Weeks 4 to 12

Four weeks

We found out super early we were pregnant. We had just decided we were ready to start trying and also were aware of the possibility it would take some time to fall pregnant, and that maybe it wouldn’t be something we could achieve without needing intervention. After coming back from our trip to Canada (our holi-moon: the perfect blend of time on bikes and hanging out with my favourite person in the world), I bought a two-pack of pregnancy tests. The first test I took was negative. A few days later, the Flo app suggested I take a test, so I did and as we were getting ready to go to work for the first time since getting home from Canada, the stick read, ‘Pregnant’. So that week, I saw my GP for the first time and had the usual array of bloods taken. I was super nervous the pregnancy test had returned a false positive but the bloods confirmed it: we were pregnant! I also found out I had subclinical hypothyroidism (if I wasn’t pregnant, it wouldn’t be cause for concern or intervention, but the effects of pregnancy can impact thyroid function and possibly the baby) and started Thyroxine. 

In that early appointment, I spoke to my GP about my activity levels: riding MTB regularly and hitting the gym were good and I should continue doing both. About mountain biking, I told her I was getting into coaching and had been riding for six or so years. Apart from the suggestion that later in the pregnancy, I should be mindful of falls because of the risk of abdominal trauma, and minimising risk of injury generally, she was encouraging of my ongoing riding. I didn’t need the encouragement but I am grateful for it! 

The first pregnancy symptom I felt was rage: at my desk and in my car, the urge to yell came and I succumbed very easily (thankfully I was working from home when the first wave hit!). I had a few brief episodes of this rage in the early days but thankfully they didn’t last and I was able to contain them - no career limiting or friendship-ending outbursts. 

Six weeks

I did the PMBIA Ride Guide and Level 1 Instructor course. I also found out about my becoming an ambassador for Juliana bikes. I was full of stoke and excitement about becoming a coach and an ambassador and about my pregnancy and leaning into all things women-on-mountain-bikes. 

Honestly, it didn’t really occur to me that being pregnant would affect any of those things. It all felt surreal so I guess I wasn’t really questioning any of it. 

A week or so later, I started to feel queasy and fatigued. Thankfully, I had only one violent but very brief wave of nausea. I was at my desk in the office and afterward wasn’t sure if I needed to evacuate my bowels or throw up or sleep. I did none of them and returned to my desk to continue working. Bikewise, I managed my energy by prioritising riding for ride club coaching rides.

Seven weeks

The queasiness and fatigue meant I ate mostly beige food - I got weirdly into party pies and also cottage cheese - and sat out one ride with the girls. Low energy and adjusting to thyroid medication (taken on an empty stomach, exacerbating the quease) saw me skipping gym a few times and becoming quite anxious about work and an ectopic pregnancy I was sure I was having for a good 90 minutes one day. Turns out feeling crampy in your right groin/hip is, ah, normal but boy was that hit of anxiety and that fear real! I messaged my husband about it (my unhinged text messages really popped off on new level of unhinged during pregnancy). I was a fiend for naps and was prioritising rest and energy so I could write and shoot for an article I was working on for AMB, get out for leisurely yap laps with the gals, and guide ride club coaching rides. 

Eight weeks

More queasiness - not sure if Thyroxine or early pregnancy - and feeling some cold and flu symptoms. In spite of feeling those cold and flu symptoms, my appetite had improved and I had made the conscious decision to eat better, hoping if I did that, I would feel better! In aid of prioritising rest, and recovery from the lurgy I felt, I sat out a midweek coaching session and bike tech night. I was peeing so damn much this week! Thankfully, by the end of the week I was feeling much more energetic, perhaps thanks to all the resting I had done, maybe because I was trying to eat nutritious food (in addition to beige food of course), perhaps an uptick in hormones, perhaps seeing TWO echidnas while out on a bike ride with Will -  maybe all of it. 

