Working Out and Great Food

This morning I had my usual chocolate smoothie with banana, almond butter, coconut water, cocoa powder, stevia and Amazing Grass chocolate greens. This link is to what I find to be a great deal. It is totally worth buying in large amounts, however it also comes in smaller sizes. I highly recommend this product for any pregnant woman or otherwise. It is delicious when mixed in a smoothie and a huge dose of your daily nutritional needs, especially greens. It is expensive but if you can pay to be more healthy, why not?
I went to the gym as a spontaneous decision and had my eggs, bacon and wilted spinach for lunch. I'm really glad I worked out today and hope that I can start getting back into my every-other-day routine.

Working Out
Today's WOD:

Push Press

3-3-3-3   (I did 55-65-75-85lbs.)
__________

25 Handstand push-ups  (I modified by doing them on a box)

50 Toes-to-bar  (I counted my no-reps too- about 20)

800 meter Run  (I ran 400/rowed 400)

75 Push press  (I Rx'd these)

150 Double-under  (I did 150 single-unders)

***For Time***

Rx: 75/55

I ended at about 34 minutes. I can do double unders but didn't feel like it would be a wise decision to take the workout too much further after passing the 30 minute mark. I was also a little wary about jumping that much knowing it probably would've taken me through another 300 or so singles to get all my doubles. I struggled quite a bit with the toes-to-bar after the first 20. At first it came so easily but I tired quickly. I also slammed the bar into my nose pretty hard around rep 68 of the push presses. Ouch.

Other than that, I felt it was a very good workout.

I feel great today. No issues lately. I am longing to hear the baby's heartbeat again soon. We see the midwife for our first official patient-midwife meeting. Hopefully she's got some equipment to satisfy that longing. I will go over the visit and all of the questions from a list I compiled for our meeting.

I started reading a book I got for my husband called The Birth Partner by Penny Simkin. So far there is not much I don't already know, but I am only just at the beginning and hopefully it will be helpful for him and a possible family-member turned doula. No reason not to get some extra education!

The other day for lunch I made myself an amazing tuna cobb salad (above). I used canned tuna (which they say a pregnant woman should not eat, but I allow myself only 1 can a week or less), chopped heirloom tomato, crisped bacon, hard-boiled egg, avocado, red onion and hearts of palm on a spring mix. I made a balsamic ranch dressing to go on top and it was delicious! Yes, it took a little extra time to make, but I sat down and enjoyed it along with one of my tv shows. 

Another great recipe we've been making is squid salad. We enjoyed this in Croatia on our honeymoon and were able to get calamari for such a great price at costco, that I decided we could certainly replicate it at home. 

To make: clean the calamari thoroughly and cut into rings, parboil the pieces in hot water for about a minute, chop veggies to add such as: red onion, red pepper and a green (parsley, spinach, arugula)

To dress the salad mix in a food processor or bullet: balsamic and apple cider vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper, a squirt of mustard of any kind and a dash of some sort of hot sauce (I used my favorite Cholula). Keep playing with it and tasting until you like it. Pour it over the calamari and veggies and chill it or eat it warm. The taste only gets better as it sits in the dressing and fridge.

Homebirth Research

Breakfast was a little weird this morning. Things tasted a little different. I had 2 eggs, breakfast sausage, wilted spinach with avocado, a smoothie and some homemade lemonade. It all tasted just the slightest bit unappealing to me. I got it all down anyway and washed it down with the organic fruit smoothie.

Homebirth Research
My husband and my own personal researcher emailed me a bunch of links with information on homebirth. Several were listings for midwives and a few links for recommended reading, but my favorite is this forum where women tell what they would have done differently the next time they were to have a homebirth. I have read 6 pages and am still going. It's truly fascinating. I even started making a list of these tips and suggestions. Some of the advice sounds like a foreign language to me but I am putting it on the list anyway.
Before I knew I was pregnant, my husband and I watched the Business of Being Born (Netflix has it), a documentary about the differences between labor in a hospital and having a homebirth. It didn't take more than a few minutes of this movie to convince me of which I wanted to do.
After reading through the pages of the forum, it did bring up some realistic concerns:
   1. Our lease is up in January (I am supposedly due in March) and I don't know where we will be living at that time. Hopefully we will move on to something better. This makes it hard for me to start planning the homebirth setup. I really like to plan. I rarely get all or even half of my plans executed, but the process is what I like.
   2. Oh god the perineum- The possibility of tearing sounds way more painful than anything. This is probably now my biggest fear. The aftercare of that whole area gives me a little more of an idea what really goes on. Women are talking about needing to wear frozen tea-soaked maxi-pads post delivery. It doesn't change my mind, but it makes me think about how little I will be able to do in the weeks afterward.
   3. Family time with the new baby- I like the suggestions to have visiting hours. This will be the first grandchild for my parents and I can't help to want to include them as much as possible. My husband says it's just going to be me and him and the midwife. After reading about all the things I will need before, during and after the process, I think that I would want my sister there (if she wants to). She will be becoming an aunt and I think it would be special for her to help with the baby. Plus, she and I have become so much closer over the past couple of years that I can't think of anyone else who will understand what I need or be more helpful (besides my husband). I really want him to be able to be more of the process and not have to worry about running around frantically trying to do everything.
The grandparents and grandparents-to-be may have to keep it short the first day to let the 2 of us rest. I like the sign one midwife made for her patient's door: "At homebirths we mother the mother. Please do something helpful/useful while you are here. Sweep the floor, quietly do the dishes, wash a load of laundry, or take out the trash. But most importantly, limit your stay to 15 minutes."
15 minutes is a little stiff, but I like the idea.

