Labor of Love

Can't believe it's already been almost a month since I gave birth to our baby girl! I've been writing my labor story for weeks, but little Brijin hasn't given me the chance to put all my thoughts together at once.

Speaking of which, here's my biggest advice to a new mother: SLEEP WHEN THE BABY SLEEPS. This is not easy to do because you feel like you have so much to do or even just downtime to enjoy. However, you pay for it later when the little booger won't go to sleep for four hours, and it's usually during key sleep hours like 1 - 4 a.m. Ah the joys of a newborn, but it really is all worth it.

If you've been reading my blog, I had been having contractions for a few weeks off and on before the delivery date, which was May 26. On May 25, the baby's due date, I began having contractions at 2 p.m., but more consistently and stronger than before. I pondered, could this baby have impeccable timing and arrive on the predicted date, a feat only a small percentage of newborns accomplish? She's already an overachiever!

The contractions continued to vary the entire day she was due - between 10-15 minutes and about 30-45 seconds a piece. However, they never sped up. By 10 p.m., I was a little perturbed and decided to just head to bed. In my many trips to the restroom that night, I believe I felt a few contractions as well, but I figured if I was really in labor it would wake me up, right? (And this is a VERY true statement!).

I woke up on Memorial Day at 8 a.m. and about 10 minutes after rising, I had a contraction that felt stronger than the previous day's. Then I had another one about eight minutes later and another after seven minutes. Hmmm, could this be going somewhere?

I began to keep track of the time between contractions and how long each one lasted. I left my hubby to sleep since I didn't want it to be another false alarm. By about 10 a.m. when he still was peacefully sleeping, I informed him I had been having more contractions, and they were averaging about six minutes apart for about 45 seconds to a minute. The contractions sailed on, and I continued breathing through them with ujjayi breath and doing cat/dog and other various pelvic tilts. Child's pose was also very comforting during the contractions for me during this time, but these contractions really weren't that painful. Slightly uncomfortable is a better description for them.

Towards the end of an hour-long bath, I seemed to have three contractions within two minutes for about 45 seconds. Once I climbed out of the tub, I told my hub I thought it was time to phone the on-call midwife. Once she called me back, which was only about five or 10 minutes later, she asked me if I was dilated or effaced at all. I said at my last appointment a few days before, I was dilated to a three and effaced about 80 percent. She said, "Honey, if you're dilated to a three and feel it's time to go to the hospital, GO TO THE HOSPITAL." So that's what we did. However my husband reminded me I wouldn't be able to eat once we arrived at the hospital so I ended up shoving a few pieces of pizza from last night's takeout into my mouth.

During the 20-minute drive, I called my mom and said, "It's baby time!" She had been asking me this for the last several weeks before my due date so she was a little hesitant to believe it was the real thing. Once I confirmed I was telling the truth, she was very excited (first grandchild!). I continued having contractions about every four to five minutes along the way and became more excited that I was going to finally meet our baby.

Once we arrived at the hospital, a nurse gave me a room and a gown to change into and hooked me up to a monitor. Of course, once she finally got me hooked up, my contractions suddenly slowed down to every 10-15 minutes. I SWEAR I'M IN LABOR MISS NURSE!

So she sent me and hubby to walk the halls for 45 minutes - the most exercise I had had in at least a month. Good thing I wore my sporty sandals. By the end of the walk, my contractions had picked up again but still weren't close enough together so we were sent on yet ANOTHER 45 minute walk. This time the contractions were much stronger. Hubby and I did various labor positions, like the slow dance. I also did half-down dog along the wall - I'm sure the visitors on the floor thought I was NUTS - which really helped because I was having back labor horribly! Apparently this happens when the baby's face is "sunny-side up" or facing up towards your stomach versus facing your spine. The baby's spine is against your spine causing the back labor.

About 30 minutes into this walk, I couldn't take it anymore, and we trekked back to our room. The nurse and midwife seemed please that I was in more agony this time around and decided to see how I had progressed. My midwife said I was now at five centimeters and was officially in labor. I wasn't truly admitted until this point, which was about three to four hours after we arrived. Now it was about 4:30 or 5 p.m.

