Surprise! I'm pregnant.

Who do you know that has only one ovary? And one tube? Was working out twice a day? On a strict diabetic diet? With an IUD? And gets pregnant?! This girl! Lol Apparently this child will be as determined as it's momma.

I have been STRUGGLING for about the past two months to stay on course. I was so tired. And craved everything not on the list of stuff that I can eat. And bam all in one day I find out that although I was on a 99.99% effective birth control... This little rascal is a .01%er. So much makes sense to me now. Lol.

So here I am working on baby number 3 and in desperate need of some motivation to stay on track and out of the fridge! It's taken me a few days to adjust and get used to the idea of carrying on with my journey here despite what I know will be an ever growing tummy but I think I've decided that my ultimate goal will be to deliver and be all baby. Some women do that, right?! I can just see the crazy looks I'll get in the gym when I've climbed 100 floors on the stair stepper with a beach ball under my shirt. Do people even do that? How do I even go about the transition from extreme yoga, running and daily core work to pregnant athlete? (Serious question) Any words of encouragement? Sigh.

Replies

  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
    Hey, you can do it. I worked out intensely throughout my 1st and 2nd trimester. Once I hit my 3rd my body just wouldn't let me do some of the things I used but I made modifications. I had about 4 weeks of severe SI joint pain, and walking was agony, running out of the question and most lower body weights (squatting, lunging, etc.) but thankfully I could still cycle, so I did 45 minutes of HIIT cycling combined with upper body weights and some rowing. Finally the baby shifted position and the severe SI joint pain let up and I was able to resume most of my activities. At 35 weeks I still workout 5 days a week 45-60 minutes (used to be 60-120 minutes) although you just can't get to a high intensity at this stage in the game. I am all baby, I started at 115 lbs and am 129 lbs now, only 5 weeks left. Despite that your stomach does limit what you can do. I stopped all core work at about week 22. I had to stop kettle bells (well at least the swings and snatches) at about week 26, I have pretty much given up rowing at this point. I run about 1-2 times per week but it's a slow jog, cardiovascularly I feel I could go faster but my body won't allow it. Cycling is still great, non-painful and I get some intense intervals in. Elliptical isn't bad, although it occasionally causes some SI joint pain. I don't have the balance anymore to do free weight lunges, deadlifts, single leg stuff etc. BUT the TRX suspension has been a godsend and I get awesome strength workouts with it. I don't know about the stair climber (I don't have one in my home gym). In regards to yoga, I continued normal routines (and Barre and Pilates) up until my third trimester. Then my stomach got in the way for a lot of the poses. I have done some pregnancy yoga this trimester, but have given a lot of that up. I think mainly because I just got bored with it because it's a lot of sitting poses and downward dog and cat-cow. The stomach has really really affected my balance so I have a hard time with all the lunge and warrior poses and everything else, I just fall over. Anyway, it's really only these final weeks that everything exercise wise really takes a nose dive. Even though you will notice a progressive decline in your power and intensity throughout the pregnancy, I didn't find I really was that limited until about 2-3 weeks ago. Anyway, now I have only 5 weeks left and I find I am caring much less about anything exercise because it is hard just "being". Even though I haven't gained much weight and am "all baby" having a 6 lb baby inside you just makes life tough and tiring. That being said I am still getting in 45-60 minutes 5 days a week, hopefully I can keep that up for these final weeks, but who knows, everyday seems to be different at this point. Oh, and on a side note at about week 25 I started to become extremely short of breath, palpitations, falling asleep constantly, etc. Turns out I was pretty anemic due to iron deficiency (despite starting pregnancy with a very good Hgb level and being on pre-natal vitamins with iron). Once I started high dose iron supplementation I felt way better. As a pregnant athlete just be cognizant of that. I wouldn't start anything unless your doctor advises you too, but I wish I had got my iron checked earlier (waited until 28 weeks) it would have saved me several weeks of feeling like crap.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
    Congrats! That is definitely one determined baby you have there :)

    I was at my goal weight/physique when I got pregnant. I am 31 weeks now and the first few months were rough on me (very bad morning sickness and fatigue) so I didn't do much. I was lifting and doing power yoga pre-pregnancy, but I modified as I went along. I am still lifting now (more resistance work - body weight, bands, cables and dumbbells) and it is going well. I don't track my food, just eat reasonably. I have gained some weight (mostly in the booty and chest.. yay! lol) and bump obviously. Listen to your body, doctor and modify as needed.
  • Haha I love it!