In a search for crossfitters having homebirths I came across a blog with this description in her birthing process: "It was horrible. It was like riding an electrical storm naked and cold and inside out. It was like internal rope burns. It was never ending. I was in that moment for eternity, going through the worst pain I’ve ever felt. Being out of control. Being very inside my body that was being ripped apart. I intoned throughout the whole thing, sucking in air, and intoning again. Riding it out. Higher pitched when it got worse and lower when I felt in control. I was on top of it, beneath it, inside it. Gasping for breath. Knowing what I needed to do and feeling unable to do it. But doing it."
Allllllrighty then. She hadn't even given birth at this point... this was just a contraction.
I haven't found anything about how doing crossfit can prepare you for a better homebirth. I will let my husband, the ultimate researcher, find me some things to read and get back to that.

Taco salad and lemonade is for lunch. I know it just looks like a bowl of meat, but there is diced cabbage and lettuce underneath it all with a drizzle of organic olive oil and ACV. My husband thinks it's funny that I'm on this taco kick, because as he recalls "You hate mexican food." It's a convenience thing on top of being able to eat with my hands like you would a normal taco, or a burger if there were primal buns.

*Symptoms
I really had planned on going to the crossfit gym today, but this wave of exhaustion came over me. At one point my eyes were watering as I struggled to keep them open. I tried to take a nap but I couldn't stop thinking of other things to do. From noon til night, I was just dragging around.
I also feel extra bloated today. I have been bloated this whole time, but today's bloat makes me wonder if I'm further along than I thought, or if there's more than one of these things in there. I did kinda want twins, but decided that if I really enjoy this process, I may want to do it again. That's saying we only really planned on two kids total.

Dinner is wild mahi-mahi and some sort of veggies. Too tired to get into detail.

Iron, Working out and Apple Cider Vinegar

Iron
The book I mentioned in the last post, The 100 Healthiest Foods to Eat During Pregnancy by Jonny Bowden Ph.D. C.N.S. and Allison Tannis MS, has a great list of what vitamins you should be taking in your first trimester. One of the major supplements a pregnant woman needs is iron. It not only keeps your energy levels up but it is obviously needed for red blood cells and circulation. Apparently I will create 4 more pounds of blood throughout this endeavor. May not sound crazy to some, but I picture 4 lbs. of blood in bags on a counter and think that it seems a little surprising.
So spinach, according to this book, is a great source of iron. I am also reading that pretty soon I may want to vomit when I look at food or smell it or think about it or hear about it.....
I decided to take advantage and eat what I can, while I still can.
This morning for breakfast I had my 2 eggs and 2 pieces of bacon as usual and a handful of spinach wilted with sauteed red onion on the side. It was good and I will try to get it in every morning as long as I can stand it.

Working Out
Todays CrossFit WOD:
Scaled down - more because of 95 degree heat than anything and a little headache

10 min.
EMOTM (every minute on the minute)
2 clean and jerks 85 lbs. (rx was 105 for me)

Row
Jumping air squat
1 arm kettlebell clean and jerk 1/2 pood (rx was 1 pood)
Thruster 55 lbs. (rx was 65)
Flying push-ups
Rest

1 minute of each for 3 rounds
total rep score: 176

Apple Cider Vinegar and lunch
Today's lunch will be 2 hot dogs from our meat CSA (always pastured pork) with organic ketchup and organic mustard and an organic salad with organic balsamic and olive oil that is also, you guessed it, organic. I will be drinking water and doing extra peeing today as seems to be the trend. I will also be making an apple cider beverage that I am addicted to.
This apple cider beverage contains about 1/2 tbsp Braggs organic and unfiltered apple cider vinegar, a splash of organic orange juice (any fruit juice is amazing) and a little bit of stevia sweetened to taste. It is the most refreshing and amazing, sweet tart beverage! I recently became addicted to this over my usual several cups of iced coffee. What great timing too. I have been trying to read up on ACV to see if it's possible to overdo it, especially when pregnant.
After reading this article saying that the majority of the health claims and cures made about ACV are unsupported, I looked for others that would report the damage it causes. The biggest concern about drinking it is for contact with bacteria in the unfiltered and unpasteurized vinegar. I have been drinking fermented drinks for a while with no problem and believe that I am healthy enough to not have to worry about it. As long as it's not hurting me or my zygote, I am okay with it. I found nothing addressing it in my 100's book either.
The following info came from the Bragg Live Foods website:

10 - Is Apple Cider Vinegar safe to take during pregnancy?

Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar is safe to take during and after pregnancy. It helps to rid the body of toxins and may even help with any complications that may arise or have arisen with the pregnancy. It supports regularity and promotes digestion.

11 - Is it possible to take too much Apple Cider Vinegar?

There is no clear limit as to how much Apple Cider Vinegar an individual can or should ingest. However, one should remember that, as with anything in life, one can have "too much of a good thing". It is recommended that an individual take the ACV cocktail three times a day for maximum results. The cocktail consists of 1 to 2 tsps. organic raw ACV mixed with 1 to 2 tsps. raw honey in a glass of distilled water.

INTERNAL BENEFITS/EXTERNAL BENEFITS:

Rich in enzymes & potassium
Support a healthy immune system
Helps control weight
Promotes digestion & ph Balance
Helps soothe dry throats
Helps remove body sludge toxins
Helps maintain healthy skin
Helps promote youthful, healthy bodies
Soothes irritated skin
Relieves muscle pain from exercise

Bragg Apple Cider Vinegar
pH = 3.075
Concentration/Strength = 63 grain
Acetic Acid = 5.14 %
Potassium = 11mg/Tbsp. <2% DRV / RD



Naturally Gluten Free

Dinner
We ate grass-fed beef tacos on organic cabbage with all the other organic fixings (except cheese). I also made a spanish rice out of cauliflower which turned out awesome!