This was when I truly understood what the pain of labor feels like. For the next hour until my epidural was administered, I never knew such pain. Granted it did come in waves and spurts, but during the contraction, I felt like the core of my body was exploding. I described it to my friend as maybe being how God felt when he was giving birth to the universe - who knows, maybe I'm right!

Fortunately I never called my husband names or swore him out. Mainly I threw out random cuss words at no particular person. The hubby was great though; he really stepped up as my partner during the labor and put my needs first. Whenever he thought I was in pain and didn't know what to do, he would go grab a cool washcloth and pat my face - it was very cute. I think he got that tip from the book "Don't just Stand There" that's all about how the father can help out during delivery. I thought it really helped my husband feel more informed and helpful through the process.

My midwife had been out of town all weekend but fortunately made it back in when we had originally arrived at the hospital. The on-call midwife told her to take her time while I was walking the halls but by the time the epidural had kicked in, I was in the third stage of labor and my midwife had not yet arrived. The midwife in training who was hanging out with me even called her on her cell phone because the baby was ready to come out.

Once the epidural was in, which by the way wasn't nearly as painful or scary as I had imagined, LIFE WAS GOOD! I was feeling no pain but still feeling the contractions. When my midwife arrived, we began pushing with my contractions, three times for ten seconds. Basically you bear down like you're taking the biggest crap of your life. Apparently I was a rock star at pushing and it really wasn't hard or tiring - not sure if my yoga practice had prepared me or what. My husband was truly impressed by my strength and tenacity. He thought it was so funny how chill I was between pushes - even chatted it up about KFC and the bowl meals the chain now serves. In fact, my mother-in-law and sister-in-law were standing outside the door and heard the conversation as well and thought it was hilarious how normal I was.
After pushing for a little over an hour, Brijin Joy was born at 9:04 pm. on Memorial Day! We had kept her gender a surprise so it was very exciting to hear my husband announce "It's a girl!" Actually at first my husband said, I can't tell, which made me a little nervous. But a moment later he said "It's a girl" as I held my new baby girl on my chest and noticed her lovely, big lips. I'll never forget that moment... feel like crying now as I remember it.

A few tips from my labor experience

First insight: stay home as long as you can in the early stage of labor.
Most books and my midwife said not to call until contractions are at least five minutes apart for over an hour at a duration of one minute. Staying home also allows you to eat whatever you want (and eat anything at all) and you may roam free without being hooked to monitor. Also, I was able to do various yoga postures and positions to aid me in the pain management and move the baby along the birth canal in the comforts of my own home. An hour before I made the call to the on-call midwife to see if it was time, I even took a nice, long bath. If you're a bath lover like me, try to do this because after labor, no more baths for six weeks.

Second insight: take the epidural!
It's a beautiful thing. From the research I've done, there's really nothing to fear in terms of it affecting the baby. Apparently because it is administered directly to the spine, there is a chance the mother may become paralyzed, but it's a 1% chance (Don't quote me or take my word! Ask your doctor!).

Third insight: pushing is a breeze with an epidural; at least it was for me.
Maybe this was due to my yoga practice, but the pushing was a piece of pie with the aid of my BFF, the epidural. My hubby was so impressed by how strong and laid back I was during the hour of pushing - major admiration points scored! ;)

Fourth and MOST IMPORTANT insight: prenatal yoga works
I really attribute my low-key pregnancy and relatively easy labor to my yoga practice. It provided me strength, relaxation, stamina, peace and so much more. Even doing five minutes whenever you can squeeze it in can do miracles. Trust me, I'm holding my miracle now.

One week to go

Seven days ... 168 hours ... 4,032 minutes to go until the baby's estimated arrival, but who's counting???

Okay, I am! I'm going nuts waiting for this kid to arrive. Especially after our false alarm last Tuesday. It became so much more apparent the baby could show up ANY time now, and I'm definitely ready for it. Perhaps not ready in the terms of I know how to do everything, but the fear of actually taking care of the baby has been overshadowed by my discomfort of late pregnancy coupled with my impatience.

