Hey everyone! Now that I am in my third trimester of pregnancy I wanted to check in with ya’ll before our little girl is born to let you know how things have been going (and yes, it’s a girl!) For the most part through my 2nd trimester, not much changed. Morning sickness is typically absent, and I have found that if I am struggling it is due to my detox pathways being backed up. For this reason, I have to be diligent in keeping up with my colonics, coffee enemas, and activated charcoal, as all three of these help tremendously with clearing out any toxic buildup in my liver or gallbladder (two typical problem areas for me). About halfway through the second trimester I also had an increase in stamina throughout the day, which was coupled with a rising desire to get back in the gym. As many of you know, I have a strong love for working out and exercising. However, this passion diminished completely when I first got pregnant. I honestly wasn’t sure it’d ever come back, but decided to listen to my body and not push myself to do something I really didn’t care to do. However, the further into my 2nd trimester I got, the more I desired to get my heart rate up and increase my strength (maybe it was my body intuitively knowing it needed to get stronger to take care of a baby?). Either way, I prepared myself by doing bodyweight home workouts, and was really excited when my husband and I eventually got a membership at the YMCA. For the past month now I have been going 3-4 times a week (amount varies on schedule, energy, and overall how I am feeling). I’ve been making up my own little workouts, focusing on movements that feel best for me and my growing belly. Some of these include squats (of any kind; hang squat cleans, thrusters, goblet squats, you name it), rowing (great for stamina and to get the heart rate up), as well as kettlebell swings. My workouts vary, but always include some sort of dumbbell or kettlebell movement mixed in with some rowing. I’ve found that these workouts have helped most with my digestion as baby girl continues to grow. I’ve also noticed a considerable increase in my arm and leg strength, which is precisely what I was hoping for, as it truly does help with everyday life and work. Some added energy, alertness, and happy endorphins are also a great bonus from working out. Plus, going to the gym gives me somewhere else to go outside of home, work, school, appointments, or the grocery store, which is definitely an added bonus.
Overall, I plan on continuing my little workouts as far along into the third trimester as I safely can, though I suspect I may have to alter them as I get further along. If you’re interested in my pregnancy workouts be sure to check out my “fitness” stories on my Instagram account @beyondthebite4life. Besides working out and changes in morning sickness, my hunger has also changed a bit since moving into my 3rd trimester. Lately I haven’t had much of an appetite, though I do see a significant increase after a good detox sweat or colonic (constipation, anyone?). I definitely still have food aversions and still enjoy baking sweets MUCH more than cooking dinner. It’s been a struggle to not burry my face in gluten-free cake or brownies. Though I must admit, I have had locally made ice cream 3 times in the past 2 weeks (an all-time record). If you know me, this is extremely rare and hasn’t happened probably since before being diagnosed with Lyme, but hey, what can I say. It happens. Overall, despite additional life stressors, things have been going pretty good for me and my girl. I’m definitely in a major nesting-mode and want to clean and throw out pretty much everything I see. Nothing is ever clean enough, ever. In regards to birth itself, I have decided to go through a local birthing center. They’re directly tied to a large hospital that is right down the road, so if anything does not go the way we plan, I can simply be transported to the hospital. I am very fortunate to have an option that focuses on both mom and baby wellness as a whole, along with more natural methods of labor. Am I nervous? A bit. But due to my experiences with western medicine and conventional medicine doctors, hospitals also make me extremely nervous, so I’m super glad for the alternative. They offer water birth, as well as delayed cord clamping, and all of the other good stuff. The one thing I still am searching on is how to test for Lyme in your placenta, so if you’re aware of any resources on this, I’d love if you reached out! That’s it for now folks, if you’re interested in following more a long with me in this journey be sure to follow me on Instagram @beyondthebite4life. I post as much (or remember too) as I can between work, school, taking care of 2 kids, and all the other duties of life. See you there!
Psalms 139:23-24 “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”