RWP - 38 Weeks- The Finale

I supposed that 'running while pregnant' is a misnomer this week. I had my last pregnant workout on Tuesday. It was 3 miles, mostly walking, with a few slow running intervals thrown in (maybe .5-1 of running).

38 week, making my husband's singlet look like a tent!

One thing I didn't mention in my 37 week update was that my blood pressure was a little high at my regular midwife visit that week. I definitely get anxiety at the doctor's office, so that paired with late pregnancy pushed my BP into a range that she wasn't comfortable with. She also mentioned that most women see a slight drop in BP in the second trimester, and that I'd never had that drop. She wanted to monitor it closely, but didn't recommend that I stop exercising or anything of that nature. I bought BP wrist cuff monitor and at home, by blood pressure was never out of the normal range. I went back again two days later and it was still elevated. I had a non-stress test and an ultrasound, both of which went well and showed that baby D was happy and healthy in there. I was sent home again with no specific instructions.

I went back this past Thursday, and I was so incredibly anxious about my blood pressure that I was nearly panicked as I sat down at the monitor. SO not helpful, I know - but I couldn't help it. My first blood pressure reading was sky high and caused enough alarm that I was sent to L&D to be admitted for monitoring. I was very distraught and went up again for another non-stress test and ultrasound, which again showed that the baby was great. Over the next few hours, my blood pressure dropped back to the upper limit of the acceptable range. After 6 hours at the hospital, they let me go home, but formally diagnosed me with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and both the MFM and midwife recommended induction at 39 weeks. I was told to stop exercising and take it easy. I bought another BP cuff and since then I've never had a home reading out of the normal range. It is incredibly frustrating to say the least. I definitely have a case of 'white coat hypertension.'

I go back today to get monitored again, so there's a good possibility that I'll be induced in the next few days. Unless my blood pressure magically drops today, it looks like I'll be meeting baby D sooner than expected! I am very excited to meet him, but absolutely petrified of the induction. I really wanted the chance to go into labor on my own with as little intervention as possible, but at this point I have to do what's best for baby D and my own health.

It has been a really emotional and nerve-wracking couple of weeks for me. I feel like my body is betraying me. I ran a marathon a month before I got pregnant! I taught 20 hours of fitness classes a week until late in my second trimester! I ran until 38 weeks! It feels so unfair to suddenly be suffering from something that I never even considered a possibility for myself. As I understand it, PIH can strike anyone, and there is really nothing I could have done to prevent it. The only real solution is delivery.

There is a chance I'll have higher blood pressure after delivery as well - but it should go down in the weeks after delivery. I don't know when I'll be back to running, but I am really looking forward to it - after almost a week without any exercise I already feel like a sloth. I get winded walking up the 12 steps in my apartment! But my first priority will be my son (!!!) and getting myself healthy again.

RWP - 37 Weeks

Hello, full term!

Another week has come and gone. It is now August, which means I'm having a baby this month! Which is so exciting and so terrifying. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm scared too! Become a parent is kind of a big deal!

This was another great week in pregnant exercise land! I got new shoes - scored a pair of Asics Gel Neo-33's on clearance. They fit great right out of the box and feel great! I am so not big on paying a lot for running/training shoes - I usually look for last season's model on sale.

My week looked like this:

Monday: 3 miles, ran 1.25 mi
Tuesday: walked 3 miles
Wednesday: 3 miles, ran 1.25
Thursday: 3 miles, ran .5 mi
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3 miles, "ran" 1 mi
Sunday: 3 miles, "ran" 1 mi (and a froyo stop at 2.5, because, why the hell not?)

18 miles total! One of my highest totals in a while! Ran 5 miles of that total. I'm cool with that. :)

I emphasize the word "run" because my physical motion is one of running, but my speed was so slow at times that my husband just walked briskly alongside me. But I think that it still counts, and I hate the word 'jogging', so I'm rolling with it.

I've also been doing some cat/cow and pigeon stretches at home to help with my back/hip pain. My hip is still sore, but not nearly as bad as it was a week ago. Oddly enough, it hurts more to walk that run - I think that the walking is a longer stride/step for me, so it brings on more pain. My typical pattern is to walk for at least 1 mile to start, and then I run a little, and stop every 1/2-1 mile for walk breaks. I'm totally not into pushing it. I chat with my husband the whole time so I know I'm not even close to being out of breath.

My belly is starting to 'drop' so the support belt actually felt pretty good this week. I won't lie, I am getting more aches and pains all over, but all of them are normal at this stage in pregnancy. It still feels good to me to keep moving, which is the goal! We had an ultrasound this week and little guy looks great - he has a big head (not surprised, both of us have large heads) and we even got to see him kick himself in the face on screen! The MFM had a pretty good laugh at that one! I'm just jealous of his flexibility. Putting on anything with leg holes these days is a serious challenge for me.

Yes, yes they are

This is going to be a very eventful week for us - our movers are coming to pack up most of our household goods, and then we are just waiting on baby to join us! I see my midwife weekly now, so we'll see what this week brings.

37 Weeks! Wore my own shirt for a change. #nosleevesforlife