Day 12 of the two week wait – and on day 11 I did something which might be stupid.

Chris and I are both keep active and we like to try new sports.  Here is a list of sports we have done over the last few years or so…

• Rock climbing
• Hiking
• Skiing & Snowboarding
• Yoga
• Insanity exercise programme
• P90X3 exercise programme
• Dodgeball
• Volleyball
• Softball

Our favourite sport is anything which involves being outdoors – particularly if it is quiet and remote (much to my mother’s horror!).  We have had discussions about whether or not putting myself at risk from a big fall on a climb was worth it, and we decided to give climbing a break and spend more of our free time travelling to cities and taking the opportunity to do some siteseeing around Virginia.

We have missed climbing a lot over the last year.  We also skipped a couple of ski trips last year too, similarly, not wanting to put myself into a risky situation with a big fall.  But after the last year we looked back and realised that you can’t put your life on hold just because you are trying to conceive.  Although I didn’t wrap myself in cotton wool during the two week wait, I was very conscious about doing something silly in case I was pregnant.

So this weekend we headed west on a ski trip with a few friends.  I decided to ski the easier runs and not put myself in potential danger on the black runs this time round.  This was so much fun, I was in my element, enjoying being outside on the mountain.  The second day, Chris and I decided we would keep going with our lessons to learn each other’s sport.  I took a snow board lesson (my third one) and Chris took a ski lesson.

As I am a beginner on a board I knew I would be sticking to the bunny slopes – little chance of big falls here!  Perhaps a few bruises and bit of hurt pride, but other than that – safe as houses.  This was all until the very last run of the day.  I had two lessons that day, and suddenly snow boarding began to click (hooray! at last!!!!).  Well…..so I thought!  I felt comfortable picking up some speed (but not quite as fast as I ski, so I know what stupidly fast is), and as I came into the flat, I caught an edge and landed heavily on my backside – I was winded.  When Chris hurried over to me, I could barely breathe.  I cried.  I cried because it was such a stupid thing for me to do.  Also, my stomach and back was writhing with pain.  I can deal with bruises – but my abdomen just throbbed like hell, as if I had been punched in the stomach.

I know it is highly unlikely that this fall could cause a failed pregnancy this time – but why would I risk it for my selfish desire to do these dangerous sports??!!  When you try to look at other people’s experiences with these sports, I have not found consistent guidance on whether they should be avoided completely.  The only common guidance I found was to seek advice from your doctor, I suppose because each individual is different.  And this is exactly what I shall do next time I see her.  But I have read that after IUI, strenuous exercise should be avoided, so this could be a mute point if this month is a failure and we proceed with IUI next month.

When I am pregnant then I want to keep doing as much as is thought to be reasonable.  But what is reasonable?  I like this lady’s story about rock climbing when she was pregnant: Anonymous mom – I was a pregnant rock climber (www.mommyish.com) She talks about how she felt during her pregnancy and how people made hurtful comments (unintentionally sometimes).  You have to be a strong person to do this.  I’m not sure I can.

I found two books which I have seen a good few reviews about, these are going on my to read list:

Exercising Through Pregnancy by Dr James Clapp

Fit & Healthy Pregnancy: How to stay strong and in shape for you and your baby by Kristina Pinto