Pregnancy Blog
7/21/10 The Baby's Cooperating
Why is it, they say, that a woman is pregnant for "9 months"? If that were the case, I would be home with a newborn right now. At 37 weeks, I'm moving into month 10. This will be short because it's 9:00 pm and WAY past my bedtime...and bedtime isn't what it used to be. Being a stomach sleeper, I had a hard time after week 10 having to sleep on my back. Now, it's either my right side or my left side and it takes me about 10 minutes to make that transition from one side to the other. Between switching sides and having to use the bathroom every hour, I might as well just give up on bedtime. Okay, enough complaining! Yes, the end is hard, but the end is near and the reward is great. We had an ultrasound today to confirm the baby's position and he/she is happily head down, way down. My amniotic fluid is at a normal level, which was also a huge relief for us. I'm still practicing about 3 or 4 times a week and it's usually the only time during the day when my body actually feels good. Every stretch and bend in the postures is exactly what I need at that time. I can't imagine going through this without the yoga.
6/30/10 Owww, what was that? 6 weeks is nothing and I'm feeling a little stressed. We're in the process of moving our 2 1/2 year old into a big boy bed. It's working okay for night time, but naps is another story. For the last two naps, it's taken me about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to keep him in there. In bed, out of bed, in bed, out of bed. I made endless promises of new trucks and books, and taken away his favorite trucks and books. Nothing seems to work until I put him in the baby's crib and he's behind bars with no escape. Add to that potty training. Oh yeah, and I'm 8 months preganant. The pregnancy is an after thought when it comes to a typical day. I feel bad that this poor baby is already being ignored. The only time I do pay 100% attention to the baby is during a Bikram class. The baby continues to be so active during class with kicking and rolling all over the place. The class is definitely getting harder with each passing week. This week, I've noticed it most during triangle pose and my version of rabbit, which is cat/cow. I can tell that my ligaments have started to relax a bit and triangle is tough!! When I practice by myself, I keep my straight leg (not the 90 degree angle leg) on my mat, so it doesn't slip. I know that's cheating, but if I didn't do it, I think I'd pull every muscle in my groin. Now I'm REALLY going to be on your case if I notice you doing that in class because it makes the posture SO much easier! Cat/cow feels so strange because in the "cow" part you round your spine and it feels like I am totally squishing the baby. Needless to say, I don't push it in that one. I've also created a new posture - turnaroundasana. I spend about the same amount of time turning around between the postures in the floor series as I do in the first set of Standing Bow. What a chore. It's really hard when you don't have any use of your abdominal muscles and you've got 5+ pounds on your belly weighing you down. Good news is the baby is still in the right position, knock on wood. I REALLY want this VBAC to work, so I'm crossing my fingers that he/she won't turn. Stay tuned for pictures in the next blog!!
6/7/10 9 weeks to go! We’re moving into the single digits now, with only 9 weeks to go! I can’t believe how fast the last few months have gone by. I’m still practicing 3 – 4 times a week and feel great. Let me rephrase that…I feel as great as you can feel with a basketball attached to your belly. Besides the road map on my right leg where you can map out almost every vein from my ankle to my knee, I have no other major complaints. The postures are getting harder to do, especially if the baby’s in a tight spot. Sometimes, when I start the first set of Half Moon, I feel like I might squeeze the tiny legs a little too much if I bend too deep to the side. In Backward Bending, the baby has no choice but to do it with me. For him or her, I guess it’s more like a handstand! The strengthening postures wear me out, and my balance is totally off. It’s a great reminder for me that I’m not here to look good in my postures, I’m here to feel good in my body. Teaching also poses its own challenges. You might see me sitting down more (okay, maybe almost the whole class), drinking a ton of water, or short of breath. It doesn’t mean I’m not watching, or that I’m going to let things slide…no, no, no. I’ll still do my best to torture you with a smile on my face. I just can’t torture you with the same kind of energy that I had before. I’ll probably start winding down my teaching next month when our new teacher, Jennifer, gets back, but until then you’ll see me waddling around the studio!
