It's three years today since Bella was born.  Judah is nine months.  We made it, team.  Some days (today) I don't know how.  It's not the day-to-day, it's the sleep.

I spoke too soon.  One month after the last post, Judah started teething and has been up all night ever since, and spring, it's July and we're still having spring.  Just got a first taste of summer this week.  B.S.

At least this time I know what it is.  That pain I suffered with for 6 months after the birth of my daughter, I was able to identify at 6 weeks this time.  I again have a sprain of the sacroiliac ligaments on the left hand side.  Painful, but manageable.  The hard part is my ego.

I've had a lot of questions from students lately about postpartum recovery and breastfeeding and Bikram Yoga, so this post is more informational on those topics.

The Standing Bow Challenge is back on!  I figure, to make it more of a challenge this time I have to start it when I'm still building stamina again.  It would be too easy to wait until I'm back to feeling good in it.  The work is to hold it when I feel like junk body.  When you're pregnant, there's so much you have to take it easy doing or skip that I feel like my mental stamina needs some work, too.  I fell last Thursday, so starting today, not again.

When we were in teacher training, Bikram used to say to us, "Every once in a while, I take a month off, so when I come back, I know what you're going through."  I know what he means.  Coming back this time has really reminded me of what my body used to feel like when I first started Bikram. 

Well, I've spent another week waddling.  Took the nooner today and felt pretty tired.  If my sister hadn't been with me and Bella signed up for childcare, I might have just gone home and taken a nap.  I actually left class after one set of Pranayama to go eat a granola bar.  I was SO HUNGRY, but class felt good.

Two days to my due date.  Do these Curry kids love to come on time???  I'm feeling huge and low.  Lots of pressure in my pubic bone.  I am definitely waddling now.  Class yesterday felt great, just a little slower than usual.  I'm trying everything I know to get labor rolling: pedicure, yoga, walking, stairs, cleaned the house, eggplant parm, pineapple, spicy food, massage.  Whenever you're ready, kid...

Two weeks left.  I can hardly believe it. We're definitely ready to go.  The car's packed, half of our stuff is at the birthing center and I even vacuumed the heating ducts this week.  Not that I'm nesting or anything... 

Four weeks (potentially) left.  Its so hard to believe.  In the beginning of this pregnancy, it felt like forever until the end and now I'm one week away from my safe date. I'm delivering at a birthing center, so I have to make it until at least 37 weeks to be allowed to deliver there.

Oh. I was sitting at my desk in half-lotus yesterday for about an hour, working.  When I went to stand up, I couldn't walk.  It felt like my pubic bone was going to crack in half.  Jaylon had to pick me up and carry me to the couch like he was bringing me across the threshold.  Poor guy, I've got a good 25 pounds on him at this point!  I must have tweaked my pelvis just enough to really irritate my symphysis pubis.  That cartilage is getting very loose.  Hot bath, lay down the rest of the night and I was fine in the morning.  Just a strong reminder to slow down in straddle/split/lotus-type movements from now through the end.  No more toe, even gentle pose doesn't feel good.  Everything in my groin feels very loose.  Sometimes I still get that clicking in my sacrum when I shift my weight from foot to foot.

It's nice to be in the single digits for weeks left now.  I am not anxious for him to come early (I have too much to do before then!), but it's good to know the time is getting shorter.  I got a chiropractic adjustment last week which helped with some of the aching in my sacro-iliac joint, but the yoga is essential to keep the pain at bay. 

I finally have a nice basketball belly.  I think that's one of the most fun parts of pregnancy.  I'm out of the looking "thick" phase and into the final trimester.  It's hard to believe I'm going to be pregnant for another three whole months.  Crazy.  My body is certainly feeling more pregnant now. 

So September is our annual 30-day challenge and I really felt like it would be my last opportunity to do a whole bunch of yoga for a long time.  I'm 22 days and 22 classes into it and feeling great, but I have to admit, this is the hardest challenge I've ever done.  I really can't stay hydrated enough to make amniotic fluid, breast milk and do a double, so I've got to be able to get myself in to the studio every day.  That means no Sunday breakfast with the family because it's football season and I'm not going to miss a GAME!

Four months down and feeling pretty good. Tired, but that's to be expected.  Class feels good and I feel strong most of the time.  I've had to be a lot more conscious about drinking fluids.  Breastfeeding and pregnant and teaching/practicing Bikram takes a little fluid out of a girl.

I started doing the pregnancy modifications this week.  Locust and floor bow haven't been feeling good for a couple of weeks anyway.  I've been faking my way through a little bit.  Some of the modifications feel silly because I don't have a big belly in my way, but I know that my uterus is above my pubic bone already, so I know it makes sense.  I just feel a little silly.

Just hitting the morning sickness phase.  This time around, I seem to have a nasty aversion to everything in the onion family, especially chives.  It kind of stinks because I have all of these beautiful herbs coming up in my garden and no interest in using them at all.  No headaches with the morning sickness this time.  I have to credit the yoga.  I've been practicing much more in the first trimester than I did the last time...

When I was in labor, I kept thinking, "I will never complain about Standing Bow being a minute again."  After I came back to yoga, I realized that I had to actually make good on my promise, so March 1st, I started a don't-fall-out-of-standing-bow contest with my sister (which I won, by the way).  I made it fifteen months and one day.  This morning...

...and the little lady seems a little too comfortable.  She has always measured a little bit on the small side, so maybe she's still cooking in there.  Trying to keep myself occupied so I don't spend every day waiting, analyzing every twinge.

Everything is right on track.  She is head-down, measuring well and still kicking like crazy.  All of the pregnancy books say to expect a decrease in movement in the last month.  Not this little girl.  She's more active for longer periods of time and her movements have gotten stronger.  It's so crazy to watch an elbow or a knee slide across my abdomen.  There's a little alien in there. 

It feels good.  My hips have definitely gotten tighter during the third trimester so it feels good to get in that hot room and stretch.  My new best buddy is pranayama.  I've started doing it every morning when I wake up.  It gets me alert much faster and reminds my body how to breathe deeper.  I feel for women who haven't practiced pranayama-type breathing because as this baby gets bigger, I HAVE to breathe into my chest.  There just isn't any more room in my abdomen for my diaphragm. 

Holy nausea!  I've never had a queasy stomach or an easy gag reflex.  Now, just being alive makes me want to barf.  I was in the grocery store the other day and had to avert my eyes as I walked by the vegetable section.  I could feel the purple cabbage staring at me.