Everyone always tells you how each pregnancy is different and a unique experience.
After having two kids of my own, I couldn’t agree more. The biggest factor that affected my two pregnancies was my activity level and nutritional intake during each.
With my first, I stayed working full time as a nurse, which led me to believe that I was staying active enough. My first trimester was rough - I couldn’t eat much, energy was low, and my body was changing in ways I didn’t understand. Delivery was relatively smooth and so was my postpartum recovery.
Fast forward to my second pregnancy about 2 years later. I had been working out with Lexi J Wellness and built a solid relationship with my food working 1:1 with a nutrition advisor!
The difference between each pregnancy was IMMENSE! (And not just because I had a toddler running around.)
Energy levels were still low, and my nausea was still there, and adding chasing a toddler to the mix, I would have thought the second pregnancy would be worse!! However, because I’d built the habits and gained experience, I was able to navigate my pregnancy much better.
I began to truly appreciate how much moving my body and fueling it well didn’t just impact me. It made a difference for my entire family!
If you're navigating pregnancy, here's my advice:
Learn how to give yourself grace
Pregnancy is hard. Every step in the journey brings new challenges, and just because you’ve done it once doesn’t mean you’ll have the same experience. It’s essential to learn how to give yourself grace in the process. Knowing that just because you hold yourself to high standards doesn’t mean you’re failing when you come up short of them.
Set standards for your progress
Pregnancy isn’t measured in movement on the scale or muscle growth. Growth is measured in monthly visits and weekly app growth updates telling you baby grew from the size of a lemon to the size of a pear. It’s important to remember that your progress in health and fitness still matters. Can you still lift yourself up from the couch? Can you still walk from your house to the mailbox without getting winded? Can you still carry your work bags and groceries in the house in one trip? Our standards may be a little different, but our progress and strength can still be measured when you’re training for life.
Everything compounds over zero
Life isn’t perfect. Yet, we still expect ourselves to be perfect in so many different avenues. Pregnancy is no different. Again, pregnancy affects almost every aspect of your life. It is important to remember that we aren’t going to be perfect, but doing something is better than nothing at all. Doing 3 sets out of 4 is better than none. Going on a 15-minute walk, instead of your usual 30, still produces benefits for your body. Hitting your protein goal once in the week still proves to yourself that you CAN do it! It’s easy to fall into the trap of the idea that we have to be perfect for it to matter, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Just showing up and putting out the effort compounds, and your body and baby will thank you!
Movement IS medicine
Movement does so much more for us than the physical and aesthetic byproducts. Remember this and lean into this knowledge during pregnancy. We may not be chasing PRs or running our best miles, but you’ll be benefiting from this movement in so many ways. Some of the benefits that can be noted are “reducing back pain, helps ease constipation and digestion, may reduce risk of prenatal medical issues such as gestational diabetes, promoting healthy weight gain, improves overall wellness for your heart and blood vessels, and helps lose weight once baby is born” (ACOG, 2020). So even if the progress photos aren’t what we want or the scale becomes a foe, we can still lean on the fact that we’re still helping our body.
You’re not alone, literally!
You’re growing a baby! This in itself is a miracle, and you’re doing a GREAT job! Truly, getting out of bed and surviving the day while growing another human is a tremendous feat in itself. Never forget how awesome you are for doing that!
With my first pregnancy, I didn’t exercise or fuel my body the way I needed to. By the time I was pregnant again, I’d learned the benefits of doing both, and I knew I wanted to continue throughout my second pregnancy.
The growth and knowledge I have from those experiences has helped me tremendously, and I hope that it can help you too!
