24 weeks aka 6 months!

This week marks the 6 months exactly!  The baby is approximately 1.25 lbs and 12.5 inches long.  This kid is a SUPER kicker.  He or she goes nuts right before I get up for any race and in the evening after dinner.  This Friday I'm going to be going for my glucose test in the morning, so I'm hoping everything will turn out well for that.

There was a little "confusion" with my Lovenox shots last week.  I called in a renewal of my prescription on Monday, but the Publix pharmacy (which has been AH-MAZING!) said that my insurance has to authorize a re-fill because I'm only allowed to have the prescription every 67 days.  Even though the prescription clearly states that it's a 30-day supply and to take one shot a day.  Sigh.  Insurance companies make things so complicated sometimes!

So, I had to wait for my doctor's office to call the insurance company to get the authorization to send to Publix.  As you can probably imagine, that did not occur quickly.  I actually went about 3 days without the shots.  However, Monday morning, my doctor's office called and said that my insurance approved the refill and I could check with Publix for my prescription pick up.

Honestly, I was not super excited about the approval.  But, I know it's in the best interest of my health and the baby's health to continue the shots.  Luckily (or unluckily for me), Ben was able to pick up the prescription for me without any issues and we are back in business again!

This past weekend was another busy one!  On Saturday, I went with Tracey and her family to Tampa Bay History Center.  It's been several years since I've been and was excited to check it out again.  I was a little disappointed that some of the displays were exactly the same as several years ago, but it was still interesting.  The best part of the day was lunch at the Columbia Cafe.  The weather was perfect to sit outside and enjoy the amazing 1905 salad, Cuban bread and Cuban.  Not to mention that the people watching on the Tampa Riverwalk is always entertaining.

On Sunday, Ben, Tracey, Dougie, and myself ran the Frankenfooter Half Marathon in Port Richey/New Port Richey.  There was a Labor Day special for the half and it was only $32.50!  Two years ago, Ben, Tracey, and I did the Living Dead Challenge, which is a 5k on Saturday evening and the half marathon on Sunday morning (Dougie did the Living Dead Challenge this year).  I was not feeling quite that adventurous this year, but really wanted to run a half marathon before I take a little hiatus from racing.

I checked out the map for the half marathon before the race and realized that the course would be running right by my parents house in Port Richey.  However, it was the map from last year and the course was reversed.  So the point that we ran by my parents house was way earlier than I told my mom that we would be there.

Tracey and I decided that we were going to run together and the main goal was to run/jog the entire time and hopefully finish with anything under 2:30.  We had our plan for fueling and water stops and decided to break every 4 miles to fuel up.  The weather was really perfect, about 57 degrees (many thanks to our personal Sherpa, Ashley, for carrying around all of our jackets from the starting line!)

The nice thing about this race is that I was super familiar with the course/area so I knew exactly where we were at all times.  The route was a little boring at times without much to look at.  The turnaround point at about 8.5 miles had a DJ that was pretty entertaining.  The only issue that I had is that I felt like I had to pee basically the entire time we were running.  Here is a photo right before the finish line:

My official time was 2:19, but my watch says 2:18:50 (or 10:29 pace).  Needless to say, I was extremely happy that I was able to reach all my goals for the half marathon.  As Tracey and I were nearing the finish line I couldn't believe that we were going to do exactly what we had set out to do that morning.  Here is one of my favorite photos of Dougie, Tracey, myself, and Ben post race

It just so happens that an article was published in the New York Times Sunday about pregnant marathoners.  Link to the full article here.  The comments are fascinating and I would highly recommend giving it a quick read.  Clearly these women are a different caliber of athlete, but I liked how one woman compared giving birth to training for an athletic event.

This weekend coming up, Ben is taking on the XTERRA Wildhorse half marathon.  Jim from Tampa Races has a great program where I can volunteer and Ben can run for free.  Temperatures should be good for his race on Sunday as well.  That is all the excitement for this week - more to come soon!

