On 9 September 2017, it is precisely a year since my giving birth. At 9:00 a.m., my beloved son was born by Caesarean section.
How has my body changed and behaved?
There are many opinions on pregnancy, incontinence, and Jumping.
At each of my lecture on the topic of pregnancy and sport, incontinence,… I have been presenting the opinions and experience of others. I have always finished the lecture with the words “I have not gone through pregnancy and giving birth yet, I cannot state my own experience”.
However, everything is different now and I can share my feelings and the changes of my body with you.
By 2016, my life had been full of Jumping, exercise, travelling, friends, and a lot of fun in general.
I had been “Jumping” nearly every day since 2001. I had known no limits. Nothing had limited me. My pelvic floor had been so strong I could jump for hours.
Suddenly, from one day to another, “STOP”. “You are pregnant”, my young gynaecologist announced to me.
My life was turned inside out. I had one big siren in my head that reported: “The end of your life so far. The end of Jumping for a long period. The end of fairs. The end of Big parties. The end of travelling. No beer.”
These feelings left me in a couple days and I began to live again.
I went to the gym every day. I mainly exercised the back, legs, arms. In the 3rd month of pregnancy, I still shot Jumping Thai Box for the Jumping World Team. With this DVD, I said goodbye to Jumping.
But my head worked correctly and I kept my cool. I went to the job, to the fitness centre, drove a car daily. I felt full of life, sometimes literally. :-)
In the 5th month, I flew to the fair in Florida, Rimini, Paris, and my beloved FIBO in Germany. The little one had quite a ride in my stomach. :-)
At all these fairs throughout 2016, I was standing next to the stage where our team excellently presented Jumping to the world. After 15 years, you are “out of it” and just watch passively… I know I was standing there, kept my fingers crossed a lot, cheered, prompted… And cried a lot.
With the passing months, everything was more and more demanding. After a very long time, I had learnt the word “incontinence” again. Which quite drained me mentally. I insist that this “word” had been avoiding me especially thanks to Jumping.
I had been going to the fitness centre daily but the pelvic floor had been gradually faltering and the body had been of course preparing for the childbirth.
The last 3 months of the pregnancy, I suffered from intense spasms into the legs… With time, spasms into the arms came as well. Even that did not discourage me from working out and keeping in shape and I kept visiting the fitness centre daily.
An increased dose of magnesium and massages should have helped. The pain was so strong that I sometimes literally pulled my leg behind me.
Those are just goodies that belong to pregnancy.
I drank up to 10 litres of water a day and my thermal regulation changed. I would love to sleep among penguins.
Until the 38th week of pregnancy, I had been living this way.
With the passing weeks, I had suffered from incontinence more and more, which frustrated me because there was nearly nothing I could do about it. I was looking forward to Jumping so much, once it would help me strengthen my pelvic floor again.
On 9 September 2016 in the morning, we got into our car a hooray “to give birth”. My husband was so nervous that he could not park in front of the maternity hospital. So, we exchanged and I fitted behind the wheel with the baby in my belly for the last time and parked according to my liking :-). That was the last ride of my sonny behind the wheel for a very long time. I hope. :-)
The C-section allegedly went as planned, everything was OK. I “gave birth” exactly at 9:00 a.m.
However, nobody told me about going through SUCH PAIN.
I ascribed and still ascribe those excruciating pains that I thought I would not survive to my intense exercise. My body was too stiff for such a huge intervention.
I walked or rather creeped out of the maternity hospital after 5 days with 2 kilos above my original weight. In total, I gained 18 kg during pregnancy.
The time had been running and there was the end of the 12th week from the Caesarean. The end of preservation. Let’s go to the fitness centre. Because I no longer breastfeed, my beloved, gorgeous, maybe even more beautiful than at another time Jumping trampoline is awaiting me.
The return to my original shape was difficult. I thought it would be easy. I had exercised nearly up to the childbirth, anyway.
Well, not at all. I felt like an elephant. Heavy. Unwieldy. It was absolutely not me.
I kept going every day. The shape went up fast.
And what about incontinence after the childbirth?
For several weeks, it had been my daily part, unfortunately. I felt inferior.
I did not seek reasons “why I still cannot exercise…” but reasons “why I already can exercise”. I listened to and perceived my body.
Approximately after six months, the word “incontinence” was foreign for me again.
My body is still a bit different. Things probably do not go as easily after thirty :-D but I keep focus on my goals… Everything is in the head.
I do sports daily and the best part is that I can also spend beautiful time with my kid while doing sports.
I run with the pram, which is very entertaining for him.
I use him as a load during squats. I kiss him during push-ups.
So, now I laugh at my initial depressions that everything is over due to the pregnancy.
On the contrary… EVERYTHING HAS JUST BEGUN!!!
Just one thing is over for me… Incontinence.
