Luka Anya - 7 Months Old!

Luka turned 7 months last Sunday, and this last month I have definitely noticed a wave of milestones being reached with her that I'm very excited about!

She's started showing a huge interest in crawling, she gets up on her hands and knees and starts to rock then lunges herself forward onto her belly then repeats as well as the occasional scooting around and even getting up on her hands and tippy toes. Honestly I leave her on her playmat one second and she's off it and at the other end of the lounge the next!

We've started with baby proofing and purchased some baby gates thanks to my lovely mother in law who also brought Luka a teething necklace that has worked a treat, we're yet to buy a play pen as she's still not that mobile enough to worry about, but none the less she's keeping us on our toes!

And boy can she talk, she just loves to babble away at her feet, toys and us and and grab and look at everything in sight.

She has this old keyboard that she loves to tap away at, so as I'm typing this she's typing too :-)

She's so curious and active and I'm just in awe of her and how far she's come from her early days of having colic and being so restless (still working on the restlessness) and I look back on her newborn photo's and measure how small she was then to how big she is now, she was soooo tiny and sooo scrummy!
Watching the T.V show One Born Every Minute brings back so much old feelings and memories.
One memory I recall the most was after she was born and as I was being stitched up she was laying on my chest looking up at me and suckling on her fingers and the birthing room we were in overlooked the beautiful Auckland harbour as the sun was rising, it was a truely gorgeous moment that I hope I'll never forget.

For me this month has been hot and cold, Luka has been teething like no ones business.
Dribbles and runny noses, colds and sleepless nights, Andrei and I snapping at eachother due to broken sleep..... It hasn't been the best of months but in saying that I have enjoyed it the most because Luka's really started to become more interactive and a real little person!
I've also been back at work comfortably for a month (having to take one day off to care for bub while she was sick) its been great having that time out for myself and having my own money again.
I've slacked off the gym which I'm quite bittersweet about. I stopped going because A} I don't have enough income to support payments towards my membership and B} I noticed a great decline in my breastmilk production as I was going and C} Finding the time and energy is really quite hard! I walk heaps and I have noticed my clothes fitting better so I've decided to cut myself some slack and enjoy my first year with bub without worrying about my body till after her first birthday and when I've stopp b/feeding by then and when I'll increase her time at daycare.
I'd admit, though, I take my hat off to those fit mums on Instagram. I'd compare myself to them and feel really lazy, but I had to snap myself out of it and realise that every person is different.
I was in the best shape of my life before I fell pregnant and I still have that goal of getting there again with a lot of hard work in tow, but maybe just not at the moment.

I love spiking her hair up!

Weight: She was just weighed today by her Plunket nurse and is now at 6.11kg. Not too great but she has grown 6cm and is now 66.5cm long and head circumference is 41.6cm! I think due to her having a bad cold and going on a huge hunger strike a few weeks back just messed with her weight gain so I'll be focusing on that for the next few months till her next check up.

Sleep: One word HORRIBLE! From having a bad cold to teething and the like it has been broken sleep for the last month in a half. She has a pretty good routine down and sleeps great during the day but it's always the night time that gets us down. I just hope it gets better soon...

Diet: So far she's on 40% breastmilk and 60% formula. My breast milk has decreased like I mentioned in her 6 month update but that only because my pump broke and had to be sent away to be fixed which took a good 1.5weeks.
I ordered a fantastic breastmilk tea which increased my supply, and right when I needed to pump it wasn't working boo!
So I had no choice but to give bub the breast and also bottle feed at too, but because she's taking more formula than b/milk it's dropped so I'm hoping to get it back up again so I can pump and store milk away again.
She's eating solid food, fruits, veges, baby muesli, baby pastas and custards and also bit off our plate but it's been a struggle as she still hasn't completely kicked her cold in the butt (snotty noses and food don't mix well!).
So I'm hoping (praying) that this gets better in the next month.

