Swimming!!!

I bought a new swimwear to celebrate a special milestone on the day I was 25 weeks pregnant; on the 29th of March,  Hehe!

SJ been asking me to swim for months, since I was 3 months pregnant in January but I have been procrastinating and always coming up with the same excuse; I don't have a swim wear! I could not fit in my old swimsuit anymore and I don't think wearing a bikini, with my tummy sticking out was appropriate. I felt that swimming was a very troublesome activity; have to pack towels, sunblock lotions, a change of clothes, body lotion, facial wash etc.. thinking of preparing those items didn't motivate me to swim at all.

But things are different now because I have invested quite a bit in this new swim wear and it's an XL size, which means that I can only wear it when I'm pregnant because I am quite sure I would not be an XL size anymore after delivery, so, I better make my money worth by wearing it as much as possible! Therefore, I have decided to try schedule a swimming session once a week.

Our very first swimming session was at Esther and Nick's condo in PJ. Two of our friends' babies also joined us. Here's a picture of me in my new swim wear. Photo taken on the 1st April before my very first pregnancy swim session :)

It was a fun and exciting Sunday because I can't remember the last time I went to the swimming pool. It could be years ago when I was in a holiday with SJ. I thought I could float easily when I was in the pool, but I was wrong. I felt so much heavier and could sink easily. Swam for about an hour plus, felt so hungry after that but was feeling good and not too tired. I felt really energized and able to walk longer the very next day. Swimming is good for me! It was also good for my Macau-Hong Kong trip that started the following week.

Since that weekend, SJ and I had two more swimming sessions: 22nd and 28th April, both at Esther-Nick's and Ee Vern's condo respectively. These two sessions were not as easy as the first because I had pelvic-pubic bone pain but the pain is much reduced now as I am typing this. SJ has been a really sweet hubby by accompanying me to swim all the time. He has been very encouraging and making sure I am independent and active all the time; on those times that I was feeling tired and having pain in the pubic bone area, he would just walk with me in the pool because it was too painful to swim. Walking in the pool definitely helps in reducing body aches/pains! 

As I am getting bigger and heavier now; I could barely lift my legs up nowadays without feeling a slight ache at my lower abdomen; I should try to stay active as much as possible for an easier delivery. Baby is due to arrive in about 2 months and 12 days time on 12th July!!!! Oh boy, that's so soon!!!! I'm feeling both excited and nervous! Also the 'kiasu' me is trying to swim and attend yoga classes as much as possible so I would maximize the value of my swim-wear (haha!) and I have paid in advanced for my 12 yoga lessons, I must finish these lessons before baby arrives :P

Looking forward to the next swimming session, which could be in this weekend. Loving every swim session  as I'm feeling more at ease in the pool now. Hope baby is liking it as much as Mommy! 

Pregnancy Yoga classes

I started pre-natal yoga classes at Fit For Two, Bangsar Village 2, KL when I was in week 14, on the 12th January 2012. I was so excited that I could still fit in my pre-pregnancy gym wear and was back to exercising again that I posted this photo in Facebook to announce my pregnancy for the first time in FB :) This was the one and only time I wore this top to my yoga class, could not fit into this same top anymore the following week :(

SJ & I were so surprised to get more than 100 likes and comments within a day.. was super happy that many of our friends and family were happy with this news. We decided not to tell anyone except immediate family and best friends until after we are 3 months into the pregnancy. There is this Chinese belief that it is better to wait till the pregnancy is stable before announcing to the world because the baby may be 'sensitive' and something unfortunate may happen. We did not really believe it but thought we better follow this ritual to be safe.

Since then, I have been trying to attend at least one class per week. The fees of the class is RM50 per class (one hour) but it's cheaper if bought a dozen classes in advanced. I bought 12 classes for RM480, which expires in 3-4 months. I'm trying to attend 2 classes in a week now as I am in a more comfortable stage now. So proud of myself that I attended two classes this week.. Tuesday and Saturday (today)!

Taking two hours off in a week, another 1.5 hours travel time for each class, which totals to 5 hours off in a week is a very hard thing to do for a workaholic person like me. I was a member of Fitness First back in 2006 but never made it to the gym for more than 2-3 times in a MONTH because exercising has never been a priority to me when I first started my career in the life insurance business. I would block my time for gym in my calendar but somehow it got cancelled at the last minute because meeting clients and new associates were so much more important than exercise. Don't get me wrong thinking that I hate sports or exercising because I was a super active sports girl when I was in school and in university years. I have participated in many school sports and competitions; I would spent many hours under a hot sun to practice netball and was an aerobic class freak when I was in uni. I would go for various aerobic classes up to 4 to 5 times in a week! The ambitious and career passion-driven me has changed all that. 

But how things have changed now! I would pack my yoga clothes in the mornings before I head to office and do my utmost best to make sure I would allocate enough time and reach my yoga class in time.. but somehow most of the time, I was late and sometimes I had to call to cancel my attendance at the last minute because I was just too late :S I am really trying to do my best to make sure I have better fitness and the stamina because I'm sure I would need it at the delivery and after baby arrives. Being at these yoga classes is fun because I get to meet other expectant mothers and most of them are also first time mommies. Fit For Two has 'Mom and Bumps Meets' every Saturday afternoons and I'm looking forward to attend one soon to exchange pregnancy experiences with others. 

Yoga classes in the past few weeks have been rather challenging. I remember telling SJ & my family members that pregnancy yoga classes are like nothing.. because we just sit on the mat most of the time, doing stretching & I did not even break a sweat.. but boy, so much have changed recently. It's either the classes intensity have changed (which I'm sure it has NOT!) or I'm just getting bigger and my body is changing. The yoga instructor mentioned that it would just get harder and harder and I didn't believe her at first! I have been getting shoulders and upper back aches after classes and on the next day. I really need to work on these muscles at home before I become like an instant old lady at the end of this pregnancy :S 

So now, I just need to find the motivation that I had in my younger years to love exercising again and my next target is to start swimming!! We have been talking about swimming even before I started yoga! Hmmm, I know what will give me motivation to swim..I'll go buy a nice swimwear! :))))))