[Tuesday Tips] 6 Benefits of Exercising During Pregnancy

After what seemed like eons (2 weeks actually) I finally had the time to go to the gym before work.. and boy do I feel good! (& sore too but in a good way)

I've been doing regular walks on the treadmill alternating with cycling on the stationery bike followed by 2 sets of 20 squats daily throughout my pregnancy however 2 weeks ago, due to work reasons, I wavered.

But this morning as I was walking on the treadmill I suddenly remembered how good exercising makes me feel. It's not just about the discipline of waking up earlier to drag yourself and your bump to get some physical exercise in right before work, it's more about the combined mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of exercising that lifts my spirits and help me face my day. And definitely also the fact little AJ benefits from it!

Here are 6 benefits of exercising during pregnancy :

1. Energy Booster

Because exercising increases blood flow throughout your body and strengthens your cardiovascular system, you gain an overall boost in energy that can keep you on your feet for longer throughout the day. Not only that, with an increased level of energy, you can achieve more!

2. Reduce Stress

Getting into the daily grind of life can be challenging for some, but add on a 9-month pregnancy project to that can take a massive toll on you and your wellbeing. 

Exercise has been proven to release a hormone, serotonin, that positively affects your mood and helps lift your spirits up. 

3. Easier Labour/Delivery Process

Keeping active throughout the 9 months has been shown (via various studies) to aid in an easier labour/delivery process. The reason behind this is because labour and delivery is an energy sapping, tiring process that requires muscle utilisation and strength. Thus, the maintenance of your body tone in the 9 months will contribute to making this process an easier and smoother one. 

4. Getting Back Your Pre-Pregnancy Body Quicker

It's also been said, via various case studies, that staying fit during your pregnancy term will help you get back your pre-pregnancy body faster. Exercising will help keep off the surplus unnecessary weight and will help your body bounce back faster after giving birth. This reason alone is sometimes the sole motivation for ladies to maintain their exercise regime!

5. Reduce Pregnancy Discomforts

Getting regular exercise throughout your pregnancy helps to strengthen your muscles. Simple exercises like walking, swimming and even stretching improves your blood circulation and strengthens your abdominal muscles to help your body cope with the ongoing aches and pains of pregnancy. 

6. Sleep Better at Night

If you're pregnant and well past the halfway mark of your second trimester (like me), then you will know that finding a comfortable sleeping position is one of the most challenging tasks. Getting exercise in the day will help release some of the extra energy you may have, tiring you out by the end of the day and so you have a more restful sleep. 

I hope these are more than enough reasons for you to keep active, or if you aren't already - then to get off the couch, away from the bowl of chips and into your sports gear!

[Pregnancy] Week 25 + 4 : USD & Headaches

Took the day off work and went shopping today at Midvalley for a dress for Glady's wedding this Saturday. Ended up with this gorgeous Miss Selfridge strapless khaki dress for RM269! Pricey but looks great.
It is in a size 8 though (I'm normally a size 6 pre pregnancy) so I doubt it'd fit once I lose all the weight post partum :(

Also bought the Sephora contouring kit and liquid pen concealer. Spent quite a fair bit today :-( The only saving grace is perhaps the fact that I changed 450USD into RM to take advantage of the current exchange rate (4.24!!). Banking the rest of the cash in tomorrow.. need to really start saving for Lil sweetie.

Speaking of which, I don't think I'm entitled to shop for more than 2 hours on end these days. Today I got to Midvalley at 12pm and started getting headaches at close to 3pm.. I was walking around the mall without rest though so maybe that's why? Even now at 5:15pm I'm still having a headache however need to meet Prem at Empire Damansara to have a quick chat about what he has to offer. Wonder how that will go!

Back to work tomorrow. I've really been enjoying this past week off.. its been a while since I could take so many consecutive days off work just to chill, relax, rest & recuperate (still sick by the way).

Can't wait for the weekend already!

