I was really excited for pregnancy during the holidays but it was mostly a tug of war between my flailing immune system and every cold germ known to man. One day I’d see the clouds part and some blue sky appear, and the next it would be storm clouds.

I am so ready for some warm, sunshiny, clear days of health!

Speaking of health, my fitness and nutrition have been everything but consistent for the last couple of months, but I have managed to keep it up and am looking forward to supporting this pregnancy even more deliberately through my movement and diet as the big day draws nearer.

One of the things I highlighted in my post about pregnancy nutrition with Atlas was the idea that I KNOW FOR A FACT that in a couple of months I will be going through a season of recovery. It could be recovery from a relatively uneventful birth or a wildly disruptive surgical birth, but either way, as pregnant people we have the gift of foresight. An opportunity to plan and prepare for best and worst case scenarios with regards to birth outcomes.

My goal, as it was last time, is to give myself time to move in a way that supports the major physical event that is labor and birth as well as bolster my body’s health with nutrient dense foods that give me a good foundation for rebuilding and repairing.

Current workouts are of the at-home variety — sort of a throwback to my fitness during Atlas’ pregnancy. I’ve finally stepped away from my role at the gym and am now more focused on pelvic health and lifting with my dumbbells and kettlebell in the garage. I’m looking for ways to integrate short bouts of movement everyday rather than my typical rhythm of longer training sessions 3-4 times a week.

Here’s of examples of what this looks like:

Warmup with some Psoas and Calf Stretching, Bear Crawls, and Diaphragmatic Breathing Practice

12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Reps of:

Alternating Lunges
Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts
DB Bentover Row to Tricep Kickback
Goblet Squats

It seems to me like woefully little effort, but I’m trying to turn off my “athlete brain” and dip into “coach brain” for myself. If I were training someone like me – in my current situation, with my current symptoms – I would have no problem programming this level of work. It’s safe and supports their current physical needs. Could I do more? Probably. But the more essential question in pregnancy and postpartum training is “Should I do more?” Just because I can, doesn’t mean I should. Holding athletic expectations of myself is not really helpful nor wise.

On the nutrition front, I’ve been pretty food agnostic for most of this pregnancy. Now, I’m staring my postpartum recovery in the face and realizing that I could be more intentional about my nutrients in these final weeks.

My goal is to beef up my meals with more produce and gut healing foods like broth and well-cooked meats. On the flip side, I’m aiming to decrease my treat intake (not hard since sugary sweets have are not this baby girl’s favorite thing) as well as my dependance on gluten-free pizza and Whole Food’s prepared avocado and cucumber sushi rolls. Not completely though. Mama’s gotta live a little.

My most favorite meal lately is a fancy breakfast plate, but it’s an absolutely acceptable meal anytime of day.

Soft Scrambled Eggs (butter), Sautéed Spinach, Smashed Avocado, Crispy Bacon, Chili Powder, Sea Salt, and Lemon Zest

Please, please steal this idea if you’re in the mood for something life-changingly tasty. If you don’t want to make it yourself, head over to Kit Coffee in Newport Beach. I get the Smoked Avocado toast over eggs instead of bread. They use tomatoes which are fantastic too.