18 Weeks Pregnant - It's a Boy! - Warrior Fitness World

18 Weeks Ultrasound Scan

As of yesterday, I am 18 weeks pregnant. Overall, this week was much better than before. My physical symptoms have been reduced to constipation (though not as bad as before), congestion, and bleeding gums. I am happy to report that the nausea is has not returned. I still tend to have the irritability and down days sometimes, but unlike my first trimester, fortunately, I no longer wake up every singe day wondering “How on earth am I going to get through this one?”
Since I’ve been feeling better, I’ve been more consistent with exercise this week. Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I went for walks.

On Wednesday, I also had my appointment with the specialist. She examined the baby closely and everything is great with him (we found out it’s a boy)! She said I shouldn’t need to see her again until 28 weeks. Until then, I continue my regular OB appointments. See the actual ultrasounds below!

It's a Boy!

Looks Like His Daddy!

Thursday I went to the gym, and I was planning to on Friday as well, but I got too wrapped up in cleaning out the soon-to-be baby’s room. I was so excited about that, I lost track of time! When I was at the gym, I noticed that I needed longer rest periods between sets, even though the weight I was lifting was reduced and even though I was feeling better. Even at rest, your heart works harder when you’re pregnant because you now have more blood in your body and more places for it to go than your non-pregnant self. So that certainly makes a difference when you’re doing walking lunges.

Just to give you an example of how much my workload is reduced, I used to do walking lunges holding a 30 lb dumbbell in each hand. Thursday, I used 15’s. When doing seated dumbbell shoulder presses, I would also use 30 lb dumbbells in each hand. I used the 15’s on Thursday as well. This is a result of a combination of things. If I had been consistent during early pregnancy, I would be lifting more; however, not necessarily the same weights as my non-pregnant self.

For example, on the seated shoulder press, if I continue to do those regularly from now on, I’ll probably lift more, but not get back up to 30 lbs. Part of the exercise requires me to stabilize myself with my stomach muscles, which, if the weight is too heavy, could be a strain. So, even if my shoulders could handle it, my stomach might not. In cases like this, machines are a good choice. Since they help with stabilization, you’re able to lift more weight safely. I’ll keep you posted.

Oh, I also forgot to mention that I have “pregnancy brain”!