Stay Strong All Pregnancy Long

I eat a lot of ice cream. I mean, a lot. Maybe an unreasonable amount, but in my defense, it's hot, ice cream is delicious and salad is hard to chew sometimes. That said, I haven't gained an unreasonable amount of weight yet. The only time I've been disappointed with my weight gain was during the last appointment and I'm not really counting that because I had eaten Chinese food the night before which everyone knows makes you retain water and I had a full bladder, so I knocked the actual weight gain down from 4 to 1 pound. I feel good about it.

It's important to me to stay active and healthy during my pregnancy so that post-baby I can get back into shape in a reasonable period of time. Here's what I'm doing to stay strong:

I have been actively engaged in the Zumba® community for about 4 years now and at times in the past 4 years have done Zumba® as many as 5 times a week, sometimes with multiple classes in one day. I've tapered down and added some additional fitness classes, but I still do love Zumba®! I love it so much that in the fall of 2013 I became a Licensed Zumba® Instructor. Catch me Monday nights at Fusion 802 for $5 (Personal plug!). However, all that jumping and hopping and twisting and turning gets a little tiresome for the bump and I am currently only doing my class with the possibility of one additional class per week!!

Secondly, for each of my pregnancies, I have practiced Pre-natal Yoga at Evolution Yoga in Burlington, VT. I adore the studio director, Susan Cline Lucey and she has developed an amazing community for mother's and mother's to be to share their stories of pregnancy and birth in a non-judgemental space. From the moment I began class there when I was 11 weeks pregnant with my first baby, I was hooked and I'm convinced that birth would be more difficult without it-Not that I plan to let myself find out!

My newest discovery in the world of fit pregnancy I discovered right next door to my office. There is a great physical therapy office that recently opened called Peak Performance. They have an amazing smoothie and coffee bar (which was the only reason I had been going there) and while waiting for a delicious smoothie one day this physical therapist named Kristina Marcussen asked when we (my co-workers and I) were going to try Redcord. I begrudgingly said, "I don't know if I can, I'm pregnant." "Oh, congratulations!" she says. To which I most always reply, "it's not mine." And then wait for a reaction. More often then not the recipient of the conversation is at first stunned and unsure what to say. I follow up by saying I'm carrying a baby for a friend. And then the, "oh my God!" "That's so amazing!" "What a gift!" I've tailored my response to just say thank you instead of my old, "anyone would do it, no big deal." I've accepted at this point it is, kind of, a big deal.

So the story goes and Kristina convinces me that I should try Redcord and that it would be great for birth and the pregnancy and post-natal! I'm in! Anything to help me stay fit, strong and get back to business post baby~

When I arrive for my appointment, I realize I had neglected to mention something, so I report to dear Kristina that along with the pregnancy, I also have a back condition called Spondylolisthesis. She is very familiar with "spondy", but for those who aren't, this starts as a stress fracture in the vertebrae (mine was in 5 vertebrae-L1 through L5) and when the fracture weakens the vertebrae slips. I'm fairly certain the "slip" happened during the time that I was nursing Emmet. When the "slip" happened it damaged a nerve in my back which has resulted in some chronic pain which I have easily managed with core work and a small dose of Gabapentin. Gabapentin is not recommended when pregnant so I haven't taken it in quite some time. I was relatively pain free until about a week and half ago. Why the sudden change? I'd venture to guess that the growing bump is affecting the amount of "core strength" I usually maintain.

Kristina leads me through a quick, but challenging routine that seems to isolate my muscles and work on specific areas. I have no idea what muscles she worked on, but it seemed like she hit every single one that would have anything to do with supporting my back and growing belly! So I was basically suspended in the air by these super strong cords and then would have to do the smallest movements to isolate my muscles. The next day I felt sore in muscles I didn't know I had, but my back was free of pain and I felt really strong! It was great and I can't wait for more.

Listen, I'm not going to stop eating ice cream, so I have to find some way to stay in shape. For now, I've got my routine down. Zumba®, Yoga, and Redcord.