Routine: Luka is awake approximately 2-2.5hours after each sleep/nap time. During that time she eats, drinks, plays etc. Her sleep varies and after each wake period she can sleep from 45mins to an hour in a half. Her biggest nap is usually at 3pm when she sleeps for an hour and then will be awake till 6 which is followed by her dinner time and then a shower then bed.
She still needs to be fed b/milk or formula to sleep, but is that doesn't work the ol' cry it out method works a treat.
I'm big on her knowing when it's her bed time, I don't want her to walk over Andrei nor I as she gets older so the sooner I introduce the rules the better.

Social: She's incredibly sociable and smiles a lot at people and talks a lot to the people she knows.
She's so cute, when you talk to her she coyly smiles and hides her face or if she's really comfy with you she'll reach out for you're face and try to give you a big mouth baby kiss :D
When we play at times she'll lay on my chest and give her big scary eyes and she'll just laugh away, Luka's also started taking an interest in suckling on my mouth and when I'm at work she suckles on Andrei's arms as if he had boobies!
They have bonded so amazingly since I've been at work, last night they were lying on the bed and Andrei was making her laugh doing the big scary eyes at her it was just tooooo cuuute!
Her laugh is adorable, I have daycare to thank for her being so amazing around people, she has the best caregivers that adore her.
We went on a playdate the other week and she was trying to suck on the other babies feet and head it was hilarious!

Their bond is magic

Likes:

• big scary eyes
• sharing my fruit juice popsicles and water bottle
• anything that she can put in her mouth
• her Jumping Joey and exersaucer
• her bottle, yay! It was such a mission to wean her onto it.
• the swings at the park
• Our cat Lulu, but Lulu doesn't want anything to do with her :-(
• being naked
• shower time
• going for rides on mine and Andrei's shoulders
• me singing her to sleep, she ends up just smiling and talking to me, too damn beautiful

Milestones: Well yesterday she was having fun chomping on my nipples during a drink so I popped my finger in her mouth to gnaw on and low and behold I felt a tooth!!!
It's the bottom right hand one coming through, I told the Plunket nurse and she said that I'll find the second bottom one come up in a week after that one does, It's so exciting!!!
And as written above, her crawling and babbling and becoming very interactive.

Postpartum: Apart from being back at work. coming to terms with not going back to the gym till early next year and still on my breastfeeding mission I'm doing pretty swell!
Today is mine and Andrei's 7year Anniversary (WOW) so I'll be heading out to get some ingredients to make a cake for us. I can't believ it's been 7years already, I still remember the first day I met him :-)
I've also had an idea of buying Luka a baby swim seat for the pool and as the weather warms up we'll go swimming were fitting in her playtime and me exercise time before I hit the weights again!
I'm a NZ size 10-12 whereas pre pregnancy I was an 8-10, I haven't been too careful with my eating either which is going to change! Plus my water consumption would be better too. I really have to thank breastfeeding for keeping weight gain at bay, so I'm going to get back into a pumping routine and shift the weight that way until my exercise plans come into proper perspective.
Afterall there are still clothes I want to fit into!
2015 resolution GET FIT or die trying.... I'll probably die at this rate....

Until next time!

XOXOX

Luka Anya - 1 month old

Just look as those big beautiful eyes!

Ok so she was officially on Monday 27th just gone.

Anyway, this last month has been a roller coaster of excitement, heartache, exhaustion but none the less the most rewarding, yet, thankless job ever.

Since Luka was born so much had happened. She's gained weight, has developed physically and mentally at such an alarming rate I am really quite surprised :-)

Here's some pics of her in the last month...

Loves sucking on her fingers!

Pretty in pink!

Loves with nanna

Curious of her surroundings during tummy time!

"Why so serious?"

Family photo for my 23rd Birthday

Weight: Luka's starting weight was 2.7kgs (5.4pounds) and it fluctuated more so down than up in the first few weeks and now she's clocked in at 3.5kg thanking her growth spurt at 3weeks she now weighs and is the size of a normal newborn baby :-)

Sleep: She sleeps really well, when she's settled enough. She's more so settled at night time. She goes down about 10:30-11pm and wakes every 3 hourly for feeding which usually takes 40mins to an hour due to her being wide awake and fussy after feeding or after a nappy change. Her first feed of the day starts at 8am and she's usually awake for 3hours before sleeping for at least an hour or two then she's awake and bursting with energy for another 2-3hours.