23 weeks, Rattlesnake Run, Run with the Quistas

The baby is officially 23 weeks now and approximately 11.5 inches long, 1.1 pounds and is estimated to be the size of a large mango (yum!).  As of today, there are 114 more days until the baby arrives (give or take).  That is BANANAS!!  We had a pretty crazy weekend of running races, celebrating birthdays, and trying to get things done around the house.

On Saturday, Ben and I ran the Ratttlesnake Run.  I was really a last minute decision on this race because it's pretty hilly (214 feet of elevation gain), off road, and a bigger-sized race.  Last year, I ran my best time ever of a 42:24.  This year, my goal was to maintain my normal 10 minute average and just keep running the whole time. I was able to pull off a 47:59 (9:38 average), but because the race was so crowded/off road, I took a small tumble in the first mile.  

I was so upset with myself for putting myself and the baby in a situation that could have been potentially dangerous.  Several people around me helped me and really it was not a bad fall, but I made the decision at that moment not to sign up for any other races for the rest of my pregnancy.  I'm certainly still planning to stay active and continue to run for as long as I can, but the whole racing environment has too many uncontrollable variables to risk.

Ben ran a 41:19 (8:16 average) and got 3rd place in his age group!  Those long legs of his really give him such an unfair advantage!  I was really upset about the fall after the race and we unfortunately did not stick around for the age group awards.  We decided to go to Olga's Bakery instead.  If you've ever been to Dade City, you know about Olga's - it's the best.  I did not indulge in one of their amazing donuts, but Ben did!

After breakfast, we went over to Ben's parent's house to celebrate his mom's birthday.  We were commenting about how this is going to be our last birthday celebration without a baby, which is a little crazy to think about.  We had a really nice visit with lunch and one of my favorite Raposa family traditions - homemade birthday cake of your choice!  Ben's mom picked a pineapple cake, and his dad baked it (with some help) perfectly!

On Sunday morning, we headed over to PHSC for the annual 5k/Run with the Quistas to support the Women's Cross Country team.  When I worked on the New Port Richey campus, I was the advisor for the XC team, so this race is one that we do every year and I absolutely LOVE this race.  The course is nice and flat and super familiar.  Here is a shot of the faculty/staff team before the race:

The race went really well.  My goal was again to just run the whole time and maintain my 10 minute average.  I finished in a time of 29:06 (9:21 average), which was good enough for 2nd place in my age group!  I felt really well throughout the whole race and just tried to keep my heart rate low and "run all the tangents" like Coach Winterling taught me.

Here's a photo of Ben's steal of a second place age group award from Tim:

Tim (1st overall faculty/staff), Ben (2nd age group), and me (2nd age group):

The best part about running with the faculty/staff team is the breakfast afterwards!  About 10 of us went out afterwards to discuss upcoming races, talk about our performances, and refuel.  After we got home, I went on a super exciting laundry bender and feverishly tried to set up my fantasy football line up before all the 1:00 games.  This is either the third or fourth year that I've played in a fantasy football league, and I believe that Baby Raposa is bringing me an incredible streak of good luck!

Today, I spent some time reading Alysia Montano's blog.  You may remember from this past summer that she famously raced her signature 800 meter race while 8 months pregnant.  She wrote about having a goal to run until she was 30 weeks pregnant and even included some of her weekly pregnancy workouts.

I realize that she is a Olympian and a high caliber athlete, but I feel like her outlook on exercise during pregnancy is something I really want to emulate.  I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to run, but 30 weeks seems like a good goal to work towards for now.  This weekend coming up is the Frankenfooter half marathon and it's safe to say that this will be the only half marathon that I'll be running any time soon.  That is all for now - until next week!

22 weeks, doctor's visit, races

This week baby Raposa is officially (at least) one pound and about 11 inches long.  My baby app says that is about the size of a spaghetti squash.  We had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday of this past week and the doctor said that everything is going well.  The baby's heartbeat was 155, my blood pressure was good, and I've gained 3 pounds since our doctor's appointment last month.