First breakdown :'(

24+6 weeks

Yesterday at 24 +6 weeks I had my first meltdown. I've been sick since Monday (7 days ago) and I was looking forward to getting better so AJ could feel better.
Yesterday I woke up to a bad throat and congested nose, and I started berating myself. I felt horrible; like the worst mother on planet Earth.
Is it because I didn't rest enough in the week? Is it because I was pushing myself too much? I was given an extra day off by my manager but instead, I went back to work.
I felt an immense amount of guilt towards little sweetie, and for the first time in almost 25 weeks, I broke down into tears.

I was lying in bed, my back towards John. I tried to stifle my sobs so he wouldnt notice I was crying - but the more i tried the worst it got. He noticed something was wrong when i got all quiet and didnt answer his questions. He got up and gave me the biggest hug and reassurance and i immediately felt better. Whether my breakdown was hormonal or otherwise, I've also come to realize that having a supportive and loving partner by your side on the same life journey as you is a true blessing. And last night as we lay in bed, falling asleep, he turned around and told me how blessed he was to have me in his life. And for that, I cannot be any more grateful. It means at least I'm doing something right in this relationship.

Today I strive to fully recover from this bugging illness, whatever it may be. Eating healthy, sleeping right and staying positive. I want to conquer the world for our little boy.

Womanhood

They say that a woman becomes a mother when she is pregnant and a man becomes a father the moment he holds his baby.

I couldn't agree more. The past few years I've been praying to God for more courage, strength and confidence to face the world so I can grow into who I really am, and I have come to the realization that this beautiful precious gift from God growing inside my belly for the past 23 weeks is the answer to my prayers.

I've never felt more like a woman in my life than at this point in time. Being wholly responsible for an entire life other than yours, making sacrifices & putting your foot down on decisions that will directly (or indirectly) affect the health & wellbeing of your growing baby is probably the most difficult tasks in life - one that only mothers can really & truly understand.

I also find it amazing the way a physical life is created - the intricacies of DNA splitting, chromosomal separation all the way to limb buds formation and organ development. It takes 9 months to form a beautiful life made out of the perfect love of 2 adults. I've studied the ins and outs of how life is formed when I undertook a unit of human anatomy and fertilization at Uni but I never fully understood its implications and the reality of it until I experienced it myself at this present moment. Every day, I'm in awe of how life forms from a single cell. 

Anyway, I truly feel like im growing into this pregnancy, I feel more matured and confident and I've never felt so happy about putting on weight! People around me are commenting on how much I'm glowing and every moment and each day I wake up & feel his kicks, I praise God for this miracle inside me. I know I am blessed in so many ways and that this is meant to be. 

From the initial feelings of anxiety, worry and fear to the present waves of happiness & excitement riddled with tears & laughter, I can only be grateful to those around me who have supported and loved me for the past 23 weeks - Especially especially especially John who has been MORE than what any word can correctly describe. He's my constant pillar of strength - a God-sent presence in my life I will always be grateful for.

[Pregnancy] Week 22 + 6 : Colostrum

This is weird but strangely exciting.. my colostrum has finally made its first appearance on my shirt!

I'm normal. Yay! I've been so worried if I will ever produce milk because from what I've read I was supposed to have my first leak a couple of weeks ago but it didn't happen. So I've been waiting. Even John was happy for me! He even recorded a video for keeps :|

In malacca now for a weekend getaway. Having a blast this far!

[Pregnancy] Week 21: Dr. Valli @ UMMC

Finally met Dr. Valli at UMSC after waiting for a month to.

First impressions : quiet, subdued, soft spoken

Her ultrasound machine was pretty old school, images were very unclear and the scan itself was not as clear as Dr.  Kamaljit's. However she was a nice older lady and told me that I needed to make an appointment to see the heart doctor within the same center- UMSC.
Despite the fact that my VSD repair was done at 2 years old it's always better to take extra precautions to ensure my heart health is fine - especially now that I'm carrying a little one in me and his health & wellbeing is of top priority!

Because we struggled to find the specialist center (Drove to UMMC instead at first - hospital side) we were late to our appointment and had to wait after everyone else before we could see her.
By the end if it we were really tired and decided to tour the hospital another time. Since we will be in malacca this weekend, hospital tours will most likely happen next weekend.