Diet: Her whole diet is breast milk and she feeds from 10-20mins on one breast. We've developed a good latch system since week 4 and she feeds for the first 5mins before needing to be burped then from there she goes for at least another 10mins before feeding herself to sleep and she feeds about 6times a day including early morning feeds.

Crying: Well you know how I mentioned how placid she was, well she's made me eat my words!

For the tiny size she is she sure can shake a house down with her screaming!
I blame the pethadine that I had during birth for mellowing her out in the first week. She rose with a vengance once that week was over!

And most of her screaming is cause she doesn't like being put down, something that Andrei and I have started weaning her off (being held all the time). It's taken us 4 long hard days of weaning, picking her up when she cries until she's soothed thus making her know she's safe then gently putting her back down and holding her hands to let her know there's nothing to be afraid of. This technique was recommended from a baby book we have and so far it's started to work in the last 2days albeit having to do it 50million times in an hour! Were gonna keep this up until she's more compliant but otherwise her screaming a caused by hunger, full diaper, fussiness, over tiredness, boredom or loneliness. Y-know, the usual.

Social: Luka's very sociable and loves her cuddles! She's very good around people and doesn't fuss too much when being held by other people but she let's you know when she's had enough of being held by a stranger (to her) and wants to either go back to mum or dad. Typical baby :-)

Milestones: Luka loves her tummy time! She kicks and squirms a lot and can shift her whole body around as well as hold her head up for a good 20seconds before she gets tired, sometimes longer. She's also starting to roll herself over which is very advanced for a 1month old baby!
Her eye sights developing more and she's becoming more aware of her surroundings.
Were watching out for her first smile which she should do by next week when she's 6weeks (fingers crossed!) and she's a very good traveller :-)

Postpartum: The last month has been quite good to me apart from my stitches taking 3weeks to heal. I haven't gained much weight. I gained approx 12.2kgs throughout my pregnancy, my starting weight was 60.1kgs and I'm now at 69.2kgs. I'm eating very healthily, a lot of home cooked meals, drinking plenty of water, eating salads etc. I haven't done much in the way of exercise (apart from using Luka as a weight when I do lunges to the mail box and back and doing arm lifts haha) as I'm taking the first 6weeks to settle into mummy hood then I'll be going for walks with Luka, going back to the gym once a week and I've also purchased a kettleball set which I can use at home when Luka's sleeping.
I know it's taken me 9months for my body to get the way it was but I can't wait to get back to my pre-preg body.

So that's her first month in a nutshell. Will keep you updated for her second month of milestones and photo's etc. Hopefully not too many pics next time although I know there will be as were going to Dunedin next week for Andrei's sisters wedding which you can check out on her blog 'Hung up, On Makeup', but Lukas 6week vaccinations are that week so we'll see how she responds to them first.
Until next time!

XOXOX

Keeping Fit and Healthy during pregnancy plus update!

Heya!

So the gym article I told you about in this post here has finally gone up at my gym and I couldn't be happier!

It was definitely a nice little surprise to see it hanging up when I walked into the gym this morning and has motivated me even more to keep up my fitness for the rest of my pregnancy.

A few snippets of the article :-)

Keeping in mind I was 6months when all of this took place and I'm now a week away of hitting 9months (wow!). I have slowed down quite a lot and as much as I want to keep up the weights I will be opting for just walks around the block and swimming quite shortly as the joints in my pelvis are becoming quite soft which is making things uncomfortable.

But anyway here is the article, it's quite wordy but as far as I see it this subject is very important and needs to be thorough :-)

 

"Hi Ladies!!!

My name is Shaleya, I'm 22years old and currently 6months pregnant with my first child, a girl, who is due in early January 2014.

 

Since finding out that I was pregnant in May (wow where has the time gone?!) I knew I wanted to lead a healthy lifestyle for my growing baby and not use pregnancy as an excuse to sit on the couch and gorge myself with food until I popped the baby out!

