I'm watching "Baby Story" as I type. It's become one of my favorite shows to watch in the morning as I resonate with all the pregnant stories out there! It's interesting to watch women's various experiences being pregnant. For me, it's actually been really, really good.

I actually LOVE being pregnant. I love feeling the baby in my belly - I love my glow - I love my buddha belly….

It's pretty interesting because I honestly thought I'd be a terrible pregnant woman. I thought I'd gain a lot of weight (due to genetics), have tons of stretch marks, have dark patches and acne on my face, have massive cravings, suffer with morning sickness, deal with bloating, face low self esteem, etc. I especially thought that since I am a semi-control freak, that not having full ownership of my body would get to me…but it hasn't.

I've really embraced these last eight months.

My top 6 things I can definitely attribute a smooth pregnancy to are:

1) I stayed active every week through exercise. I definitely cut down from my high intensity, 6 day a week routine, but I remained active regardless. I walked my dog a lot, went swimming (during the summer) and continued to take some of my favorite group classes while watching my heart rate.

2) I maintained a healthy diet. For the majority of the time, I consumed a protein shake every day and enjoyed fruits, especially when peaches were in season. I wrote down everything I ate and MADE sure I was eating enough - and not eating too much. You are only supposed to consume around 300 calories MORE than you typically do, it is NOT true when people think you're supposed to eat for two. AND, this time in your life should be the time when you should eat your best, not your worst. You have two people to nurture now.

3) I took my vitamins. David has been on me about this every day and I attribute my success here because as most people know…I HATE taking pills. But he bought me great prenatals, EFA's, Calcium and special juices.

4) As hard as it is, I stayed hydrated. I say this is hard because of two things: Number one, I don't want to have to go to the bathroom more that I already do. Number two, I don't want to potentially carry extra water weight in my face But staying hydrated is so important for digestion, circulation and skin hydration… your stretch marks will be dependent on how elastic your skin is. So make sure there's water in it!

5) I kept busy. I didn't lay around eating bon bon's watching tv all day. I knew when my energy was up and I moved as fast I could with errands…then when it dropped again, I napped, then when I awoke, I worked again. I honestly haven't slowed down a lot since being pregnant. I have a ton of priorities throughout the day and by focusing on that, I have less to focus on the changes and fatigue of my body. HOWEVER, I did listen to my body and rested when I needed to.

6) I had a great support system.Yesterday I had a prenatal massage with my doula, whom I meet with every Monday. Knowing she is around makes me confident that the day of the labor will be peaceful and calm. David obviously helps me out a ton by helping me with errands and ensuring a secure home to take the baby back to. David's mother and father has sent us great gifts and baby furniture, so that has been a great help. My mother is so excited and talks to the baby whenever I visit and my sister's are excited…in fact one of them is buying a stroller for me today. Having emotional and physical support definitely relaxes my psyche and keeps the baby calm.

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Now that I'm on my last month I have to admit, I am DEFINITELY starting to feel the limitations of being pregnant. Firstly, I twisted my left ankle yesterday while walking down a ramp and now there's a lot of uncomfortable pressure there. I even had to cancel my walk date with a friend and a possible kickboxing class. Instead, I tried wrapping gifts at my grandparents house but found it very uncomfortable to sit on the ground and move with my belly in the way! I'm also starting to feel a lot of pressure on my diaphram and experiencing indigestion at night so now I'm going to quit eating after a certain time because I don't want to vomit on my all white bed set! LOL.

However, I still don't feel THAT terrible and even made it out to my high school's 10 year reunion a few days ago. This week, my goal is to focus on training on the bike (to take the pressure off my foot) take some fun dance classes and walk whenever the weather doesn't look like it's going to make me sick.

Here are some pictures throughout the pregnancy:

at Valley High School's Health Faire in May - one month Prego!

Climbing Red Rock Canyon in Vegas - almost 3 months prego!

Swimming at the American River - 4 months!

after a nonprofit conference…5 months prego!

In India with my dad - 6 months prego.

7 months prego on Halloween.

Hiking at Redwood National Park - 8 months!

Laguna Creek High School's 10 year reunion, Nov. 29, 2008.