Biking and Pregnancy

[xeney]

I quit riding in my second trimester due to worries about balance, but I wish I hadn't ... I got my balance back eventually, and I had foot problems in my third trimester that made walking very difficult. I would have been better off if I could have ridden for a bit longer. Still, I made the decision I made for good reasons, because I sure would not have wanted to fall.

At six weeks you should be fine. I was still mountain biking at that point -- my doctor said no mountain biking after the first trimester, but other riding was up to me.

But my advice is to just take it a step at a time. I was healthy and in good shape before pregnancy, and worked out regularly (but very lightly) right up until the day I went into labor, but I still had terrible pain and mobility problems. By my eighth month I couldn't walk a block without crying due to edema and ligament issues in my feet. I was really hard on myself about how immobile I had become, but I really don't think I could have done anything differently.

For instance: my eating was very healthy for the whole nine months, and I actually ate less in the last months because eating was uncomfortable. At the beginning of the third trimester I had only gained about 12 pounds, and my doctors were yelling at me a little bit for not having gained enough weight. A month later, with no change in eating habits, I was being yelled at for gaining too much weight. At the end I was barely able to do anything except drink massive amounts of water, and I was gaining five pounds a week, all fluid retention; my blood pressure was up and I was totally, thoroughly miserable. I was drinking up to 7 liters of water a day, living on fruit and whole grains, and fantasizing about punching the people who told me to drink more water! And avoid sodium!

A lot of pregnancy health is just luck, good or bad, and your body really has an agenda of its own that you can't control. That fact caused me a lot of grief and will be a big factor in decisions regarding any future children -- I loved pregnancy for about five months, but the end of pregnancy was the most physically miserable time of my life, and I'm not sure I ever want to do it again.

Just go easy on yourself mentally, and listen to your body for the physical side of things. You may be one of the people who can exercise right up until your due date, but don't take it as a personal failure if you can't.

PS: baby is three months old day after tomorrow, and I am fine now. I have three pounds left to lose of the 38 I gained. I'm still a size bigger than I was but I can squeeze into my old clothes if I like. Mobility is back, core strength is much better than expected, and the only lingering physical issue is some ligament pain in my left wrist. Which means I can't really ride yet because I can't squeeze a front brake lever reliably, but I expect that to get better in time.