 

I started by addressing our lovely trainers for a new routine to suit my temporary pregnant lifestyle; and I must say I'm glad I did! Pre-pregnancy I was doing medium to high intensity weight and cardio training which I quickly found didn't suit my new situation as I almost fainted one time and threw up the other! Then again I was in my first trimester and did have a bit of morning sickness :P The girls did an assessment on me with taking my weight, measurements and heart rate then asked what I wanted to focus on. I told them that I wanted to focus on keeping up muscle tone in my upper and lower body, maintain fitness levels and also a good routine that would keep a lot of pressure off my back. The trainers then wrote up a fantastic routine which involves low impact cardio and weight training which I've found, 5months later, is still working a treat on my changing body :-)

 

I've maintained good weight management, heart rate and fitness levels and can still fit a lot of my pre-pregnancy clothes much to my happiness and my midwives :-) Happy midwife happy life eh?!

My belly has popped in the last few weeks and I can feel baby girl kicking quite a bit which has made me slow down with exercise, but none the less as long as I get 30 to 50mins of gym time in I feel so much better.

 

Lately I've been getting a lot of looks from fellow gym goers, a little bit of confusion and awe which I find quite funny and I can happily say that exercising while pregnant is 200% OK!

Here are some benefits to it:

1: Recovered lost energy

2: Strengthens muscles and joints for you're changing shape

3: Maintaining good heart rate levels and adequate weight gain.

4: Takes stress of you're body (especially swimming)

5: Keeps you're skin supple

6: Makes giving birth much easier on you're body and help you to bounce back quickly to your pre-pregnancy shape, although maybe not quite the same....

7: Makes you feel good if you feel like crap!

8: Keeps your pelvic floor muscles strong so you don't have to worry about those leaks ;-)

9: Helps you to bond with you're baby :-)

And so much more!

 

But in saying that exercise is such a small part of keeping healthy as we all know; eating well is the biggest factor! It maintains good cholesterol levels, prevents gestational diabetes and gives you all the benefits of glowing skin and a great feeling of knowing that you're giving you're baby the best before he/she is born!

I love my ice cream, sweets, french fries and takeaways as much as the next person but it's so important to do it all in moderation. Unfortunately having to sacrifice some of the foods you love while expecting is to be, well, expected. There's this little bacteria called Listeria which is found in certain foods you eat, and that little bug travels down the placenta to the baby and can cause still birth and/or miscarriages.

 

Here's a small list of things to avoid:

1: Unpasteurised milk products - store brought milk is fine

2: Soft cheeses such as Camembert, Brie or blue veined cheeses - Hard cheeses such as Tasty, Edam, Mozzarella, cottage and cream cheeses are fine.

3: Soft boiled or raw eggs, homemade mayo, uncooked cheesecakes, soft serve ice cream.

4: Raw undercooked meat and seafoods.

5: Deli foods

6: Hummus and other such dips

7: Unwashed salads, fruits and veges etc etc...

Even that small list is terribly restricting, but it's all for the sake of having a healthy baby! There are plenty of mags and books on food safety while pregnant, plus you'll get plenty of advice from family and friends too.

 

It gets rather hard when cravings sink in. Not meaning to sound smug but I've been quite lucky to be craving relatively healthy foods.

I never ate tomatoes before I started carrying and now I can't get enough! I eat them with a sprinkle of salt on wholegrain crackers with avocado, salad and cheese. It is honestly the best thing ever! If you do, however, find yourself craving quite bad foods, I know it's hard but try to substitute it for something a bit healthier.

 

Here's a list of what you should be eating everyday:

1: 5 servings of fruit and veges

2: 3 to 4 servings of wholemeal breads, cereals or potatoes

3: 2 servings of meat, poultry, fish, eggs or pulses (lentils, chickpeas etc.)

4: 1 glass of milk, some yogurt or hard cheese.

 

And absolutely do not try to lose weight or diet during pregnancy! Gaining weight is totally normal, it helps you to know that your baby's growing and also a bit of extra padding on yourself is your body preparing for breast feeding which you'll lose once you start feeding. Plus dieting and trying to lose weight can put metabolic stress on the baby which is not fair :-(

 

And last but not least make sure you get plenty of essential vitamins and minerals, folic acid in the first trimester and iodine throughout you're pregnancy as this helps your unborn baby's eyes, bones, organs etc develop healthily and also drink plenty of water as you lose quite a lot of fluids while carrying. I try to make sure I drink 2litres+ each day.