I did develop a large bruise on my stomach from the Lovenox shots.  It actually is my own fault.  There was one night when I grabbed Ben's hand not even thinking that it was the same hand administering the shot.  The doctor didn't seem concerned about it and said bruising was normal and it would probably not heal quickly.  I told him that I didn't plan on entering any bikini contests any time soon, so it should be all good. (He did not seem too amused by my joke, sheesh!)

The doctor seemed pleased with the weight gain and how everything is progressing.  I've really been trying very hard to eat as healthy as possible since he told me to slow down a little with the weight gain at our last appointment.  I've gotten quite a few comments (especially at work) in regards to how healthy I eat for a pregnant woman.  What is that supposed to mean, really?  I understand that there are certain cravings that can't be ignored, but this baby is eating everything that I'm eating so I'm trying to make the best decisions possible.

Whatever the case, we are scheduled to go back to the doctor on Tuesday, November 11th.  I got the paperwork for my glucose test, which I scheduled for first thing Halloween morning.  It's going to be hard not to eat or drink anything until 8:30, but hopefully it won't take too long.  The doctor said that it shouldn't be too much of a draw anyway.

It dawned on me this week that I really only have 18 weeks left until the baby arrives (hopefully!).  In the past, that is how long I would typically train for a marathon.  Which got me to thinking about all the races that baby Raposa has already completed!  He or she is already quite the accomplished athlete!  Here is the complete rundown:

1. June 7th - Beach to Bayou 5k 24:49 (3rd place age group win! - did not actually know I was pregnant at this point)
2. June 13th - Picnic Island Adventure Run (3.4 mile offroad) 35:50 (16th female overall - cool campfire mug!)
3. June 14th - Rap River Run 5k -25:45 (3rd place age group win!)
4. July 3rd - Kiwanis Midnight Runs 1 mile, 5k, and 10k (9:56, 32:16, 1:07:09) - probably the most fun I've ever had in a race
5. July 18th -- Picnic Island Adventure Run #3 (3.4 miles offroad) - 40:41 (20th female overall and 2nd female in the entire series!)
6. August 23rd - Zoo Run Run 5k - 29:38 (hot as HADES!)
7. October 4th - Dusty Rail Rally 5k - 28:50 (2nd place age group win!)
8. October 12 - Treasure Chest 5k - 27:43 (pregnancy PR!)

The photo above is from the finish line at the Treasure Chest 5k.  My goal was to finish under 30 minutes and keep my heart rate in check.  I was in the 3rd wave, so it was nice to be able to pass quite a few people in the previous waves.  Towards the end of the race I saw the Bucs cheerleaders who I later found out started in the first wave.  I really wanted to finish in front of them (there were so many!), but didn't end up too far in front of them (as you can see).

Overall, the race was really fun with lots of bands and a really good loop course around the stadium.  One of the nice things about the race was that you also got a ticket to attend the Bucs game later in the day.  I will NOT mention how terrible the Bucs played in that game.  But our little fox baby has already attended two NFL games (both losses - womp womp).  That is all for now, until next week!

Week #21 aka What does the fox say?

This week/weekend was a busy one in the Raposa household.  The baby is officially the size of a medium banana (10.5 inches) and should be weighing in at approximately 12.7 ounces.  However, I have a feeling that Baby R may be weighing in a bit more than that.  I have still been feeling good and the baby really likes moving around.  Last night (Sunday), Ben was finally able to feel the baby kick.  It was cool to watch his face as our son or daughter was up WAY past their bedtime playing around.

So you all remember this awesome video from last year, right?

Our last name, "Raposa" is Portuguese and also means fox.  Since we are not going to know the gender of the baby, we felt like a fox pup would be pretty gender neutral.  We were searching around online and found the Circo Woodland Trails collection that features this adorable little fox.  We have a security blanket, regular blanket, and towel.

Hopefully our little pup will appreciate how well the orange fox compliments any blue clothing as well. ;)

This past weekend was Ben's first go at playing race director.  I have to confess that I called this race his mistress, and I honestly could not WAIT to have my husband back full time.  I couldn't be more proud of the way he handled every detail and was able to put on a successful event. Final results are posted here

Several of my co-workers (and members of the PHSC Faculty/Staff Running team) made it all the way out to Trilby/Dade City for the race.  Here is a job shot of us after the race.