Nine weeks

The progesterone and a few weeks of fatigue and beige food had me feeling all sorts of clogged up and expansive. I was in early-pregnancy limbo. It didn’t feel real: it was too early to start showing and I just felt something similar to pre-menstrual heaviness or constipation. I was also on an absolute rollercoaster with body image, feeling uncomfortable but excited and nervous about what was happening in my body. Work at that time was also hectic and challenging. 

At the same time, I was lining up more cool bike-related stuff and managed to get out for some long-overdue social rides with some dear friends, went to a wedding and ride club coaching where I got to demonstrate riding technical rock features (which I love doing) so I was definitely all over the place! 

Ten weeks

An entry from my journal this week: Joyful jumping! A balm for my tired stressed hormonal soul. Yips and yews and yays with the girls, chatting and pedalling, jumping away a busy day. I had also ordered my Juliana Furtado and was able to process (read: cry about) the joy and excitement of an actual dream coming true in becoming an ambassador for Juliana. We had our first scan that week and seeing our little bean was a surreal experience. It was too early to actually hear the heartbeat and though the ultrasound tech said it was there, and he did a great job telling us what he was seeing, it somehow both felt more real but also still not real.  The scan also pushed our due date back (by three days) which made it feel like pregnancy would go forever!

My energy overall had improved but I still struggled to make it to the gym. I did two days’ MTB coaching in a beginner’s clinic which wasn’t intensive in terms of riding or skills but was a lot to absorb as I learnt how we at Dirt Maidens present and coach these clinics. While out on these clinics, I mostly forgot about my secret passenger and didn’t find I worried too much about it as it felt very low-risk compared to say riding with Will or hitting jumps. I also led my first ride group session - I felt slow on the bike and it was warm, but we saw an echidna which never doesn’t brighten my mood. 

11 weeks

I had a two-day south coast sojourn with the Dirt Maidens coaches, where it was much hotter than I was mentally prepared for. A longer trail ride on our first day meant I was super fatigued for our pedal the next day. It was still early days and so I hadn’t shared the pregnancy yet though I didn’t feel like the fatigue was related to that - just that I was riding a big enduro sled around a lot of single track in humidity! Sitting out wines that evening with the team was a novel experience for me but I enjoyed a fun and funny evening with the Dirt Maidens ladies regardless. Overall, it was a cup-filling experience and according to my journal, I didn’t hate all the pedalling. I got back to some full-throttle days of work and did midweek coaching as well, which was about when my fitness started to feel suboptimal. I also experienced a bit more rage to finish out the week - more work stuff! - and my Mum had a hospital scare and some shitty health news so I was still on a hormonal rollercoaster ride. 

We went to Thredbo for an AMB x YHA takeover but the weather forced me to slow down: torrential rain and a closed bike park put a damper on our plans to ride so we had a rainy reset day in the mountains instead. I was able to put a positive spin on the weather and weekend, and think did a good job for the magazine and property in the circumstances. In any case, the mountain downpour and forced pivot felt good. The property had put together a really nice welcome hamper with local wine, schnapps and snacks, which made me feel like I had really made it as an influencer!

12 weeks

I had told a select few (people who barely had to prod before I unravelled with our news) and felt like if we lost the pregnancy early, we would be well-supported. I also didn’t feel like I couldn’t share because of that convention - more that I wanted to be 100 per cent certain about it before we did. At 35, I had my share of doubts and concerns about the effect of my age on the process (even though in my mind I’m still 26…).

I did a blood test for fetal genetics and we had a 12-week scan so got to see our little bean again - legs and arms and all! I was anxious again this week - this time, about the results. Cue me searching normal nuchal fold and nasal bone measurements and interpreting the sonographer’s findings on the images, and waking up in the middle of the night to check my emails in case either report had come through. Again, this scan pushed our due date back by three more days - this time, I was less disappointed about that and accepted it would change which day of the week we got to say ‘today we are XX weeks’ when I took my bump pics (which I have done nothing with. Lol). 