 

So that's it really, it all comes down to common sense at the end of it and also talking to your midwife and gym trainers of what you can do to keep fit and healthy during this amazing time! We're 21st Century women after all and are much more clued up about what we need to do E.G not succumbing to 'eating for two' as that is a big fat LIE and is no way benefiting you or you're baby, no smoking (obviously) and no alcohol consumption (I've been told you can a have a small drink every now and then but I'd feel too guilty doing that to my developing baby).

 

I hope this article gave you a little insight and inspire you in someway that you can achieve and do anything whatever life throws at you! It certainly has inspired me to do my best before and after my baby arrives and hopefully she'll learn from example to keep fit and healthy when she's older :-)"

Now that's out of the way, here's an update on my pregnancy to date :-)

How far along? 35 weeks (8months), next week I will officially be in the 9months home stretch yay!

Total weight gain/loss? Total weight gain is 11.2kgs, I started at 60.10kgs and now weigh 71.12kgs which is amazing as I don't have much time left to go!

Maternity clothes? I'm wearing that ASOS dress I talked about here quite a bit plus other dresses I had before I got preggers and I brought a few maternity bras which are so so comfy! I got 3 over the weekend at Bendon outlet, 2 Elle Macpherson's and 1 Bendon, they're very pretty and were on special for $20 each!
Will put pics up soon :-)

 

Stretch marks? Still none.

 

Symptoms: Absent mindedness, shortness of breath, tummy heaviness (I've noticed my belly beginning to drop), rapid hair and nail growth (yay), softer pelvic joints, baby brain (it seriously does my head in some days!), heat due to increased blood flow (I feel like a walking sauna! On the plus side my pregnant glow is back :-) ), waddling, tiredness, nesting, backache and the list goes on...someone grab me the world's smallest violin :P

Sleep: Is 50/50. Waking up at strange hours again e.g. 2-4am and staying awake for ages! But I compensate for my lack of sleep at night for 2-3hour naps during the day if I need it. I'm also sleeping with a tri-pillow between my legs to support my belly and even out my hips.

 

Best moment this week? My gym article going up!

Miss anything? Not having a lot of pressure on my lower back, it gets quite sore but my mum brought me a belly band which helps support my back and keeps my belly up. It has been a godsend.

 

Movements? Yup! They've actually gotten stronger since I'm running out of room, it feels like a boxing ring in my belly most days and bowling ball rolling around on other days. She pokes her bum out quite a lot too which is so adorable! But the kicks in the ribs are getting old -_- She kicked me so hard the other day that it hit a nerve, not that she knows what she's kicking poor wee thing!

 

Labour signs? Nothing.

Food cravings? Homemade chicken salad burgers om nom nom!!!

 

Happy or moody most of the time? Happy, anxious and excited that it's getting so close!

Exercising? Sure am :-) I'm still doing the same routine that I started with in my early pregnancy which you can read about here

Baby is a: Girl!

 

Belly button in or out? Still in. It looks so funny, I really wanna draw a face on my belly and tongue coming out of my belly button it looks that weird right now!

 

Looking forward to? Getting my birth plan written up, Luka's final scan, seeing my friend from overseas this week and giving birth in a matter of weeks!

 

XOXOX

Second trimester down, one to go....

I cannot believe I'm finally in the third trimester of pregnancy!

It feels like only a month ago Andrei and found out; feelings of excitement, worry and explainable joy are still very raw even though I did the test in May.
Now it's October and anytime within late December or early January our baby will be here, it's crazy!

Luka's movements have been more prominent in the last 3weeks. You can see her kicking and moving about so well in my tummy I will need to upload some videos of her movement soon...
The only downside is that it's getting extremely cramped in that little space she's happily growing in. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable when sitting and I'm starting to sleep with a pillow between my legs.

From L to R: week 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21.

