still to be cycling at 7 months?

[JumpJockey]

With dd1 I cycled to and from work up to the end of work, left at 38 weeks, she arrived a week later. Bump was quite discreet so nobody commented much.

This time round everyone keeps saying "Oh you're not still cycling are you? Are you sure that's wise?" Well given that my options for getting in and home are a) a 20 minute cycle in followed by 30 min cycle home, picking up DD1 from nursery on the way, or b) a 45 minute walk, bringing buggy to work, followed by 1 hour (or more) walk home with DD in my currently waddly state, or c) £25 a day on taxis, yes I think I am still cycling.

Is this totally unreasonable? I've got lights, helmet, luminous jacket, a route that involves several off road cycle paths, it's not like I'm going down the side of the M11.

YANBU. A friend of mine cycled to hospital to give birth.

YANBU. Ignore them.

You are your own risk assessor and make choices based on that assessment. If you are comfortable cycling and have a safe route to take i dont understand why people give you a hard time. Keeping active in pregnancy is widely encouraged.

belgo to your friend!

I guess the difficulty is finding a way to justify myself that doesn't sound really feeble. Maybe next time someone comments, I'll ask if they can give me the £25 for that day's taxi journeys instead.

Repeat after me:

"MIND YOUR OWN BLOODY BUSINESS!"

Now repeat to patronising idiots concerned individuals, as often as required.

:o

YANBU. I had the same sort of crap about horseriding when I was pregnant. I wasn't in the habot of launching myself off horses prior to pregnancy so the insinuation that I had somehow lost my skills was doubly insulting! I find, "I'll do as I bloody well please." quite an effective weapon against the tittle tattlers.

Take Valhala's advice. You don't have to justify yourself to anyone. You are taking precautions to safeguard yourself and child and saving the planet.

YANBU. Another one that cycled on the day of going into labour.

What Valhalla said

No buses where you live?

MrM - there are buses, but the one that goes down our road is very unreliable in the mornings ("Up to every 10 minutes" my bottom, more like every 20 minutes if you're lucky), and the traffic at rush hour means it would be quicker to walk. It would also only get me halfway there, and there's no practical bus route near nursery.

I looked into this regarding how to get to and from nursery when the baby arrives in the spring, the local transport journey planner gave me 2 options from home to nursery. Option 1: Walk 20 minutes to train station. Take bus for 1 minute down the road, get off. Walk 20 minutes to nursery. Option 2: Drive a car.

I used to cycle at 8-9 months. 10 miles round trip to work. I went slowly towards the end. But I found it easier than walking, the bump is supported by the saddle.

So drive a car?

MrM - we have a car but DH needs it for work. He drops DD at nursery on the way to work, I pick her up on the way home. Buying another car is not a viable option.

Before you ask, no, we don't have a helicopter landing pad in the garden.

Private airstrip then?

Rental car? Moped? There must be some sort of leave available for expectant fathers to assist expectant mothers.

I thought you werent supposed to cycle when pregnant due to the bump altering your centre of gravity making you likely to fall? That would worry me, especially with your dd presumerably in a child seat on the back.

But I think that realistically if you have cycled this long you are obviously good at it. know what yuou are doing and should be just fine. Just dont do it if its icey!

And driving prob wouldnt help MrManger, there gets a point when you cant fit behind the wheel!

Nice answer JJ. MrM, you are being a bit of a twerp aren't you.
Unlike JJ, we have the facility for a jumpjet to leave and land in our garden. If you fancy it jumpjockey you are welcome to come and stay here.

I have never heard that littleducks. Your centre of gravity will change slowly, and if you cycle consistently you will get used to it, just as you get used to having a child in a seat on the bike. That changes your centre of gravity a lot too.

The only real danger is the possibility of being knocked off, and for that you need to choose your route and cycle carefully.

I used to feel like people were shocked when I was cycling while pregnant and carrying my toddler on the back!! People used also comment on how large my bump was and when I was eating lunch, how could I possibly fit anything else in there!!

Somehow the normal rules of politeness and minding your own business go out of the window when you are pregnant or have small children. You could try - "Yes, I am still cycling, the long term health benefits to me and my children have been proven in recent research - by the way and I hope you don't mind me saying, what's your BMI, you look a little over weight?"

Littleducks -like any form of exercise you shouldn't start cycling when you're pregnant, however if you already cycle, there is no reason not to continue as long as you feel comfortable - your centre of gravity won't change over night, so you will adjust.

JumpJockey - tell them to mind their own beeswax!!!

YANBU - if you feel comfortable and safe then go for it. Who best to know your own limits but yourself? I had to stop at 3 months as I felt very uncomfortable shall we say - it just didn't feel right on the saddle. Plus I'm on a very busy route to work (where other cyclists pose the greatest threat). So I chose to stop (I'm on the bus), but I do miss it.

I'd love to smile & wave at you if I saw you cycling by - I'm full of admiration for you!

YANBU and good on you. It's good exercise too. I found that saying to people "I'll do it until and unless I feel unsafe" was an ok non-snippy reply.

littleducks, I never heard anything about the centre of balance changing and in fact I don't believe it either. The important axis when cycling is surely along the centre of your bike and the added bump goes along the axis so it doesn't make a material difference iyswim.

I ride a step-through bike which is nice and easy to get on at all times, and i think that helped (i cycled up to 38 weeks, when i went on mat leave) but then it's also what I'm used to.

It's up to you. Presumably you know that if you did fall off something could happen to your baby, same as with horseriding. If you're confident that you won't fall off then it's up to you, life is full of risks.

I've stopped commuting, but only because I got sold to a company double the distance away and had been off my bike for a while because of a broken wrist when I found out I was pg.

My bike's now too uncomfortable (is a lean-forward position and bump is soooo in the way) but I miss cycling every day. My commute would involve very busy and enormous roads so DP asked me to stop last month on the basis that he trusted me, but not drivers.

I was cycling a bit throughout my first trimester and it really helped with morning sickness. I used the Boris Bikes to go through Hyde Park and it was wonderful to be in the fresh air instead of crammed into a tube carriage.

Even my mw said the cycling itself is completely fine, it's the falling off and if you're a competent rider it's your pregnancy and your decision.

It's not really in the same danger level as riding a horse though, if you are away from the traffic. If you cycle slowly and sedately with your bump on off-road cycle paths, you might fall off but it's not like coming off a horse - you are lower to the ground, and usually going slower.

I fell off my bike at 6m pregnant, going round an icy corner. I wasn't going fast, there were no cars, and I had no ill effects, just got up and carried on. Babies are quite well insulated really.

If you're happy doing it keep doing it! I was still doing proper mountain bike rides at 25 weeks. I wish I'd have carried on longer but was just getting too tired.