I ran the race with my father-in-law (white shirt below) and Chris Williams (orange shirt below).  The course was amazing, there were horses along the route and lots of turns to make the loop go by quickly.  I told Chris in the beginning of the race that I had two goals - to run the entire time and finish under 30:00.  Other than that, I was not going to be "racing".  I haven't ran with Chris in a long time as I was catching up with him about his recent 70.3 in Canada.  Here we all are at the finish line:

My final time was 28:46 by my Garmin.  I was super excited.  Each mile was pretty consistent, although I did go out a little too fast in the beginning (SHOCKING, I know!).  The average was 9:12 per mile, which is way faster than I've been running recently.  Much to my surprise, I also got 2nd place in my age group!  Check out my awesome age group award:

Since Frankenfooter is looming right around the corner, Ben, Tracey, and I headed to Flatwoods to run 12 miles on Sunday morning.  The weather was perfect!  It was 57 degrees.  Ben ran ahead towards the end, but final average for 12 miles was a 10:07 pace.  It's amazing what a little cooler weather can do.  

I was wearing my "Running for Two" shirt (pictured below and can be purchased here) and a woman came up to us at a water stop and said that she had the same shirt.  And then quickly added that she hopes to never wear it again!  How is one supposed to respond to that?  And then she proceeded to tell us how she ran a 27 minute 5k when her son was 10 days old - against doctor's orders.  Yikes!  Some people really will just lay it all out there.

Side note - I got this shirt from my parents for my birthday (mine is orange/mango) and I L-O-V-E it!  I wear it at least once a week and it's super comfortable.

The task for this upcoming week is to start on our baby registry.  There are so many things that we have no idea about.  It may take some time, but we are certainly working on it.  If there is any one baby item that you think that we can absolutely not live without, please let me know!  Until next week!

Halfway!

Baby Raposa has officially made it to the halfway point!  I'd like to take a moment to point out that only ONE of my mom friends told me about women actually being pregnant for TEN months, versus the standard nine months everyone talks about.  So Donna, I owe you one!  The baby is officially the size of a small cantaloupe (although the ultrasound technician did say that Baby R is weighing in around 12 ounces currently).

I did pick up my Lovenox shots on Wednesday and my sister was kind enough to come over and give myself and Ben a tutorial about administering the shots.  Ben is a shoo-in to win the "Husband of the Year" award after the daily routine of me crying, covering my eyes, and then saying "Is that it?".  Bless his heart.

Now here is some exciting news (at least for me)!  I found out that my insurance covers the cost of one breast pump per pregnancy.  This is the Medela brand that is provided FREE of charge.  A few of my friends told me about checking my insurance coverage, but it was really shocking to find out that they will deliver one right to your door and you can keep it forever.  It's the small things.

Now for some non-baby related updates:

This past weekend was a busy one!  On Saturday, I co-hosted a bridal lingerie shower for my former boss, Sonia.  I promise not to disclose too much private information about the shower, but I have to show a few of my favorite details.

Favors/scratch-off game

Lingerie/bra cake pops

Myself, Sonia, and Melissa (co-host)

Melissa was a dream to coordinate a shower with!  We decided to have the shower at The Columbia in Ybor City.  Parking was easy and the room was already set up.  The servers were so attentive and the food was AMAZING!  I would definitely host an event there again. 

Ben and I also went to a friend's annual Oktoberfest party on Saturday night.  Unfortunately, the rain limited the log sawing contest that was set up and ready to go.  Here is a photo from that evening with some running buddies:

I was able to run 27 miles last week in addition to one swim.  The long-range plan is to run 12 miles next week and then taper down a bit before the Frankenfooter half marathon on October 26th.  Ben, Tracey, and I went to Flatwoods on Saturday morning to run our 11 miles.  There is a loop that is precisely 11 miles.  My goal is always just to run the entire time and not worry too much about my pace.  Our average pace was 10:18 for the 11 mile loop, which I was very happy with. 

