Expecting our second...

We are VERY new into the first trimester (4 weeks), I just found out today!  I know the first tri can be iffy...but I just wanted to get some advice as far as exercise.  I have been running about 3/4 days a week and I do biggest loser power sculpt or yoga those same days.  I stay on an every-other-day routine mostly b/c of my schedule.

Has anyone here kept running throughout their pregnancy? When I was running today I felt more tired and like I had to pee constantly.  I just don't want to jeporadize anything.  I have read, however, that if you are used to exercising...which I am...there is no need to stop your routine.

How about calories?  I haven't been tracking my cals, but sorta calculate in my head about what I get a day...normally anywhere from 1100 to 1700 a day.

I've never really worried about exercising a lot during pregnancy.  Of course, I am having the problem of getting rid of the pregnancy weight now too.  I have been told by the doctors though that if I wanted to keep exercising just to do it moderately.  Especially in the first tri because everything is just so unstable and new.  Your body is just getting used to the idea of being pregnant again and changing so much.   I know you can still exercise but you might just want to moderate your routines and cut down a little bit.  There are plenty of pregnancy exercises and pregnancy yoga you can take up.  There are dvds out, you can probably google them online to see what is out there. 

I know that the calorie thing isn't a huge deal as long as you're not eating 4 or 5 times what you usually eat per day.  The baby and your body are going to need an ample amount of nutrients and calories to grow properly. 

First of all, congratulations!

You're correct in the exercise department. If you did it before you were pregnant, odds are it's okay to do it during pregnancy. There are some exceptions such as contact sports. It's also recommended to avoid exercise that requires you to lay on your back after 16 weeks (I think...). I was told not to do any weight lifting that would cause me to strain during my second pregnancy due to having a c-section with my first. My doctor told me not to lift over 30 pounds (good thing my daughter was only 29 pounds!).

I know there are some runners here who are currently pregnant. I am neither! I tried to be as active as possible during my most recent pregnancy but I was anemic and tired all the time.

As far as calories go, don't eat below your maintainence calories. Eat when you're hungry and eat LOTS of fiber to avoid the pregnancy constipation. Also drink LOTS of water so you don't bloat up and worsen the first trimester gassiness. I was told that it's not neccessary to increase calorie intake the first trimester and during the second and third trimesters, increase by 150-300 daily. I was eating 1800-1900 and was only lighly active so I'm guessing you should be eating more than that, especially on days that you run or work out.

Exercise during pregnancy is VERY beneficial in both labor/delivery and recovery/weight loss.

Congratulations, again!

I was jogging until I was 4months along myself. The doctor said I made pregnancy look like a cake walk. Lol. I was already jogging prior so it was just something I continued. I also still worked out until about the same time. Then jogging became walking. Workouts became learning to breath for lamaze classes/baby yoga, ect. It wasn't until the last couple months of my pregnancy I had any problems. I was 113lbs pre-baby, I bounced up to 186lbs just in the last couple months of pregnancy. ( Couple as in the last 2 months. ) Due to water retention. (They couldn't give me anything for it because it would've caused birth complications.) The last couple months I was put on bedrest every time I turned around. I wasn't allowed to do anything or I was emitted to the hospital. Off and on hospital stays: Because I was retaining so much water. Our daughter was(SGA)Small for gestational age. She was smaller than the usual amount for the number of weeks of pregnancy. SGA babies usually have birthweights below the 10th percentile for babies of the same gestational age. This means that they are smaller than 90 percent of all other babies of the same gestational age. She was perfectly healthy/full term but only a 5lb baby. After being emitted I was put on complete bedrest. We had an induced labor to control things. They were afraid I'd go into preeclampsia otherwise.

So: In short at the start of my pregnancy I was very active. The last couple months I wasn't allowed to do anything. I couldn't control my health and they didn't want me to be on a ' set diet '. I was eating healthy. They didn't want me to eat less because our daughter was SGA. They wanted her to at least be 5 lbs born no less. I'm very thankful I worked out prior and during the first months and lightly until no longer allowed. Otherwise: I fear the outcome wouldn't have been so great. I'd exercise while you can to the degree you can because you may not be able later. It may be what saves you.

Awesome advice everyone! I do have about 6 DVD's from my last pregnancy, only one or two really worked/made me break a sweat.  Good point about doing it while I can!  In fact as I was running today I thought...might not be able to do this much longer...I anticipate the runs to turn into a brisk walk. 

I was active with my first, but didn't exercise before and during like I have/will with this one.  But the good thing was, I did stay active enough to have a quick pregnancy.  For my first, I pushed her out in 20 minutes and I was done.  I lost my plug and the next thing you know (4 hours later) I had her.  I fear how quick this one will be! 

I had morning sickness really bad from 6-8 weeks and lost some weight.  I am on the cusp of 99/100 lbs.  If I do have that again, I am afraid I might lose too much.  I fully intend to take advantage of some meds this time around to stave off the vomitting...absolutely the WORST!

