Waiting….

The last few weeks of pregnancy are a serious waiting game. Labor can happen at any time, so I am just laying low, paying attention to my body, and trying to fit in exercise when I can… but, every day gets a little harder to work out. I’m super round, slow, and off balance… my feet get incredibly tired at an alarming rate (less than an hour of standing at a time and I’m toast), and I’m just anxious for babe’s impending arrival.

I am not working currently, I’ve slowly weened myself from work to prepare for the weeks to come, but have found myself incredibly restless with not much to do each day leading up to labor. So I have been doing the two workouts my body seems to be ok with; walking and swimming.

Swimming is quite a production for me now; having to change beforehand, lug all my stuff into town to the pool, swim for 45 minutes, shower, lug all my stuff back to the house, etc etc… BUT… swimming is heaven on earth for this pregnant lady for one reason which I can break down into two simple words: ZERO GRAVITY. All the extra weight is lifted when I’m in the pool, and I stay cool, and swimming is second nature to me. I’ve been swimming my whole life, so the water is one of the few places where I actually still feel normal. Aside from my endurance being compromised, and all the extra drag in the water from my belly, my swimming stroke is unaffected by pregnancy, which is an amazing and rare feeling.

Walking, on the other hand, is a bit more of a challenge. Interesting right? Well, gravity is there, full force, for one… and my hips and lower back REALLY feel each step about a mile into each walk. My neighborhood is quite hilly, which I am thrilled about for post-pregnancy hill training, but right now, its challenging. I am so lucky to live in a neighborhood with lots of horses, so there are a lot of secret little equestrian trails I can jump on throughout my walks, making them more like gentle hikes, which I enjoy much more.


The scenery on these trails is awesome, and when I’m on a trail, I focus more on each step, making sure to keep my footing (thanks pregnancy balance!), rather than how much longer I have to go. I’ve been managing about 2 miles each walk, which doesn’t sound like a lot, but at 39+ weeks, that’s enough for me. (See my last post on expectations during pregnancy.)

Yesterday I went out on the trails, just trying to loosen up my legs, and get outside for a bit, and I decided to test out some new sandals. My feet haven’t swelled up quite like other mom-friends warned me they would, but sandals just feel SO much better than shoes. But wearing flip flops on the trail just wont fly, so I gave these shoes a try.

Once again, my love for Keen footwear lives on. With the weather shifting to warmer and warmer temperatures, my feet have been getting hot and swollen on my hikes, so these sandals did the trick!! I’m pretty excited to have these for summer hikes with little Stan.

Aside from that, all I am doing now is waiting. Waiting for little Stan to come out into the world and play with me. I have 5 days left til my due date, and unfortunately no signs of labor yet, which is a little discouraging. But, at my next appointment we will hopefully see some progress.