensity, mileage, and weight now. It started about week 17, also the same week I passed out at work and had to be taken to the hospital. Everything was fine, just needed to take it a bit easier and ensure I was hydrating and fueling properly. After visiting my OB, she advised that I take it a bit easier running 2-3 miles instead of my 6 and drinking a Gatorade daily to ensure my sodium is adequate (she believes that was my issue when I fainted). So I have been being more mindful of listening to my body, resting on my days off, and if I feel tired I don't push myself. I have been able to keep up on our evening walks, doing cardio 5 days a week, and still lifting 4 days/week. While on our Chicago trip, we rounded out over 30 miles walking around the city and I did great with staying hydrated and resting when needed. It was a bit of a tough pill to swallow emotionally having to ease up a bit in the gym. I'm not one to absolutely kill myself during workouts, but I will say I love to exhaust myself and really go hard. Since about week 17, having to lighten the weights and not feeling like I have the gas to push has been tough just because this is MY thing. Fitness/the gym have been my happy place where I go daily to feel like myself and this pregnancy has changed the way that place looks for me and what I do there. It isn't something I have spent too much time sulking over, I understand my body has an immense responsibility currently and it's growing this awesome nugget. It is just hard at times when mentally I want to do so much more, but my body has a kill switch when I reach a certain output: HARD STOP. I know this will continue to evolve and change as my pregnancy continues, it's just something I am going to have to sacrifice until I am able to plan my comeback, and boy oh boy is it going to be awesome! 

Nutrition has been intuitive & amazing. My body has been so magnificent already growing Baby M. I've been craving my normal foods- a HUGE variety of various foods and have been enjoying many fun foods too. Some aversions I have been dealing with are dill pickles, which makes me sad because I love them normally haha and the BIGGEST heartbreaker is my disliking of coffee. It's so bitter tasting and most days doesn't even smell good. I can not wait to get a HUGE cup of coffee and sip it nice and slow. I know some moms crave their favorite drinks and now I can say I did as well however, mine doesn't have any alcohol in it- hahaha. I have been enjoying milk a TON and have been craving a bowl of cereal almost everyday too. I really have been enjoying fish, avocado, and saltier things more than normal. Nutrition is not something I worry about, I ensure I'm getting fish a few times a week, dairy for at least 2-3 servings/day, and all the veggies which my body loves regardless! So no stress on that front. 

Stress is pretty much at an all time LOW- which is something I haven't been able to say since... honestly I don't even know. I'm really trying to slow down and take in the moment of pregnancy. Of course there is a lot to do, but I just feel calm, content, and happy. I don't feel like I have a billion and one things to do, even if that's really the case because I'm putting this baby essentially before everything. Chris & I have been enjoying nightly strolls around the neighborhood and I love our time together. I know those days are numbered and I would be a fool to think nothing is going to change after the arrival of this little one, but I'm being very purposeful about my thoughts and protecting my mind. My husband has been so wonderful and as always has kept me so grounded and supported me. I could not have picked a better person to do this life with. 

Emotions are pretty much the same. I don't find myself getting too upset, happy, sad, or anything in between and I feel like this is just because I am having an awesome pregnancy AND I'm so content and not stressed in life. I believe that has a larger impact on our outlook, emotions, and behavior than we want to give credit to. I don't experience any mood swings, get frustrated or angry quickly, and am very happy I just feel like Ariel. 

Work has been challenging, busy, and such a learning experience. I have had so many opportunities to help and work with people in good circumstances and bad (this is simply part of my job description). But being there on that person's worst day is what I live for. That is the time they need me the most, to advocate, to help keep them accountable, hold them up, and help them see a path forward while also minding the path that brought them to that point. I have been loving my first sergeant gig and have even been able to practice some nutrition counseling at work and helping people with their fitness journeys as well. 

The baby's room has been done now for over a month, hahaha. All thanks to some early motivation from myself and my amazing sister, Dylan. She has given us so much stuff from her little ones as hand-me-downs and we are so grateful and blessed. She also gifted us with the baby's crib and we have had it put together now since I cleaned my office out to create this little space for my soon to be baby. She has given us clothes, toys, accessories, you name it. It was hard creating a registry even since she supplied us with so much! I will be writing how we designed & decorated the babies room neutrally with not knowing the babies gender. That will be coming early August. 

All in all this pregnancy has been absolutely a dream and life is good. I have been extremely lucky to not be in pain, experiencing sleep-less nights, and being able to live my life relatively unchanged. I'm also lucky being in my 30's and having a safe pregnancy with zero medical complications (knock on wood.) It's good genetics, my mom & sisters (both) never experienced anything really. They had great pregnancies, "easy" and quick births, with minimal down time, and no C-sections. (There is absolutely nothing wrong with a C-section as needed however, I do not wish to have a major surgery if I do not have to.) Later today we are getting our anatomy scan of the baby and I'm just so much looking forward to seeing him/her move more and be more defined than we have ever seen before. I can't wait to see how "it's" doing, how everything is developing, and maybe get a better idea of when we will be due. Our baby shower (s) are scheduled for July and I can't wait to get together with friends and family to celebrate and just see people I haven't got to spend much time with in over a year now. If you want to stay up with me on the daily, follow me on Instagram @arielspantry to see all things fitness, nutrition, travel, and life! Thanks for reading and enjoying your Monday!