Moms-to-be check in week of March 11

E

erinw

Cathlete
Hi all,

I'm starting this check in a day early, I know, but oh well. We haven't had a check in thread in awhile and I want to know how everyone is doing. :)

I am 16 weeks now, and starting to get a bit of a belly. It's very annoying right now, because none of my regular clothes fit, but my maternity clothes are still too big. I tried the bella band, as someone here suggested, but I feel as if I am suffocating when I have it on. I am basically existing in sweat pants and loose fitting exercise pants (or even, I dare to admit, pajama bottoms). Is anyone else having this trouble? I feel fine, and am not having that many weird cravings so far. I just seem to want salty foods more now, which I don't recall with my first pregnancy. I could live on pretzels and popcorn!

As for my workout routine, I have been pretty diligent about getting in my exercise 6 days a week. I tried my first pregnancy video this week, Lindsay Brin's Second Trimester Workout. It has two 25 minute interval routines with weights and a short yoga section. I did all of it on Thursday. One was not enough for me. It was pretty basic and easy, but not as easy as I had thought. I still got a bit of a sweat going. I've been having to modify my aerobics and weight training a lot, such as reducing the intensity and relying solely on a 6" step. I can't seem to use the heavy weights I was building up to recently. I find myself doing some of my easier workouts. But as long as I am still getting in my exercise, I guess it doesn't really matter.

The workouts I did last week were as follows:

Sunday- Cathe's SJP, plus my own seperate ab routine (from Fit to Deliver)
Monday- Step Blast
Tuesday- Kimberly Spreen's 10 minute Solution Fitness Ball Workout (all 5 sections)
Wednesday- Kimberly's CIA Cardio Camp workout (minus the leg routine)
Thursday- the aforementioned Second Trimester workout by Lindsay Brin
Friday- CIA 2504 (Jammin' 32's with Ann Marie Sills)

I have really grown to love Kimberly Spreen as an instructor and hope to get more of her workouts soon. I know she has a new coming out with CIA later this year. Her Cardio Camp workout is one of my favorites.

How is everyone else doing? I hope to hear from some of you. :)

Erin
 
Erin,

Not pregnant here, but hoping to be. I just had a copule qxs for you. I'm totally inspired by your energy level during pregnancy to keep up with all those workouts! My question was, do you regularly do step routines throughout your pregnancy? My OB seemed to be not so hot about the idea. Did your OB say 6" height was okay? When I do get pregnant, I would love to keep doing my Cathe step workouts modified, but wasn't even sure if that was a good idea because of other opinions on it. People say that as you get further along you tend to get clumsier because of the loosening of your hips and all that. Are you finding that? Do you also wear a heartrate monitor? If so, do you stay under the 140bpm?

Sorry for hijacking your thread, but your workout routine and discipline was very insipiring!

Lisa
 
Hi Lisa and Erin.

I"m kind of jumping the gun here, but I believe I'm 5 weeks along, so I will go ahead and post here. BTW, my DH doesn't know yet...so don't TELL him!!!! I think I'll wait until my gyn appt early April. ;) So you're the only ones to know!!!!

So far, just mucosal changes, breast tenderness, fatigue. No nausea yet...may be on it's way! I've been on a Turbo Jam kick lately. I will keep more track of my workouts now that I'll be posting.

Sun: 60 min TJ Ball
Mon: off
Tue: 45 min cardio kickbox
Wed: 60 min step
Thurs: off
Fri: 60 min cardio
Sat: off

Lisa, with all my pg's I have kept my current workout routine and modified as needed (at some point moved from 8 to 6 inch step and didn't jump as much/high). Also I was careful not to become anaerobic. Other than that...continued same routines & even jogged until 6 months or so. Some obs are more conservative with their recommendations...these seem to be inactive obs who don't workout themselves!!! ;) I look forward to your upcoming posts Lisa.



