I have been trying to be diligently active this pregnancy.  I did the best I could when I was pregnant with Ella, but I was working so I had less scheduled time to exercise.  I took a break for several weeks early in the pregnancy when I was feeling sick ALL THE TIME.  Since I’ve been better, though, I’ve been going to the gym (or running outside…though that hasn’t happened since it’s been hot) 3 times a week.  I probably get there 3 times a week 85% of the time, depending on our schedules & doctors appointments.

I had a trainer friend of mine make a pregnancy-friendly workout for me based on what I was doing before I was pregnant.  I do 30 minutes of cardio, almost always on the elliptical now since my knees go dead quite quickly on the treadmill.  I usually get in between 3-4 miles in that time, but I’ve found in the last week or so that I’m going to slow down quickly.  It takes more energy to get my larger mass moving now-a-days!  After my elliptical, I do some ab work (without laying flat on my back) and a few free weight exercises.  I cannot do lunges anymore because my belly is in the way, but I figure the squats will do.  I’m usually at the gym for about an hour or a bit less and that is plenty for me.  I also chase after Ella all day & we go to the pool a couple of times a week.  Sometimes I feel like I’m getting plenty of exercise & sometimes I feel like I should be doing more (maybe to make up for eating ice cream every day?).  I’m hoping that by at least keeping up with what I’m doing, getting back into shape after Beyonce is born will be a bit easier.

So what is your exercise routine?  Do you have a favorite exercise or set of exercises?  Favorite classes?  I hope to go back to yoga once I can stretch again.  I know there’s prenatal yoga, but I’m too cheap to pay for it.  Did you exercise a lot while pregnant?  More or less than usual?  Do you feel like you got back into shape after your pregnancy(ies)?  Do you have any tips for me??  (Besides “stop eating ice cream” because I tried, & it’s not going to happen.)

We are prepared for a newborn sleeping schedule.  Because our (almost) 3 year old doesn’t sleep anyway.  There are “good” days & “bad” days, but a “good” day would be only fighting with her for half an hour before she will stay in bed, stop calling for us & go to sleep.  And not throw herself into a fit of hysteria.  Bad days are….exhausting.  There have been nights where it will take 2 or more hours for Ella to stop getting out of bed, to stop calling for Mommy or Daddy to give her a hug/tuck her in/get her a drink/go potty, etc etc etc.

We have tried everything that has come to our minds to change this behavior, but it has been several months (some better, some worse) and nothing has seemed to work permanently.  Every time we seem to make a bit of progress, within a few days, it’s back to the same old tricks.  We’ve tried punishing her, reasoning with her, enticing her with rewards, reward charts, special night time only toys/books, encouraging big girl behavior & choices, threatening the “baby” bed…plus other stuff I probably can’t remember because I’m sleep deprived.  She seems to understand what she NEEDS to do, what she’s SUPPOSED to do, but she won’t do it.  She says she wants to make happy choices, stay in her big girl bed, go swimming, eat pancakes….but then she still gets out of bed, still calls/cries/screams for us, still won’t go to sleep.  Once she does finally go to sleep, she wakes up every night somewhere between 12:30-2, gets up & calls for us to tuck her in/give her a hug/get her a drink.  Then she wakes up in the morning between 5:30-6.  Her clock is set to play at 7am, indicating that she can then get up, but inevitably, when she wakes up, she runs out of her room, into ours & starts crying.  “I’m hungry!”  “I need a huggy!”  We put her back into bed, but she will only stay for maybe 5-10 minutes at a time before she wants something else & gets out of bed again.

If we ignore her at any point (and her gate is up so she can’t get out of her room) she just escalates into screaming & hysteria until she is trying to throw herself over or under the gate.  I want her to go to bed, not hurt herself.

By the time she falls asleep at night, I am usually ready for bed.  Not only am I pregnant & exhausted anyway, but I’m emotionally drained & stressed out from trying to figure out how to get her to stay in bed & go to sleep.  And once she wakes up in the middle of the night & calls for me (because she HAS to have MOMMY do whatever it is), I can’t go back to sleep, usually for about 2 hours.  So I end up with 5ish or less hours of sleep a night. Like I said…we’re ready for the newborn.  Maybe she’ll sleep more!

I’ve googled sleep issues in 3 year olds & this seems to be a pretty common problem that has no real answer.  She has a very consistent bedtime routine, she is definitely tired when we put her to bed.  I’m out of ideas, so I welcome any suggestions people have.

Zzzzz…..

There comes a point when you become so overwhelmed with what to blog about, you just don’t blog at all.  But here’s a recap of what’s been going on!

• We got a new car!  It is a beautiful 2007 Honda Pilot.  It seats 8, has overhead car seat latches in the 3rd row & gives us plenty of space for both girls & some stuff.  It does consume quite a bit of gas, but we are working out the kinks of how to maximize our mileage & minimize our emissions.  Plus, now Dave gets to use the Volvo to commute!  Safer & definitely more comfortable. Everyone is a winner!
• Our house is back on the market!  It’s only been a few days, so there isn’t much news about it yet, but HOPEFULLY someone will want to buy our house so we can move & get everything situated before little Beyonce gets here.  Send your friends & family if you know of anyone looking for a 2 bedroom house in South County!
• For the most part, Ella is POTTY TRAINED!  Wooo!!!  She wears a pull-up at night, but during the day (including most naps) she wears underwear & hasn’t had an accident in a couple of weeks!  (It doesn’t count if she pees herself on purpose to get out of bed).  Dave & I are both excited to not be changing diapers, at least for a few months.
• Ella starts camp at her new school in a month!  She will be going for 3 weeks in July on MWF for a couple of hours each morning.  It’s going to be a little bittersweet dropping her off, but I’m sure the 2 hours will fly by.  And I know she will have fun & make friends, so I’m excited for her!  Her school year starts in September, so this is just a preview, but I wanted her to be prepared.

Our summer weekends are already filling up very quickly!  We planned to go to Kirksville to visit Dave’s family over Memorial Day weekend, but ended up staying home because we all got colds.  Boo to that! We’re hoping to make it up there perhaps the 2nd weekend in July, but we’ll have to see how huge & uncomfortable Beyonce is making me at that point. Our plans for June include family/maternity photos, the Komen Race, birthday parties, the St. Louis Twilight Town Trek, another week out of town for Dave, visiting with friends, Shakespeare in the Park & lots of pool time!  Plus, I’m hoping to put Ella into swim lessons for a couple of weeks so she won’t FREAK OUT if she falls & puts her face in the water again.  I want her to feel confident in the water.  We’re also hoping to get a 3D ultrasound in the next couple of weeks so we can compare this little girl to Ella’s pics!  I’m so curious to see if they look similar at all, if this baby has any hair, if she has Dave’s nose like Ella…it’s hard to wait so long to find out!

July will be busy too, with our anniversary, a wedding to go to, my Dad’s birthday, Fourth of July (that’s all in one weekend…), Ella’s camp, Ella’s birthday & possible travel.  Whew!  We are trying to keep August fairly clear since you never know when the baby will arrive.  If she’s like her sister, she’ll be right on time, though.  A very exciting summer ahead!

I am working on editing all the belly pictures I have to they can be posted.  I have several other pictures from May, too, that I will load up soon!

Happy Summer!