We are a team

My goal in pregnancy was to stay active and fit. Suzanne shared with me that birth is like running a marathon. Runners train for a marathon, so it helps us to train for birth. I'm so glad I listened, because I truly believe that the knowledge I gained through the active birth yoga classes and appointments with my midwives made me feel more confident during pregnancy, labour and delivery. 

Attending the Aqua yoga for pregnancy class was wonderful! It felt so nice to use water resistance to exercise. The weightlessness gave my belly and muscles a break! When my body was weightless I could feel my baby moving around more inside which helped me connect with her. I'm a first-time mum so I had a lot of questions. After class, I would stay at the pool with other mums and chat. It was nice to share what was coming up for us. I felt supported and encouraged. This was the same after my yoga for pregnancy and active birth classes as well. I am still friends with some of the mums I met in my classes! 

One of the things I loved most about my classes at yoga baby is they taught me how to connect with my baby. I am a very visual person, so the fact I couldn't SEE my baby, it was hard for me to feel she's real. In my classes, we do baby body scans and actively connect with the baby during sessions. I don't think I would have known how to create that connection on my own. It felt like my baby and I was a team and we were exercising together. 

I labored at home for 20 hours, then 4 at the hospital before I received the epidural. My goal was to have a completely natural labour and birth, but after labouring for 24 hours, I was told I was still in the early stages of labour and not progressing. I'm grateful my midwives and Suzanne at Yogababy had prepared me mentally to keep an open mind. It's all about what's healthy for mom and baby at the moment. I'm glad they taught me about all of my options ahead of time, so I could make an informed decision at the time and feel confident about it. Ready to push, my midwives made a comment about how flexible I was. I told them I did yoga during my whole pregnancy and they said it shows! I also recovered physically very quickly which I attribute to yoga as well. 

I am so grateful for the encouragement and support I received during my pregnancy. I felt I was part of a community of mums who all wanted to be healthy and fit like me. We were all learning together. I'm now looking forward to mum and bub's yoga! I can't wait to connect with other mums and bubs and continue supporting one another after birth as well. 

Kara attended the Aqua for pregnancy, Pregnancy Yoga & Active Birth Yoga