Bikes, Bellies and Beyond

Folks always ask during your pregnancy "HOW ARE YOU FEELING?!?!?!?!" as if you should generally be expected to feel horrible.

Right now at 18 weeks I'm feeling pretty good. Early in pregnancy I had some pretty monumental heartburn but at this point I made some changes (no sugar whatsoever, no seltzer) and the heartburn has gone from 30 tums a day (no exaggeration) to 0-2 Tums a day, which is a win! My earlier two pregnancies I think I self-soothed with Seltzer and Ice Cream (in lieu of wine) and did permanent damage to my esophagus. I was determined to not do any further damage this time around, so this is a workable solution I can live with. The plus side of all those Tums? the kids probably have really, really strong bones.

Weeks 4-15 I was just all the time tired. I think mentally you sort of say to yourself "hey I'm not all that pregnant, just maybe a LITTLE pregnant" but the reality is that your body is just doing a ton of work building placenta, making more blood, shifting up the cocktail of hormones pulsing through you... Which is why you're so tired, all the time. Like the urge to take a 3 hour nap EVERY DAY. I like napping but even that's a lot for me. Plus, someones gotta watch the kiddos during all those naps.

So now I'm not napping so much, which I think @Delish would say is good. As I mentioned earlier, I've gained about 4lbs so far, if I hadn't given up sugar entirely then it might be closer to 10.

Riding lately... we suddenly lost our nanny in August (not going into details here) so our childcare & work arrangements have been thrown into flux. Not to mention THE DOG who is great, but is sort of like a third child that you can throw in a cage for half the day and not get arrested. Oh and the kids had birthdays and started school. Long story short, I haven't been riding as much as I would like but not because of being pregnant, but because of life.

I haven't had to make any bike adjustments yet, although I'm not riding MTB any more (I'm a huge fall risk even on my best day). The road bike is starting to feel uncomfortable, my thighs bang into my belly. Probably not much longer I'll be riding that bike.

On Sat I did take out the CX bike for 90 minutes on gravel in 90+ deg heat. It was maybe a bad decision, as I was wrecked for the rest of the day. Not so much the type of wrecked like you feel after a big race, or after an especially long or hard ride, or how you feel after a Bikram yoga session, but wrecked like how you feel when your entire body is fatigued and you just want to sleep. Legs and lungs were fine, if slow.

@Delish was super awesome to let me lounge for the rest of the day but the reality of having 2 kids & being pregnant is that you don't really have that luxury most days.

Our new nanny starts Monday and I'm hoping I can get back into a rhythm of riding during the week once she's settled in.

Closing out with a belly photo, since that seems to be the thing that pregnant ladies do.
29063269443_a6e7451ea8_m.jpg

Compare contrast with this photo from pregnancy #1
29576731652_0ddc0d3efe_m.jpg
 
Last edited:
Congrats A!! You are def a super hero! I don't know how you do it all. Looking forward to reading this blog!

Baby number one was pre-bike race Kris, when i was still living in Australia. I was running a lot. And surfing and playing field hockey. once I started to show I had to stop playing field hockey and paddling out on the surf board started to get really uncomfortable as it felt like I was laying on top of a baseball. During the first trimester I was falling asleep mid day wherever I happened to be. I didn't have that luxury with baby #2, and my lack of sleep/constant tiredness resulted in my inability to generate any nouns.

by the last trimester, I was down to a walk daily and tried to hike as often as possible. Baby number 2, was daily walks with baby 1 in tow.

I gained a lot of weight with baby 1- 50lbs I think. Baby 2 was half that.
 
Congratulations, Allison! I love this thread! I am just over 38 weeks right now. I was out on my road bike(25-30 mile rides) up until Memorial Day(22 weeks). It was more the shore summer traffic that stopped me from riding than anything else. I did a few paved bike path trips over the summer but it did start to get a bit uncomfortable. I did get out on my mountain bike on a weekly basis up until mid-July(30 weeks). The rides consisted of a very easy 5 mile loop in Allaire. It was so enjoyable just being out there in the evenings didn't really care how long the rides were. I was more worried about ticks and mosquitos than falling. I continue to ride my 3 speed around town within a 1-2 mile radius(beats walking!)

I got a lot of comments this summer how it must have been so brutal being pregnant on some of those hot days but I got alot of swimming in. Not really lap swimming but just getting in pools and the ocean. It was heavenly.