~Melanie~

Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

" Take care of your body like it will last a lifetime. Take care of your soul like it will last for eternity"
 
Hi Lisa and Melainie :)

I am glad to have some ladies to talk to on this thread. Lisa, to answer your questions, let me preface it by saying with my first pregnancy, I only made it to 31 weeks. My son was born prematurely and stayed in the NICU for 31 days. He is perfectly fine now, and 4 years old. But I never got to the really uncomfortable phase of pregnancy and was never that big. So I can't say that I ever noticed that I was unsteady or clumsy when exercising. As for using a 6" step, I have never asked my OB that specifically. She just tells me to cut down the intensity and keep my heart rate under 140 bpm. I figure all I can do is listen to my body, and if I feel winded, stop, or slow down. I have done step aerobics since I was about 17 or 18, so I am well used to it. I have only recently, maybe in the past year or two, started doing Cathe, which is when I realized I could up my step height to 8" without killing myself. But I don't miss the 8" height now, as 6" is what I am used to and I still get a good workout. Yes, I did step aerobics all the way through my last pergnancy, and never had any problems. But again, I didn't make it past 7 months. I don't wear a heart rate monitor, but have been thinking of getting one. I tend to rely more on the talk test and perceived rate of exertion. I hope that answers all your questions. And thanks so much for all your compliments. It truly means a lot to me. I wish you the best of luck and hope you will succeed in your goal very soon. :)

Melanie, it sounds like you are doing great. And congrats on your pregnancy. I hope your husband is happy when he finds out. It sounds like you will be a busy woman with four kids. My hats off to you! BTW, I agree that different OBs will tell you different things. I think it has a lot to do with age, and the older ones still subscribe to the old idea of pregnant women shouldn't do much and just rest. But research shows that exercise helps in so many ways, so as long as you do it smartly and safely, it should do nothing but benefit you and your baby.

Take care everyone!
 
Erin and Melanie,

Thanks for answering my qxs. I excercised throughout my first two pregnancies, but it's funny how dr's recommendations change throughout the years. With my first pg, I did mostly kickboxing and cardio machines since my ob at the time said no running or jogging. With my second pg, I had a different ob who said jogging is okay, but I stuck with kickboxing, cardio machines, and walking. Both were against step. I'm still with the same ob I had with my second pg, and when I got pg the third time (which I ended up miscarrying) she told me no step or no spinning and suggested yoga. This time around I think I'm going to listen to my body and go with the perceived exertion test and HRM. I'll probably keep up with the step doing it all low impact at a lower height unless I find myself extremely off balance and clumsy when I do get pg.

Erin, congrats on your pregnancy and I'm glad to hear that your son turned out perfetly fine despite a rough start. When is your EDD?

Melanie, so any new symptoms? How are your kids doing?

Lisa
 
Okay--I'm butting in here, but Melanie!!! congratulations:) I'll be praying for you--I noticed your ticker on another thread.

take care,
Maggie:)
 
Thank you Maggie! That's so sweet of you to notice. I'm at that point where I"m thinking to myself "Am I crazy? Am I going to be able to handle four kids?" I say this with each pregnancy...and I suspect I would continue to say that if I had a million kids. Any thoughts of having number SEVEN?

~Melanie~
"J" due 11/11/07
Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

 
Melanie!

I'm so excited for you!!! At 26.5 weeks, and I'm STILL asking my self if I'm nuts :D I think the initial shock has worn off, but there are still times when I have a hard time imagining a year from now and have no idea how this is going to work. :)

Sending you wishes for a healthy, trouble free pregnancy and lots of happy baby vibes!


PS Did you tell your DH yet? His reaction? (Mine almost wrecked the car, but that's another story! :D)
 
Oh, and just to add to the discussion, I totally agree that different doctors will tell you different things - it can be confusing! The 140 BPM guideline is outdated - it was changed to more of a perceived exertion kind of thing: if you've been working out, stay comfortable, hydrated and don't overheat (i.e. intense running outside in the sun). If you haven't been working out, start slowly and stay comfortable. Personally, I find that my HR varies from day to day, and I can actually START the workout with a HR in the 120's, so trying to keep it under 140 would be insane.

I did Cathe through my other pregnancies, modifying based on how I felt that day. One of my issues with step workouts while pregnant is that when I'm fatigued or having a rough day, my coordination goes out the window and it's easier to trip or mis-step and twist an ankle. I love it for modification, though - it's easy to take it up or down a notch, and I know most of them by heart :D And there's nothing like the feeling of flying over the step when the music is pumping!! :)

I joined a gym last Fall and have been doing a lot more machine cardio and strength workouts there instead of videos. I really miss Cathe!!! But, with three kids 4 and under, it's just too hard to get them to leave me alone and it got to be a safety issue with the weights... I know that will change, and there are days when I can get DH to take them all somewhere so I can pull them out and get in a 'quick fix' :) Once the weather gets warmer, I won't mind getting up in the wee hours to workout, too, so that's something to look forward to.

