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Published 05.28.2008 | Permanent Link | Comments (9)
Your Baby:
A couple weeks ago I was casually reminded by the powers that be over here that I have yet to utter a single word about pregnancy fitness.
Um. Yeah. I promised to get right up on that, just as soon as I did anything remotely fitness-related.
Um. Yeah.
So I...took a really long walk around Target the other day? I cleaned the house real good and made several consecutive trips up the stairs? We took the firstborn to a neighborhood festival and I'm sure I did some walking in between all the sitting on all the various benches?
I'm not very good at the pregnancy fitness thing, to be perfectly honest. Both times I have celebrated my positive pee stick with the purchase of a single prenatal fitness DVD, and neither of these DVDs have ever actually been used. In fact, I don't even know where they are. One was yoga and the other was just a general fitness/cardio/workout thing. Jason keeps telling me that if I got more exercise I wouldn't be so tired all the time. I think he is probably right, but also that he needs to shut the hell up and bring me some pie.
I am not proud of this, by any means. Staying fit and active during pregnancy is a GOOD THING, do not let my sarcasm make you think I am saying otherwise, and has a buttload of benefits. Delivery is tough and taxing, and women in better physical shape quite often have an easier time. Hell, PREGNANCY is tough and taxing, and the stronger your legs and abs and back muscles are, the better you'll feel.
Obviously, you want to stay away from anything that could be dangerous -- any sport that has a high risk of falls or collisions should be avoided, but stuff like walking, swimming and even running are great ways to stay in shape during pregnancy. Provided, of course, that you know your limits and stay aware of your changing shape and balance and energy levels.
(I am highly amused by the number of pregnancy books that specifically mention BOWLING, as in, yes, bowling is okay but you need to be careful in later pregnancy because of your balance and the strain on your back. I don't know why this amuses me, except for the visual I get of me, with my giant beach-ball belly, hurling a bowling ball down a lane and launching into an epithet-laced tirade when I get yet another gutterball.)
(Nobody ever wants to go bowling with me anymore. I really don't know why. It's not like when I was losing at Clue and threw the board on the floor or anything.)
I try to walk regularly, though, and I am serious about all the stair climbing. We lived on the top floor of a walk-up condo building last time so I got LOADS of exercise that way, and now that pregnancy brain has fully kicked in I feel like I am constantly climbing stairs at my house only to forgot why I went up them in the first place, only to walk down and then remember. I do squats and leg lifts while I brush my teeth or before I get into bed -- the extra weight around my middle actually seems to make squats even MORE effective in toning the problem upper-thigh area, and of course I do my Kegels. Which, while not "pregnancy fitness" exactly, are essential nonetheless now that I live in fear of every cough and sneeze and what they do to my bladder.
Oh Yeah, THIS: Nesting! Already. God. I am filled with a myriad of overwhelming compulsive tics to rearrange furniture and finally frame those photos and I reorganized the DVDs and the silverware drawer and the other day I leafed through an Elfa catalog and nearly passed out from all the delicious, heavenly organization.
New This Time Around: I'm at just under the halfway point and I think I already have names picked out, both for a boy and a girl. Jason won't fully commit to either but we're in pretty good agreement about both. This is...not right. This is...too easy. This is...a sign that at next Wednesday's ultrasound we will get the news that we are not having a boy OR a girl but some other previously unconsidered third option that will somehow send us back to the names drawing board altogether.
Pregnancy Video for the Week:
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3) Baby 101: How to Dress a Newborn
1) The Five Most (and Least) Useful Baby Products
2) How to Create a Last-Minute Baby Registry
3) How to Buy Nursing Bras Before You Give Birth
Zero to Forty is a week-by-week guide to the miracle of pregnancy and all the various indignities that come with it. The calendar follows the forty-week model and is complete for now, though the author plans to come back and add some more articles soon.
The follow-up to this column, Bounce Back, is about the postpartum experience -- the good, the bad and the gory. There Amalah is covering everything that happens to your body, mind and circadian rhythms after you have a baby, and (hopefully) help you make sense of the New Normal. You must go read that too!
The column is well-researched but not written by a health care professional. Consider it your internet BFF pregnancy guide. See our legal disclaimer below.
Amy Corbett Storch, aka Amalah, is a freelance writer and professional blogger from Washington, DC. She has since had this baby. His name is Ezra, he was born in October of 2008 and is delicious. Amy's first son Noah is in preschool and he's pretty edible too. NomNomNom.
