Peanut Butter Runner

Peanut Butter Runner

Happy first day of spring to you and happy 33 weeks pregnant to me! We are officially in the under 50 days territory.

Here’s a photo from my maternity shoot with my friend Wanda Koch last week.

PLANS FOR MATERNITY LEAVE + BLOGGING AND MOTHERHOOD

Since my due date is fast-approaching, I thought this week would be a good one to touch on what my plans are for maternity leave and also blogging after baby.

MATERNITY LEAVE

Being self-employed is both a blessing and a curse when it comes to having a baby. On the one hand, I feel extremely fortunate to have the flexibility self-employment offers when it comes to how long of a leave to take and how and when to dive back into work. On the other hand, when I don’t work…I don’t get paid so there is some pressure to get back to it sooner rather than later. Also, being insured through the Health Insurance Marketplace does not make for a kind out-of-pocket cost for all things pregnancy and delivery but we were prepared for that.

As of right now, my plan is to work and teach for as long as I can prior to delivery. Once the baby comes home, my hope (I say hope because WHO KNOWS!?) is to continue blogging but on a reduced scale of probably posting 3-4 times a week and to take 2-3 months off of teaching and most of my behind the scenes management work for Y2 Yoga.

I really want to focus on bonding with baby boy and breastfeeding during this time and I’m in no rush whatsoever to get back to teaching or working out. I want to give myself a lot of grace and space around returning to work because this is a really special time in life that is so short. I also just have no idea how I’ll feel and what I’ll feel up to once he’s here. I do hope to blog because I’d love to document the experience of being a new mom for myself and others.

Tanner plans to take around 2 weeks of paternity leave and has also told me that the studio will pay me a maternity leave, which I am grateful for because I don’t think either of us wants me to feel pressured to go back before I’m ready. After his paternity leave, Tanner also plans to take advantage of having a flexible schedule and to be home a good bit during the day to help out and get to know baby boy.

The beautiful thing about going back to teaching is that I don’t have to go back to 10 classes a week. I can start with two if that feels like what I’m ready for and slowly add in. I also have so much flexibility with times of day that I can teach as we have classes from 6 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. so I can arrange my schedule around the baby’s schedule. I’m also working on an outside yoga project that will hopefully allow me to spend less time teaching in-person so get excited about that people!

BLOGGING AFTER BABY

I’ve done a lot of thinking about how I want my blog to evolve after baby and here’s where I’ve landed. For the most part, things will continue as normal around here…but with a baby in the mix!

I have no plans to turn my blog into a “mom blog” (nothing against them but not the direction I want to head). Instead, I plan to keep the blog focused on my life instead of his and focus on how I balance cooking and eating well, working out, my career and taking care of my overall well-being while also being a mom.

Obviously, there will be baby on my blog. How could there not be!? But I can assure you it won’t be the primary focus. In the eight years that I’ve been documenting my life on a public blog, I have come to learn that it’s a huge decision to do so and that it comes with many good things and some drawbacks. It’s just not a decision that I feel comfortable making for another person. I don’t want him to have his whole childhood documented on the internet without his consent. That might sound silly to some but I hope it makes sense for the most part.

33 WEEKS PREGNANCY UPDATE

And now to the official update. I’ll keep it brief since I wrote so much above!

• Baby weighs between 4.2 and 5.8 pounds and measures 17.2 to 18.7 inches.
• Baby now keeps his eyes open when he’s awake and can sense light and dark through my stretching stomach. His pupils can constrict and dilate in response to light.
• He’s drinking up to a pint of amniotic fluid every day.
• Baby’s lungs are much more developed and he’s entering a period of big growth for the final few weeks.

HOW I’M FEELING AT 33 WEEKS PREGNANT

Body changes/weight gain: just about at that 20 pound mark. Everyone keeps telling me that I popped again. Haha.

Overall, I’m feeling good in my body but I am starting to get uncomfortable. Bending over is not comfortable at all nor is trying to lie down or get up…oh and putting on shoes…not fun! I’m even having to sit down to do things like folding the laundry these days.

Workouts/workout modifications: still moving most days. Lots of walking. A couple strength workouts. One hot yoga practice. Let me tell you, it’s getting real on my yoga mat. Mama’s not getting around like she used to…which is totally to be expected. I feel lucky to have made it to this point before experiencing discomfort.

Symptoms: honestly I cannot complain. I am really lucky to be feeling great at this stage in pregnancy. Oh my doctor did assure me that the incidences of pelvic pain that I’ve had upon rising from a seated position are normal and due to baby’s head down position and just pressing on some nerves.

Sleep: it’s been a few weeks since I’ve updated on sleep and it’s been better! While I wake up MULTIPLE times a night to go to the bathroom and also just to hoist my body from side to side, I’ve had less insomnia and more restful sleep. I think I woke up 4-5 times last night. Twice to pee, twice just because I was uncomfortable and trying to get comfortable. I think at one point I said to myself, “I can’t believe he’s going to get even bigger.” Definitely feeling a bit smushed these days.

Food aversions and cravings: I’m fully back in a good place with salad and most veggies. I even ate salmon last week for dinner for the first time in months and enjoyed it. There’s nothing that I’m strongly averse to but I’m craving all things bread-like, sweets (anything with frosting especially!) and lots of fresh fruit and smoothies.

Fun shares:

• I got a jogging stroller! This was a gift that I was extra pumped to receive and we immediately put it together and I took it for a spin!
• My intimate friends and family baby shower is this weekend!!!
• My mom gets here tomorrow and will be here for the next 3 weeks or so to help me prepare for baby.

• We took our last childbirth education class at the hospital last night. In this one we talked a lot about C-sections and newborn care. Y’all I cried through the whole entire bringing home your newborn video that we watched. We also did some practice diapering and swaddling.

QUESTIONS

Tell me about your maternity leave. How long did you take? Where you ready to go back? Any general insight or advice?

Any favorite resources for crib bedding? I ordered a set from Wayfair but I’ve been eying some stuff on Etsy too. Also, crib mattresses…any recommendations? Is this something you were picky about? I don’t know how far down the rabbit hole of organic/pvc-free/etc to go.

Original article and pictures take www.peanutbutterrunner.com site