It was mid November so it was really starting to heat up and I was starting to feel ultra sluggish on coaching rides. At the same time, I had an epic day in Thredbo blasting down the hill on long runs, only pulling back slightly to minimise risk and for self-preservation and then when fatigue set in. We were still waiting for the results from the genetic testing and scan so it still didn’t feel real, and as long as I was riding DOWN a hill, I felt as good as normal on the bike. Off the bike, yet more contrast: my own exciting appointments while my Mum was having scary appointments.

Weeks 13 to 28

13 weeks

Waiting for the genetic testing results made this feel like the longest week. The woman who’d taken my bloods had told me about her prolapse after her second born and I started furiously researching prenatal pilates and yoga. I was majorly frustrated at work, seeing some weird stuff happen in social circles around me and on top of that was feeling afraid we might get a test result we didn’t want. Happily, that week ended with the best news: my Furtado had come in, our test results were in and low-risk AND we found out we’re expecting a girl! I got to see some of my oldest and best friends that weekend so they were among the first we shared that news with. I am tearing up just remembering how joyful and relieved and excited and happy we felt.

14 weeks

I had a week off work to go and see my Mum, who had had the bulk of her scary appointments. I took Nelly the Furtado with me though I didn’t get out for a ride until mid week due to travel, heat and wanting to simply be with my mother. While I was there, I had an early morning episode of headache and vomiting which I put down to heat rather than pregnancy, and otherwise enjoyed a relatively slower pace spending time with Mum and my brother and his family. Though we were sitting with the uncertainty of a probable cancer diagnosis, we were as relaxed as possible in the circumstances and at the same time, I shared with my big brothers that we were expecting a girl. I remember feeling like I wanted to move my body and to feel the goodness that comes from movement, and was so excited to get out for a quick ride on my new bike. My Mum took some photos I used for my ‘hard launch’ instagram post of the bike. It was a brief, muggy coastal ride but I was so jazzed and pumped about my new ride, and was completely overwhelmed by all the love and support I got on my post about it! 

After a chill (in the circumstances) week, I was excited to come home to Canberra and to ride with Will. We got out for a super humid, early December pre-storm ride on the steep pine plantation trails at Isaacs Ridge. Given the weather, I was not feeling like I could push myself on any climb, much less on any steep or technical descents, so we pushed up slowly, resting often. On our first descent, I walked one rock feature and otherwise was taking it easy as I got more acquainted with Nelly. We stacked some riding clips for an instagram reel and just had a nice time riding bikes in the pines. The next day, I got out for more ride club coaching rides, and mostly felt confident and energetic thanks to that new bike feeling!! I had one loose moment in a wet, greasy corner while leading the group that made me squeal. I like to think of those moments as reminders of my limits - in that moment, as a coach and as a pregnant woman.

15 weeks

I had more energy this week, and felt like my belly was starting to pop (I can now say I felt like that every week after this - the ‘pop’ really did keep popping). We had our first antenatal visit with our continuity midwife. My Mum was a hospital nurse and thanks to my upbringing on a farm and as the youngest of a family of boys, I am no stranger to hospitals and I think I have a higher threshold than most for waiting rooms, x-rays, clinical language and most other things that come with hospitals. Working in personal injury law, I think I also have an awareness of the difference between a shitty experience and a traumatic one, and a crappy outcome and negligence. So I back myself when it comes to being able to advocate for myself and my pregnancy, and to make sensible and informed decisions. 

When it came to what I do fitness and exercise-wise, and the midwife first said ‘you can never predict a crash in mountain biking’, I patiently explained my background and that I was across risk-mitigation and riding within my limits, and I was aware of the risk of abdominal trauma and avoiding x-rays and the need for acute care. I felt empowered to make those statements and to advocate for myself in that setting. We also spoke about maternal wellbeing being as being aA important during pregnancy and postpartum as anything else, and about the importance of seeking help and support. 

I also went to reformer pilates which I low-key love - I will never be an almond mum or pilates girlie but there is something so fun about the reformer bed, plus the breathwork feels ultra grounding (even if it does sometimes feel like breathing shouldn’t require so much thinking). 