Since Tuesday, I haven't really experienced any contractions, at least nothing like I did the other day. If those weren't "real" contractions, I'm more fearful than ever what the true ones feel like. Breathe, breathe, breathe! OMMMMMMMMMMMMMM! (There's my yoga tip for the day. Actually I did a little yoga this morning. Mainly half sun salutes, hip rolls and pelvic tilts.)

I think I'm in full-on nesting mode. Friday evening I got a wild hair to research various recipes that freeze well so I could make a bunch of meals to save for after baby's arrival. My friend Libby inspired me because she made three freezer meals for us earlier this week in preparation for baby to be.

After finding some cool Web sites on the subject (am I lame or what?), I realized OAMC is the acronym a lot of these folks use for making freezer meals - Once A Month Cooking. I ended up following "the plan" method for freezer cooking, which means I made a bunch of food based on one type of meat - I chose chicken. Also seems more efficient to me to make two or three of the same meal so I ended up creating four different recipes and twice the quantity of each for eight meals.

I don't know how people cook for an entire month in one day. It took me a half a day to cook the eight meals, and I am now spent. In fact, my feet are all swollen, and I even made sure to sit and take breaks. Now I'm blogging with my feet propped up higher than my heart. I'll probably do legs up the wall pose a little later and maybe even take an epsom salt bath to help... usually works.

All the various Web sites (check out the ones I saved on my del.icio.us) stressed to shop one day and cook the next. Yet I was so excited about doing it (yes, I'm a dork!), I really wanted to cook after I grocery shopped. Luckily my husband encouraged me to stick to the instructions and am so glad I waited. It's definitely tiring cooking that much stuff, especially when 39 weeks pregnant, but I have to admit it was kind of fun. My hubby was smart and decided to go pursue one of his interests outside the house while I cooked (i.e., poker at the boats). So I turned up my tunes, sang and cooked away!

Perhaps I could've done some prep work (cut some veggies and cooked the chicken up) the night before, but all in all, I'm so glad I did it. Now we have eight meals I made plus Libby's three for a total of 11 meals! I think some of it might actually be more than one meal, at least for the two of us, so it may end up being about 15 meals, give or take.

So no baby yet, but at least this future mom and dad will have more time to take care of him or her instead of spending time cooking.

Meditation for pregnant mamas

I added the DVD Yoga for Your Pregnancy to my Netflix queue and hope it will arrive early this week - love me some Netflix. I should really try to get the company to sponsor my blog. HA!

Since it's meditation Monday, thought this was a good topic to post about because according to the DVD's Web site, it includes a segment specifically focused on medititation during pregnancy. It also contains three pranayama or breathing techniques for calming the nervous system and yoga postures to try during labor. I believe I saw this DVD before but didn't realize all the cool stuff it contained. Wish I would've read the review earlier, but better late than never, right?

If anyone has tried to this DVD before, let me know what you think. I'll definitely post more about it once I try it out.

Yoga for the Second Trimester

Whether you're in your second trimester or you're a yoga teacher, you should read the Yoga Journal online article "Tools for Teaching Prenatal Yoga: The Second Trimester."

It's written by the author of one of my favorite yoga blogs, Grounding Thru the Sit Bones, and gives clarification on what poses are available and/or modifications (such as backbends against a wall versus on your stomach) during the second trimester of pregnancy.

One of the article's suggestions is to begin focusing on pranayama or breath exercises during this trimester to prepare for labor and maybe even utilize during delivery. One such practice is alternate-nostril breathing. Found a short clip on YouTube to demonstrate - it's a little weird at first, but you will feel the calming effects afterwards. Great for opening up your sinuses too.

Prenatal yoga pranayama: Alternate-nostril breathing (1:40)

Heart meditation for expectant mamas

With the encouragement of the book "A New Earth: Awaken to your life's Purpose," I've been concentrating more on the present moment. The key seems to be starting my day with meditation, however I am so lazy when it comes down to it or maybe it's my ego derailing me. Admittedly, a few weeks ago I fell off the wagon. But in the middle of last week I began waking up and immediately going to my meditation mat, even for three minutes. It seems to help my day go more smoothly and picks me up out of the doldrums.

I found a simple meditation for expectant mamas.

