Perks to being pregnant

I actually began this post with the intention of complaining about pregnant running. However, as of yesterday I can officially say I have completed nine years of teaching, which also means I started teaching the year my students were born. I didn't learn much in all my higher education that has actually helped me in the classroom, but one thing I have used is always start with the positive. Also, we watched the Game of Thrones season finale last night, so now there's NOTHING to look forward to until April 2015, except I guess bringing life into this world and embarking on our journey as parents. But seriously even the baby was upset, he barely moved at all last night.

The main pregnancy perks I've discovered are that you suddenly have an excuse for some common life ailments, and everyone immediately forgives you for them.

Forgetfulness: Pregnancy brain is a real thing, and it makes life really hard. But I've learned that at least half the population (women) are very understanding. Last week I went to talk to my coworker about something that (I forgot) we had already sorted out through email earlier. She started to remind me of the email exchange, then just kindly said "oh, that's right, you're pregnant" and gave me some chocolate.

And, by the way, thanks to everyone for not pointing out that I had a stupid typo in my pregnancy rant post title. I know I never would have gotten away with that normally.

Tiredness: I've made it pretty clear on this blog that I had doing things and seeing people, and I finally have the perfect excuse not to. I mean, sure, growing a human can be pretty tiring, but I feel like I clearly remember a lot of times in my life where I felt tired before. Now though, there's no need to stay late, go at all, socialize, etc., and nobody bats and eye. Plus, after this, I'll have a baby, so I'm pretty sure I'm good in this area for years to come.

Saving money: Unlike the previous one, obviously this benefit is about to come to a screeching halt when the baby arrives, but we're focusing on the positive for now. It turns out that drinking is kind of expensive, and while I was no lush, I certainly handed my card to a bartender or two in my time. I haven't had a pricey Starbucks drink since January. I haven't been to active.com for a race registration since 2013, and I don't need to replace my running shoes every other month. Yesterday, we went out for our end of the school year celebration. My five waters and meal came to a grand total of SIX DOLLARS. Plus, since I'm experiencing what I can only imagine lap band surgery feels like, I couldn't finish my half salad/sandwich combo (I know, who am I?) so the six dollars got me lunch AND dinner.

So the one downside to pregnancy - it's not conducive to running for me. I sort of got used to the fact that I was just constantly going to feel like I was about to pee my pants the entire time, but I didn't love it (who would?). I had other options for exercise, and another pregnancy perk is that you can keep doing the same exercise DVDs over and over, and they keep getting harder instead of easier, because you keep weighing more. Then I joined the YMCA, and discovered there was a whole bunch of fun group fitness classes that I could do and feel relatively normal. I could run, but it was just so uncomfortable compared to everything else, so it got relegated to 1-2 days per week.

Then it got really hot. I've found it's nearly impossible to stay hydrated. I've been known at work for years for my intense water consumption, I fill up my water cup 3-4 times per night, I drink nothing but my one coffee and water all day long, and I'm still constantly thirsty and dehydrated (runners know how we tell). Fine, hydrating for two, but I still don't get why I need like 9 times more water than my husband who's got nearly a foot and 100 pounds on me.

I was having to stop every run I attempted after a few minutes because of uncomfortable Braxton Hicks, which my doctor said was most likely caused by dehydration. Even though I never planned on running throughout the whole pregnancy, the idea of giving it up from Memorial Day to at least Thanksgiving made me want to cry (which is ok, another pregnancy perk, but still).

I "ran" 3.25 miles yesterday though (in quotes because I covered 3.25 miles and ran more of it than I walked), so maybe all is not lost! I doubled down on the hydration, even busted out the coconut water. Also, my BFF Carolyn was kind enough to loan me her running belt, which helped immensely with the overall uncomfortableness.




My $6 Ross Dress for Less XL not "running for two" shirt

It felt really, really hard, even at my shockingly slow pace. I don't know if that's the Relaxin or the three weeks with no running, but it made me really not want to be trying to pick it back up after a six month break. I'm hoping I can return to running once or twice a week at least for a bit longer.

Would you rather have a get-out-of-jail free pass for being dumb, or being lazy? I think I prefer the being dumb one, since I never really felt bad about being lazy socially.