27 weeks down, only 13 more to go?

Another article about the benefits of prenatal yoga and how to approach your yoga practice during pregnancy (found in Yoga Journal).

This morning I did a little yoga with my husband (which is rare and infrequent) because his neck and upper back has been bothering him. It seemed to help a little, although he can't seem to not laugh through it... I hope he tries to do a little a day because he is stiff for being a young man! Then I did about 10 minutes of seated meditation followed by an hour of Shiva Rea's Prenatal Yoga dvd, which is excellent.

Today marks week 27, meaning ONE week left in the second trimester! Can't believe it's flown by so quickly; guess because I've felt fairly well after being so drained and icky during the first trimester. I just pray I don't blow up like a balloon the next few months. I've only gained around 15 pounds so far, which seems to be on track to be in the healthy weight gain of 25-30 pounds total. People tell me it hasn't creeped into my face - but maybe they're being nice!

Just think the baby was once only an inch big (first set of sonograms is baby at 10 weeks), then about a pound at 18 weeks (second sonogram). Now he or she is over two pounds and 14.5 inches from head to heal. Crazy! And yet SO FAR TO GROW! OMG ... inhale, exhale.

The proof is in the pudding

Am I completely making up this saying? I swear I've heard the "the proof is in the pudding" before, and I think it goes well with an article I found on Prevention.com, "Yoga Therapy Delivers" discussing the benefits of prenatal yoga. I have no idea where the phrase originated; what's a girl to do but Google it? Lo and behold, I'm not crazy (at least not about this!). It is a saying but was shortened up from "the proof of the pudding is in the eating" - interesting. The saying meaning "results are what count."

So back to the article that shows the results of a study of pregnant women doing yoga versus another form of exercise. Some did yoga (including meditation and breathing exercies) and some walked twice a day for 30 minutes. Those in the yoga group had significantly lower "preterm labor, growth retardation, and pregnancy-induced hypertension with growth retardation" and "higher birthrates" than the walking group.

Very intriguing, especially when the other group is exercising at a decent pace as well. I'd like to tell the naysayers of yoga I told you so, but I'll be more mature. LOL!

The belly solicits ALL types of comments

My belly is becoming more and more prominent so everyone wants to share with me their personal pregnancy stories ... or their friends' pregnancy story ... or their cousin's friend's experience. When random strangers share cute anecdotes, it's kind of heartwarming. Like the other night, our server at my favorite Chinese restaurant was going on and on about various oddities that occured during her two pregnancies. However, I dread those who love to share the long labor stories or anything to do with how difficult it will be when the baby arrives. No negativity please! Not interested!

Guess I should be jubilant random peeps haven't begun touching and rubbing my bump yet. Don't know how I'm going to feel about that. I'm actually a fairly touchy person so it probably won't be so excruciating, but time will tell.

Here's my bump last week at 25 weeks and my hubby's sympathy bump, which he is OBVIOUSLY sticking out on purpose!

Be steady and Comfortable

sthira-sukham asanam

"The posture should be steady and comfortable."
~ Yoga Sutra 2:46

Oh Cathy, you silly lady. I actually hadn't read a Cathy comic for years - although I have a journalism degree, I'm not much of a newspaper reader. However, my parents told me the strip had been running a long series of yoga cartoons.

Thought this was a good one to discuss the Yoga Sutra's definition of asana or postures of yoga. I began reading Judith Lasiter's book Living your Yoga: Finding the Spiritual in Everyday Life where she delves into the Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, both spiritual texts of yoga (remember it's not a religion).

One of the first chapters broaches self-judgment through this sutra. Many of us get into a yoga posture and criticize ourselves the entire team or we push ourselves to a more challenging position of it, even though we're out of alignment or in pain. As Lasiter writes "In reality, our thoughts about the poses reflect our thoughts about ourselves." Just the other day I read a similar statement in Meditations from the Mat saying our mats are our "mirrors" to ourselves.

If we apply Patanjali's Yoga Sutra to be "comfortable and steady" throughout our postures and our life is "crucial" according to Lasiter and it begins with your inner thoughts. Stop judging yourself through every posture. Think of being "comfortable and steady" when holding one, and if you're not, ease off. It's okay not to strain or hurt during a posture... in fact, it's best not to and life works the same way. Your life doesn't have to be hard or strenuous; in fact it is meant to be joyous.

