Itz Holistically Wholesome

When I am pregnant, I will exercise every day and stay in shape for myself and my baby. Then, I will be a fit, mama! Haha, how many of us have said that ourselves? 

Pregnancy is a beautiful time in the lives of an expectant mom, couple, and or family. It is a blessing to carry a child into the world, nurture them over the years, and watch them grow into beautiful flowers. I always wanted to be a mother, but nothing prepared me for the not-so-nice side of pregnancy, morning sickness. 

As beautiful and miraculous as it is, it comes with its downsides. Many women like myself have to deal with intense nausea that disrupts our whole lives for weeks and, in my case, months. Consequently, many things one has been doing or planned to do become sidelines, and the energy is not there to get it done.

I had so many things I wanted to do during my pregnancy; for the most part, I have not accomplished that or recently started to do so. Number one on my list was to remain active. Indeed, I was not expecting to run as I do before but walking, daily aerobic, and strength training were definitely in mind. In my first few weeks, I exercised and felt great, like this was going well; I could do this. But not soon after, I was thrown off course when morning sickness struck. I kid you not; that thing hit me like a raging bull. I had zero energy from all the vomiting and the inability to keep anything down. I spent most of my days lying down and crying at times. It was so bad.

I thought to myself, there goes my grand plan to stay fit, but one thing I do know is that you have to work with how your body is feeling, and mine was at an all-time low.

Exercise is encouraged during pregnancy, and while not everyone can do it for personal reasons, I believe you should do it if you can.

A few benefits of Exercise during pregnancy, according to the Mayo Clinic, are:

• Reduce backaches, constipation, bloating, and swelling
• Boost your mood and energy levels
• Help you sleep better
• Prevent excess weight gain
• Promote muscle tone, strength, and endurance
• Lower risk of gestational diabetes
• Shortened labor
• Reduced risk of having a C-section

About six months into my pregnancy, I started to feel better at certain times during the day, so whenever I did, youtube was my go-place for prenatal exercises. Though it was not as frequent as I had hoped, I felt good because some progress is better than no progress.

I am now in my eighth month, and I can tell you that I have not had a day where I feel one hundred percent. I still have that awful taste in my mouth, my hips, back, and feet are so achy, and my lungs feel like they are struggling for me to breathe at times. However, time was running, and baby girl was almost here, so I started pushing myself a little more.

 Exercise I am currently doing 

Walking

I have begun walking for at least an hour to an hour and a half for at least three days a week. That will at least get me to 10 000 plus intentional steps daily. So far, it has been going well, except I missed a few days because I was not feeling well.

At home workout

Youtube is my go-to for Prenatal Exercise. I do workouts ranging from 30-40 minutes. I enjoy doing this, and I try to target those workouts that will help with the aches and pains in specific areas, especially my back. Ohh, the back pain hurt so much.

As I await the final weeks to pass for my baby to be here, I continue to do whatever I can to keep my body in motion. So, if you are pregnant, know that you do not have to do too much; do whatever you can. Also, I wish you a happy and safe delivery.