I managed a big ol’ social ride with the girls, a gorgeous dinner out with friends, a golden hour date night bike ride with Will, a yap lap and catch-up with some of my favourite people before the day got too hot, then a beat-the-heat coaching session. I felt excited and motivated about the future: bike- and baby-related. 

16 weeks

The last week of the year. Work was an uphill battle: everything becomes so urgent even though literally the whole world was also going to be off work for at least a week, if not two! So I was so grateful to get out for one social, Christmas ride with the gals. I also saw a pelvic floor physiotherapist who did a physical examination, which I was not expecting on our first visit.  Happily, I had good pelvic floor tone and don’t need to go back until much later in the piece! We discussed my biking and she suggested I keep my rides to below 90% effort - this is to make sure both me and my passenger are getting enough oxygen. I was relieved and happy to get the reassurance that I can continue safely doing pilates, gym and bike riding. 

Then being off work for Christmas, I finally got in a bunch of riding: we did a 40km road ride with family, a few chill but fun shuttle laps with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend (who that Christmas became his fiance!!), and a big Boxing Day trail ride. The road ride was challenging as there was a massive sou’ west wind and my in-laws are all quite road fit. Over the gale, I could hear in my mind the physio’s advice about keeping my efforts below 90% and so I found myself at the back of the pack, grateful Will slowed down his ride to keep me company (and I’m sure to ensure my safety on the back roads of Orange, NSW). It was my longest recorded ride according to Strava and also possibly the least amount of fun I’ve had on a bike in a long time. Our Boxing Day ride was also challenging: between 350m of climbing up about 3.5km of single track in the rising heat and dwindling shade and a descent of about 2.5km of janky single track which I’d never ridden, I was recalibrating my physical limits and my limits as a rider. Despite my efforts to keep my output low and to refuel appropriately (shortbread and electrolytes are ‘appropriate’, right?) I ended up with a stonker of a headache that evening. A lot of laying down, water, pasta and paracetamol set me right eventually.

17 weeks

The period between Christmas and New Years is so blissful! What day is it? It doesn’t matter. What do I have on today? Nothing important! I managed a heap of riding: a couple of trail rides, a morning of shuttles at Narooma and a gravel ride. I was on the fence about going down to Narooma but wanted to ride with friends who were there so I YOLO’d it and took a solo road-trip from Canberra to there. New Years Eve came and went quietly, though we have never really been into big shebangs. On New Year’s Day, Will and I got out for some trail building at a local spot then hid indoors from the heat. 

On the bike, I felt fine. I wasn’t ‘taking any risks’, e.g. trying to ride any new features or trying anything that feels sketchy. Narooma was great fun - the trails are always great and it was fun riding with my friends. One of them was hitting some of the big jumps for the second time and it was so great to share that stoke with her! I didn’t feel like I was missing out or that I was holding myself back, and drove back to Canberra feeling very contented and happy with the day’s riding. 

Symptoms-wise, I felt fine. Every week I was surprised by how much more of a ‘pop’ my belly was doing! I caught up with old, dear friends during this time and got to share the news with them, which felt super special. Rather than announcing online, we shared the news with people as and when we saw them and I did a lot of excited crying each time.

18 weeks

Nearing the end of my Christmas break, I was trying to get in more riding. I took a daytrip to Thredbo with some of the girls, though we didn’t end up doing a lot of riding due to high winds and a few accidents - one we happened across, the other was a mate. I felt okay on the bike though it was hard to get into a rhythm with the wind-holds, and accidents can be spooky, so at the end of the day I felt that with the condition of the trails (understandably beat up, dry and dusty after the summer season) and my reduced risk appetite, I might not get back there that season and I would be okay with that. Navigating bike park braking bumps and dusty, loose corners, combined with the speed and pitch of Thredbo, was potentially not something I wanted to do again during that ‘season’ of life (though I never say never). 

