Pregnancy and GAPS Updates

LMS in purple, caught her just after she kicked the ball

Pregnancy Update
I'm about 2 1/2 weeks from my due date. We had a false alarm last week: contractions 2 minutes apart (edited to add: Mr M says the contractions were 1 minute apart at the hospital. I'd stopped timing them once we got there, so I didn't realize they'd gotten that close together), but only dilated to a 1. We went to the hospital and 5 hours later I was still at a 1 and the contractions had stopped. Blech. It did give us the extra push to finish getting together our hospital bag and a bag for LMS (clothes, food, etc) should she need it.

Despite being almost 7 1/2 years older, I really feel like this pregnancy has been a lot easier than when I was pregnant with LMS. As counter-intuitive as that may be, I credit two main factors: being so much healthier (gluten free, GAPS, etc) and staying active (being in pretty good shape before I got pregnant, and keeping active while pregnant). It's really made a huge difference.

Not that it's all been sunshine and roses. I have to be careful to not do too much. If I overdo it, I end up with no energy for at least the next day or so. And my hips give me problems if I don't wear my support belt or do too much bending and twisting. Since building furniture involves lots of bending and twisting, my hips are frequently unhappy with me these days. Thank goodness for foam rollers!

Other thoughts:
1.   I did the four mile race a week and a half ago, but haven't spent any time on the treadmill since. I've been busy building furniture and running LMS around to all her activities (they all started last week), and just haven't had the time or energy to hop on the treadmill. I think my activity level is still pretty good, though, so I'm not too worried, especially this close to the end. I'm more concerned about not exhausting myself.

2.   I've made it this far without any swelling. I remember when I was pregnant with LMS I couldn't get my rings off my fingers for a good chunk of the pregnancy. Not the case this time around! And my feet haven't swelled up either. I totally credit my activity level, which is way higher than when I was pregnant with LMS.

3.   In spite of all the food issues I've had during this pregnancy and eating things that don't completely agree with me, I haven't put on a lot of weight. So far I've only gained about 15 pounds, which I attribute to my higher activity level. With LMS it was around 25 or 30, I think.

4.   I also don't feel as uncomfortable as I did with LMS. Despite only having a couple weeks till my due date I haven't really reached the point of "get this kid out of me because I can't stand it a minute longer". Not sure if this means he's smaller than LMS was, or my body is just handling it better this time around, which would probably be due to being a lot healthier now than I was then.

5. I've had Braxton Hicks contractions for the last couple months, and they've been picking up in frequency. With LMS we had one false alarm that never progressed far enough to send us to the hospital. Other than that, the only time I remember contractions is when I was walking, trying to start labor. I could get some contractions going while I walked, but as soon as I stopped walking, the contractions stopped. I'm pretty sure that contributed to my having to be induced when LMS was a week and a half late. I'm hoping all the contractions I've had this time around mean that he'll be on time and not have to be induced (I really don't want to go through that again).

6.   I have a head cold and I blame our trip to the hospital. We went at 12:30 am and returned around 5:30 am, which meant neither of us got much sleep that night. I've been exhausted since. We're hoping the little guy stays put for at least another week so we can get caught up on our sleep.

7.   I've made great progress on my furniture projects, but would like to get even further before the little guy's born. The head cold is making that a little difficult though.


GAPS Update
This isn't about me so much as it is LMS. I've mentioned before that I've noticed a difference in LMS since doing GAPS- she's able to handle foods a lot better and has actually started growing. This last point was reinforced last week when she put her soccer shoes on (that we just bought for spring soccer) and they were too tight. A couple years ago we bought soccer shoes and they lasted through spring, fall, and another spring season of soccer before she outgrew them. I always buy shoes a little big for her, but it wasn't enough this time around. It's quite different to actually have to replace clothing/shoes on a more regular basis than what we did in the past. In the past she grew so slowly that she wore the same coat for 3 years.

Despite the complaining about having to buy clothes more often, I'm glad that she's finally growing- it means she's getting the nutrients she needs and her body is responding appropriately. Yay!

We are planning on going back on GAPS and look forward to further improvement. LMS has even asked when we're going to start up again. She's not excited about going back on a restricted diet, but has enjoyed the effects of the last round and wants to further expand the number of foods she can eat.