From L to R: week 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27.

Otherwise everything seems to be OK :-)
I've started nesting (an extreme urge to clean EVERYTHING, like a mother bird prepares a nest I'm preparing a healthy home) and have soaked and double cleaned a lot of clothes, linen and this weekend I'll be cleaning the walls, crevices in our room as Luka will be sleeping next to us in her bassinet....which reminds me I need to clean that as well plus her clothes!

** A quick tip for expectant mothers, always clean newborn babies clothes before they wear them as the chemical spray the use to set and preserve clothing on display is very harsh on their new delicate skin and may cause allergies. Even wash hand-me-downs as you don't know how long they've been sitting around etc, you can read all about that here .

Me now at 28weeks! Just look at that belly!

I'm so excited! My pregnancy has gone incredibly fast and although I want to fully immerse myself with my baby list I have to remind myself about spending more time with Drei.
We're going to a Halloween party this weekend (I'm going as a half sugar skull and half Marilyn Monroe, I want Drei to go as Heath Ledgers 'Joker' from The Dark Knight but we shall see...) plus going to see the new Metallica movie at IMAX tomorrow!
I've also put by him that when I go on maternity leave we should go to Goat Island and do a bit of snorkeling plus a little trip around the Coromandel and enjoy the summer together as I doubt we'll have time to do that when Luka's here, she'll be much too small to go on long trips and obviously wont be able to snorkel with us!

So that's kinda the plan at the moment, it's really just a waiting a game at the moment. I do want to keep myself busy though as I've heard the last 10weeks of pregnancy tend to drag so having those plans in tow will make the wait more bearable :-)
In the mean time I'll leave with the usual read below, cheers everyone!

How far along? 28 weeks (7months) pregnant yipee!

Total weight gain/loss? I haven't weighed myself yet so I'm gonna stick with 67kgs although I feel a lot heavier as Luka now weights around 2pounds!

Maternity clothes? No maternity wear. I don't see the point in spending money on a short term thing. I still wear the same jeans that I did before I got pregnant, but a wear them with a Belly Belt. It definitely saves you a lot of money in the long run. The only thing I will buy is maternity lingerie, my bra's that served me pre-preg are now starting to get small and cut into my skin so I'm going to need to get some which I know of a Bendon outlet close by which sell Elle Macpherson Maternity (I do still want to feel sexy y-know?) plus some good basics.

Stretch marks? Still none, let's hope it stays that way!

Symptoms: Shortness of breath, sore legs, beginning to feel uncomfortable....hooray....

Sleep: It's good, like a stated earlier it's having it's challenges, I'm also waking up at strange hours again I.E. 2, 3 and 4am and then having to force myself back to sleep. But otherwise I sleep like a baby, no pun intended.

Best moment this week? Hitting the 3rd trimester! Plus my gym rang me today and on Wednesday we'll be taking photo's for my gym article which will be going up soon!!!

Miss anything? Of course, but I'm not going to bother with my '-pre-pregnancy' hang up's, I'm actually loving being pregnant right now. My bump makes me smile and love feeling Luka move around.

Movements? Always. I suppose every mother feels like there baby has the most strongest kicks ever! But because my belly is still quite tight her kicks are very obvious and even my mum (who's had 6 children) thinks they're very strong, it's awesome that I can see her moving too, she tends to move much more when she's hungry and when she's had some food. That's my girl!

Food cravings? Nothing too extreme. I've been wanting fruit salad and yogurt, bangers and mash, roasts. Obviously not together!

Starting to show? I'm not too sure, what do you think?

Happy or moody most of the time? Good moods, happy happy all around!

Exercising? I am. I didn't make it to the gym last week as we had a bad bout of rain. I walked 30mins to the bus stop and back home each way to catch the bus to work and the weather cleared up a little bit during the weekend so I did a 30min walk around the block.

Baby is a: Girl!

Belly button in or out? In.

Looking forward to? My gym article going up, receiving my dress I ordered from ASOS, buying my shoes, going to see the Metallica movie and my friends Halloween party!

XOXOX 

Exercising while pregnant...