I also worked up until this week so I spent alot of time on my feet. I wore compression hose as often as I could which I think helped. I actually like being up and about on my feet in the shop. As the weeks went on, I did sit down more often.

In regard to racing and riding, I kind of enjoyed the peacefulness of not wondering where and when my next ride would be. Other summers, I would have been racing at the track on Wednesdays, riding at Allaire a couple evenings, doing road rides on the weekends. So, I did enjoy not having to think about all that and just maybe doing something simple after work like going for a walk. I definitely didn't miss packing up gear on a daily basis, getting home late, eating dinner at 9pm, etc.... Riding bikes is awesome but it can also be a bit stressful.

Going forward, I'm not sure how I'm going to feel about riding/racing. I would like to maybe ride my mountain bike on Thanksgiving morning. I would like to maybe do the Hell of Hunterdon in March. But being that this is my first child, I have no idea what to expect of myself physically or mentally for the next couple months. And I'm totally OK with that.
 
You know every situation is going to b different. With my son in my belly i was hiking up the Delaware water gap... With my daughter i had bad back pain & it was rough. Dont put pressure on yourself . Be healthy, happy & most important enjoy the process w your babies. Its demanding but a special time in your life that goes very fast. Good luck. Relax & enjoy. Xoxox
 
YoBikeLady said:
Congratulations, Allison!
Click to expand...
Hey Kerri! You are totally in the throes of this, amazing that you have been riding so much, especially in the summer heat. Major, MAJOR kudos to you!
YoBikeLady said:
I kind of enjoyed the peacefulness of not wondering where and when my next ride would be.
Click to expand...
I'm with you on that! Last year this time I was training 6+ hours a week, so even though I've still been doing something every day (bike, yoga, running), it's nice to have the freedom to do what I want, when my body feels like it.
 
One of those things about being pregnant is that your body, your choices, suddenly becomes part of the public domain.
This article pretty much exemplifies the experience (even though the author is not actually pregnant).

Everyone has opinions on what a pregnant lady should or should not be doing - even though nobody other than the pregnant lady knows exactly how she feels.
I've been guilty of this myself, trying to convince pregnant friends to keep running, or doing yoga, or doing crossfit through their pregnancy - when their own body tells them to slow down.

But usually it works in the opposite way: pregnant ladies get comments all the time about running or other exercise is dangerous, reckless. Third time around I'm less affected by it, but always surprised when it happens. Just last week, an acquaintance mom (with 5 kids, btw) saw me in my cycling kit and said "isn't riding, like, the WORST thing you can do when you're pregnant?!" You would think that someone who has been through 5 pregnancies would know that every pregnancy is different & old wives tails are BS.

Early in my first pregnancy, I read a book called Exercising Through Your Pregnancy by James Clapp.
upload_2016-9-20_9-24-11.png


In spite of the cheesy cover photo is really focused on athletes and athletic training through pregnancy. Reading the book cover-to-cover gave me the confidence to ignore the offhanded comments from well meaning (but uninformed) friends, coworkers, nurses. What the book lays out is that studies show exercise during pregnancy is good for the baby, good for mom, and can also help make labor & delivery not only shorter but also less painful. It also reinforced for me is that some of the uncomfortable feelings of exercising (contractions, feeling slow and incredibly short of breath) are totally normal and do not mean that I'M DYING or hurting the baby.

Even though I feel empowered to keep riding & running, I will admit that I have hidden that fact from certain family members, old school doctors (who just don't understand).
 
Last edited:
Norm said:
If you promise to wear it, I'll buy that light blue Awesome Suit for you to power walk in.
Click to expand...
Isn't a sprinkle donut kit enough embarrassment :)
Let me also say congrats on number 3 my daughter I think has stopped after two boys. But you never know.
 
So at Nittany, @seanrunnette made some comment about Childbirth being harder than Cross.... Which got me thinking,
IS CHILDBIRTH HARDER THAN CROSS?

The Ways Cross and Childbirth are alike
1) Constant influx of meaningless data
Cross you have W/Kg and Heart Rate but basically all of it is meaningless once the whistle is blown.
Childbirth they are always measuring Heart Rate (yours and the baby), #cm dilated but honestly it all means nothing. I was 3cm dilated for like 6 weeks before going into labor with numero uno and it meant nothing.