I'll be 26 weeks this Wednesday with my first pregnancy (we're having a boy!).  Before I got pregnant I was running about 30 miles a week over 4-5 days.  I'm still running 25-30 miles a week (albeit slower than before) and have done a 5K, 8K, two 10K's, 2 half marathons, and have another half marathon coming up this weekend, all while being pregnant. 

Definitely check with your doctor.  I kept running even before I saw the doctor, but she had no problem with it, since I was already running and there have been no complications.  Definitely listen to your body though and don't run if you're in pain or uncomfortable.  I would also eat more.  You only need 80-100 more calories in the first tri, but 1100-1700 sounds more like dieting calories so maybe raise that to 2000 depending on your exercise level?

I tried to find information on running and pregnancy and put it in one post on my blog:

http://xapis.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/running -during-pregnancy-can-you-do-that/

Hopefully you'll be able to figure out what will work for you!  I'm very glad that I've continued running and I'll looking forward to seeing what happens in the third trimester.  Good luck!

Original Post by lunger0514:

Awesome advice everyone! I do have about 6 DVD's from my last pregnancy, only one or two really worked/made me break a sweat.  Good point about doing it while I can!  In fact as I was running today I thought...might not be able to do this much longer...I anticipate the runs to turn into a brisk walk.   That's good. It sounds like you know your body so just listen to it. Switch over to a ligher version when you feel the need.

I was active with my first, but didn't exercise before and during like I have/will with this one.  But the good thing was, I did stay active enough to have a quick pregnancy.  For my first, I pushed her out in 20 minutes and I was done.  I lost my plug and the next thing you know (4 hours later) I had her.  I fear how quick this one will be!  Lol. The nurse ect told us not to worry. That the first one takes a while to come out. That we had hours, ect. That we had plenty of time. Then the nurse was saying " The doctors not here yet. Okay. So if you have a contraction... Don't push. " And I was like: " Excuse me? Go find another nurse or doctor. because... I am going to push when I have another contraction. Period. " Ours was 1:10 mins.  10mins of pushing.  The nurse tried to bicker with me. Lol! I was just on repeat. " No. I will push. " My husband: Baby, can you not push?... Me: "NO. I Will Push. Period. I know. I will. It's fact.  :) " Luckily the doctor arrived soon thereafter.

I had morning sickness really bad from 6-8 weeks and lost some weight.  I am on the cusp of 99/100 lbs.  If I do have that again, I am afraid I might lose too much.  I fully intend to take advantage of some meds this time around to stave off the vomitting...absolutely the WORST!

   Wow. Poor thing. My mother had horrible morning/evening sickness like that too. She lost so much weight when she was pregnant it concerned doctors. Be cautious. Try to eat a little more to compenstate for what you can't keep down. My mother used: Nutritional replacement beverages. That helped her a great deal to keep the weight from falling off while sick. She said she lost like 20-25lbs. She said her doctor was mean about it to her. I hope the meds work for you to keep the sickness at bay. 

btw, Congradulations!

congrats!!  How far apart will your little ones be?  I'm trying to figure out timing for my second.  Did you plan this pregnancy?

Sophia will be 3 in October, and the baby is due Jan 3, 2010 so I think that is a good distance apart.  We did plan, but thought it would take us longer ;)

I think that's a great distance  apart.  My sister and I are three years apart as well.

I will be 13 weeks later this week with my 2nd.  I was doing Cathe Frederick step routines and weight lifting regularly before becoming pregnant.  However, I did that in the mornings and once that 1st trimester fatigue hit (I also work full time teaching and take 2 night classes) I switched to the morning workouts only 2x a week and walking every day that I'm home and the weather's nice.  My doctor told me to not lift more than 20 pounds and not to do high impact exercise so I felt better about cutting out on the step and down on the weight lifting.  I would be iffy on the jogging but I suppose others have done it successfully.

Just my opinion.  I know you're very small so I'm sure you don't burn many calories except for the jogging but 1100 seems like it wouldn't be enough, 1700 more appropriate.  I tried to meet my maintenance calories each day for about the 1st month and then decided I just wanted to focus on eating healthier and getting in all my vitamins and nutrients.  I found a link on the mypyramid.gov website for new moms.  They customize your nutritional needs to meet your due date, height, and pre-pregnacy diet.  Now I just keep a food journal on this site and try to make sure I meet my daily requirements for all the food groups and stay away from junk.  I think that is working well for me since I hate obsessing over calories while pregnant.  I started showing at 4 months with my 1st but have been wearing maternity clothes for almost a month now this time around.  Everything I've read says with your uterus and stomach muscles already being stretched out after the 1st yhu tend to pop out sooner with the 2nd.  So far I have only gained 3 pounds and I haven't been sick, just HUNGRY!

Just curious, what are the two pregnancy DVD's you have that actually make you break a sweat.  The ones I had purchased last pregnancy didn't do much for me.