I realize this is primarily a beauty blog but my life is about to drastically change in a few months with the impending arrival of my twin boys. Of course I still love talking about beauty but I'm equally excited to become a first time mother. It's still a little strange to say I'm pregnant even when my body is clearly changing on the outside. I always knew I wanted children but when my husband and I finally started trying for a child, we never thought it would take almost three years. I feel extremely blessed to be pregnant (and pregnant with two other beings) and to have maintained a relatively healthy pregnancy thus far. Anyway, I thought I'd talk about the changes that have happened so far with my skin and body. At the time of this blog post, I've just entered the third trimester at 27 weeks and 5 days.
Skin and Hair Changes: Prior to pregnancy, I was extremely acne prone (cystic acne) and my skin and hair were on the oily side. Around the second trimester I started to notice less cystic breakouts and slightly drier skin. I would say my face is more on the combination side these days but it can still get pretty oily in humid weather. It's a drastic improvement from previous years. It's nice not having to deal with huge bumps on the lower half of my face although I'm trying to figure out how to fade all these leftover acne scars. Fingers crossed that my face doesn't turn into a war zone again once I give birth. I have been trying to avoid products with parabens and pthalates and stick to natural cleaning products.
The oil production on my scalp has also slowed down as I can get away with washing my hair every other day WITHOUT dry shampoo. I tried "training" my hair pre-pregnancy and it looked straight up awful on the second day. Loving the not washing my hair every day thing. I just got my hair cut 6 or 7 inches because it grew so fast in the past few months. While I notice less hair falling out in the shower, I wouldn't say pregnancy has given me fuller hair. I normally have thin, fine hair so it would be unrealistic of me to think that I'd suddenly grow thick, luxurious hair although it's nice to imagine.
My belly button is barely hanging on and it's looking non existent as each day goes by. No outie yet but I hear stretch marks and an outie in pregnancy are genetic. Lucky for me genetics might be on my side as my mom never got an outie or stretch marks in all three of her pregnancies. I don't see any stretch marks yet although I may have a few by the end at the rate my belly is growing. Occasionally my stomach will get itchy but rubbing on some Burt's Bees Mama Bee Belly Butter seems to help.
Gestational Diabetes: Gasp, the dreaded glucose test. Going into this pregnancy, this was high on my list of things I didn't want to happen. Why? Because I'm Asian, it runs on my dad's side of the family, I'm old, and I'm carrying multiples. That's pretty much asking for the condition on a platter. I've been very good so far with working out and watching what I eat but sometimes this isn't enough. The protocol at my doctors office was to take it between 12-15 weeks and again at 25-28 weeks. Thankfully, I passed both one hour tests with flying colors and didn't have to go on with the three hour blood tests. The orange drink wasn't too bad either and tasted like an orange soda without the carbonation. I drank mine cold both times as this was recommended.
Exercise: I was in pretty good shape before pregnancy and worked out 5-6 times a week. I'm a cardio junkie although I did strength train a few times a week. On average, I would run 14-16 miles a week. These days I've slowed down A LOT but I feel fortunate that I've been able to continue some sort of exercise regimen. I work out 4 times a week and alternate between the treadmill (walking on an incline), stationary bike, and elliptical between 30-45 minutes a session with some very light weight training. It really just depends on how I'm feeling that day. One of the doctors in my practice discouraged me from doing anything but light walking. Needless to say, I've sort ignored her advice and I'll continue to work out for as long as I physically can.
Babies' Weight: I'm having fraternal twins so each baby has their own sac and placenta. The twins are carefully monitored at each checkup to make sure there is no disparity in weight, although this is more commonly found with identical twins. (Carrying twins and being of "advanced maternal age" equals an abundance of doctors' appointments.) Keep in mind the weight is determined by fetal anatomy scan measurements which are not always accurate but it gives you a good idea of how much the babies are growing. At my most recent checkup, baby A was 2.4 pounds and B was 2.5 pounds. I'm feeling a ton of movement from all sides and angles of my belly and they're definitely active in there. They both seem to be camera shy because they've been hiding their profiles for the past month whenever I go in for an ultrasound.
