Week 24
Time for action!
This is my first pregnancy and at 39 I really didn’t know what to expect with my body changing shape, my general decline in fitness and the dreaded changes in hormones, but what I have learnt from a very early stage, is that every pregnancy is very different. I have always kept fit with walking, running and cycling but to be honest the first 20 weeks I haven’t felt like doing anything much (must be the hormones)! I was lucky not to have any morning sickness however during the first 12 weeks I felt like I had a constant hangover, you know what I mean - dry mouth, tiredness and major scattiness!! Between then and now I’ve been happy just bumbling along, watching my body change shape and adjusting to the increased size of my boobs (and fending off my boyfriend and his obsession with them!)
Having moved last year to Devon, away from all my family and friends I have found myself searching for a lot of pre-natal information online, as I don’t have my ‘go to’ people close by and let’s be honest, sometimes it’s a struggle to pick up the phone when sometimes you just don’t feel like chatting. As I’m sure you all are aware, it’s a complete minefield with conflicting information everywhere you look, about what exercises are safe during pregnancy and what you can and can’t eat. The newest revelation being that runny eggs are now ok to eat, hooray!!! Up until now I have been salivating watching my boyfriend eat boiled eggs and dippy soldiers; poached eggs on toast was one of my staple easy meals! What I really wanted was a ‘one stop shop’ where I can seek guidance to help keep me on track with my nutrition and exercise during the next stage of my pregnancy. So, I decided to get in touch with Sam Wilson to see if I could get involved with Fitmum. I knew that I would be unable to attend the classes, but if there was an online guide to exercise and nutrition that could help me keep to the right track then that would be ideal.
What I like is the ease of site, where I am able to simply select the pre or post-natal sections. The videos are clear and easy to follow, however if I just want to do my own thing then the exercise sheets provide a perfect guide to putting together my own routine – Both are great depending on what mood I am in! My aim is to dip in and out of the site daily, allowing 20-40 minutes a day for the exercises. I have also just started swimming in my local pool once a week too, which compliments the home exercises perfectly! I am really keen to have a home birth with minimal intervention, I know therefore how important it is to keep my body and mind as healthy as possible to enable me to work through labour at home, so I need to keep focused!
The recipe section is brilliant as I am at the stage where I need a little inspiration, Christmas is fast approaching and I know I can be very tempted to over indulge. I like the fact that l know that I am getting the nutritional values that I need from the simple easy to follow recipes and great to also have the nutritional information as a reference guide. I am certainly not watching my weight but going more with how I feel, something is clearly working as I am sleeping well (apart from the multiple toilet visits) and have lots of energy. This of course I know will change but for now I’m simply embracing it!