    Words of encouragement: my first baby I gained 50(!) pounds. Second baby I had gestational diabetes and through careful logging and eating I gained only 22 pounds - perfect gain for my prepregnancy weight. It can be done!
  • fit_mama30
    fit_mama30 Posts: 178 Member
    CONGRATS!! :)

    I've just sent your a FR because we've found out we are expecting our 2nd child in August.

    What you describe, it can be done! I gained 25 pounds with my first pregnancy, and my doctor suggested I gain anywhere between 25-35 pounds given my pre-pregnancy weight. I worked out all my pregnancy, except the first 6-7 weeks where I was too exhausted to even walk. It was crazy. By the 8th week I was fine and took a 2 weeks trip to Europe, walked everywhere. I was able to resume my gym stuff (lol, lifting heavy weights) by then. My doctor was fine with me doing everything I was doing before. So squats, deadlifts, etc. I was the one getting the looks at the gym, but several people would come out to me and congratulate me. Even 20 y/o dudes, it was great to get some support/encouragements from strangers. It also made me feel so good mentally to be able to keep moving. I had an easy pregnancy/labor/post-partum, I like to credit all to healthy eating (as much as possible) and working out.


    The way I see it is so many women have pregnancies where they can't work out, I felt lucky enough to be able to. So I keep pushing until I couldn't!

    Of course listen to your doctor, but also to your body. At some point the only cardio I could do was stationary cycling. Boring, but at least I was doing some cardio. Everything else would feel weird. I couldn't squat the last 2 months either, but deadlifts were always ok. Listen to your body and congrats again :)
  • fuelednfit
    fuelednfit Posts: 177 Member
    Congrats Hey Qually guess who's pregnant too? I am 6 weeks what about you. My medical team told me for 1st trimester to keep doing the same exercise regimen. As you progress there might be a few things you can't do anymore as efficiently. I was told I would have to reduce intensity as the pregnancy progresses. Also I believe as you get in the 2nd, but surely the 3rd trimester you can't do exercise that require you lie on your back anymore, the weight of the baby occludes the vena cava and you can become dizzy and faint. Just mention your exercise routine to your Dr. whenever you see him and he will tell you when to and how to modify your exercise, but you can definitely keep moving.
    How is the diabetes? mine came back uncontrolled with a vengeance and I am back on insulin, despite that before pregnancy I was off med and control by diet and exercise
  • QuallyLeShay
    QuallyLeShay Posts: 37 Member
    revertt2d wrote: »
    Congrats Hey Qually guess who's pregnant too? I am 6 weeks what about you. My medical team told me for 1st trimester to keep doing the same exercise regimen. As you progress there might be a few things you can't do anymore as efficiently. I was told I would have to reduce intensity as the pregnancy progresses. Also I believe as you get in the 2nd, but surely the 3rd trimester you can't do exercise that require you lie on your back anymore, the weight of the baby occludes the vena cava and you can become dizzy and faint. Just mention your exercise routine to your Dr. whenever you see him and he will tell you when to and how to modify your exercise, but you can definitely keep moving.
    How is the diabetes? mine came back uncontrolled with a vengeance and I am back on insulin, despite that before pregnancy I was off med and control by diet and exercise

    Congrats!!!! I explained at my first on appointment what all I was doing and he seemed to think I would be fine. Said to be careful when doing any yoga because I'll be able to stretch more but also more prone to injury because my balance will be messed up. Under statement of the century. Lol. And that i would have to decrease the high intensity stuff as it became uncomfortable. They went ahead and did a glucose screening and I'm good for now at least. So excited about that!!! I can't imagine how bummed you are too have to be dealing with it again