19w6d - Pumping Iron

Since tone cannot be conveyed in text, I want to point out that I say the following statement with sarcasm, and that it comes from a place of love: This little parasite is trying to kill me!

Okay, it’s a gross exaggeration. But Acorn has made me (among other things) anemic. Part of the problem is that I have a history of iron trouble (some of you may remember the iron supplement woes of my past). Despite the fact that my non-pregnant self eats more red meat than she should, I still had nearly undetectable levels of iron. My doctor’s solution (and the solution of doctors everywhere, I’m sure) was to give me iron supplements. And they had ALL kinds of rules – don’t take with dairy or caffeine, do not take within a certain amount of time of eating, take with lots of water, don’t take with citrus (or, take with citrus, depending on who you talked to), don’t get them wet, don’t feed them after midnight, etc. Obviously my body has trouble absorbing iron properly. I always meant to try to figure out the problem there, but I never did get around to it.

Anyway, now I’m nourishing for two. And I take my prenatal vitamins (before somebody else recommends taking them, as though I didn’t know or something – I’m pregnant, not stupid). In fact, I take a whole series of pills, each with a different functionality, instead of one mega-pill. This allows for more customization. And I have thus doubled up on my iron (each pill contains 60% recommended for the pregnant population, so I am ingesting 120%). Still, though, I am not sure it’s enough. I feel this way not because I have had my blood retested, but because I still feel anemic. I explain this below.

After work yesterday I meandered down to the gym, something I try to do at least 3 or 4 workdays (I also try to exercise on the weekend, but not at the work gym, because that would be silly). I am no stranger to the gym, I have been an avid exerciser since I got fat in the early part of college and decided I wanted to get healthy (so since I was about 19, give or take… 12 years). Pregnancy has brought its own set of challenges to regular exercise – modified positions, lower anaerobic threshold, etc. Well, yesterday, it was really interesting. I did a moderate 30 minutes on the elliptical. I did a bit of zone work, spending time in zones 2 and 3 in a 2:1 ratio. I did get past my AT a few times, but only because it’s really, really low (like 149 bpm), but I thought I was okay.

In any case, I felt fine during the workout. But once I stepped off things changed. I got really, really lightheaded. Granted, I did not cool down completely on the machine, but I can’t cool down all the way on that machine. I got down to about 120 BPM before stepping off. Regardless, I continued to walk around until my heart rate dropped down to under 100 BPM, and I refilled my water bottle and continued to drink up. A few people stopped me to ask if I was okay – evidently I got really, really pale. I had planned to regain my composure and do some lifting, but once strangers started commenting on my appearance I decided that maybe it was time to call it quits. A bit of strength training is not worth passing out over.

I got home and made Hubby-poo take me out for a hamburger. And I put a scoop of peanut butter into my oatmeal this morning. I’m going to make a distinct effort to try to get more iron into my diet (especially given that, other than hamburgers and the occasional ground beef burrito, Acorn seems to HATE red meat). Not exercising is not a good option for so many reasons.

Of course, I’m sure that Acorn is as nourished as she needs to be. She’s a bit big for her gestational age (only by about a week), and I attribute that to the fact that I eat such nutrient-dense foods and really give her lots of nourishment. But I also think that the little brat takes more than her share and depletes my stores too far. I love her with all my heart, but kiddo needs to stop taking all of my energy. I almost told Hubby-poo that I can’t wait until she is born, that way I can stop being so tired all the time. But I caught myself, realizing how ridiculous that is. I suspect that there will be NO sleeping for many, many weeks, and minimal sleeping for many, many months (and the first person who says ‘just you wait’ regarding lack of sleep and tiredness is going on my shit-list – that ‘you don’t know what you’re talking about’ attitude annoys the crap out of me – just sayin’).