I haven't managed to post for over a week! I can't tell you how much I am cramming into my days now that I have energy and am feeling normal. I know that by June the combination of the heat and being in my 30th week (God willing) will have me slowing down somewhat - so I am making the most of now.
I have taken on a lot of teaching - which I do enjoy, but mostly it's great to be earning some money and replenishing our savings (which have and will diminish rather rapidly as house building and furnishing continues) as I plan on taking a year off when the baby comes. I have often declared that I will be taking time off work only to find myself slowly taking more and more on a few months later. I'm thinking that having a baby might change all that.
Anyway this post was inspired by St. Elsewhere who asked me about my yoga practice during pregnancy and my TTC saga. So I decided to do a post about all the things I have been doing to get 'birthfit'.
In fact the whole concept of getting birthfit I only came upon in my first trimester. I knew that if I had a straightforward pregnancy I would want to have a natural birth at home. And I pretty much thought that was all there was to it - I just had to make the decision. It was only when I picked up this book:
That it became clear that I actually had to prepare my body and my mind for this. In fact I actually had to start training for it. Dr. Motha compares childbirth to running a marathon - and you wouldn't just sit on a sofa, eat chips, watch TV and then expect to be able to run a marathon a few months later.
Now prior to getting pregnant I was very much into my healthy lifestyle of eating well and doing yoga. I'm not fastidious about it - DEFINITELY NOT. I love my chocolate and enjoy indulging in a bowl of ice-cream in front of a good movie, fairly regularly. But I know that I feel like sh*t if I don't move. And power yoga was my activity of choice. It's great for promoting fertility too - it helps to regulate your hormones, get the blood pumping to the uterus and ovaries and I always felt great while doing it. However power yoga is not what you want to be doing if you are in the TWW. (All jumping, inversions and twisting should be avoided in the TWW and then while pregnant also.) So I would always take a break during that half of the month and just do gentle walking or stretches, until the big POAS moment came. Mostly there was no good news. But when the good news finally came I said goodbye to my power yoga class and took up gentler forms of yoga.
For the first trimester I tried to walk and do yoga at least three times a week. When I felt tired or groggy I would rest, I never pushed myself. After my miscarriage I wanted to take this trimester particularly easy. It was during this time that a friend gave me a copy of the Gentle Birth Method. On the back Dr. Gowri Motha was quoted "I have always been bemused by the fact that many pregnant women spend longer preparing the nursery for the baby than their bodies." That struck a chord with me. So I decided to read on. And then the first paragraph to her book had me sold. And even now I read it to reinforce why I am so focused on getting birth fit:"If you imagine that pregnancy means waddling, puffing up stairs and being the size of a house, then you're going to be pleased you bought this book. Because if there's one thing that characterizes absolutely all the mothers who follow my programme, it's this - they're light on their feet.... and the only water they retain is kept in a bottle in their handbags." She goes on to explain that the aim of the diet and exercise programme is to create a decongested pelvis and cervix so to allow the body to be in optimum condition for a gentle birth.
In the first trimester it stressed that it is quite normal and expected that exercise would be kept to a minimum. The combination of nausea, vomiting and exhaustion (not to mention fear of losing a long-sought after pregnancy) naturally limited the amount of energy and time I had to exercise, but when I could, I did, and actually I felt that the yoga and walking helped to take the edge off the nausea. This is the yoga DVD I did solely in the first trimester:
It is really so effective and easy to follow - and it is a joy to do. I followed the woman in her second trimester as I didn't want to push myself and do the full range of movement they show for the woman in her first trimester. The squats and hip opening exercises feel amazing and I can really feel a difference. I love all the side stretches too as I feel like I'm creating more room in my body for the baby and all the deep breathing means there's more oxygen too.
When I entered the second trimester I kicked the exercise routine into high gear. I walk everyday for at least 30 minutes and I do yoga for about an hour too. I still do the Shiva Rea DVD but now I alternate with a Kundalini yoga routine with Gurmukh (who is incredible!):
Kundalini yoga is a physical, mental & spiritual discipline for developing inner energy and awareness. I find this DVD more challenging both physically and mentally. The three-minute exercise is a killer at first but with dedication it can be done, and you really feel like you've achieved something once you can do it. You have to keep your arms at shoulder height and move your thumbs up and down in a circular motion for 3 minutes continuously. It feels like your arms are gonna fall off - but of course they don't! - and it's all about building your inner strength and mental capacity to go through the pain barrier. Very useful for birthing, I'm sure! I can just about do it now and feels amazing to conquer the doubt and negativity in your mind.
In the Gentle Birth Method diet is very important to getting birthfit. Dr. Motha wants you to avoid fluid retention and excess mucus production as this congests the vaginal tissues and restricts the cervix from gently opening. So she advocates eliminating wheat and other mucus producing foods, like sugar, as a way to avoid pelvic oedema. Definitely no sodas, pastries or other naughty foods. However you are allowed one treat a week. Though I will be honest and say that, while I do restrict myself, a piece of dark chocolate has become a daily treat for me.
In addition to restricting yourself from the yummy stuff, there is also an upside - all the body treatments! She recommends your partner perform massages on you at least twice a week in the second trimester. These include a pelvic drainage massage with olive oil - which Mr. T has been getting quite expert at. It feels amazing, I can feel liquid draining away and my pelvis and hips feel lighter and I do look more compact the morning after. It's great for him too as he feels more connected with the baby as he strokes my tummy and hips. She also recommends weekly treatments of reflexology, acupuncture or reiki also.
Apart from all the body preparation there is also a lot of mental preparation too. This I find the hardest of all. I have finally mastered the first part of the self-hypnosis where you go into deep relaxation and now I am moving on to the next step which is visualization. Visualizing a safe place - a garden, the beach - whatever makes you feel calm, safe and relaxed. My biggest problem is that most of the time I start this I just fall asleep. Maybe I get a little too relaxed? I try and do these self-hypnosis exercises twice a week at least.
The exercises, massage and diet all intensifies in the third trimester - I have read on a bit but don't want to jinx it, I don't let myself look too far ahead still - where no treats are allowed, more hip opening exercises and walking, more visualizations and the start of perineum massages... Mr. T doesn't know about this yet. Wondering if he'll find it a turn on, or say YOU WANT ME TO DO WHAT???
All of this getting birthfit business does massively fill up my time (with work too) so that I barely get a chance to blog... but that also means I don't feel like this pregnancy is plodding by slowly. In fact the time seems to have raced along and I can't believe I will be 22 weeks this weekend. The countdown has officially begun - Operation Birthfit is picking up pace!