Bring your right hand to your heart and the left to your baby. Inhale and focus on your love and absorb the feelings in your heart. Exhale and focus it towards your growing baby. Continue this conscious breathing and focus for five to 10 minutes.

If you're not pregnant, check out all the meditations available on Oprah's "A New Earth" page. This one is called Relaxed Awareness Meditation: Breath.

Namaste and enjoy Monday!

Yoga and celebs

I haven't been feeling so hot the last few days. Not sure if I'm coming down with something or if it's allergy or sinus related, but nonetheless it's annoying. I actually taught my yoga class from a chair the other night because I felt so lethargic and icky. One student arrived late and jokingly whispered, "You're sure taking advantage of the situation..." which really didn't make me laugh, to be quite honest, in my sickly state. I actually wanted to stop teaching yoga last week, but since the Y hasn't found a sub, I extended my teaching until April 26 - sub or no sub since I'll be nine months pregnant by then. I feel bad for the students, but I've given the Y plenty of time to find a replacement for my maternity leave.

With the excuse of being sick and extremely pregnant, I'm going to make this post short and sweet. If you've been reading my blog for a while, you've picked up on my addiction to celebrity gossip. Although lately I've been reading more Baby magazine versus Star - at least I have my priorities straight! LOL!

I found this blog post a while ago with a bunch of photos of celebs in yoga positions.

If the cool kids are doing it, shouldn't you? ;)

Prenatal yoga pose: Side Spinal Twists (1:25)

Meditation Monday: Put your legs up

Try meditating this week in legs up the wall pose. If you're pregnant, you may want to be careful lying flat on your back. Personally, and I'm 33 weeks pregnant, I've been able to lie on my back for periods of time. I just make sure to listen to my body and move to my side if anything doesn't feel right. If anything you could prop your self up a bit with pillows to avoid being flat on your back.

Shut down your eyes, relax your arms and concentrate on your breath in and out through your nose. Stay for five to 15 minutes (or as long as you're comfortable). If available, use an eye pillow to fully relax.

Benefits of the posture (according to www.yogajournal.com):

• Relieves tired or cramped legs and feet
• Gently stretches the back legs, front torso, and the back of the neck
• Relieves mild backache
• Calms the mind

Reach for your joy

"When you feel enthusiasm to do something, it means you've lined up the Energy, and you are being inspired to take action from that point of alignment. When you don't feel like doing it, don't push yourself, because your effort is not worth it. But, when you line up the Energy, the feeling of procrastination goes away."

"You have been oriented that you must pay a price in order to get somewhere, and in the process, you’ve come to believe that getting there must be really important, therefore, it must be your purpose. And we say, but if you’re not getting to joy, then you’ve gotten nowhere. Joy is really where you’re going."

~ Abraham-Hicks

Lately I've been inspired to concentrate on writing beyond my blog and submit articles to various publications, mainly about yoga. One morning I woke up and just began free-flow writing with such passion and enjoyment - it was exhilarating. With the baby coming though, I feel like I should be solely concentrating on our baby's arrival. Yet, when I think about writing on my love of yoga, I have such joy and energy I feel like it is the direction I am supposed to be moving towards, as Abraham speaks about above.

Prenatal yoga pose: hip circles (1:37)

YJ is a great resource for the yogi in you

Yoga Journal magazine is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in learning more about yoga. I received it as a gift about a year prior to teaching yoga and have had a subscription ever since. It's so cheap considering all the information provided such as suggested sequences, health benefits, meditations, etc.

YJ's Web site also is a great receptacle of knowledge for yogis and recently had a redesign and added some new features, such as a new weekly podcast and a sequence builder where you can create a practice with correlating photos of postures. I also love reading blog "Teacher Tells All," by a yoga teacher just starting out who I nominated for an "E" for excellent blog award a while ago.

Also on YJ.com is a ton of online newsletters to sign up to receive, and I recommend "My yoga mentor," which is written with the yoga teacher in mind. The last edition had a wonderful article, "Tools for teaching prenatal yoga: the first trimester" by another one of my favorite bloggers - Ground thru the sit bones author. Very good advice for teachers and for the expectant yogini.

Prenatal yoga pose: squat
Squats are great for opening up the hips and preparing for birth. You can do it against the wall or on a block.