Ride club started again and with high temperatures forecast, we moved sessions forward to avoid the heat. Trail riding felt good and I love riding with the strong beginners as it’s a great mix of fitness and skills. I had to ride with the top button undone on my trusty Vana shorts and decided to retire a pair of knicks due to stomach restriction (at least while I’m pregnant).

I hit a huge wall of fatigue on my second day back at work. I also had pregnancy rhinitis - waking up feeling like I have hayfever, going to sleep congested. I sat out one ride with the girls due to the fatigue and did two very half-arsed rides - I loved being out on the bike and being out with friends, but was very happy not to push myself on any climbing or descending - with more yapping than lapping, which I am absolutely okay with.

19 weeks

After the fatigue of week 18, I was very happy to manage a decent 16km Saturday ride. The first half I caught up with a new mama who I know through riding bikes (and also work with) and the second half, I caught up with Will who had also been out riding. I did two-and-a-half ups at Stromlo which even pre-pregnancy would have been an achievement.

20 weeks

I managed to get out for three rides - a Saturday social ride with friends, two Sunday morning ride club coaching laps and an arvo at Isaacs. The weeks I had ride club, I tried to meter my energy accordingly, as I was doing two back-to-back rides with two different groups, and as the ride club season progresses, we aim to increase the intensity of the rides. That said, there is often a lot of stopping and chatting throughout the 90-minute sessions which I was starting to need! The weather in early January in Canberra was challenging with midsummer storms, heat and westerly winds, which meant I missed riding for myself but felt okay about not getting out to pedal. I was able to get in two gym workouts which always feels like a real achievement, and a Tuesday evening yap lap with the girls and a Friday evening pedal at the Arboretum rounded out my week. The Arboretum ride was just gorgeous even though I did get lost (the trail network isn’t big and I found out it doesn’t go where I wanted it to!). Will was away so it was kind of a little solo date night.

21 weeks

More challenging weather and long weekend before my Mum started treatment. I travelled to be with her for that for a week so I didn’t ride my bike at all, and with Will away the weekend before and then my week away, I missed him a lot. I had to travel back to Canberra for our 22-week ultrasound which was nice to have to look forward to during a fraught week. 

The baby was sitting low in my pelvis and had both arms over her face so the scan was challenging, and we didn’t get any super cute ultrasound images, but I loved finally seeing Will after a long week apart and getting to see our little bean!

22 weeks

After a long week off riding bikes, the weekend’s forecast wasn’t promising for lots of bike time so I was happy to just get out on a reconnaissance ride with another Dirt Maidens coach ahead of Sunday ride club. That week’s scheduled ride was mostly blue tech without a lot of climbing, and I was very happy to be able to demonstrate descending on a stair set and a rock feature for the intermediate group. I also got in a few gym workouts and a Friday morning ride with a dear friend - both always soul food! 

Hardline was on in Maydena that week and I was absolutely buzzing about it, which I think gave me an energy boost.

23 weeks

The weekend we ticked over to 23 weeks wasn’t a big one riding-wise. I did some skills on the bike before the rising heat got too much one day and the next more skills and development with Dirt Maidens. It was crazy muggy that morning but I loved being out on bikes with the other coaches. On one of our ratchet drills, I lost back wheel traction and fell tummy-first into my handlebars - the first lower abdo scare I had, and thank goodness it was slow speed, barely any impact and not anything at all serious.

That week wasn’t my most energetic in terms of bike or gym - with my limited energy, I chose to prioritise work instead, so didn’t do any other riding or gym. 

Then it was Cannonball! I felt less outgoing than previous years, and the weather was something else. But I loved cutting some laps on Sidewinder with Will - the trails had some delicious moisture and were nowhere near as beat-up as they were the last time I was there, plus I had fresh kit from Leatt (#lookgoodfeelgood) and felt great riding from the gondola.

24 weeks

Still in Thredbo, and the weather had gone the other way. The hint of snow on the forecast after near-biblical amounts of rain the day before made for some interesting conditions on the chair, though the trails were riding great. However, it was hard to enjoy that with the threat of lifts being stopped due to wind-holds, and it was nice to get home that night. 

