When I was pregnant with Patrick (Jr.) now 7, I asked my coach, Kerry, if there was much information on competitive swimming and training while pregnant. He didn't know of any. Since then I've had two more kids (now 3 and 4) and there's still nothing really about this subject.
So I'll use myself as a guinea pig, and maybe it will help others in the future...
This will be our last, and with this one, I'd like to have goals, unlike with the other three. Obviously, my number one goal is to have a healthy baby. My nutrition is key here, for the baby and myself. Sleep is crucial for me, so that too is a goal. Other goals are lifting, and minimum weight gain (I still have 20 from last time, mostly in my stomach!) and to swim in Austin and be somewhat competitive. My due date is January 20, 2008.
I'm afraid I will be put on bed rest near the end, because Carrick (3) was born 5 weeks early, and we don't know why. He spent 2 weeks in the Intensive Care, and is fine now. I read that the odds have gone up significantly for me now to have another early delivery. (With all of my other deliveries, by C-section, I swam the day I delivered and was back in the water two weeks later.)
Tomorrow, I will be 4 weeks pregnant. And while I swam Saturday (2,000 SCM- see Rude Noodlers thread) I didn't get to do the only practice today (Memorial Day) at 8:30am because Brenna (4) was still sleeping...
I have some questions, and I hope you will all pitch in your :2cents: Sorry, I don't make change :p
How do I modify weight lifting while pregnant?
Anybody do OW swims while pregnant (water temps around 70)?
Thanks!
Parents
Former Member
HOWDY KAREN!
CONGRATULATIONS ON A great pregnancy while swimming and the delightful news of your son's birth!!
For some reason, the March/April issue of USMS published your blog site which I found very helpful. I wish I had found it sooner. In any event, the historical info is helpful. Still haven't found an ob-gyn either (someone else had this question) that is a swimmer...slightly vexing....
So I was swimming while pregnant with twins, but recently got reduced to FLOATING ONLY..... Background....
However, I ended up in the hospital twice in the last 3 weeks. All seems to be on even keel now. Basically, blood pressure and wacky headaches had my docs really concerned. Ended up finally at Columbia Presybeterian for 2.5 days. So they are watching me very very closely. So all my swimming came to a halt after Feb 24.
I felt fine that day and had been swimming only 50 lengths (just freestyle) almost everyday for 5 weeks at a snail's pace, never getting pulse above 110 and drinking good amounts of water every 10 lengths. My docs were fine with that. Prior to that I was swimming about 80 or 90 lengths of various strokes and kicks... The next morning (Feb 25), everything went haywire with bps around 155/110s consistantly over an hour. So that was the start of tons of tests/diagnostics and two trips to the hospital....twins are fine and growing...It is just me that seems problematic at this point...The docs theorize that I may have had a propensity to high blood pressure for years, but it never was detected because I was always running/swimming almost every day for +5 years and kept it naturally in check (coupled with really decent eating habits)....Only laid off running the last 7 months...and then gradually reducing the swimming too.... Who knows really?? Imagine if I wasn't in such solid shape...?
....Just this past Wednesday, I got clearance to be able to go to the pool, but just FLOAT. NO swimming. At least, I will be able to get some relief from the twins sticking me in the ribs by being bouyant.
Well, I'm at week 27 and obliged to work from home on the couch. So I am listening close to my docs to maximize the time of the twins in utero.
Guess, I'll have a longer hill back to swimming decently than anticipated.
HOPE others see this blog and keep the dialogues and sharing of tips going....I'll need them for the recovery too....
Particularily interested in how to fit in swimming with multiples and their care. Thanks so ever much! Diana
HOWDY KAREN!
CONGRATULATIONS ON A great pregnancy while swimming and the delightful news of your son's birth!!
For some reason, the March/April issue of USMS published your blog site which I found very helpful. I wish I had found it sooner. In any event, the historical info is helpful. Still haven't found an ob-gyn either (someone else had this question) that is a swimmer...slightly vexing....
So I was swimming while pregnant with twins, but recently got reduced to FLOATING ONLY..... Background....
However, I ended up in the hospital twice in the last 3 weeks. All seems to be on even keel now. Basically, blood pressure and wacky headaches had my docs really concerned. Ended up finally at Columbia Presybeterian for 2.5 days. So they are watching me very very closely. So all my swimming came to a halt after Feb 24.
I felt fine that day and had been swimming only 50 lengths (just freestyle) almost everyday for 5 weeks at a snail's pace, never getting pulse above 110 and drinking good amounts of water every 10 lengths. My docs were fine with that. Prior to that I was swimming about 80 or 90 lengths of various strokes and kicks... The next morning (Feb 25), everything went haywire with bps around 155/110s consistantly over an hour. So that was the start of tons of tests/diagnostics and two trips to the hospital....twins are fine and growing...It is just me that seems problematic at this point...The docs theorize that I may have had a propensity to high blood pressure for years, but it never was detected because I was always running/swimming almost every day for +5 years and kept it naturally in check (coupled with really decent eating habits)....Only laid off running the last 7 months...and then gradually reducing the swimming too.... Who knows really?? Imagine if I wasn't in such solid shape...?
....Just this past Wednesday, I got clearance to be able to go to the pool, but just FLOAT. NO swimming. At least, I will be able to get some relief from the twins sticking me in the ribs by being bouyant.
Well, I'm at week 27 and obliged to work from home on the couch. So I am listening close to my docs to maximize the time of the twins in utero.
Guess, I'll have a longer hill back to swimming decently than anticipated.
HOPE others see this blog and keep the dialogues and sharing of tips going....I'll need them for the recovery too....
Particularily interested in how to fit in swimming with multiples and their care. Thanks so ever much! Diana