While we were at a water stop, a woman ran up and was asking if this was my first pregnancy.  I told her that it was and people look at me like I'm a little crazy these days.  She said that she ran through both of her pregnancies and her one daughter just ran in the Olympic trials!  That's pretty promising future news for Baby R!

Shots! Shots! Shots!

Not very many people (beside Ben) know how much I love Lil Jon!  For real.  I really enjoy running to his music and actually faithfully watched him on Celebrity Apprentice.  He's actually very well spoken and a legitimate businessman.  So when I was thinking about writing this particular blog, this song came to mind...

So now my dirty Lil Jon secret is out in the open - judge if you'd like.

Anyway, Ben and I went to Tampa General on Monday morning to meet with Dr. Louis about the Factor 2 and 5 clotting disorders.  My doctor wanted me to get a second opinion, and referred us to Dr. Louis.  Our appointment was at 8:45, but the paperwork that was sent to me indicated that we have to arrive by 8:15 because we are new patients.  The plan was to drive to Ben's office (on Harbour Island) and then drive together to TGH.  

Let me just say that driving south on 275 to downtown Tampa in rush hour was nuts!  I have no idea how Ben manages to do that every day.  I'm pretty sure I would have a heart attack.  We made it to TGH just before 8:15, but the parking garage was a little more complicated than I had anticipated.  We finally parked (thank goodness we took my smaller SUV and not Ben's truck) and walked over to the USF Health building.  

Thank goodness they also included a map and parking instructions with the new patient information because I was referencing that sucker like it was my job! We finally arrived where were we supposed to be and only about 5 minutes off the 8:15 time we were supposed to be there.  Since I had already completed my paperwork, it was pretty simple and the nurse took us back in to a private room (this place is HUGE!) where she took my weight, blood pressure, etc..  She said someone would be right with us for the ultrasound.

Like I previously mentioned, we weren't exactly sure what this appointment was all about but we excited when we found out that we would be seeing the baby again.  The ultrasound equipment at USF Health was WAY better than the one at our doctor's office. The picture was much clearer, but the baby was not cooperating with the camera (as per usual).

I'm never sure if the ultrasound techs can tell the gender, but I assume they can.  They have all been really careful not to linger in the obvious areas, but we literally have no idea what we are looking at most times anyway.  We did get the following pictures of the head and tummy and feet:

It's one thing to know that you are pregnant, but a whole other thing to actually see a baby on the computer monitor.  It's such an amazing/surreal experience.  Let me just say that this little guy or gal loves moving around inside there.  The little hands and feet literally melt my heart!  The ultrasound was much longer than we are used to, but I honestly could have laid there and watched the baby all day.  Unfortunately, that was not an option.  The woman printed a few pictures for us and then brought us back to the holding room to wait for the doctor.

Dr. Louis called us in to her office after a while and we began looking at the baby pictures again.  She said that the baby looks great and was really happy to see that I was still exercising and being active.  She said the one downside of women who exercise during pregnancy is that sometimes their babies tend to be on the smaller size, but that doesn't seem to be a problem with our baby.  Then came the bad news - she said that basically I have two mutations of the blood.  One gene in the factor 5 and one in the factor 2, it makes me slightly more at risk to form a clot than a person just possessing one gene.

So, she recommended that I begin administering shots of Lovenox once per day until six weeks postpartum.  I was happy that Ben was with me, because I didn't really expect to hear this news.  Dr. Wenk initially had said that it most likely would not be necessary until after the baby is born, but Dr. Louis specializes in maternal/child care.  Ben assured me that this is a "better safe than sorry" scenario and he will help me make it a part of our normal morning routine.

I asked the doctor what would happen if I had to have a c-section, and she said that as long as the c-section isn't planned the Lovenox is such a small dosage that it would not affect anything.  (Our plan is to avoid a c-section at all costs, but I know that in some cases it will not be an option).  She said that I had 33 good years getting away with not tending to this health issue, being on estrogen-based birth control (which I should have never been) and now it's time to face the music.  Dr. Louis also said that in the future, I have to be really careful about long car trips/plane rides or any type of activity that requires sitting for an extended period of time.