Ride club the next day was the worst riding I’ve had the whole time I’ve been pregnant. Single track climbing is generally not my fave but in high humidity and with changing physiology, after a big(ish) few days in Thredbo, I felt slow and incapable - not a great combo for a coach!! Descending still felt rad thankfully, and I love sharing that with ride club members. It was our last ride for summer ride club so it was nice to do a challenging climb then enjoy a well-earned descent with them. 

I sat with a bit of discomfort that week, feeling worried I’d have to pull the pin on coaching and like I wasn’t ready to give it up. In that discomfort, I also didn’t do any gym or riding - work was again my priority, and I felt like my energy and physical comfort levels were both diminishing (even though I knew those things would boost my energy)

After doing my own programming since stepping away from powerlifting two or three years ago, I had been thinking I want a good prenatal gym program - but haven’t got around to finding one. I was gifted a prenatal fitness guide from MTB Mamas which has heaps of valuable information about changing physiology and pelvic floor as well as a program. Unfortunately on top of low energy and prioritising office time, it was too easy to let gym time slip by the wayside!  All I managed to do was a YouTube prenatal yoga session or two and averaged 6000 steps a day.

25 weeks

More heat! High summer has been killing me. I think the nesting urge hit me as I happily spent the Saturday morning pottering around at home, rearranging the kitchen and fussing with my house plants when I could have gotten out for a ride. 

The next day I managed a couple of early morning shuttle runs with a girlfriend and hoo boy - the ruts and breaking bumps at Stromlo! Talk about bone rattling. Then I got out for some pedalling with Will where we sessioned some old school trails at Isaacs Pines. We filmed some videos and I definitelyyyyyyyy look pregnant at this time!! On the ride up, I started to wonder whether pedalling felt so hard because of the extra weight I was carrying and how that affected my suspension and geo. I still felt good on the trails though and was happy with most of the clips we got considering how rapidly I was expanding and how that had me feeling in the saddle.

26 weeks

Though beginning to look and feel pregnant, I was still feeling pretty good. The day we hit 26 weeks, Will and I went for a cute little morning pedal at Poo Pines. We rode from our place and clocked nearly 15km of commute, riding, sessioning/stacking clips and a coffee stop on the way home. Poo Pines is a neat little community-built trail network between Coombs (suburb) and the Arboretum (tree museum) within a pine plantation and downwind from a poo stack (sewage pipe). Though a small network with limited ‘vert’, it’s loamy and janky in spots, and a real credit to the dedicated crew who built and maintain it. There is a fun little single track climb that has some challenging switchbacks at the beginning and happily I felt fine there. I felt limited by the fear and worry of an ejecto moment trying to go fast on loose techy jank which, by high summer, was dry dry dry. We managed to potter around for a couple of hours, ultimately limited only by the amount of snacks we brought (none) and the rising heat.

The next day was a Dirt Maidens ride club day. Rather than coaching, I was doing ‘media’ that day - thanks to my growing belly, it was difficult to get the legs and lungs turning over efficiently enough for me to lead a group! Thanks to Cycle Co-op, I had an e-bike to scoot around the trails on. It was forecast to be another hot day with downhill and cross country races being held at Stromlo, so the place was buzzing but so very warm. While the Maidens were getting their kilometres up, I checked out the event village and caught up with a few familiar faces, enjoying a lot of shade and pre-ride hydration. I zoomed out on the e-bike to meet the group and get photos and videos. I rode about 4 kilometres with a good amount of standing trail-side with my phone camera out. We rode back to the Handlebar as a group and I sat down for a cold Coca Cola and chat with everybody. However, not long after my refreshing beverage, I started to feel a bit woozy. Ignoring it but feeling suddenly anxious about how I would get the heavy e-bike onto my tailgate, I suddenly felt the urge to leave quickly. I stood up, bid the ladies farewell … then sat quickly back down, my head in my hands as dizziness and darkness overwhelmed me. 