Guess that turned out longer than I'd intended! I hope you all are feeling good - keep up the good work!
 
Thanks for joining KC. Is this your fifth pg then? I was thinking this was number 4 too? Did you ob do an u/s right away to determine EDD with you? I know with your move and all you said you didn't get in until early 2nd trimester. Are you all moved in now?

My 3 year old is still in diapers (as is his little brother). Now that I know what's coming up...which should I tackle first....getting rid of binky or potty training?!?!?!?

~Melanie~
"J" due 11/11/07
Jadon born 11/23/05
Justin born 1/17/04
Jory born 4/9/94

 
Melanie - I just read your latest update...I'm so sorry! You'll have to definitely keep us posted, though, because now that you know that you're ready :D, it may happen sooner than you think!!

This is #4 for us. The dr. here wouldn't even see me until they thought I was 12 weeks, so when they did the 'early' US, it put me at 14 weeks, but DH and I thought it was even farther along than that based on past history with smallish babies. Things are holding pretty steady, though, and they've agreed to induce at 38 weeks, so I'm happily biding my time :)(FWIW I still think I'm farther along, so maybe I could go earlier - yahoo!)

We're moved in and impatient to start renovations. The house needs a lot of little things, but nothing that we could do in the Winter. As the snow is melting, though, we're gearing up and I'm getting excited :)

The potty training vs binky debate...that's a toughie!! I'd go for the potty training if the binky isn't causing a problem - I think kids need some kind of security thing during big changes, and it would be tough to do both... Or, work on the binky because the potty training will take care of itself in time. Our 3 yo just decided one day, and that was that, if you can believe it! Nothing I was doing had any impact, but once she made up her mind, it was done... So much for all that wasted money on 'potty training systems'!!

Sending hugs and warm thoughts - hope you're doing okay...
 
I'm glad the thread has been so active. Congrats to all my fellow moms-to-be! :)

I asked this question on the Ask Cathe forum, but have yet to get any response from Cathe. So, I thought I'd ask it here. Maybe I should make it a seperate thread here on the pregnancy forum, too.

I am about 16 weeks pregnant, and know that I should not do abdominal exercises lying supine on the floor anymore. I've been attempting to modify Cathe's ab routines by lying on my step in an incline position. But there are two exercises that I can't seem to figure out a modification for and safely do on an incline: the bicycle, and reverse curl. What do you recommend?

Thanks so much!

Edited to add:

I forgot to mention my workouts for this week. I have done pretty well at getting some exercise in every day, though I always take Saturdays off. How is everyone else doing?

Sunday- BM2
Monday- Christi Taylor's Totally Hot Cardio
Tuesday- Kimberly Spreen's 10 minute fitness ball workout (all 5 sections)
Wednesday- Janis Saffell's Kickbox Express (just the first 55 minutes)
Thursday- CIA 2201 (Strength Express with Mindy Mylrea)
Friday- LIC (cardio blast premix, plus my own ab routine)

I must say, my abs have been feeling it since I did Strength Express on Thursday. I had to modify a lot of the moves Mindy did by doing them on an incline, but I still felt it. Yesterday, my ab muscles were tight when I did some exercises from Fit to Deliver. I am enjoying my day off today!

Hope everyone is doing well. Take care!
 
>Hi Lisa and Erin.
>
>I"m kind of jumping the gun here, but I believe I'm 5 weeks
>along, so I will go ahead and post here. BTW, my DH doesn't
>know yet...so don't TELL him!!!! I think I'll wait until my
>gyn appt early April. ;) So you're the only ones to know!!!!
>
>So far, just mucosal changes, breast tenderness, fatigue. No
>nausea yet...may be on it's way!

hi melanie, i'm 5 wks along too, and my first ultrasound is 4/18 can't wait!!! i'm feeling similar to you.. tired with tender breasts. a bit of nausea this morning, but i still did muscle max (although i really tired out in the middle of shoulders :)

best of luck and health to you and all the mommies-to-be!
marnie
 
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