5/11/10 Third Trimester Begins I can't believe I'm already entering my third trimester. It's going by so fast! I felt like I was so much more prepared for my first one. By now in my first pregnancy, I had the room painted, furniture set up, diapers in the drawer. Not this time. This baby will be lucky if he/she has a name! This baby moves around a LOT which makes me think that 1) he/she has more room to move and my fluid levels are good and 2) this baby's going to be a lot crazier than Toby. I would feel Toby kicking every day, but not performing the same type of gymnastics that baby #2 is fond of. It's so crazy to look down and see that just 12 inches from my face is a little heel or elbow pushing against my skin from the inside. It's my favorite part of being pregnant. The baby especially likes to move during class. He/she usually stays quiet in the standing series and starts his/her routine in the floor series. I would say wind removing pose is probably his/her least favorite. I can hear him saying "Ease up, Mom, it's alreay tight quarters in here!" He/She loves the backward bends, although sometimes I feel like if I backward bend too much, I might be putting him/her in a compromising position. I'm happy to say that my back pain is completely gone and I would attribute that to the yoga and completing the 25 day challenge. I have always been a true believer that the yoga helps with back pain, but I've truely never experienced it until this pregnancy. I couldn't bend over, it hurt to sit in the sar for too long, and a massage didn't help a bit. After completing the challenge and taking it slow in my forward bends, I felt 100% better. That's all for now, more pictures to come soon! 4/19/10 The baby LOVES yoga!!
4/7/10 Oh, my aching back Now I can really relate to the students who come to the studio with daily back pain. I’m just hoping it will disappear along with my belly and varicose veins. It’s this dull, aching feeling that just doesn’t seem to want to go away. The only time I forget about it is when I’m practicing! I’m following the same advice we give to students: Work hard in the backward bends and take it easy in the forward bends. I don’t pull quite as hard on my heels in Hands to Feet pose & Separate Leg Stretching and I ease in and out of Half Tortoise. I had been feeling so good up until now! I’m the type of person who rarely admits—to myself and others—that things are excellent because I know that something will probably go wrong as soon as I think things are perfect. I wouldn’t call myself a pessimist, just a realist. Well, I’m feeling reality and it’s no fun. I’ve been trying to figure out why I’m soar this time around and I felt so great with my first pregnancy. My question was answered last night when my two-year old son called out in the middle of the night with a wet diaper and after changing it, I leaned over to place him back in his crib and felt it right away. It’s the 27-pound weight that I’m constantly leaning over to pick up or put down. Unfortunately, my son’s going to have to get used to hearing “Sorry, buddy, Mommy’s back hurts!”
3/12/10 We saw the spine! Now at 18 weeks, I’m surprised at how big I already feel. I guess it’s true that you do “pop” quicker with your second pregnancy. We had an ultrasound last week and baby D was quite stubborn (I guess a trait of the Leo sign which is what he/she will be). The technician was trying to photograph all the vital parts and that little lion just wouldn’t turn around; he/she was facing my back the whole time. Well, at least he was head down! It was amazing seeing the tiny, rounded spine, two little kidneys, and barely an inch-long femur bone. I’ve been waiting anxiously for that first little kick. With Toby, I felt his first movements during yoga. Usually after the camel or cat/cow (what I do instead of rabbit pose), I would turn around in savasana and feel a little push. Like he was saying “more, more!” I finally felt that first movement this week, but at a time I didn’t expect. I finished class on Friday morning, enjoying the final savasana, and Mike started singing. All of a sudden…Pow, right to the belly. Maybe this baby appreciates music more than movement! Some of the postures that I’ve been having the hardest time with are actually the breathing exercises. I feel like a beginner when I do the pranayama breathing. I just can’t inhale for 6 seconds! It feels like forever. The baby places increases demands on my circulatory & respiratory systems, which makes it harder for me to take deep breaths. And with the release of the hormone, relaxin, my abdominal muscles have started to relax, allowing the rectus abdominus to separate. This makes the kapalbati breathing almost impossible, especially second set. Oh well, by that time I’m just psyched to have finished the class!