2) When your plans go out the window, you wing it
Birth coaches & cycling coaches always urge you go into the main event with a plan. Ride the log? Turn down the pitocin? But realistically, you get dealt a hand that you have no control over, and you have to be mentally prepared to let go of your plan and improvise.

3) In spite of the pain, you're excited to do it again after not too long
I am convinced there is a birth amnesia hormone that makes you forget just how miserable it was to get that watermelon out your hoo-ha. Similarly, Cross can be miserable, yet people continue to PAY GOOD MONEY to line up week after week to do it again.

4) You are surprised by the things your body can do
I remember my first CX season, getting used to the overwhelming urge to vomit that would hit me sometime in lap 2. But you keep pedaling and it goes away and you push yourself harder than you've ever pushed before. But you don't vomit or die.
Childbirth is similar in that you push through these barriers of pain & suffering that you didn't even know existed. But you make it through, then tackle the next barrier, and the next one...

The Ways Cross and Childbirth are NOT alike - PAIN AND REWARDS
5) The Reward for Suffering
Most people (except @Robin or Roger Aspholm) go home after a CX race with nothing but the mud in their derailleurs. There's really minimal reward for the suffering you've endured for 45 minutes. But at the end of childbirth you get A BABY, which is pretty awesome! Best schwag ever.

6) The physical pain
This one needs little explanation. All the moms (and dads) out there can vouch that childbirth is pain unlike any other.

7) The choice to continue on
Racing CX, if shit goes sideways, your bike breaks, your pinky toe freezes solid, and you actually do end up vomiting, you can always stop pedaling. In childbirth, that train is a-comin' and you ain't gettin' off the tracks. For me this is sort of the essential one, and why I told @seanrunnette that I think CX is actually more painful than childbirth; you must choose to take each and every pedal stroke.
(Of course ask me my opinion on this 24 hours post partum and I may have a different answer. See point 3 above, for why my memory of the suffering of childbirth is a bit foggy....)

 
Dominos said:
So at Nittany, @seanrunnette

3) In spite of the pain, you're excited to do it again after not too long I am convinced there is a birth amnesia hormone that makes you forget just how miserable it was to get that watermelon out your hoo-ha.

6) The physical pain
This one needs little explanation. All the moms (and dads) out there can vouch that childbirth is pain unlike any other.
Click to expand...

#3 - GIGGLES

#6 - Truth

Love this last post..
 
More ways they are alike:
  • Both are easier if you take the right drugs.
  • Lots of material to discuss on the internet after it's over
More ways they are different:
  • Cowbells are frowned upon in the Labor and Delivery Unit
  • come to think of it, so is heckling.
  • no babyresults.com points
Do you think having gone through childbirth makes you better able to suffer in a race setting?
 
AO,

Huge fan of this, was avoiding because it was in the female section and I didn't want to intrude, but this is hitting closer to home than it would have years ago!

How hard was it to get back into riding/racing? Obviously hobbies take a back seat when you have an infant, but the exercise is important. I imagine taking so much time off is a huge hit to your fitness and getting back on the horse and racing at a level you were at before baby and trying to get back in after baby is rough. I feel it could be extremely tough to get back on the horse and try to get back to where you were. How do you mentally do this? Does the mentality change? How can one support soon-to-be Momma?

Sincerly,

Charmismatic Dad-to-be in Charlotte
 
Delish said:
Do you think having gone through childbirth makes you better able to suffer in a race setting?
Click to expand...

strangely enough..related to this question, I have 2 friends who are adventure racers, and had a baby a few years back..they wrote an article with a point that talked about the pain and suffering of adventure racing preparing her for childbirth, and even having that discussion in the delivery room haha.
 
The things one thinks about when on the bike:

Same

Dad can grab a beer while mom does her thing and say he's watching the kids.

Not Same

Dad can not wash mom off out back with the house after the event.
 
Delish said:
Do you think having gone through childbirth makes you better able to suffer in a race setting?
Click to expand...
Definitively, no. Never once have I self-motivated on the bike by thinking about Childbirth. On the flip side, I do think that maybe racing & being athletic did prepare me well for childbirth. Certain techniques overlap (breathing, other mental tricks).
@axcxnj I'd be interested in seeing the article or blog post, if you can find a link...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom