34 Weeks Full of (New!) Aches & Pains

This Friday I hit 34 weeks. It's unbelievable that I've already made it this far, and even more unbelievable that in about six short weeks I'll have my little boy in my arms. Just thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. It's so cute feeling his knees and feet in my side, wondering what the heck is going on in there. At any given moment, you can probably see me rubbing my side...not out of pain, but just to touch his little limbs, back, and bum. Adorable! I have to remember that I'm probably the only one as obsessed over this guy as this - most likely because I feel him 24/7. For example, an earlier "conversation" with my husband went like this... Me: "Can you believe the baby is the size of a canteloupe now? He's already about 18 inches long!" Scott: "I can't believe I decided to bench that guy today. I have 25 points sitting on my bench and 0 playing at the moment. Unbe-freakin-leivable!" I had to laugh. Slightly different obsessions at the moment.

What is not so funny are the brand new aches and pains that have decided to show their ugly face this week. All the wonderful pregnancy hormones do a miraculous job of loosening up your ligaments and joints, making your body (especially your pelvis) ready for childbirth. Some will tell you this so matter-of-factly: "Oh yes, the presence of the hormone relaxin gets your pelvis nice and loose so the baby can fit through easily." (smiley face) What they don't mention is that this stinkin' hurts!! All of this bone-shifting sends shooting, burning pains through my pelvis and down my legs. The pain only lasts a second or two, but it literally takes my breath away. It feels like someone sticking an ice pick into various parts of your pelvic bones. Lots of fun.

New ache/pain #2 is my little guy has decided that my cervix makes for a great little trampouline or punching bag. I'm just waiting for a foot or hand to punch through and say Hi Mom! Haha...not funny. I think he must be starting to move down low, and this is just all in preparation for his arrival.

In exercise news, I played it safe this week after my rambo run from last week. I did one strength training workout earlier in the week. I'm trying out some new TRX exercises with a few of my clients so this is what this workout consisted of:

• Long dynamic warm-up with lunges, marching, kicks, moving stretches, etc.
• TRX routine: suspended side lunges, suspended cross-behind lunges, rotator cuff letter progressions, standing roll-outs, slow deep chest presses, grappler push/pull, anti-rotational presses, single leg dead lifts: 3x through. (Single leg dead lifts have become a staple in my workouts, since the other most effective way to work your glutes/hamstrings is to lie on your back doing bridges and curls.)
• Foam rolling the hip flexors, quads, adductors (inner thighs), glutes, and upper back
• Stretch adductors/groin, hip flexors, hamstrings

This felt great and made be wonderfully sore the next day (I know, I'm sick). I also did two yoga sessions about 20 minutes each, one dog walk about 20 minutes long, and one session of all the dynamic warm-up/stretching exercises I like plus some more foam rolling.

Fortunately, I can tell the difference between pelvic/abdominal cramping that is just a result of being pregnant and simple muscular tightness and pain. When my back, hip flexors, or inner thighs hurt I hop on my foam roller to loosen these muscles up and then stretch them out. This usually does the trick. The foam roller is magical and should be the pregnant lady's best friend. It seriously alleviates so much discomfort. I can't say enough about it. However, it doesn't quite match the magic of a massage therapist, with whom I have an appointment on Tuesday. Hallelujah!

I'm off to get in strength workout #2. I plan on playing around with some more new TRX exercises (some modified). My motto is that I never make my clients do anything I can't do, which I'm still trying to hold to. What they don't realize is that I usually make them do 3 sets of 10 while I only do one or two reps for demonstration. (My little secret, but everyone thinks I'm so strong...haha!)