I recently started doing some Pilates to keep me fit throughout pregnancy. A lot of people recommended it so I though I'd give it a go. Before IVF treatment I was quite fit. I did tap dance once a week, I went to the gym in addition to that and as I can't sit still and have no patients I always run up and down the stairs rather than taking the lift at work.
But like so many things in my life IVF changed this as well. I felt emotionally and physically drained, my massively expanding ovaries (remember I had high risk of OHSS - Ovarion Hyper Stimulation Syndrome - and they had to abandon that first cycle after egg retrieval) made me feel massive and I had stomach pains. The regularity of injections needed made it difficult to attend my classes AND inject in a relaxed, calm environment which I needed. So I stopped going to the gym, stopped tap dance and was grateful that my 3 floor office has elevators.
Once the frozen embryo transfers started I thought I could get fit again, but it didn't work like that. Either I was just before treatment and needed time for myself to keep it emotionally together or I was just after transfer and was terrified that suddenly starting exercise could be an issue for implantations (even though I know it isn't). So month after month without exercise went by.
Then I was pregnant. You are being told to keep up light exercise but not add anything you didn't used to do. I was absolutely terrified of losing the baby and would have put myself in cotton wool on the couch 24 hours a day if I had the choice. Sport was out of the question. In addition to that I suffered from dizziness and constant shortness of breath early in pregnancy and when I occasionally dared to use the stairs of work (bad conscience time...) I needed 5 - 10 minutes outside the office door to catch my breath before I could go in without raising suspicions.
But now I am 5 months pregnant (Today! Well done, baby!)and well into the 2nd trimester which is referred to as the golden trimester before your sickness & friends from the first trimester stopped but the aches and pains from the third haven't started yet. I doubted this logic at the beginning as it took me well into the 2nd trimester to start feeling better, but I arrived there.
Knowing that being fit can make giving birth quicker and easier and that some of my unfit friends suffered a lot from water in arms and legs (and that exercise can help reduce this) and that I am as unfit as I ever was - I decided that I need to make a change before I am in the 3rd trimester and no longer fit enough to start a routine.
Step 1:
I am much more walking the stairs again both at home and at home - I need to go slowly which is frustrating, but I make it without fainting or panting like a dog.
Step 2:
I bought myself a Pilates Pregnancy DVD. It's called 10 Minute Solution - Pregnancy Pilates and I can really recommend it. It is easy enough for unfit pregnant women to carry out the exercises but give you options and tips to make it more difficult if you are more advanced. You can either do 10 minutes at a time in bite-size chunks or the full 50 minutes program in one go. The instructor also gives advise on how to adjust exercises to the various trimesters of pregnancy. I try to do 10 minutes a day which seems to work well for me. At a price (might only be a current offer though) of £3.98 new on Amazon I can't complain at all...
Step 3:
I used to like swimming and many health providers have now recommended it to me as a good sport in pregnancy, so I hope to be able to take this up soon again as some gentle exercise.
Maybe I'll get fit before giving birth again after all and stand a chance to get my figures back afterwards?
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