20 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Happy Easter!  Dress: Old Navy Maternity

Today I turned 21 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 20th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of a banana, weighing in at 10.2 oz and 6.5 inches long.  Baby has gained almost 2 ounces again this past week, putting on some much needed fat!  Taste buds are fully formed and baby is gulping down several ounces of amniotic fluid each day.

This week we had a regular OB appointment where Charlotte and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Everything is looking good!

Mama: Feeling okay.  Back is sore but might be due to my weightlifting workouts this week. Maternity clothes have officially taken over the closet and my drawers, and although there's a few elastic waist pre-pregnancy pieces I can still squeeze into, I'm sticking to the comforts these days.

Craving fruit and salads again this week.  Trying VERY hard not to buy the on-sale Ben & Jerry's at Target each week!  I've also been experienceing some nausea this week.  I started taking my prenatal (I'm out of my folate supplement) and fish oil supplements again, so I'm not sure if that's the culprite or not. 

Non-maternity shorts: Kohl's, shirt: Liz Lang Maternity from Target

Non-maternity shorts: Forever 21; tank: Old Navy Maternity

New order of maternity clothes from Gap and Old Navy!

Physical Health: I have only worked out a few days this week, not part of my goal so I'm a bit disappointing in this number. I did try a new 22 minute workout from Beachbody that I LOVED! Here's a quick little video all about 22 Minute Hard Corps from P90X trainer Tony Horton.  Also check out my FB page Raising Rials Health and Wellness for my own video of this quick cardio sesh.

We also met up with a few friends to celebrate Easter on Friday.  It was a beautiful day to be outside and get some vitamin D.

Mental/Emotional Health: An emotion I have been trying VERY hard to avoid this pregnancy: ENVY.  I wouldn't say I'm jealous, but more envious of my fit friends.  I miss my pre-pregnancy body (when I was in the best shape of my life).

My private challenge group on Facebook was asked to compliment ourselves on the progress we've made thus far in our fitness/healthy living journey.  I had SUCH a hard time with this.  My body is CONSTANTLY changing, nothing is getting smaller, I'm having to wear all bigger clothes.  Yes, I get it, I'm pregnant.  This is what's supposed to happen.  It's just a tough week for my self image I guess.

Goals for next week: work out 4 days this week, daily mantra: I am beautiful, I am enough.  Lead with my best qualities.  What are your goals for the week ahead?

19 weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Today I turned 20 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 19th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of a mango, weighing in at 8.5 oz and 6 inches long.  Baby has gained almost 2 ounces this past week, big gains!  Baby is developing the vernix caseosa which is a waxy coating covering the baby's skin protecting it from the surrounding amniotic fluid.. Baby's 5 senses are forming: never cells for taste, hearing, sight, and smell are developing in baby's brain.

This week we had a regular OB appointment where Charlotte and I got to hear the baby's heartbeat.  Everything is looking good!

Mama: Feeling great!  No back or hip pain. Wearing more and more maternity clothes. Craving fruit again this week, can't get enough. And an occasional pint of Ben & Jerry's (chocolate fudge brownie, YUM!)

Attended The Mom Made Market in Scottsdale, AZ.  Dress from Forever 21

Physical Health: I have worked out 5 days this week!  4 workouts at home and walked the zoo on Friday.  It was so CRAZY busy at the zoo we had to park across the street which increased my overall mileage which was a bit of a challenge.

This week I focused on an amazing Beachbody program called PiYo.  It's perfect for where I am in my pregnancy as it allows me to get in a high intensity workout with low impact.  It's also on SALE this month! So if you're interested in starting a new workout routine at home please feel free to email me at raisingrials@gmail.com.

I also added in some weightlifting with Beachbody's Active Maternity workout for the second trimester.  It's with the 21 Day Fix trainer Autumn Calabrese and is a great workout for maintaining and improving the strength you need get through the rest of your pregnancy as well as after baby comes.  If you're an expectant mommy and would like more info on this program please email me at raisingrials@gmail.com

Last but not least we headed to the mountains for a weekend hike.

St. Patty's Day workout: PiYo. 

