When I was pregnant with my first child, I was one clueless lady. I was confused of all the changes going on with my body. I was too overwhelmed with new phase in my life, I didn’t know what I was doing, let alone even thinking of having an exercise regimen for my expanding body. After giving birth, the challenge of being a new mom set in and the struggle of being nanny-less, exhausted, breastfeeding, full-time working mom resulted not only having a cute healthy baby boy but also retaining a pesky hard-to-get-rid-of 5kg post-baby extra weight. And while I was still struggling with my 5 kg weight excess in my short stature for the past 12 months (yes, unfortunately for petite people, 5 kg can be very noticeable compared to taller people. Sad but true.), I found out that I am again pregnant.

So I entered my second pregnancy with a bit more knowledge of what is in store for me and I vowed to keep my self healthy and fit this pregnancy. I know that exercise and keeping fit during pregnancy will not only be beneficial for me and for my baby as well. My first trimester, unfortunately, was a little more challenging now compared to my first pregnancy. I only felt nauseous from 6 weeks to 8 weeks in my first pregnancy but in my current pregnancy, it stretched out to 14 weeks! I wasn’t able to incorporate any exercise at all because I was feeling dizzy, nauseous and ready to vomit anytime. So instead I concentrated on healthier food choices and eating breakfast. Before I wasn’t pregnant, I never eat breakfast. I would just rush off to work and have coffee at the clinic. My first meal would be by 1PM. Even in my first pregnancy, I hardly eat breakfast too, just crackers or yogurt. This time, I take the time to have a proper breakfast with brown rice and some protein. During lunch time, I would pick vegetarian options. During dinner, I would suggest more on fish or vegetables dishes.

After 14 weeks of pregnancy, I was nausea-free! So I started to do yoga again every morning before work. Here is the yoga sequence that I do every morning:

Credit: www.twentysomethingandstarving.com

I also got inspired to buy work-out clothes. I am not much of a shopper but it seems that now that I am pregnant, I seem to frequent Nike Outlet in search for cute stretchy gym clothes. I used to be dumbfounded how to dress myself when I was pregnant before. Now I realized the trick is to look for clothes made of stretchy fabrics. I love that there is a lot of options in sport clothing store. I just have to look for an outfit that is not tight on the belly and find a size that is a little bit bigger than my pre-pregnant state but not too loose as well . It feels good to look cute in my gym clothes even with my growing belly. It helps also that I use my stretchy work-out tights to replace my pants for casual outfits by pairing it with a boyfriend shirt or flowing long blouse. I have to buy a bigger sneakers for my weekend walks because my shoe size went up a size higher.

I try to do low-intensity 30 minutes cardio exercises 3x a week and add some weight-training to tone the muscles with lighter weights.

I am not aiming to be svelte model preggy mom but a healthy fit momma this pregnancy. I am currently in my 21 weeks of pregnancy. My belly might be bigger than my first pregnancy when I was in this stage, maybe because of my loose abdominal muscles but I felt more energetic and also 10x happier. Yes, exercising increases the endorphins, the happy hormones, in my system. Happy mommy equals happy baby.

I am also taking note not to eat or at least avoid junk foods, sweets, gluten and sodas. I also make it a point to drink at least 8 glasses of water. I also make sure I have adequate sleep at night and try to squeeze in naps if I am tired during the day. I schedule mediations in the morning and have prayer time at night.

Any preggy moms out there too? Let’s strive to be a fit happy preggy mommies all for the sake our little one…. If you have any tips to achieve being a fit happy preggy mom, please do share……

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