In The Beginning
We found out we were pregnant with Rylee on Memorial Day (May 31, 2021) , after a weekend of experiencing the famous Bourbon Trail in Louisville, KY. We knew we there might be a chance we were pregnant but weren’t ready to start telling people of our plans of expanding our family so we were being tricky that weekend. I had to secretly had off my sample shots of bourbon to Mike (my husband) or my friend Kayla who was let in our secret. Thank goodness, because otherwise Mike would have been way more wasted than he already was planning on being that weekend. Overall, our plan worked well and no one (that I know of) caught on to the fact that I did not drink that weekend.
Mike and I took the husky pups on a 4-mile run on one of the mornings to help ease our anxiousness before taking the pregnancy test. It was then that I knew I wanted to keep running as long as possible through the pregnancy if we were successful. We love taking the dogs on runs with us as it helps wear their overly energetic selves out, not to mention keeping us motivated to stay in shape! I find it’s always easier holding yourself accountable when someone else (in this case our huskies) are involved.
Fast forward to the end of the weekend and I woke up on Memorial Day and immediately took a cheap pregnancy test. I remember it being hard to read at first, anxiously and eagerly waiting to read the double pink lines on the stick. I finally saw a faint double pink line on the test. I remember showing it to Mike at first but still wasn’t 100% sure. I feel like nothing really prepares you for the build up of reading a pregnancy test, you go into thinking it will be clear as day but not knowing what to expect I wasn’t sure if my brain was reading the faint line as positive because I just wanted it so badly to be true.
As we started our long drive home, we made a pit stop at a local CVS and I went in and bought a pregnancy test and some chocolate. (I feel like it’s the same when you go in to buy a box of tampons, you never just get the box, you always grab something else…right? My go-to is always chocolate!) Then I went to their public restroom and peed on the dang stick and almost immediately the stick read “pregnant” and I felt a HUGE sense of relief. We did it, I was finally pregnant, after over 2 years of trying we were finally successful.
We decided we didn’t want to know the sex of baby Suomi until birth. We wanted it to be a special surprise just between the “3” of us at birth before we told the world who our baby was. I didn’t get to spend my days thinking of what girl or boy things to get in preparation of the delivery date so instead I spent my days thinking of how to keep myself and baby Suomi as healthy as possible! I made goals of running at least a 5K 3-4x a week and keep up with my work outs all while attempting to eat as healthy as possible.
My first trimester was hell! I was riddled with bad nausea and the faintest smell of garlic, onions or meat made me gag and eventually vomit on the regular. It took so much out of me just to make it through the day without feeling miserable. I was able to keep up with my goal of going on jogs through the week which usually made me feel so much better once I was done! I even completed a sprint distance triathlon at 13 weeks pregnant and placed 3rd in my age group! Well technically, Rylee came in 3rd and I finished just behind her in 4th! Either way we were both on the podium and that felt like such an accomplishment!
Fast forward again to a month and half later and my runs were getting more and more painful. I remember after one run coming home, stretching and feeling an ache in my groin, it hurt so bad trying to toss from one side to the other while sleeping and I knew I was in trouble when I tried getting out of bed to go to the bathroom in the morning and I could barely put weight on my leg! OUCH. I guess this is what they refer to as, round ligament pain. No bueno. I ended up taking a few weeks off of running and snowballed into not running again the entire pregnancy. Unless you count that one time I was caught in a thunder/rain storm while out on a walk with the pups and I “sprinted” 2 blocks home. I did try to continue doing light weight/body weight exercises to keep moving and in hopes of making for an easier delivery. That slowly fizzled out and I ended up just counting my daily walks with the pups as exercise.
Read my next blog to find what my best advice for exercise during pregnancy as well as fashion advice during your 9 months of dealing with an ever-changing body!…….