The women I was with sprang into action - one sat behind me to provide a backrest, another created a visual and physical barrier from the crowd while another (a nurse) assessed me and quickly made the decision to call an ambulance. The faint passed and I called Will to see if he could come to pick me up because there was no guarantee the ambulance would arrive anytime soon and everybody (me included) was in freak-out mode - though pregnancy had been uncomplicated so far, fainting at anytime would have worried me and nobody wanted to take any chances.

Will beat the ambulance and we went to the emergency department. Sipping on water on the way, I no longer felt faint, just tired and confused. Fortunately, being 26 weeks pregnant, I was given priority at triage and the baby, my blood glucose, heart rate and oxygen saturation were all fine. My discharge diagnosis was ‘pre-syncopal episode’ likely multi-factorial in nature and a blood test revealed only ‘mild anaemia’. Thank goodness, right?! How embarrassing and dramatic to faint at the bike park cafe on a busy Sunday at lunch time. 

It turns out I also had low haemoglobin and I started iron supplements to bring it and my iron back up. A fun fact about pregnancy is that during the second trimester, iron and other nutrients are diverted from the mother to the growing baby and Mum gets the crumbs. Iron intake in pregnancy is super important but it’s also a minefield - some iron supplements are not absorbed well or make women constipated, other supplements can inhibit the absorption of iron, etc etc. My midwife and GP were super on it and I responded well to Maltofer, which I took of an evening with food to avoid the calcium in my morning pregnancy vitamin affecting absorption. Spoiler: fortunately, the whole event was an embarrassing but minor blip on my pregnancy. 

27 weeks

Though spooked by my pre-syncopal episode, Will and I travelled to the South Coast for a baby moon/early anniversary/long weekend sojourn. We stayed in Tathra in a cute but tiny cabin, had brunch and did a lot of surf checks with very minimal surfing on Will’s behalf. I went in the ocean and got sun on the bump. Then we rode shuttles at Eden. I was excited to be back there since being a part of the Flow MTB feature before the park was finished or open, but also lowkey sad I was too pregnant to feel confident to ride some of the black trails (Old Tom wasn’t finished when we were there and has some very cool rock features! And Prana has a rock feature I walked this time). Nevertheless, Will and I had a great time shuttling up steep fire trails in the Delica then picking our way down the vast network. 

The next day we checked out of our cabin and went for a pedal at Tathra. The trails there are an old school cross country network, rebuilt after bushfire a few years ago, so there was lots of pedalling involved. We managed a decent loop despite the coastal humidity and pregnancy and though I didn’t ride any trails I would go back for, and was taking it extra easy due to the effort of pedalling, I felt good on the bike. 

28 weeks

Around this time, I started working mostly from home - due to both my diminishing energy levels and because my office has a hot-desking system which meant I couldn’t book a desk worth hauling myself in for. So my incidental activity levels really started to drop off and I was trying to get in patio workouts and still wanting to ride my bike. However, after my near-fainting episode I had started to prefer riding almost exclusively with Will. I feared another, even though I’d started iron supplements, and didn’t feel comfortable ‘imposing’ on anybody else in case I did have one. Alas, I was also increasing in size and had decreasing pedalling ability and lung capacity, so I also didn’t want to ask Will to take time away from his own riding to do trundles with me. It was also early autumn and still warm enough that a pregnant lady wouldn’t necessarily be comfortable riding for long periods of time! So without coaching and my regular ladies’ rides, I really started riding much less than ever. 
The riding I did do at this time was a mid-morning session on the top jumps on Evolution at Stromlo. That was when my growing belly and fear of another hospital trip drew a line under jumps.

Weeks 29 to 39

29 weeks

We travelled to Bright for the inaugural Enduro Jam at Mystic. Knowing how far along I’d be and unsure of my capacity but to check out the new and improved park and ride with my friends and Will, I booked the beginner jam. It ended up being a rather expensive 3 runs! The new blue flow trail Flowmingo was fun but pushing my comfort levels at that time with its steep off camber corners, and a wrong turn meant I got to ride a new blue tech trail not part of of the sample jam. 

