I actually can’t believe I’m writing about this. It feels like a long time coming but in reality it’s not been that long. I started to question whether I would be able to have a baby & now my dreams are coming true with our first baby due in September 2020. Now I'm in self isolation following the latest governments advise I can't think of anything better than starting my pregnancy and baby journey with you. Something I've dreamt of for a long time is now happening in the craziest time most of us have ever experienced. Stay safe and I hope you enjoy x
Being an Olympic athlete means generally knowing that what you put in you are likely to get out in return. Conception is not like that!!! I think that’s why I struggled more, I questioned why it wasn’t happening when essentially I was doing everything right 🙈. It’s a pretty big deal for me to be writing about this but I think it’s important. I couldn’t really find much relatable content to read & that helped me when I was struggling. A lot of my friends were falling pregnant & although I was genuinely so so happy for them, part of me was killing inside wondering if it would ever happen for me. I used to think yeh... I’ve got an Olympic gold medal but I would give that up in a heart beat for a baby. Or... we’ve just bought a family home, it’s too big for 2 people. But in reality I was putting too much pressure on myself. A lot of people kept telling me to slow down & stop doing as much exercise but this was really hard for me. Exercise is my life, it’s what makes me feel good for the day both physically, but more important mentally. Without it I would of been putting my mind & body into more stress- it felt like I couldn’t win. Also 'try not to think about it'- well that was impossible, I found myself surrounded by it & noticing every baby or pregnant woman that passed me.
As an athlete I put my body through so much for so long that I wondered if this was one of the reasons it wasn’t happening, I had put my body into calorie deficit for my sport & at the time didn’t realise this could have been doing long term harm. I had also been on the pill for 12 years with no break. Another potential reason for the ‘long wait’ (I am totally aware that people wait a lot longer than me & go through so much more to have a baby & I sincerely wish you all the best) ♥️.
Since becoming pregnant I’ve now come to the realisation that I will never know why it took so long but I do truly believe it’s happened at this time for a reason that I might never know & i feel blessed that it’s now my time. I found out I was pregnant on 8th January which will always be the most amazing day for so many reasons. I had done a test a few days before that was negative so I was in so much shock when doing a test pre doctors appointment to ‘double check’ when it showed ‘pregnant’!! Myself or Matt (my husband) didn’t want to let ourselves believe it until we knew it was definitely true.. so I went out and did 4 more tests just to double (quadruple) check!! The first night of knowing I didn’t sleep a wink, thinking about the fact I was actually pregnant! Then the worry came of being so early & the chances of miscarriage being high. I guess you never stop worrying from the moment of conception to every step of parenthood. (I know my parents still worry about me & im 29)!
Im writing this 10 weeks into the pregnancy (now...) and although the first few weeks seemed to drag I feel like its now flying by. I suffered with bad nausea (without being sick) from weeks 6-9 but this has now eased and I'm starting to enjoy the process much more. We had one big scare around week 8 when I experienced intense cramping. The problem im finding is that being pregnant is new and you don't know what feelings are 'normal' and what's not. Additionally what could be normal for one person might not be for another. I booked in a scan and thankfully all was well and it put my mind at ease- so good decision.
Ive managed to keep up my exercise regime which mostly includes cycling indoors, running (when im not injured), gym work and occasional swimming. I find exercise so important and with my first craving of crips its probably a good idea to keep it up as much as I can. The only difference I've made to my training is being aware of not over heating and not letting my heart rate go above 175bmp which is 90% of my max HR. I also really listen to my body so if im having a day where I just feel exhausted I don't worry about having a day on the sofa. Im looking forward to adapting my exercise throughout my pregnancy and ill try to keep you up to date on what ive been doing :).
I wanted to start this blog to try and help others throughout pregnancy and motherhood with an honest account of my new journey which is about to begin. I would love for you all to come on this journey with me and share your experiences along the way. Dani xx