So the challenge now is learning out to administer the shots (Not the good kind that Lil Jon likes)!

19 weeks!

At some moments, it's crazy to think that I'm already 19 weeks.  Other moments, it feels like I've been pregnant for much longer!   This past week was super busy!  On Saturday morning, Ben, Tracey and myself went to the Upper Tampa Bay Trail to get in a few miles before our long(er) run on Sunday morning.  Parking was a little scarce, but we got our miles in and heading home.  It's always nice to see our "regulars" at the UTBT on Saturday mornings.  We have what we call the "trifecta" which consists of a woman who jumps rope, a grown man who skateboards, and a guy who wears a tuxedo t-shirt.

Ben and I headed over to Orlando on Saturday afternoon to meet up with a man who is a model builder at Tampa International Airport in order to drop of some age group awards for the upcoming race that Ben is putting on.  John and his wife, Jeanine, asked us to go out to dinner and then wanted to take us over to a spot that they spend quite a bit of time volunteering.  I honestly had no idea about The Village they were talking about over dinner.

The Village is just outside of Orlando and is 72 acres and 144 villas that provides memorable, cost-free experiences for children (and their families) with life-threatening illnesses.  It was really overwhelming to see the only carousel in the world that can accommodate children in wheelchairs, an ice cream bar that is open all day long, and the "House of Miracles" where each visiting child gets their own star for permanent display.  None of the accommodations have corporate sponsorship's, they are all named after the children who have visited.  There is also a Gingerbread Run (virtually or at Medieval Times) that the Village hosts on November 8th.

We started listening to the Florida/Kentucky football game in the car on the way home.  We immediately turned on the game when we got home.  It was pretty intense (and if you know Ben, he can get pretty worked up about Gator football and basketball), and the game went in to TRIPLE overtime.  The Gators did win, but the game wasn't over until midnight.  It was quite a long day.

On Sunday morning, myself, Ben, Tracey,  Dougie, Anna and Travis heading over to FITniche (Wiregrass) for their first ever Sunday Pancake Run.  There were several different routes, and we all had different distances that we wanted to pursue so we decided to start off with a 7.6 mile route that was mapped out (pictured below).  The route was really nice and we even saw a hot air balloon on the run.

We did a little modified 2.4 mile route and I called it a day after 10 miles.  Dougie is training for a full Ironman in November, so he was running 2 hours 20 minutes. Everyone else took turns doing a few miles with him.  The pancakes (and the volunteers that cooked the pancakes) were really good.  I would have totally done the run without the promise of pancakes afterwards.  It was a nice way to spend a Sunday morning.  

On Tuesday, we had a doctor's appointment and ultra sound.  Here is the latest picture of our little babe:

He or she is currently weighing in at 11 ounces (typical size around this time is about 8.6 ounces, but I'm totally blaming Ben's long legs).  The baby appeared to be waving at us from the ultrasound and was very active while we were looking.  After some time, he or she turned their back to the "camera" and all we could see was the spine.

The doctor said that everything looked good and just to slow down a little on the weight gain (total of 11 pounds so far).   He also recommended that I get a flu shot (which I was not very happy about).  We have a follow up appointment with USF Health on Monday morning about the Factor 2 and 5 clotting disorder.  The doctor said to bring the lab report, but the nurse said that we are getting another ultrasound.  So, we aren't entirely sure what is going to happen on Monday.

The nurse said that we won't get another ultrasound until about 25 weeks and our next doctor's appointment is not until October.  I went ahead scheduled a tour of the hospital along with a Breastfeeding class and a Child-birthing/Parenting class.  There really are so many things to do!

The really cool thing is that several (about 6) of my friends are expecting as well.  It's been really fun to watch/listen/talk to them and hear about the different experiences.  Oh, and if you are expecting and you have not seen the movie "What to expect when you're expecting", it's a must see!

Until next time, y'all!