At the end of my second run, I managed to take a digger on a green connecting trail by the gully. Rushing to get one more shuttle in, I dusted myself off and felt okay that I had landed not on my belly or copped a handlebar to the bump. After that last run and having messaged Will to let him know I was finishing up and had also had a crash but felt fine, I found I had a graze on my belly from the ratchet of my shorts and one under my kneepad from friction from sliding across the dirt. Oh my LORD the anxiety. I had been having plenty of baby movement and that afternoon I went back to our accommodation and laid down for a couple of hours communing with my bump and feeling assured by lots of wriggling in my belly. The guilt and worry faded but didn’t entirely disappear for the remainder of pregnancy. 

Weeks 30 to 39

Week 30: I got a ride in with some girlfriends, one of whom was recovering from major surgery so I knew it would be a pootling ride. The girls both had e-bikes and I got a tube tow which ruled - we yapped all the way up and then had a leisurely but fun descent. My preferred descending route at Stromlo was Skyline to Luge. With some recent trail work to the former, it has some fun hits and flows nicely despite that one pinch (if you’ve ridden it, you know!). I feel like Luge is underrated - it has plenty of corners to practice leaning ‘er in, and the whole descent is quintessential Stromlo. 

The next month we had a two-day birth prep course, home improvements and Easter. I did some gardening and some painting and then it was week 32! Will had just got a Santa Cruz Vala which I rode on a leisurely trundle to the Arboretum. E-bikes rule.

I was wrapping up at work ahead of maternity leave. I’d basically stopped patio workouts and was just trying to take the dog out for walks and get to reformer Pilates. I had another pelvic floor physiotherapy session, to touch base about how I was looking at that stage in pregnancy and to discuss possible risks and what would come next. Things looked fine and the physio recommended perineal massage from week 34. Spoiler alert: it isn’t simply a lovely little gooch massage..! 

At 34 weeks I did a Stromlo lap with a girlfriend. I rode my beloved Nelly the Furtado and pedalled the whole way up! I felt amazing for it, though it was definitely a lot of effort. We were still on our home improvements kick so that afternoon I also painted in the baby’s room. 

At the end of week 34, I got out again for another lap with girlfriends - this time I was on the Vala (thank goodness, as the girls I was out with are all fit as and though I was on leave, they had places to be so I was glad to be able to keep up!). The Vala weighs about 20kg so Will lifted it into the van before he left for work that morning and the girls helped me get it back in after the ride. 

At 36 weeks, I took the Vala out again for a long-overdue catch up ride with a girlfriend. We talked all things pregnancy and baby as well as work and life. It was a gorgeous autumn afternoon and I felt great on the bike on the climb but definitely cautious on the way down. 

That week I got in a couple walks - one long one at the Arboretum while catching up with a friend and her baby and another fire trail walk around Mt Arawang with the dog - and Pilates. Otherwise, I was enjoying maternity leave - one or two errands per day, some fitball exercises for labour and birth and a LOT of lounging. I was sleeping fine and enjoying lots of snacks and treats. 

At 37 weeks, I was surprised with a gorgeous baby shower lunch at a new restaurant Lunetta where I was spoiled by my friends to a gorgeous lunch, a structurally unstable but beautiful bouquet and some very sweet presents. I also got in a ride at Mt Majura with a girlfriend. We were both on e-bikes - I love Majura but the climbs are tough even when I am fit so we managed to ride a good distance while getting in the perfect amount of yapping! 

At 38 weeks I did a few walks, including one up Mt Arawang, and another Pilates session. The possibility that I could go into labour at any time was super exciting and the anticipation was next level. I did my fitball exercises daily, had a haircut and a pamper day with a massage and facial. 

The evening of 39+1 my waters broke. It was an exciting moment but anticlimactic as I didn’t end up going into labour until 39+3.

LOADING: Postpartum and returning to riding