Hospitals we are thinking of touring : UMMC, Prince Court, Pantai

Will be posting hospital tour reviews after that! Stay tuned.

Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)

Had throbbing sharp upper left abdominal pains yesterday morning that went on for 1.5 hours.

Decided to pop by my gynae for a quick  check up - whilst little bubs is fine and active in my belly, I've developed Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) which explains the throbbing abdominal pain. If left untreated the infection can and will spread to little bubs.
She prescribed me Zinnat 250mg which is a round of antibiotics that's supposed to clear the infection.

This morning I took Zinnat with my daily supplements - Diabetmin & Obimin Plus - and felt queasy almost immediately after for an hour. Bad, bad idea.

Pregnant mummies please remember to empty your bladder frequently and as soon as you feel like going to the bathroom you should (even if it's in the middle of the night) to avoid getting UTI. That's because of our hormonal changes plus the fact that as little bubs grows in size, he/she presses against your bladder preventing the complete emptying of it, thus leaving old urine & bacteria in your bladder allowing it to harvest and spread. 
If you feel any abdominal pains that last beyond a few minutes, please go and see your gynae immediately!

Mosquito bites & Sweat

I don't know if it's just me.. or if other pregnant mums out there are experiencing the strange double phenomenon of getting more frequent mosquito bites and possibly overactive sweat ducts (compared to when we were NOT pregnant of course).

I find that I am getting at least one mosquito bite a day (no kidding) and on some weekends I'm getting more. Mostly on my legs though. And also I find that I am sweating more easily these days.. I can be standing and totally immobile in a room without air conditioning and I will be sweating buckets.

I did read an article online anout how  pregnant women have 1.5 to 2 times the amount of blood supply through the course of pregnancy, contributing to the increased amounts of heat dispersed and carried throughout your body which results in more sweat and also a more likely blood feast for the hungry flying creatures. To combat this I've been using a roll-on insect repellant to keep them mozzies away from my legs. It took me so many years to achieve nicer looking legs on my skin (used to have too many scars) and now it's all doomed! #sadface

Anyway I'll do a review later on the insect repellant I'm using and hopefully if any preggy mums out there are experiencing the same issue, then hopefully this will help! 

To combat the increased sweat I intend to buy a mini portable fan to take around with me especially when I'm really feeling the heat and getting uncomfortable!

Off to a triple date dinner now! John has fallen sick so we will most likely come home early so he can rest for work the next day.

Feelings.. 20th week

Nearing the end of my 20th week and I'm feeling great! So far no complaints about back aches or stretch marks and I really hope the second half of this pregnancy will be smooth sailing!

So my dearest John has fallen sick with a high fever. He's been stressing at work lately which has negatively affected his immunity. Poor baby. I wish I could take away all his sickness but I'm carrying our child and I need to protect the little one. Can't afford to fall sick for the next 4 months at least!

My bump is getting more noticeable now although some colleagues say I hide it very well under flowy tops and breezy dresses.
Well now that I've officially announced it on Facebook I can wear whatever I want to work and not have to worry about what others may suspect/assume/think.

Speaking of which I just had a long time friend message me on FB and was all like "I didn't see any wedding pics on your feed" and I told him I'm not married and he went "wow announcing baby before marriage!" Uhm okay. I get that you carry conventional practices with you in your pocket and probably eat them for breakfast lunch and dinner - but not everyone is like that so try and be a bit more sensitive with your words..

Honestly, and like I told him straight, conventionally speaking you graduate from school, get a job, meet mr/ms right, get married then have kids and then retire and die. Why must I stick to conventions? Why must I follow what the norm dictates for me and for my life?

Nope. I choose to keep the baby and have my wedding ceremony 2 years down the line. I love John. And I know that he loves me. We both care so deeply for each other and want only the best for our baby and his future so that really, is all that matters the most to us.

God has blessed us with a miracle baby - one that wasn't even supposed to be conceived because of my PCOS and that's why we treasure this beautiful gift even more.

As Steve Jobs nicely puts it in his famous quote.. "don't be trapped by dogma..." & I can't agree more. I want this baby and I am going to make sure that I work super hard so he can have a good life.

Daddy & Mummy love you so much AJ.