So practice being comfortable and steady. You could try it first on your mat as Lasiter suggests. Try a pose that's difficult, if not impossible, for you to do (always be SAFE!). Do it everyday for a month and before you begin say,'"I am attempting something difficult, and I appreciate myself for trying."' Also try it in your life. When you catch yourself judging yourself unfairly say "I am perfect as I am." It may be hard at first but affirmations are seeds in your mind to grow better thoughts.

Got a case of the Mondays

Back to Monday. Oh Monday, why do we hate you so? Why are you the least favorite day of the week for most "regularly scheduled" workers? Oh why Monday do you annoy us so?

I tried to use reverse psychology on myself this morning by putting "YAY Monday" on my Facebook profile. Didn't work. My negative vibe kept attracting more negativity (there's that darn law of attraction); I discovered what I thought was my compensation during my maternity leave was no where close to reality, which really brought me down.

Why Monday, WHY?

Today I also noticed a few on-going oddities in my body that seem to have become worse. First, my right eye has been twitching since the middle of last week. Apparently, eye twitches may be caused by stress or fatigue - didn't think I was much of either, but apparently I am. Then my hands and feet felt kind of odd, like they're swelling. It's not like my wedding ring or my shoes or too tight, but they feel weird. It's called edema, which is "when excess fluid collects in your tissue. It's normal to have a certain amount of swelling during pregnancy because you're retaining more water" according to BabyCenter.com.

Is there anyway to prevent or lessen the swelling? BabyCenter.com says to:

• Put your feet up as much as possible.
• Keep blood circulating by getting up often and taking short walks.
• Don't cross legs.
• Sleep on left side.
• Drink lots of water.
• Exercise - one site said that yoga helps circulation so it should help minimize the swelling.

Some yoga postures that are supposed to help alleviate edema:

• Ankle rolls - roll in one direction 10 times and reverse.
• Interlace fingers and reach palms and arms up to sky
• Reclined bound angle pose

According to Louise Hay's book You can Heal your Life, edema is caused by not letting go of something. Here's the affirmation according to Louise: "I willingly release the past. It is safe for me to let go. I am free now."

Better get some sleep so my eye will stop twitching and say my affirmations. Goodbye Monday!

26 weeks and starting to nest

Feeling an abrupt stream of motivation, I prepared immensely for baby this weekend. Good for me!

Finally began a list of "baby to dos" on Excel, started organizing my maternity leave paperwork, enrolled for a "Baby 101" class at a local hospital, and I think I found a pediatrician for the baby! Pause.... inhale, exhale ... must add to spreadsheet to continue breathing throughout tackling my to-do list.

My mother-in-law Donna and I also began our second store registry for the baby at Target. I was very apprehensive about setting it up there since it has such a Hitler-return policy (Remember to send receipts, people!). However, I adore Target and was actually an employee in high school and college so I couldn't shun the retailer. Hopefully I won't regret it. So now we're all set at Babies R's Us and Target! YAY! Donna and I also made the trek over to Nebraska Furniture Mart, this crazy big furniture store, to look at cribs. Lots of selection and prices on cribs there, but I have no idea how to disseminate between the choices. Good news is my mom informed me she and Dad are going to purchase the crib - yay!

I do have a budget on the crib and am wondering what type to buy. Do I need a conversion crib that changes into a child's bed? Donna brought up a good point that if we're planning on having another kid, then we're going to need the crib for it and the oldest won't be able to use the bed anyhow. Plus they are a lot more expensive. I also saw a crib with a small changer table with drawers attached. Anyone out there have one of these and if so, are you glad you bought it? I thought it looked kind of cool, but I was planning on skipping the changing table since we have one on the pack n' play. Is a drawer underneath necessary because they usually cost extra? I am also debating between white and maple/natural finish. I really like the look of a white crib with the baby bedding I registered for at Babies R' Us (in photo), but my mom thought it looked girly and since we don't know what we're having, I can't decide if white is a no-no for gender neutral.

Who knew cribs could be so complicated?! Help!