A short birth story of Veritas Grace Penton

at 39 weeks pregnant, I did not think this would be the last belly pic! 

Birth Announcement

Vera was my 2nd natural birth 1st natural birth at a hospital. She is our first girl and first 'before due date' baby! I worked out by doing CrossFit the entire pregnancy 3-4x per week, and I ate "Trim Healthy Mama." I gained 25 lbs.

Labor started at 2am the morning of the 15th. Contractions were every 12 mins and I didn't sleep. At 8am they slowed to every 20 mins so I decided to take the boys to CrossFit open gym. (see videos below) I did a light workout and after that from 11-3 contractions became more consistent to about every 10 mins. Around 2-3p we began making phone calls and arranging to get to the hospital. We arrived and were admitted at 4pm, I was 4-5 cm 90%effaced. I labored w my midwife until 5:30 when the tub was finally full. From 5;30-6:30 I labored in the warm water and it felt amazing!! At 6:30 I got out of the tub for my midwife to check progress, I was only a 6 but 100% effaced. She suggested breaking my water and then did so on the bed. In 3-4 excruciating pushes Vera arrived only 13 minutes later!!

She was 7#10oz 20.5 inches, head covered In black hair and body covered in thick, white, vernix. Loud set of lungs on her too. We prayed and rejoiced in thanksgiving to the Lord and spent the next 2 hrs cuddling and nursing and taking pictures.

A question I've gotten a lot - 

How has this pregnancy been different for you? and to what do you attribute those differences?

This pregnancy was remarkably better and more enjoyable in every way. I attribute this to 3 things - 1. CrossFit 2. Trim Healthy Mama and 3. Carrying a girl

First of all I cannot answer this without mentioning that I've prayed and prayed for God to help me and allow me to have not only a great pregnancy but a great labor and delivery experience.  It is only due to Him and His provision that we have and can do anything.  I thank Him for answering this prayer, as I know He controls everything.

1. CrossFit - CrossFit helped me to get into incredible shape before the pregnancy which I believe was essential to a healthier pregnancy.  My hormones were functioning beautifully, my metabolism and immune system were strong. I was very fit.  During the pregnancy, CF helped me to remain strong despite fluctuating hormones, weight gain and fatigue.  CF also helped me to sleep better throughout the pregnancy - this helped my mood, energy level, and overall health.  At the end of the pregnancy I was able to function like a 'normal' mom - lifting my boys, squatting to pick up their dirty socks, vacuuming,etc.  Don't get me wrong - I was huge and uncomfortable, and I would ask Joel 3 to help me pick things up off the floor at every opportunity, BUT, it was much less horrible than the end of my other pregnancies.  CF also helped me mentally more so than I would have thought.  Throughout the pregnancy I was able to accomplish goals and I felt more confident about my body. This helped my overall attitude and mood.  Most of all I think that CF helped me mentally during the actual labor and birth.  Although this natural birth went relatively quicker than my last one, it was mentally more challenging to be in a hospital and not get an epidural (my last natural birth was at home, where an epidural isn't an option;) Throughout the laboring process, I was able to make rational decisions with perspective.  I knew that even though the pain was so horrible I literally wanted to die, I knew it would be over at some point and that I didn't have to make decisions based off of how horrible I FELT in that moment.  

2. Trim Healthy Mama - I credit THM for my 25 lbs.  Yes, CrossFit helped, but eating happens all day every day, not just 3-4x a week for an hour. I have gained 50 lbs, 35 lbs, and 50 lbs with each baby and this has happened while actually trying to NOT gain.  I was NEVER one of those "hey, I'm pregnant, Its my excuse to eat everything!" But, yet, somehow I gained a ton of weight.  I felt helpless and depressed.  There was nothing I could do... when pregnant, I would just gain a lot and that was just me.  THM helped me to 'figure out' why my body so easily gains during pregnancy, or at least one of the reasons-  The first 2/3 of pregnancy, my blood sugar dipped very low, very quickly after meals with carbohydrates.  This causes me to have headaches, feel flightheaded and have some serious irritability. Bringing my blood sugar back up (by eating) helped me feel better. I believe this happened with all of my pregnancies and caused me to eat more than I needed to because, instinctively, I knew that eating helped me feel better.  Trim Healthy Mama focuses on the composition of the macro nutrients of meals.  I noticed that meals with carbs (THM calls them "E" meals) caused the dip, Protein was always included but adding a small amount of fat didn't seem to help too much.  Eating meals with high fat and protein but almost 0 carbs (THM calls these "S" meals) helped stabilize my blood sugar well, but actually I gained more weight, faster, on these types of meals.  I found that a combination of about 15 carbs, 20 g protein, and 25-30 g fat was best for me (THM calls these "S Helper" meals) and I continued eating that way throughout the pregnancy. 

3. Carrying a girl - who knows how much or how little this affected my overall pregnancy.  I do believe it probably was a factor for me.  Perhaps, hormonally, my body does better with girl pregnancies.  Who knows.

Vera is welcomed home by the crew

Handstand push ups, burpees, and butterfly pull ups at 39 weeks 4 days pregnant. I was actually in labor during this workout and so decided to 'take it easy' and take a few videos! Contractions started at 2am but were only every 10-20 mins until around 3pm. The contractions hurt during this workout but I was still able to move around and do things.  The biggest difference was that I couldn't wear my support belt, it felt extremely uncomfortable to wear during 'real'contractions.