Search Results for: blog exercise during pregnancy

The Importance of Pregnancy Support Groups

If you’re pregnant and feeling uncertain, or even if you feel great about pregnancy/childbirth, I still have an important recommendation: try to find a support group.  Not necessarily one called “pregnancy support group,” but try to find a group of other veteran, new, or expecting moms to spend time with. The support that’s offered just from spending time with others in the same boat, or who have been through it recently, is invaluable.  A lot of the weird things about pregnancy can be less alarming if you have others to talk about them with, who can say: “oh yes, that … Continue reading →

More Fun Pregnancy Symptoms: Leg Cramps

In the middle of the night a few weeks ago I woke up with a terrible pain in my leg.  I cried out about it, and immediately began trying to rub and move my leg.  My more-than-half-asleep husband drowsily watched me do this.  He watched me try to bend my leg, to rub it, to put weight and hobble around the room on it.  When I made it to the bathroom he followed me, and asked me if I thought I was just having Braxton-Hicks.  In my leg.  Now we know that if I go into labor in the middle … Continue reading →

Five Weird Pregnancy Symptoms

There are a number of weird, though perfectly normal, side effects to pregnancy that no one tells you about.  You might get all or none of these, and it could vary from one of your pregnancies to another. 1. Bloody Gums.  Early in the second trimester I began noticing a bit more blood than normal when I flossed.  I went to my routine dentist appointment, and the hygienist confirmed that yup, that’s just something that can happen when you’re pregnant.  Chalk this one down to hormones; they’re making your gums (and other parts) more inflamed than usual.  Pregnant women are … Continue reading →

Baby Your Feet During Pregnancy

Pregnancy affects your whole body, but it affects some parts more noticeably than others. One area in which you might see and feel some major changes is your feet. If you think about it, this makes perfect sense. Your feet are used to carrying you around, but over the past few months you have been getting bigger and bigger. It is not uncommon for your feet to hurt and swell, but here are some tips to help you out. If you can, find some time each day to put your feet up. Elevating feet can help to reduce the amount … Continue reading →

Common Pregnancy Myths

As soon as you (or your belly) announce to the world that you are pregnant, the flow of unsolicited advice from everyone – even complete strangers – begins. As you are bombarded with this “information” on a daily basis, it can be hard to sort out what is true and what is not. It is also important to realize that much of what is said is based upon the opinion of the person saying it and that you are the best judge of what is right for you and your baby. Here are a couple of the more common pregnancy … Continue reading →

Recovering After Pregnancy

Although the birth of each of my sons was different, I have noticed a similarity between the two experiences in how I feel afterwards. The overall theme of what I felt after my first pregnancy and what I am feeling now is to get up, get out, get moving, and otherwise resume my normal daily activities. As I share my experience in the pregnancy recovery department, please keep in mind that since each woman and each pregnancy is different, your plan for pregnancy recovery and resumption of daily activities should be discussed with your doctors or midwives to ensure your … Continue reading →

Tips for Post Partum Exercise

There is a lot to be said about post partum exercise. Whether the motivation is to lose pregnancy weight, get fit after baby, or to simply get back into the routine (all of these are my motivation to exercise post partum), there are a number of things that you can do to make your post partum workouts a success. First and foremost: mental preparation. You need to get it in your head that you are going to start working out as soon as you are physically able be it four weeks post partum or twelve weeks post partum. Based on … Continue reading →

Exercise During Pregnancy

Everyone knows that exercise during pregnancy is a good thing, if your prenatal care provider feels that you are healthy enough to exercise. Of course, when you are pregnant, exercising may not be something that you feel like doing much of the time especially if you feel nauseous or tired. I have been pregnant twice, and the first time around I did not exercise very much. The second time, I exercised regularly from the time that I discovered that I was pregnant until a week before my son was born, when my midwives decided that it was not safe for … Continue reading →

The Pre Pregnancy Jeans

There is a lot of anticipation for post partum women to get back into their pre pregnancy jeans. It seems to be an ever present goal one that marks the successful manipulation of the post pregnant body back to what is considered normal. To an even greater extent, a woman’s pre pregnancy jeans fitting again after giving birth is the litmus test that the woman has officially bounced back. This has been my position from the very beginning of my first pregnancy. I thought that if my pre pregnancy jeans fit again after my baby was born, then I would … Continue reading →

Losing the Pregnancy Weight Part IV

Exercising is always a challenge but it seems to be more difficult during the post partum period of a woman’s life. There are so many things to which we as new mother’s are adjusting. It is not an easy transition even if the motivation is there. I began preparing myself for the post partum phase from the very beginning of my pregnancy. I knew that regular exercise and a healthy holistic diet through out my pregnancy would prepare me for the post partum fitness transition. It was my goal to bounce back as quickly as possible. Once my daughter was … Continue reading →