The 3rd trimester is a go!
The bump, the husband, and I started our 3 month countdown on Tuesday which is absolutely crazy to think! Time has certainly flown. I've said it before but I think I REALLY need to find some maternity gym shorts soon. I haven't needed them yet but I imagine I'll need them very soon...
I did a much better job this week with managing heat and expectations of myself. 3 hours back to back outdoors last week was not a good idea so this week I capped it at 2 and capped my time outside to 4 hours.
I've also shifted my focus away from making sure I do x, y, and z every day and am now just going with the flow. There were days this week I only managed 8,000 steps but there were days I hit 20,000 - I just played off how my body was feeling, how Fudge was feeling, and how hot it was outside.
Training
I mentioned last week that I was feeling a pinch in my right glute, sadly this is still the case this week. It's much less noticeable but I definitely didn't want to aggravate it further so I tended to neglect any lower body strength training in favour of lower body mobility.
Monday
Spent the morning out in Clearwater Bay taking almost a whole family of 5 at their home* and spent the afternoon with the team in the studio - we're going to spend the next week or so tidying up, clearing out, and rejuvenating the space.
By 5pm I realised I hadn't sat down since about 7am and definitely needed off my feet. I'd originally planned to train in the afternoon but was definitely too tired. I decided that instead of trying to push through a session and start my week tired, it'd be better to go home, read, and start my week fresh.
*I know I said last week that I wasn't doing home visits and I still maintain that this is true, I make an exception for this one family though as I've known them for over 20 years.
Tuesday
Spent the morning in Happy Valley with a few clients, I was done and out of the sun by 11:30 which was great timing - I was just starting to feel a little too toasty!
I decided the best way to honour the 3 month countdown was with a training session. With all the gyms closed that meant grabbing my resistance bands and minibands and heading out onto my (shaded) balcony! I was definitely feeling tender in my right glute so I opted for a quick upperbody.
3 sets each:
A1. 15 Resistance Band Chest Presses
A2. 8 Miniband Frontal Raise Pulses
B1. 15 Resistance Band T Pulls
B2. 10 Resistance Band Lateral Raises
C1. 15 Resistance Band Bicep Curls
C2. 15 Resistance Band Tricep Extensions
Wednesday
Only had one client today so I went for a walk in the morning, trained at the studio/did some studio cleaning in the afternoon, and then saw my client in Tamar Park in the early evening.
3 sets:
A1. 10 Incline Chest Press
A2. 12 Split Squats
A3. 15 Standing Double Banded Fire Hydrants
B1. 10 Ring Rows
B2. 15 Hip Thrusts with Adductor Squeeze
B3. 30s Isometric Poloff Hold
30min stretch
Thursday
Today was almost repeat of the day that drained me last week so I made sure to make conscious changes to my approach for the day. Last week I opted to stay outside and do some studio cleaning work between clients in the Valley and clients in Tamar. This meant that I was on my feet in the sun for almost the entire day and never gave myself down time to sit in an air conditioned room and relax. I made every effort today to not repeat that mistake. I started off with only 2 clients in the morning in the Valley, went indoors between clients, and finished in the early evening in Tamar Park.
I did go for a walk in the late afternoon though, I was bored of being at home and felt as though I had enough energy to go for a stroll.
Friday
Only one client this morning and luckily it was shaded and quite windy in Tamar which meant I didn't sweat quite as much. Popped into the studio for 90min or so in the late morning to train a bit before spending the day relaxing.
30min stretch and mobility
4 sets each:
8 W Pulls to Press
10 Single Arm Bent Over Rows
10 Bent Over Y Raises
45s Isometric Bicep Curl Hold + 15 pulses
10 Push Ups*
8 Bird Dogs
*After a long delay I'm happy to say I'm back to being able to do full push ups no problem. No strain in my abdomen and no pulling around the pelvis.
Saturday
Went up and over the Twins one last time this morning! Started walking at 7:45am in an attempt to beat the heat, it's always hot these days though so while I'm certain it was cooler at 8am compared to noon - it was still fairly toasty.
I've always loved the Twins, I grew up in Tai Tam/Stanley doing this hike fairly often so this part of the Wilson Trail always feels like home. I don't think I'll have the time or the energy to do it again until Fudge is born though which means next time I do it, I'll have a camel back strapped to my back and a child strapped to my front!
After a morning out and about I decided to reward myself with a nice 3 hour read in the afternoon.
Sunday
Started off my day with a stroll from Pokfulam to Central for lunch/to run a few pregnancy errands before having a repeat of yesterday afternoon - reading on the sofa for a few hours (had to finish the book I started yesterday).
The theme for the weekend was a little bit of walking and a lot of R&R. It's another week outdoors next week!
Life in General
The most common question I get these days is "how do you feel given the third wave of COVID in HK?" To be honest, I've decided now is not the time to panic and overthink things. Obviously it's out of control in HK, obviously this is the worst it's ever been, and obviously I should be more cautious given I'm in my third trimester. Those are all givens. But, I've also decided that the mental health repercussions of being overly cautious, overly obsessive, and OCD about everything are going to be detrimental in the long run. I continue to wear a mask, I continue to wash my hands A LOT, I avoid public transportation as much as humanely possible, and I definitely go out of my way to avoid large crowds/densely populated parts of Hong Kong. Beyond that, so much of the spread of COVID is out of my control and if I did try and control every single aspect of my day I think I'd go crazy.
We have had to postpone our baby shower though. We were supposed to hold it on Saturday but due to the increasing number of cases we didn't feel as though it was a good idea to gather 40+ people from all over the island. While this does mean we'll hold our baby shower closer to the time when people usually hold it (4-6 weeks out, not 3 months!) it does mean we'll miss having quite a few friends present as they all head off to Europe. Still, small price to pay to ensure everyone's health and safety.
COVID aside (we mustn't let that be the only topic of conversation these days!), life is pretty normal. Fudge still isn't a picky eater, sleep is still my bestfriend (I slept for almost 11 hours on Tuesday night which was phenomenal), and I've swapped a few gym sessions/walks with some reading instead. I still haven't brought back the nap day but my husband definitely indulged in one on Saturday after the walk.
Fudge is becoming more and more active and acrobatic in her waking hours. Luckily so far her waking hours and mine are the same so she doesn't bother me at night. I think now that she's moving quite a bit more it's slowly starting to actually hit me that I have a tiny human growing inside me. People like to ask pregnant women whether they "feel pregnant". I still don't think I know how to answer this question. On some levels, definitely. I've never been this size I currently am, I'm not used to being so easily affected by varying energy levels/weird aches and pains, and normally I love sleeping on my front! But on so many other levels, I don't feel pregnant at all. There are still moments during the day I completely forget. To be honest, I think it might finally hit when the maternity clothes come out. For now, I'm still in my normal people clothes!
Sadly, I still haven't had a pregnancy brain moment worthy of sharing yet. I'll definitely make sure to share a good one with you when and if it comes. Until then, I'll continue as I always have - taking each day as it comes.
Fudge gets another check up this week and we'll have a full scan to check in on her - I'll definitely let you know how that goes!
Until then, stay safe, stay clean, stay healthy, and stay hydrated!
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