2/3/10 There’s No Hiding it Now At this point, people are thinking either she’s pregnant, or she’s been indulging in too many chocolate chip cookies. To be honest, both statements are true. After a rough first few months of indigestion and excessive sleepiness, I finally feel like I have my energy back and am psyched to be teaching and practicing. I feel like I’m not getting as much out of the pregnancy modifications now, but I know I will in a few more months. The class feels easier, but I’m enjoying being able to do it. My balance is WAY off and the 2nd part of awkward is a huge struggle for me. I know it’s good for the circulation in my legs which will hopefully help with my varicose veins (thanks, genetics). One of my goals for this baby is to be able to deliver him/her naturally and not via cesarean section like I had to with Toby. A vbac. A friend of mine recently had one and said it went well and the recovery was a LOT easier than with the c-section. The c-section was a piece of cake; in fact, I was coaching my husband on breathing techniques while I was being operated on. It’s the recovery that bothered me. I practiced throughout my entire pregnancy, including the day before I delivered, but I had to wait 6 weeks after having Toby before I could comfortably do anything, including walk my dog! Having the c-section made me realize how much you use your abdominal muscles and how important it is to strengthen them. Getting out of bed, laughing, coughing, turning…all of those actions seemed impossible after having a c-section. I’ve heard the pain during labor and delivery can me mind-numbing, but I’m hoping that deep breathing and strength of mind will help!
First Trimester almost over! Toby will have a brother or sister come this summer (August 10th to be exact!) and I thought it might be fun to share with you my experience practicing Bikram Yoga during my pregnancy. Several of you approached me after learning you were pregnant asking if Bikram was okay to do during your pregnancy. Most of you got a big “No” from your Doctor. Every woman is different and every pregnancy is different, but here’s why I wouldn’t have another baby without it! When I learned I was pregnant with Toby, I was spending about 20 hours a week in the 105 degree hot room between teaching and practicing. My body was used to the heat. I talked to my Midwives about the yoga and they approached it with a very open mind. They said as long as my body temperature never went above 100 (and some said 101), that I should be fine. They stressed the importance of staying hydrated, as well. Now, if you’re new to the yoga, only practice here and there, or are in a high risk group, come and see us 6 weeks post-partum. So, during class (after triangle, when I felt my body temp would be the highest) I ran out into the hallway to take my temp. Throughout my entire 9 months, it never rose above 99 degrees. Starting at about 11 weeks, I switched to the pregnancy modifications which included no front side compressions and no spine strengthening series on the belly (oh, darn). Instead, the postures are designed to stretch and strengthen the key muscles that are used in labor and delivery. Your mindset while practicing pregnant is completely different than the rest of the class. While they are pushing themselves to the limit, a pregnant yogi is supposed to relax, do what feels right, and listen to your body. That was hard for me to do considering I’ve been “pushing myself” for 9 years in the hot room! I felt amazing throughout my entire pregnancy. I stayed strong, flexible, nausea-free, and very happy that I could continue my practice. I will stress the importance of staying hydrated though and I’ll tell you why. My son was breech the whole pregnancy. I never felt a kick above the belly button and his head was like a big grapefruit in the right side of my rib cage. I tried everything to turn him; acupuncture, head stands, a cold bag of peas near his head so he’d try to move away from it, external version, and I even visited a Dr who used crystals and light beams to tell me my “south” was “north” and my “North” was “South” which is why my baby was upside down. Come to find out I had a low level of amniotic fluids and at that point in the pregnancy, it would have been very hard for Toby to turn; he just didn’t have enough fluid in there to move. Everything was fine. I had a Cesarean section and a healthy boy. The Midwives said the low fluids could have been genetic, just one of those things, or a result of dehydration. I am going to be extra careful this time around to drink water! So, if you ever see me with an empty water bottle, remind me to fill it up! So far, things have been pretty good. It’s harder for me to practice in the afternoon because of indigestion, so I try to either practice in the morning, or alone with the Bikram CD. I just started doing the pregnancy modifications, so if you see my doing anything funky, try not to follow along. It’s a good thing these yoga clothes stretch! |