Spring Fever!

Boy, do I have a case of spring fever, especially since the weather is at a perfect 72 degrees in Kansas City today - much warmer than it has been in MONTHS! Of course I had to go to work today, but it was still nice to know spring has officially arrived. (Sadly I think the forecast for this weekend is snow - welcome to the Midwest!)

In the latter half of the day, I attended an IABC luncheon/seminar about social media. The speaker was informative and topical, but what really struck me during the event was all the pregnant ladies attending - I swear there were five others plus me. With about 10 eight-top tables, I'm estimating 80 attendees, so 1/15 at the event were expecting. Isn't that crazy? With fashion these days, it's harder to tell if someone is pregnant or not, but I am fairly confident in my estimate. I kept pointing out all the other preggers to my friend/coworker who attended the luncheon. Maria replied that she better not drink the water... good idea. Looks like there's a baby boom in KC!

So our crib arrived the other day - now the hubby needs to assemble it. So excited! One step closer to having the baby's room ready, and next week is our first baby shower with my coworkers. A lot are going, which makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside! I think they are purchasing one of our big registry items, like the stroller/car seat or baby's bedding. Can't wait because I hate to buy too much until we see what all we receive from the showers. I did find a good Web article about what is really necessary for the baby when he or she first arrives. I especially appreciated the list of how many clothes or layettes to have on hand at first:

• Two or three one-piece stretch suits
• Two sets of separates
• Four or five T-shirts
• A machine-washable sweater
• Four nightgowns or sacks
• One bunting (a hooded nightgown)
• One hat
• Six pairs of stretchy cotton socks
• Six receiving blankets
• Diaper covers or plastic pants if you’re using cloth diapers

Prenatal yoga pose: modified cobra
Great for the back since we can't do cobra the traditional way (on our bellies) during pregnancy. It's so easy and convenient to do so I try to do this pose every day, like when I get up out of my chair at work.

Rock-star parking

Although it was a gloomy, stormy Monday, I didn't mind because I knew I had a rock-star parking spot waiting for me at work thanks to my little jelly in the belly!

People at the office told me I could request parking for expectant mothers, but I just kept forgetting to follow up. I finally remembered to send an e-mail Friday - the contact told me my own personal spot would be ready for me on Monday - even has my name on the sign! It's all mine and is about 15 steps away from the front door. A huge improvement to the parking I typically find at work by the time I arrive at 8:30 a.m.
I also saw these two geese walking together tonight as I left work. Thought they were cute...

After a week off from teaching yoga due to the wood floors being redone at the YMCA, I returned to the mat. Boy what a difference a week makes. I teach power vinyasa-style yoga, and at 30 weeks it's getting more difficult for me to teach and demonstrate various postures. The hardest part is talking as I'm doing even the simplest things, which causes me to easily lose my breath. Plus, I'm just getting large enough to be uncomfortable. Don't get me wrong, yoga is still doable as a pregnant woman and very beneficial, but power yoga is probably not the best type, especially in the third trimester.

Here's a great posture to do for your hips and groin - plus it's nice and relaxing. Cobbler's pose against the wall; feels so good!

Squeeze it mama

Whenever I'm looking for anything related to pregnancy, I'm always reminded in big, neon print: DO YOUR KEGELS! So why do I always forget to do them? I think because they seem so odd and elusive... how do I know I'm really doing them right?

Squeezing the same place you would to stop and start the flow of #1 in the powder room is how you find your PC muscles (pubococcygeus muscles). I've also wondered where the name Kegel originated - seems odd to me. Apparently the practice was coined after Dr. Arnold Kegel who created the exercise in the 1940s to help with urinary incontinence after childbirth. How does a man know how to do these, by the way, when I feel like I'm not even doing them right, and I have the correct anatomy?

The cool thing about Kegels is that you can do them anywhere and at anytime because no one knows you're doing them! I still feel a little odd when I finally remember to do a few, but like anything, I guess it gets easier with practice. The Web article linked in the first sentence suggests doing it for four seconds and relaxing another count of four. Alternate back and forth for three to four sets of 25 repetitions several times throughout the day. There are other types of Kegels in the article, but I think I'll stick to this one for now.

