A Pregnancy Story: Exercising for Two

I had the best intentions during my first pregnancy. I knew all the benefits to both me and the baby so I was convinced I was going to exercise on a regular basis. Of course I ended up with morning sickness every day for the first two trimester so that didn't happen. It wasn't until the third trimester that I finally did anything which was just walking every night because of the gestational diabetes.

When Addie was almost 6 months old, I really started working out again. Although I stopped off and on over the next year, I really got the exercise bug again after my first miscarriage. Exercise helped me heal. I knew that exercise could help my fertility and I needed to have a goal. I needed something to push for while I healed from that heartbreak. I just pushed harder after my second miscarriage. But struggled to maintain a regular work out schedule as I dealt with the frustrations of struggling for so long.

I had completely given up on exercise and us getting pregnant by the time I had my third miscarriage.

It took a bit for me to get back into it, but eventually I did with Rob. But then much to our surprise we got pregnant again. I hoped with everything I had in me that this one would stick. I took it easy at first. I did some yoga, but refused to do much more than that.

But as I realized that this pregnancy was good and it was time to just enjoy this pregnancy, I started figuring out what I wanted to do. Consistency was definitely a problem at the beginning. I didn't have the energy for the first couple of weeks, plus I forgot all day morning sickness. But I started doing yoga again and realized that I felt better. So every day I did a little more. About halfway through my first trimester I started adding in cardio and strength. Although my body was a little sore at first, I noticed my days were better.

Boredom was now my biggest problem. I had trimester workouts but since trimesters last for about three months, I got bored of doing the same thing over and over again. I started mixing it up. I did some yoga, I did some walking, I had two different pregnancy work outs (later I added a third one) that I mixed around with each week.

By the second trimester my morning sickness was completely gone and I felt awesome. I wanted to work out every day. The weekends when I didn't, I just didn't feel as good as the week days when I did exercise. It was really making a difference. I was feeling good about myself. Just because I have a growing belly doesn't mean I can't have some awesome thighs.

As the weather cooled I did less walking, and truthfully I enjoyed doing my workouts in the privacy of my own living room. Every morning I carved out time to put on my workout clothes and get my heart pumping. I chose to stick with pregnancy DVDs only because I knew I didn't have to worry about pushing myself too hard and trying to do too much. Although sometimes I had to remind myself that it was okay if I did less that day than I did the day before. I was used to pushing myself through my routines but now it was okay to take a break if I needed to. It was even more about listening to my own body.

I mixed it up with three of Moms Into Fitness (by Lindsay Brin) pregnancy videos. I love having a mix and a variety each week. I know that if I get bored then I'm less likely to exercise every day. And although I knew all the benefits thanks to studies out there, my biggest motivator was definitely my 90% of having gestational diabetes again. I wanted to be healthier from the start. I wanted to keep this baby healthy. And if that meant doing something I didn't always want to do every day then I would do it. To me that's being a mom.

I'm in the middle of my second trimester and I'm feeling awesome. I never felt this good when I was pregnant with Addie. I have no intention of stopping any time soon unless my doctor told me that I had to for some reason. It has become more than just keeping me and this baby healthy, it's also because I enjoy it. It's a little me time. I can't say enough about what exercise has done for me. And without a doubt you will find me working out in my living room every day.