How I Got Healthier With My Second Pregnancy

“Oh, just wait until she has another one!” This is a comment I would often hear after bouncing back so quickly upon giving birth to my son. For some reason, I guess multiple pregnancies are supposed to insenuate that it makes it harder for women to bounce back or to stay fit throughout the entire pregnancy or maybe that is just the common misconception that many women have these days.

After all, being pregnancy a second time around while trying to chase and take care of another baby or toddler can be quite hard since you are so focused on the health of this other little one; we tend to forget ourselves right?

You might hate me, but with my second pregnancy, I found myself in better shape than I was with my first. Obviously, this wasn’t my first rodeo so I knew what to expect, things to do, and things not to do. Sure, trying to stay on track was a bit harder because I was no longer just thinking of my own health, but I managed. Here is a photo below comparing my bumps at 36 weeks (though I won’t technically be 36 weeks until Monday):

With my first pregnancy back in 2013, I would call myself fit… somewhat. I mean, I was slender and active. I was more of a cardio bunny than a weightlifter though as I would only find myself in the weight room at the gym if nobody was in there. I used to feel so intimidated lifting in front of people- especially men. Nowadays, HA! I outlift some of THEM! Here’s a photo below of the day I found out we were expecting! I believe I was about 4 weeks along:

I aimed to workout 3-5 days per week which meant driving to my local gym, getting on the elliptical for 15-20 minutes and then heading to the weight room to do some weight machines (yuck…. I do not do weight machines anymore). It made me feel good for myself and my unborn baby son, but to be honest I did not have much of a plan or routine as I was still a newbie when it came to lifting and working out in general during pregnancy. I kinda was one of those people who walked into the gym thankful that I even had the motivation to arrive and just walked around doing whatever with zero direction. I ate pretty well and counted my calories religiously so I stayed pretty slender for the most part.

Here’s right before I popped!

I gained 30lbs total during this pregnancy which was great! But as soon as I gave birth, I was left with a soft and slender body due to not having a steady weightlifting routine the whole entire time. Here are some immediate postpartum photos after my first pregnancy:

With my current, second pregnancy, I would definitely call myself fit. I lift weights 5 days per week and walk on my incline trainer at a 5%-10% incline at 3mph for 30 minutes for 5 days per week in addition to my own home pregnancy program circuits 4 days per week. Here’s a photo of myself about a month or two prior to my second pregnancy. If you were to compare my before here to my before above from my first pregnancy, you could tell that I certainly worked hard to make sure I had some sort of muscle mass prior to getting pregnant again versus focusing on being skinny:

For this pregnancy, I wanted a solid plan and no excuses so after giving birth to my son, I built my own home gym which you can see here so that I could get strong and lean prior to conceiving baby #2. It was so nice not having to leave the house and to be able to workout whenever I want and have my son nearby to check on him-I highly recommend you purchasing a few pieces of gym equipment for your home so you can have that luxury!

This time around, it was nice to use free weights (barbells, dumbbells, kettlebells) instead of those weight machines you see in the gym because I felt like I had more control over my workout. Plus, has anyone ever noticed how useful the Thigh Adductor/Abductor Machine truly is? I am currently almost 36 weeks pregnant with my daughter and I am up to almost 23lbs with 4 weeks to go. During this second pregnancy, I gained weight faster than with my son-I truly believe it was because I created lean muscle by keeping up my lifting routine. I am anxious to see what the end result will be, but I honestly prefer to go by looks and stress too much about the number on the scale. As far as my diet goes, I do not count calories and haven’t this entire pregnancy. Instead, I go based off of how I feel and my own hunger cues.

So you wanna know my tips on getting healthier with your next pregnancy?

LIFT WEIGHTS. Yes, if your doctor has given you the clear to do so, please lift. You need strength to make it through pregnancy and you will need that strength during labor and after pregnancy. Ideally, you want to start a good weightlifting regimine PRIOR to pregnancy as pregnancy is usually not the time to start new activities if your body isn’s used to them. The last thing we want you doing is hurting yourself or your baby so be careful, go slowly, start light, and listen to you body.
KEEP UP THE CARDIO: Cardio is so amazing for pregnancy-not only from a weight aspect, but for everything really. Aim for at least 30 minutes daily, 5 days per week. It can mean something as little as going for a brisk walk after dinner when the sun is setting.
QUIT CALORIE COUNTING. Unless you are overweight or are under the care of a dietician to lose weight during pregnancy or manage your weight, stop counting calories. Your pregnant body will tell you how many calories you need without stressing about it. You just have to listen to determine what it’s telling you.
LEARN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUNGER AND A CRAVING: The fact is that if we all would give into our cravings all of the time, we would put on 50lbs during pregnancy. Yup, your cravings will go haywire for several months, but it is your responsibility to learn the difference between a real hunger cue and a pregnancy craving. How do I personally do this? I make sure I eat 6 small meals a day to keep me full and eating often. Also, I will drink one glass or 8oz of water prior to each meal AND when I feel a hunger cue or craving on to determine what’s really going on.

I will be sure to update this post with immediate postpartum photos once I give birth in a few short weeks to my baby girl.

As the last few weeks approach, I am very excited to meet baby #2 and to see how well my labor goes. It’s no secret that I have worked hard this time around to maintain muscle mass during pregnancy and to stay as healthy as I possible can. We will see how I bounce back and how things go, but I am not sweating it too much. If you take care of your body, it will always take care of you! I have learned this throughout the years of riding the health rollercoaster.

Oh, and do not ever let anyone tell you that you will get bigger or that it’s harder to bounce back after having multiple babies. That is just complete and utter bullshit. 🙂

**UPDATE:** Here’s another photo I took comparing bumps at 38 weeks 🙂