What to Expect The Workout & Film - DVD Review

If I'm honest, with my first pregnancy I didn't give much thought to my fitness. I did a tiny bit of swimming but that was all; I worked full time and I drove everywhere so I did very little exercise. This time round I was determined to be fitter and healthier! I had such a long labour with Lucas and I'm sure had I been more active it would have made a difference. 

When What To Expect UK offered to send me their pregnancy fitness DVD. 'The Workout' I thought it might give me the push to do some more exercise during this pregnancy  Even having said all that when I first put the DVD on I just sat down on the sofa, brew in hand, to watch. However, having looked through a few of the workouts I felt like it was something I could do and even wanted to do so the next day I did just that and gave it a try. I tried out 'Barefoot & Pregnant' in the Cardio workouts which I liked but couldn't always keep up with the instructors! It's easy to take it slow when you want to though and it did boost my circulation. My favourite it definitely the Stretch and Relax workout and I want to try and keep this up. My aches and pains have been much worse this time round; I get awful sciatica at night but I find when I do some light exercise it is better. This 'Mind, Body and Baby' workout helps to relax and stretch out the muscles; I do it when Lucas has just gone to bed and I can find 10 minutes peace to wind down. It doesn't leave me with any extra aches and I have been able to get more comfortable at night since I've tried it. I found the DVD easy to follow and I like the bonus feature about safe exercise in pregnancy seen as I am most definitely a beginner. I think there is something for everyone in there, a bit of dance, some stamina based routines, workouts for staying toned and yoga and pilates based exercises to finish off. It is American but don't let that put you off; the pregnant Mamas really do look amazing and are much more inspiring than intimidating!

Obviously the lovely people at What To Expect thought I deserved a reward for my exercise attempts so they also sent a DVD of the film, What To Expect When You Are Expecting. l was excited to have a good reason to have a girly film on in the house! Still I decided to watch it with my friends rather than with my other half; we all had a good chuckle at it but being the only one with children I really found it funny! My friends were very amused when my pregnancy hormones got the better of me and I sobbed at the adoption story. I will watch it again; although it touches on some sad issues it is heart-warming and amusing and I love the 'Dudes Club,' I'm sure some Dads could relate to that fear of having your first child. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at pregnant with twins Sklyer (Brooklyn Decker) wearing a bikini at her baby shower but I love that it is shown in contrast to Wendy (Elizabeth Banks) having a complete meltdown about how awful pregnancy is. Even if it is Hollywood's version of pregnancy there is something in there that every parent-to-be could relate to and I even think I might be able to convince my husband to give it a watch.

You can buy both the DVDs through Amazon. If you have any questions about fitness during pregnancy (or anything else) the What To Expect UK team are very helpful so feel free to say hello to them on Twitter or Facebook. 

Disclaimer: I was sent What To Expect When You're Expecting and What To Expect The Workout DVDs. All opinions are honest and my own.

What To Expect When You're Expecting - A Pregnancy Book Review

I am a woman who likes to be prepared and I suppose I am one of 'those' Mother's who likes to read baby books. With my first pregnancy I read everything I could get my hands on; I obsessively followed up on week-by-week development, reading out snippets of information to my husband in bed. This pregnancy has been so different to my previous pregnancy, aside from the obvious (that we are expecting twins) I also felt more comfortable and less anxiety this time round. I didn't immediately whip out my pregnancy book when I found out I was pregnant but as time went out I realised there was some information I was unsure of. Even after only two years of conceiving Lucas I had forgotten so much and then added to that the bombshell that we are expecting twins I was suddenly back to my previous ill-informed state. My old pregnancy book was extremely unhelpful with almost no information on multiple pregnancy so when the lovely people at What To Expect offered me a chance to have a read of the new edition of their 'Pregnancy Bible' I jumped at the chance.

I wish I had had this book in my life first time round! It is so full of information and one of my favourite things about it is that is a relatively small paperback; so easy for me to pick up and read of a night and take around the house with me for a sneaky read if something occurs to me. The first thing I did when I received the book was skip to the back and look up twins in the index, I love, love, love that there is a whole chapter dedicated to multiple birth! I found information in there that I hadn't previously found online and it's so much easier to have a quick read of a book rather than going to a screen. Having a read through I found little extra bits of twin information in the other chapters too which I was pleased to see.

I found the book easy to read and it's great for just picking up and reading a few pages when you have time. No, it isn't full of glossy photos of those damn lovely, glowing pregnant women but it is chock full of everything else: diagrams, information, questions and answers. If you are lucky enough to have a partner who is hungry for baby information then there is a section for Dads-to-be; my husband liked the layout of it and found it 'to the point without the waffle.' Surely a big plus for most men! I've had a good read through the Eating Well section as I'm more concious of a healthy pregnancy diet this time round and of course I'm following the monthly development chapters; I really like the 'What to expect at check-ups' section.

I honestly don't know how I missed this book with my first pregnancy as it would have been amazingly helpful. This version is the new 4th Edition by Heidi Murkoff, the lady behind What To Expect When You're Expecting. It really does have everything I am looking for in a pregnancy manual; I keep looking though it and finding something new and relevant to me and even in a second pregnancy it has been invaluable. The book is available through Amazon and you can find more information on the What To Expect website. They are very friendly people with lots of information at hand and you can stop by and say hello to them on Twitter.

Disclaimer: I was sent a signed copy of What To Expect When You're Expecting and 2 DVD's. All opinions and ramblings are honest and my own.