Just how winter temps quickly transitioned to summer here in Upstate NY (85 and humid here!), my body has gone through some major transformations in the blink of an eye. I can’t go anywhere without someone asking “when are you due?” I completely skipped the “are you expecting?” phase, I guess. (Which is fine, because it’s fun to talk about being pregnant.) I’m now 20 weeks, halfway through this pregnancy!

18 weeks!

19 weeks!

20 weeks!

I started wearing my maternity support belt at 18 weeks. Do you wonder why I wear this? Let me tell you, the baby isn’t going anywhere when I run. My belly is a hard ball, it doesn’t shake or jiggle, and the baby is packed in nice and snug. Some women never run with the support belts. I started using them later in my pregnancy with Currie and think they are lifesavers for round ligament pain and general muscle soreness in my lower belly and back. I’ve found round ligament pain to be MUCH worse and happen MUCH earlier this time around. If I wear the support belt it’s better, but I still have some soreness in the evening.

*****If you are interested, I have 2 maternity support belts that I wore last pregnancy and am using this time around too. Check the very bottom of this post to read more.

I’m still running every day. In the first trimester I was just trying to stay awake, get the energy to run, deal with the food/poop/real baby, and not gag every second of my run. Now I’m feeling much better, have more energy (but am still pretty tired!) but I’m dealing with the round ligament pain so I’m taking it really easy and rarely doing over 4 miles.

A few “notable” things:

• I’m breathing heavily from the second I step out the door and I’m running at least a minute per mile slower than my usual “easy” pace. Pregnancy breathing is like that. I even breathe heavy when sitting in bed reading (and no, I’m not reading Fifty Shades of Grey).
• I’m peeing all the time when running. A 4 mile run sometimes requires 3 squats.
• I’m not having as many “food baby” or “poop baby” problems. See image and text in this post.
• This baby is much more active than Currie was in my belly. I don’t feel fetal movement when running, but pretty much any time I sit down, I feel kicks, flips and turns.

• Enjoy the easy running time. My wish for all pregnant athletes is that they still enjoy their sport, but appreciate the time off. I know I’ll be ROCKING workouts someday very soon! I’m thoroughly enjoying these easy runs. (On the other hand, I definitely have days where my legs are twitching, just begging for some speed. My lungs are also yearning for some prolonged burning. All in time!)
• Wear clothing that fits! This is always true for running comfort, but especially during pregnancy when you are already uncomfortable. I tried to run in my pre-pregnancy Roga shorts the other day. Here’s what happened – I got incredibly HORRIBLE CHAFING from shorts that have never once bothered me. Big bloody scabs. Not fun! I also got 12 pictures of me with MAJOR CAMEL TOE! Yes, Jeff took 12 pictures before telling me, “um, you kind of have camel toe in all these pictures.” HA! I would share the pictures because they are THAT FUNNY but it would be too embarrassing for everyone. Seriously.

Here’s a bathroom selfie where I haven’t quite reached camel toe status, but am about to bust out of the shirt.

• Along that same line… pre-pregnancy swimsuits aren’t appropriate during pregnancy after you’ve gained more than 10 pounds. You might think you are still tiny, but swimsuits will show you otherwise. I brought a one piece and a bikini to our hotel a few weekends ago and let me tell you, both suits were ridiculous. Little “extras” hanging out everywhere. I need new swimsuits pronto!
• If you try to take pictures of yourself on the treadmill while you are RUNNING, they will end up blurry.

Pretty good hotel gym, so I thought I’d take a picture. This one is crystal clear compared to the other 2!

Overall, the first 20 weeks have been great! I recommend trying to stay active as long as possible. Even with little aches/pains/annoyances this time around, I feel like I’m much more comfortable and happy running (and walking) while pregnant as opposed to doing nothing.

I have an ultrasound this week to find out the baby’s sex! Any guesses?!

Did you wear a maternity support belt?

Have a good camel toe pic?

*****Maternity support belt info below!

http://www.fitmaternity.com/maternity-clothes/ga003.html

I honestly got this because Runners World recommended it and it was reasonably priced. I was a size 4 or 27 in jeans at the time and ordered a small. I wished I had a medium. I started this pregnancy a size 0 or 25 in jeans and it fits great.

The maternity support belt I will wear (while running) for most of my pregnancy.

Based on an online search, I also got this one:

http://www.figure8maternity.com/viewItem.cfm?pid=110980

I ordered a small for this one too and it wasn’t supportive enough until my last few months of my first pregnancy.