3 weeks and 1/2 weeks to go…

I know it seems like I’m almost there and I should be elated. I think that myself sometimes and wonder why I’m so impatient. The last couple weeks have been harder than I was prepared for. Mentally, physically, emotionally, you name it. I’m very grateful that I’ve made it this far along in the pregnancy without major complications. I’m so grateful for that. As a selfish human being (which I am, and which I truly think at some level we all are) I’m very tired of being pregnant. I could go on a whole vent about how I’m not sleeping very well, how I struggle to get my pants and socks on, how it hurts to walk, or bend or do just about anything besides sit, how I get strange pains in my abdomen and pelvis at random moments throughout the day, how occasionally I feel nausea, indigestion, itchyness and just a general feeling of being uncomfortable most of the time, but I won’t because this blog is supposed to be positive and encouraging.

A lot of things have been going well. I’m able to bike and Tim set up my bike on the trainer in the basement so I’m at least getting some exercise, which has helped my mood tremendously. Today I rode the bike in the fitness center on my lunch break and the 30 minutes seemed to fly by for the first time since I’ve started biking. I think its because I was thinking the whole time about racing again and imagining myself chasing down other runners and it felt so good to be in that mind set again.

Outside of running and outside of the pregnancy there have been some family things going on that have made me really realize how much I do have to be thankful for and never want to take any type of exercise or fitness for granted. My father in law, who has diabetes lost part of one of his legs this week. They first amputated his toe, but later decided they had to remove the whole foot and leg about 6 inches below his knee. He’s doing well considering the circumstances but I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a limb like that. This stuff happens and its happening to more and more Americans. I read an article the other day stating that despite all the advances in technology and science, the Baby Boomer generation is more unhealthy and unhappy than their parent’s were, but they’re living longer.

I wonder when I read something like that what the point is of living longer when your quality of life is so much less. I want to live a long life, and I know that advances in medicine and technology have made that even more possible, but its also on me to do my part to make my quality of life as high as it can be. Sometimes when I get frustrated with setbacks I ask myself what the point of all this “pushing” myself is…well, this is the point. Its hard to think of today doing something that’s going to help you 20, 40, 50+ years from now, but that’s what we do. When we exercise, and eat right its not just the immediate benefits we’re achieving. Sure, most people that exercise regularly get a mental boost, have a lower body weight, get sick less often, and in general enjoy a higher quality of life than those that are sedentary and eat junk. They are also investing in their future though, whether that be a part of the motivation or not.

So sometimes I don’t enjoy exercise…especially now when I’m just biking on a stationary bike for 30 minutes and most of the time counting down the minutes until I’m done. I’m doing it though for the benefits I get later…and later…and later. I hope that once my father in law is done with the immediate recovery, he’s given a good prosthetic leg and learns how to use it. I hope that he’s able to deal with the mental challenges he’s sure to face and ends up with a new lease on life and can out of this a stronger, healthier person than he went in with. Your health is such a gift, and I hope that eventually my generation can buck the trend of being less healthy than the generation before us…current data would suggest we’re going in the other direction.

So enough of my tangent. I also wanted to talk about how I get through some of the tough times when I really don’t feel like it! Today for example, I knew I wanted to bike for 30 minutes…I knew I wouldn’t enjoy the whole thing so I brought a frozen “Smart Ones” pepparoni pizza for lunch to bribe myself to get that workout in. Luckily, I did get through the 30 minutes pretty quickly today, but it was a nice little reminder in the back of my head that I had something to look forward to. And that’s how I am with this pregnancy too. Just a few more hours until lunch…just a few more hours until you get to go home…then its Friday! Friday is coffee date day with Tim and I always look forward to my weekly Starbucks treat…then its the weekend, then when the weekend is ending on Monday I start another week of pregnancy and I’m that much closer to D-day!

This weekend, I have my last shower and my sister is coming into town from Colorado! I’m looking so forward to that, so I just need to get through this half of today, tomorrow and then she’s here! Then on Monday I’ll officially be considered full term and if I have the baby after that chances are she’ll be just fine with little or no extra care needed.

How do you get through the tough times? Do you give yourself little things to look forward to along the way when you’re feeling impatient? Anyone have any tips for surviving the last few weeks of pregnancy? 🙂