Diet and Cravings: It's recommended for women to gain between 35-45 pounds in a twin pregnancy IF you start out at a normal weight. I'm not heavy by any means although I'm much bigger than your average Korean women. I wear a 77 in Korean clothing which is pretty much the biggest size you can get in a department store there. My plan is to gain 25-30 pounds throughout the course of this pregnancy. So far, I've gained 16 pounds so I'm on track with my goal. I was plagued with nausea and throwing up for most of the first trimester so I had very few cravings which most likely attributed to a slower weight gain. Once the nausea disappeared at around 14 weeks my appetite returned but with no strong food cravings. There are some days where I'm really hungry but I try to keep healthy things around the house and limit sweets.
I was a huge sugar junkie prior to pregnancy but it's pretty much disappeared. Every now and then I'll crave a doughnut or cookie but I rarely allow myself to eat one. My one constant meal has been breakfast and I've eaten the same thing, minus a few days here and there, since the 9 week mark. It consists of a smoothie with fruit, soy milk, greek yogurt, random fruit and a whole wheat English muffin. The other thing I've been eating a whole lot of lately are sugar baby plumcots and rose apriums. I went through a watermelon and cherry phase but I'm basically enjoying all the fruits summer has to offer. I should mention I'm pescetarian so I eat seafood but no meat. I had my B12 levels checked before pregnancy and it showed up as normal. I have been forcing myself to eat small bits of meat, mostly chicken and red meat, here and there since I try to limit myself to only two servings of seafood a week.
Body Ailments: I know many women complain about back issues during pregnancy but I haven't been bothered by it yet. However, I am suffering from upper thigh pain on my right side that's exacerbated by a previous injury. 7 years ago I was running outdoors and was hit by a pick-up truck. I'm extremely lucky to have survived but I did come out of it with a broken right femur. I have a metal rod in my femur and screws at the knee and upper thigh. My leg never fully recovered and I had lower back and knee issues prior to becoming pregnant. I was wondering if this would be an issue and around the 19 week mark I started to notice a numb/burning/itchy sensation around my right femur area. It slowly progressed to actual pain, especially on my IT band and now it bothers me the majority of the time. I wear a maternity belly band a few hours a day to help lift my stomach up a little which seems to offer a little relief. Some of the discomfort could also be caused by one of the twins sitting on a nerve. You're probably wondering how I continue to exercise but I just work through the pain and stop if it gets REALLY bad. I asked my doctor about this and her answer was the like the voice of doom for me. She says it will only get worse in the next few months which isn't exactly what I wanted to hear.
Sleep: I've always had issues sleeping since I'm a really light sleeper. I slept great throughout the first trimester but that's no longer the case. The leg pain coupled with incessant trips to the bathroom make it difficult to get more than two hours of uninterrupted sleep. I feel like Baby A is constantly dancing and jumping on my bladder at night because I make at least 5 trips to the bathroom a night. I've experimented with a body pillow and it hasn't helped. I just hate sleeping on my side as I'm a back sleeper. Sleeping on my right side puts pressure on my IT band and that gets painful after a few minutes. I was thinking about purchasing the Snoogle pillow but I feel like it's a little gimmicky and it takes up so much room. I did buy the Boppy Pregnancy Wedge but it seems to aggravate the issue when I stick a pillow or wedge in between my legs. I've resorted to cat naps in the afternoon when I can but I figure this is nature's way of getting me used to no sleep for the next year or so.
Natural Birth or Caesarean Section: It's still a little early to determine what's going to happen but I have discussed this with my doctor. I was really hoping for a natural birth but there are a variety of factors to consider. Twin A must be head down in order to have a vaginal delivery. For most of my pregnancy A has been lying transverse (sideways) and sometimes switching into breech position. This could change and he could flip but I'm thinking he's really enjoying lounging on his side. Twin B has been transverse at every single ultrasound and scan. In some cases, a women could give birth to Twin A naturally and then have an emergency C-section if Twin B gets stressed or suddenly decides to switch positions. That sounds like the worst thing ever! In my case even if Twin A is head down my doctor is still pushing for a scheduled C-section for two reasons: This is my first birth and residual issues with my previous femur injury. She's noticed that I can't rotate my right pelvis enough to withstand labor so I'll have to go with her opinion.
My next post will be July Favorites so I'll be back to my usual beauty blogging. For those of you who are currently pregnant what symptoms are you experiencing?
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Thanks for stopping by,
Jennifer
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