Stay out of the darkroom

"Fear is that little darkroom where negatives are developed."
~ Michael Pritchard

This quote arrived today in my inbox (subscribe here). It's one I hadn't heard before so I thought I'd share it with you since it's so powerful. Don't let yourself enter the darkroom! Remember F.E.A.R. stands for:

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

Prenatal yoga move:
Another item I'd like to be more focused on posting is recommending various yoga moves or modifications for pregnant chicas. Standing cat and dog is one of my FAVORITES and is great to do standing up in the shower with the water beating on your sacrum/low back. Check out the video and let me know what you think.

CANCELED: prenatal yoga workshop in KC for YMCA members

Updated (3/6/08)
Unfortunately this workshop has been canceled. Floor work is being done during the week at the Paul Henson YMCA that may be unsafe to pregnant women. I apologize greatly for any inconvenience.
_____________________________________________
For those in the Kansas city area who are YMCA members, I have exciting news! I will be teaching a prenatal yoga workshop on Saturday, March 15 at the Paul Henson YMCA in Prairie Village, Kan., from 10:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.

Read your way to a healthy pregnancy

I'm not enrolled in a Lamaze class to prepare for the late May birth of my baby (is that a mistake?). However I was checking out the Lamaze Web site and found a quick sheet you can reference of "2008 Recommended Resources for Pregnant Women and their families" that may be of interest if you're expecting too.

A few books I hadn't heard of before that stood out to me:

• Nurturing Baby and me during Pregnancy (book and CD with ways to bond with your baby)
• Breathe your way through birth with yoga
• Mama Knows Breast: A Beginner's Guide to Breastfeeding (One Amazon reviewer called it a "Fun Breastfeeding 'Manual' for Moms." Received five stars from six customer reviews.)

I'm all about utilizing free resources - that's what you get for being raised by teachers - so I'm looking them up at the local library now. Otherwise I'll add to my Amazon wish list. I'm most interested in the breathing book for labor. Let me know if you recommend any of these books.

New search tool

Notice anything new on the ol' blog???? Hmmmmmmmmmmm? Really, you give up already? Okay, fine don't play along! Check out the new search widget called Lijit I installed on the top left for your convenience.

I'm pumped about the search tool because it allows you to seek specific information on my blog plus related content on Web sites I've saved in del.icio.us (social bookmarking site, which is very cool itself) and various other Web sources (Facebook, YouTube and other blogs I like, etc.). Try it out.

Here's about a three-minute clip from Jennifer Wolfe's 15-minute prenatal yoga DVD I found on YouTube. I love her Prenatal Vinyasa DVD - my only pet peeve about it was that it was about 90 minutes without chapters so it looks like she's created another one with segments! Although this clip is short, it's a good way to start your morning and also give you a taste of the DVD.

Sun Salutations for the bump

Other pregnant ladies ask me how to modify yoga postures for the bump. I found a good modification for sun salutations. Never heard of camper's pose, but it looks interesting and good for opening the hips.

If you're in the Kansas City area and you're a YMCA member, looks like I may teach a prenatal yoga workshop at my local YMCA in Prairie Village, Kan., in mid March. I'm really excited about the opportunity, and I'll post more about it later when it gets solidified. Thank you Aunalise for commenting and asking me about it. Motivated me to pitch the idea!

I'm a Weeble Wobble

Do you remember playing with Weeble Wobbles growing up? I've reached the point in my pregnancy where I'm shaped like the egg-shaped toys that never fall down. The Weebles' advertising slogan became somewhat of a catchphrase: "Weebles wobble but they don't fall down." Apparently pregnant chicks follow the same logic according to Web article, "Why pregnant women don't topple over."

Scientists think they’ve found the answer: There’s slight differences between women and men in one lower back vertebrae and a joint in the hip, which allow women to adjust their center of gravity.

Tests were performed to display that the slight changes in evolution allowed women walking on two feet to carry the extra belly weight minus falling over and the back pain one would expect.

Isn't the body miraculous how it adjusts to its changing needs? With how big my belly is getting, I'm amazed daily that I can maintain my equilibrium on my two feet let alone continue my yoga practice.

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!