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Comments (9):
Aimee said:
I'm so glad you mentioned the pregnancy fitness issue. I'm not pregnant, but very curious about everything, as it will likely happen in the next 2 or 3 years. I work out most days of the week with a combination of running, lifting weights, and yoga and am concerned about what doctors will tell me when I'm pregnant. I hear that many doctors strongly recommend against any exercise beyond walking, but I read an article recently about a marathon runner who trained while pregnant and ran the marathon just a few months postpartum. Are doctors getting wiser about exercise during pregnancy? Is the general consensus that any exercise you were doing before getting pregnant should be fine during pregnancy? (not starting an exercise program once pregnant)?
Posted on May 28, 2008 10:41
oneluckymommy said:
I LOVE your comments on pregnancy fitness - I too used stairs as a major form of exercise. Parking far away from the door of the store was also common.
Now that I am a new mom, I feel that *real* pregnancy exercise should include some sort of "carry 10 pounds while doing everything you do" should be included in he first 6 months. My knees and arms and lower back complain on a regular basis as I get up from the floor or couch with her in my arms or lift her out of the crib. Arm strength in general does not seem to be a focus of published pregnancy fitness programs - and BOY do you need it!
Posted on May 28, 2008 22:57
Victoria said:
Aimee: as a bit of minor fitness freak myself, i was very interested in this topic when I first got pregnant earlier this year. I found James Clapp's Exercising Through Your Pregnancy (http://www.amazon.com/Exercising-Through-Pregnancy-James-Clapp/dp/1886039593) to be very interesting and reassuring on that score. It not only explains the many benefits to mother & baby, it also explains a lot of fascinating physical adaptations that the body goes through to protect the baby while you're working. His conclusion (and that of every other book I've read so far) is that most of the old recommendations are entirely too cautious, esp. for people who were active before getting pregnant. Basically, if you feel good, there's no reason to hold back. Just be careful if in the past you've been the type whose enthusiasm sometimes leads to overtraining and injury... and don't push too hard. totally not my problem! When I get tired, I'm happy to quit, I just start again later on or the next day. So far (20 weeks!) I've been *very* happy and comfortable continuing my 5-6 days per week regimen of weight training, NIA dance classes, elliptical machine work and lots of city walking at around 80-90% of the intensity I used to be able to muster.
Posted on May 31, 2008 16:21
rachel said:
aimee -
i think i read that same article lol, i forgot what magazine it was but i remember that it said she ran 5 miles the day before the baby was born and thinking that was amazing considering how huge her belly had be. and from everything i've read (i've never been pregnant but i read a lot online, like this website), you can keep exercising during pregnancy and just be more cautious about injuries and such. i read somewhere that machines are safer than free weights and thus better for pregnant women. and i think you're not supposed to let your heartbeat get above a certain amount but i don't know what it is. i know that if somebody told me to quit exercising and lay on my couch when i get pregnant i'd probably shoot them. i get cranky without my workouts. hope this helps a little bit! :)
Posted on June 2, 2008 13:09
Stephanie said:
I have my 20 week sonogram tomorrow (Wednesday) as well. It will be nice to be able to refer to the "baby in Mommy's tummy" as "your new brother/sister" to my 26 month old daughter. Good luck and I hope he/she cooperates!
Posted on June 3, 2008 12:33
Anonymous said:
I am no longer pregnant (proud mom of an almost 5-year old) but have assvice (of course :)). When I was first pregnant, I could care less about fitness (too busy sleeping), but then at around 12 weeks got horrible sciatica. I thought I was crippled. I eventually found that pregnancy yoga and light walking did wonders. I was not pain free, but this helped keep my muscles stretched and capable of normal existence. The sciatica subsided somewhat when I entered 3rd trimester, but I continued with the yoga just for fun. My $.02.
Posted on June 3, 2008 14:46
From Dawn Till Rusk said:
Great post. I have a really good friend in Scotland who is pregnant with her first and she is a fitness instructor. Am very tempted to direct her to your site - just not sure if it will comfort her or make her wish to god she hadn't got pregnant in the first place!
Posted on June 7, 2008 15:37
Lizabits said:
Check out http://www.xfitmom.com
If you are physically active before becoming pregnant, you can typically continue along the same lines throughout your pregnancy. The thing to avoid is suddenly starting something brand new and a whole lot harder. I found in my first trimester (I'm now 15 weeks), the only time I didn't feel nauseated was during/just after exercising quite vigorously. Walking is great too, of course, but keep those muscles stronger than you think you need to!
Posted on August 21, 2008 09:31
erin said:
oh dear! I just joined a bowling league and I'm 18 weeks..will be rather rotund when the league actually starts!
Posted on September 5, 2008 16:08