This past month has been a DRAG; being pregnant, no energy, no motivation.  I had a cold, thankfully not lasting forever with some natural remedies.  But now I have this mild dry cough that just won’t go away.  (Thank you suppressed immune system.)  But there was a day or two in the peak of it where suddenly I just couldn’t function.  Walking up the stairs was like climbing Mount Everest in 10 seconds.  One could say pregnant = no energy.

Next I had the stomach flu and had to recover from that.  Yes, the puking stopped, but the energy and appetite didn’t return for about a week.

Then to top it off, daylight savings struck this week, careening a major halt to what was becoming lovely mornings.  I drive to work around 6am and had started seeing the light backdrop the mountain skyline.  I was getting back on my feet energy wise and being able to see daylight is extremely helpful for me. (I’m not a night owl or major morning person year round.  I function when the sun is up.)

Then WHAM!!  I get up Monday morning in the pitch black darkness–no energy.  Great, here we go again.  But hopefully, third time is the charm to get rid of this lack of energy spell.

But it’s taken a toll on my desires to get anything done.  Honestly,

• It’s been HARD to keep new posts coming to you.
• It’s been HARD to finish those dishes every night before bed.
• It’s been HARD to even do much at work without pressing deadlines.
• It’s been HARD to go to Winter Guard practice, let alone performances.

Two performances I’ve had to sit out during half of our warm up time so I could conserve my energy.  Even waiting in line to go out and perform, I parked it right on the floor against the wall and would close my eyes to just try and relax, praying I’d last. 

Why Does This Happen:  Being Pregnant = No Energy?

I’ll tell you…

Because you’re growing a person inside of you!  The first trimester is predominantly the one where you get SO tired so easily.  (Explore what’s going on week to week here.)

• You’re taking your afternoon naps, going to bed at 8 o’clock at night.
• You find yourself dozing off during meetings (me included).
• Your neurons can’t click fast enough for you to get your job done.
• Your house is getting dirtier because you can barely keep up with the necessities of dishes and laundry.

As I was heaving my guts out with the flu, I thought, “When was the last time this toilet got cleaned?  I’m better than that, aren’t I?”  Thus, it is now spotless.

All because…

Your body is busy growing a placenta that will feed your baby and become its powerhouse for the next nine months.  Then that placenta feeds off of you.  So it’s like taking DOUBLE what you’ve already got to make something new.

I read an article about how us mammals that have such a placenta are actually lucky because it decreases our gestation time.  So would you rather be a mammal that is pregnant LONGER, or one that is more tired at the beginning?  I vote the latter.

You’ve also got hormones raging, changing, pushing around other molecules that were just as happy without the excess hormones around.  So what does that take away?  More energy.

Anyway, you get the idea.  But can you even do something about it?

Related:  What You’re Not Doing To Have More Energy Every Day Without Caffeine

Is There Any Hope?

Oh yes….there’s hope–but it fluctuates.

You’ll get some energy back in the second trimester when your placenta is well established and your morning sickness has drifted away.  You’re not super huge yet so your muscles and tissues aren’t strained.

But you have to wait…and WAIT sometimes.  And in the midst of all this waiting, you CAN help it along.

What’s the best way?  –> EXERCISE

What?! Exercise?!  I’m already exhausted.  I know.  I completely understand.  The idea of getting up to exert MORE energy is baffling.

The University of Georgia in 2006 published data in Physiological Bulletin that over 90% of the time, your are going to gain MORE energy and reduce your fatigue levels when you up your exercise.  And it doesn’t matter if you’re already healthy and active or not.  It’s applicable to EVERYONE.

• Getting up and starting to do your easy pregnancy exercises regularly will boost your energy.
• Staying away from those energy drinks and sugars will boost your energy.
• Eating healthy fruits, vegetables and plenty of protein will boost your energy.

This leads to a better time sleeping, healthier levels of nutrients eaten and produced, and greater reduction of that brain fog.  Now don’t push yourself beyond your limits.  But simply adding onto what you’ve already been doing will make a difference.

Take a stroll outside if you’ve been resting all day.  Trade that big bowl of ice cream for a protein bar.

But be sure to take care of yourself too.  You can’t do more than you’re able, but you can’t do much if you’re not able to at all.

Look Ahead With A Small Glance Back

I realize now that because I made myself go to Winter Guard practice, I was much better off if I hadn’t.  Sure I could have stayed home and vegged and my team wouldn’t have been disappointed still.  But I was able to still participate and I did NOT regret doing so.

In fact, here’s a video of our latest performance I promised you.  I’m that little one that starts in the back right corner in gray with black leggings.  (Sorry it’s not super high quality.  We take these with our phones so we can share them easily.)

Yes I’m spinning a saber, but it’s not sharp, I promise 🙂

Sure, we’re not super clean or the best guard out there.  We’re all older participants.  But we do it because we enjoy it and it gives us that natural high in our lives.

I get all these little high school girls coming up to me at each competition, saying how they think it’s so awesome that I still spin when I’m pregnant.  I usually say back, “You can do a lot more than you think you can, even when you’re pregnant.”

So I look back at that, knowing that if I continue and keep doing all my regular exercises for my pregnancy, I’ll be just fine.

And you will TOO!  Don’t doubt that.  Your energy will come back and you will find your desire returning to do much more than you are now.

Discover A Birthing Course Until Your Energy Returns

You’re a mother and you are unfailing.

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