So I've never been a saint when it comes to eating extremely well and being an athlete with fitness and exercise but I make a fair go at it!

Obviously now being pregnant I've had to cut back (or completely cut out!) a lot of things I love doing at the gym I.E. running, mountain climbers and going significantly harder than what I'm doing now!
But hey I'm still making it there at least 3 times a week :-)

My lovely trainers at the gym I go to, Configure Express, conjured up an amazing new routine for me which is specialised to help my posture and my upper and lower body sculpted.
It's low impact....well kinda.
My body was sore the next day after the first go at it so it's quite effective!

Here's the whole workout for those that are (or aren't) pregnant and are trying to find a great workout to go by:

Warm up

20mins on the treadmill with intervals every 3mins I.E. speed walking with adjusting speed and also lifting the treadmill so it's like I'm walking up a hill every 3 mins too.

Glutes/Thighs

Swiss Ball Wall Squats
3 sets, 15 reps, body weight used

Glutes/Hamstrings

Swiss Ball Hip Raises
3 sets, 15 reps, body weight

Biceps

Swiss Ball Bicep Curls
3 sets, 15 reps, 10kgs

For this, both arms are lifting at the same time

Chest

Swiss Ball Flys
3 sets, 15 reps, 3kgs each

Legs/Core

Swiss Ball Knee Tucks
3 sets, 15 reps, body weight

This one is done lying on my back, similar to the hip raises.

Total Body Workout

Exertrack Circuit
2 rounds, 15 reps
10 press ups after each upper body
10 side lunges after each lower body

My gyms circuit is a little more spread out than this and looks similar and definitely doesn't have this many people on it at once!

Cardio

Cross Trainer
10mins, level 5, lower body setting
Bicycle
10mins, cardio setting

Cross Trainer

Glutes/Hips

Side leg lifts
2 sets, 20 reps - 10 of which are pulsing lifts (6 pulses each lift)

Cool down

10 min stretches of any choice
I included a Bikram Yoga 'Tree Pose' - it's great for blood circulation in legs and prevents varicose veins!
2 sets, 20 second holds

Tree Pose - my all time fave yoga pose

1L Bottle of water and of course a sweat towel is essential!

So that's it!
It's easier than it looks, although, I'm adjusting to the hip raises etc as my body shakes quite a bit but that changes as I keep it up.
I'm already starting to notice more definition in my arms and legs which is great!

Just a heads up, this workout is really designed for better posture and back relief.
As I do carry most of my weight in my lower body, this routine really does me wonders especially before heading to work where I'm climbing up ladders, bending, crouching and lifting plus being on my feet 99.8% of the time.

I would love to keep this up throughout my pregnancy and may even take up yoga again, watch this space...

How far along? 2months 1week

Total weight gain/loss: I've gained 1kg
 
Maternity clothes? Still nothing, but I'm looking into some beautiful maternity clothes already.

Stretch marks? None. I've started using Bio Oil.
 
Symptoms: I'm not as tired as I was and I have no more morning sickness ,YAY! My energy is back too which I'm rapt about.

Sleep: Sleep is good. I wake up at random hours of the morning sometimes which I found out is normal, it's preparing me for the late nights ahead :-)

Best moment this week: Getting a week off workout to chill out :-)

Have you told family and friends: Absolutely!

Miss Anything? A pint of Cider....sigh
Movement: Still no movement. Bubs is starting to move around this time though but obviously I can't feel it yet.

Food cravings: Grilled cheese sandwiches on whole grain bread with salad, capsicum and zucchini! The prego cravings will start in my second trimester.

Have you started to show yet: I have a little pudge which sometimes expands. Found out it's just gas and water retention at the moment.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy happy and sometimes stroppy. Finding my patience for taking a lot of crap on is declining lol.

Exercising? Yes. As per this post :D

Baby is a: Still don't know and wont know till my 18week scan.

Belly Button in or out? In.

Looking forward to: Hearing from the midwife I emailed from this cool midwife website here. You get to see profiles of you're potential caregiver and qualifications they possess and what they specialise in. And seeing my mumma! She's got me some beautiful babies clothes already :-)

XOXOX