Well, the theme for the week was "unpredictable".
To start off with some Fudge news, she had a check up on Friday and she's baking away quite nicely! Mum is up an additional 700g from last month but Fudge is up 1.1kg from 31 July. The OB said we can expect her to be earth side anytime between 39 and 41 weeks, in other words, normal time...
On the mum side, when my body has the energy, I'm still very mobile! I also still fit into my non-maternity gym shorts, (which is good because I never ended up buying maternity gym shorts...) and I can still bend over enough to shave in the shower. Bending over from standing to pick something up off the floor is becoming less of a thing but I guess that's where the squat comes in handy.
On the down side, my energy levels are really taking a hit. One hour I can be full of life and rearing and ready to go and the next I’m in desperate need of a lie down. Instead of being annoyed at the unpredictable nature of life, I have decided the best way to approach the day is as an adventure. I wake up in the morning with no real agenda (other than work) and do a full mental and physical check in with myself before deciding how to approach the next hour or two.
This novel approach to life meant training is now even more interesting, rather than try to summarise in a few sentences it might be best to just get on with describing how it went...
Training
It is still taking a bit of a backseat, just because I have no idea whether I'll be up for anything. I used this opportunity to read as much as I could this week. I read 4 books cover to cover and started a 5th. One was a piece of satirical/comedic fiction I’d read about 12 years ago, 3 of them were from John le Carré's George Smiley series, and the 5th was a book on breastfeeding.
Monday
Started off my record breaking reading week by starting and almost finishing my first book of the week today. Popped down to the gym in my building and went for a 90min walk and read. I then spent the rest of the day reading and lounging.
Tuesday
What a great day! Started a book in the morning and finished it right before I went to bed. I was also VERY much alive and full of energy all day so, after a few weeks hiatus, I managed to get my first track session in at the gym in:
3 sets:
12 Tempo Lat Pulldowns (3020)
10 Seated Military Presses
30 Walking Lunges
30s Battle Ropes
5 sets:
50m Prowler (@ 60% body weight)
50m Overhead Farmers Carry (@ 20% body weight)
30min stretch
1 hour walk
Wednesday
Wasn't the most comfortable person alive today. I wasn't sore or anything, it was just noticeably very difficult to breathe and Fudge was not conveniently located. At about 4pm I decided to go down to the treadmill in my building for a walk and read in an attempt to reposition her. I set off fully prepared to only last 2-3minutes and have to call it but actually the walk felt really good and the book was a huge distraction too. After the walk, you guessed it, I went home to finish the book.
Thursday
Started my 4th book of the week in the morning (but didn't manage to finish it until the weekend) before heading in to train clients. Didn't feel like doing much moving today so I opted for a quick weight session in the gym and took it easy the rest of the day.
3 sets:
12 Incline Chest Presses
12 Single Arm Bent Over Rows
15 Goblet Box Squats
5 Hip CARS
8 T to I Pulls
15 Poloff Presses
Friday
Today was a very busy day and I knew I wasn't going to have time to get much moving in so I woke up, had a quick breakfast, packed all my stuff for the day, and walked into Central. First up was a check up for Fudge, then I had clients from 11:30-5:30 before finishing up the day doing something I hadn't done since February: watched a film in the cinema! The movie of choice was Christopher Nolan's latest masterpiece: Tenet. If anyone has seen it, please message me so we can discuss!
Saturday
So back in July we were supposed to celebrate Fudge's Pre-Birth Day but then the third wave of COVID hit so we made a health and safety decision and postponed it. Today, was the day we celebrated her imminent arrival though! Jack and I started off the day with a walk from Pokfulam to my parents' place where the party was hosted. It was then a very long day of love and laughs with friends and a few (read: 170) water balloons!
Another huge thank you to everyone who came, Fudge, Jack, and I all felt the love :D Huge shoutout to friends and family from abroad who sent baby shower gifts - you guys are the best :D And the HUGEST of shoutouts to Fudge's maternal grandparents for throwing the best baby shower :D
Sunday
Today was a day of much needed rest. We went over to a friend's place in the morning and then spent the afternoon getting rid of old furniture and assembling new furniture. We decided to level up our sofa to accommodate for the additional family member. I’m proud to say that after 5 years of assembling various pieces of Ikea furniture together, Jack and I are still together and haven’t broken up.
Life in General
If I'm honest, life this week was a little mentally frustrating. I know it's perfectly normal and expected to have to slow down and I also know it's not going to get any better any time soon! Once Fudge is earth side I'm fully prepared to run on empty for a few months (luckily I'm a huge fan of the nap!). But, knowing something is normal is very different to accepting that new normal. Most people know I'm slightly (i.e. very) competitive and my greatest opponent is myself. I've always liked trying to best myself and I constantly try to challenge myself. Unfortunately these past few weeks have not been conducive to this approach to life. It's frustrating to some days have the energy to do everything and clock in 20k+ steps yet on other days not have the energy to manage more than a short walk.
I know there is beauty behind the slow down. I know I need to listen to Fudge and my body. I love and fully appreciate the life that is thriving inside me and I do want to give Fudge the best and safest environment possible. I know people mean well when they tell me to embrace the bump and embrace the forced slow down but sometimes, I don't want to. I know in the grand scheme of things the 9 months of pregnancy and the first months of struggling post-birth are small prices to pay for the lifetime of joy from bringing an awesome human into this world. I also am very much aware that I've had a very easy pregnancy so far and I really can't complain about much at all. But this also means that I don't feel like I can really express frustration at honestly the smallest of things. When so many women experience far worse negative aspects of pregnancy and when so many more can’t even get pregnant to behind with, I don't feel as though complaining about something as trivial as energy levels is valid or fair. Unfortunately this was one of those weeks where I think I should have voiced the frustration a little more and should have been more open.
This was not a week where looking at the grand scheme of things or being selfless or being empathetic was something I was interested in doing. I know I have had it easy but sometimes you need a few moments to be a little selfish and acknowledge that, for you, some things are a little sucky in order to move on into a better and brighter space.
I'll have my moments for the next year or so but the good thing is, acknowledging the moments where some things kinda suck means that the next things are going to be the absolute best :)
As they (whoever 'they' are) say, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going!
So here’s to the tough being gone and the good getting going!
You’re doing great Cait!