i know that my activity level has made a huge difference with this pregnancy. i started going to the gym 1-2 times a week around 8 weeks pregnant, but it was tough because of how nauseous i was. then my second trimester swooped in and i felt like a rockstar! i was going to the gym 4-5 times a week consistently, from about 13ish weeks to about 25 weeks, when i got home from ohio. from there it's been 2-3 times a week, but i'm hoping to up that back to at least 4 times a week, whether its just a walk around the neighborhood, or doing some actual strength training. i also got a groupon for a yoga studio in gilbert that does prenatal yoga, holler! so my plan is to fit that in 1-2 times a week until i deliver, or until i just can't anymore haha.

as of friday, my weight gain is at 12 lbs. considering that at this point in my pregnancy with benson i had gained a solid 30 lbs, i'm pretty proud haha.  granted, i started this pregnancy 15 lbs heavier than i was before benson, but still. i have worked hard to make sure my weight gain stayed down for a couple reasons. 1, definitely don't want an 11+ lb baby again. 2, i want a fighting chance to get down to the weight i want to be after this baby. and 3, i wanted to not shock my body when i had to start eating for GD!

speaking of GD, things have been pretty good so far! i meet with a dietitian this wednesday, but my numbers have been right on track with only 1 or 2 exceptions, and i haven't changed my diet a ton. my numbers have always be far under my limit after meals (except once!), but my morning fasting number has been a little high a handful of times. i'm learning weird things - like if you skip your snack before going to bed, your blood sugar will probably be too high in the morning! reason is, when you sleep, your body goes into fasting mode for 8-10 hours. during that time, if your blood sugar gets too low, your liver kicks in and starts dumping glucose into your blood stream to try and regulate it. thus, high blood sugar. so eat a good snack before you go to bed - my snack of choice is greek yogurt with or without granola. another weird thing, blood sugar is super sensitive after fasting, so choose breakfast wisely. i've had yogurt and granola for a bed time snack plenty of times and have never had a problem with my blood sugar spiking before, or having high blood sugar the morning after. BUT i had it for breakfast one morning after i had skipped my snack the night before, so my numbers were 4-5 points higher than they should've been, and an hour after i had eaten, my blood sugar was at 171! the highest its ever been, besides when i took the glucose test. so crazy.

other pregnancy things to note - i haven't started swelling yet (its a dang miracle). i have gotten insanely short of breath. my belly is catching crumbs galore when i eat. my hair is in the fantastic pregnancy stage. my lower back and hips are sore most of the time. i don't sleep through the night and am tossing and turning more than i care to. i'm getting more and more tired, but overall don't feel like i'm tied to the couch or bed because of fatigue or uncomfortableness. benson still doesn't understand that my belly isn't just something to prop himself on or use to help him stand up haha. oh, no pregnancy carpel tunnel! i had it bad with benson just before my third trimester started, but i've had no signs of it this time, thank goodness.

i'll post a picture or something next time. until then, 9 weeks left!