Hike at San Tan Mountain, AZ.  Top: Lululemon

Top: Liz Lang Maternity - Target; Shorts: Ann Taylor Loft

Dress: Forever 21; Cartigan: Ann Taylor Loft

Mental/Emotional Health: Another emotional week that I wasn't expecting!  Actually the week was good, but then Friday I had a fellow Beachbody coach and expectant mom tag me in a post about saying goodbye to your only child before leaving to go to the hospital to have your second child.  I thought that was a tough one, but then another mom posted a link to this article that I have saved in my phone and read frequently (although I cry almost every time I read it).

Let me know what you think! You Won't Remember But I Will

18 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

Today I turned 19 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 18th week with this babe! 

Baby: Size of a pear or large tomato, weighing in at 6.7 ounces, and 5.6 inches long.  Baby is yawning, hiccuping, sucking and swallowing. I remember being pregnant with Charlotte and feeling her have the hiccups ALL THE TIME!

I'm feeling so much movement from this active babe twisting, rolling, punching and kicking. Fingerprints are forming too!

Mama: Feeling good!  Back and hip pain is almost non-existent. Wearing more and more maternity clothes. Craving salad this week which is odd because I am NOT a salad person.

Physical Health: I have been SO LAZY this week! Since getting back from San Diego I haven't put my workouts first and it is definitely showing. 

I've had one of my besties visiting from out of town and we've had LOTS of catching up to do. Isn't she beautiful? And to top it off we're BOTH pregnant and due 1 day apart!

Mental/Emotional Health: Very emotional this week! Everything is making me tear up and cry... Not in a bad way though, I completely understand it's the hormones at this point. 

An old friend from high school posted an open letter to her son who just came home from the NICU within the last month. 

The way she described his entrance into the world, how it turned everything upside down, yet completed their family so perfectly said exactly what I needed to hear. 

I reached out to her and she had some great advice on including Charlotte in the every day process. That this is "our" baby, the family's baby, not just mamas.  I loved hearing that. 

Here are a few of the ultrasound pics from this week. Everything looked "perfect" in her words. 

Baby's heart actually looks like a heart! I absolutely love this pic ❤️

Baby's feet

Baby's hand near face.

Now ... Onto the news I'm sure EVERYONE has been anxiously awaiting.

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ 

We are actually going to hold out on all of you a few more weeks!!  I'm sorry!!!

We have family coming into town the last weekend of March and the first weekend of April and want to share this news with them first. 

Baby isn't going anywhere, promise! You just have to be patient 😉

17 Weeks Baby Rials 2.0

This weekend I turned 18 weeks, so I'll be discussing our 17th week with this babe! 

Baby: about the size of your palm, an onion, or an apple. Weighing in at 5.9 ounces, and 5.1 inches long, this babe has gained almost 2.5 ounces in the past week!  Baby's rubbery cartilage is turning into bone, putting on some fat, and growing a stronger thicker umbilical cord too. 

Baby can hear my heartbeat and the sound of my voice as it resonates throughout my body, kidneys are creating urine, and liver is producing bile. 

Mama: This is the best I've felt my whole pregnancy! My hips are still bugging me, but I started a new program called PiYo and as long as I get a workout in I feel great. 

I'm fitting into my bigger clothes I bought after having Charlotte, but finding maternity clothes most comfortable.

I'm continuing to crave fruit but wanting salads more and more, especially Caesar salads! And I am NOT a salad person. 

Physical Health: Like I mentioned above I started a program called PiYo this week. This was the first workout program I did after having Charlotte and it's just what my body needs right now. 

It's a 60 day program, Pilates and yoga inspired workouts that are high intensity but low impact. I'm getting my much needed stretching in, but still strengthening without needing weights. 

Chalotte and I also met up with a few coaches frim my team and their children at the zoo on Wednesday.  So I pulled three 30+ pound toddlers around in a wagon for 4 hours which was no small task!

Mental/Emotional Health: feeling this little one kick inside me is one of the most amazing feelings on earth. With my introduction of PiYo and prenatal yoga I'm feeling more and more connected to this baby every day. 

I've been orecticing mindful meditation when I wake up each morning. Placing one hand on my heart, the other on my belly and setting my intentions for the day. It has helped me stay present in this pregnancy so much more and I'm loving it. 

Can't wait to tell you all about my trip to SD this past weekend! It was amazing 💕