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This last week I have spent as much time as possible in the pool. The larger my belly gets, the better the water feels for my joints, not to mention how refreshing it feels to cool off in the heat. Texas heat and humidity have been making it a challenge to remain active while 35+ weeks pregnant. But working out in the pool has allowed me to at least maintain a decent level of activity. Plus, water is a great source of natural resistance. Tell me your cardio doesn’t get a good workout running a few lengths back and forth while in the pool.
With spending this much time in the pool, I have been struggling to figure out what to wear each time. There are some days where I feel like I look awesome while pregnant and other days where I feel a bit large and uncomfortable with what I am wearing.
My husband and I were originally planning to spend a 2-week babymoon in Australia and New Zealand so I bought 2 maternity suits to wear while we were there. I was going to be right around 26 weeks pregnant while traveling, so I knew my regular swimsuits wouldn’t quite cut it. Unfortunately, the coronavirus had us cancel our babymoon, but I figured at least I would still be able to get use out of the swimsuits I bought during the summer months.
However, what I found is that while the swimsuits are super cute – and would look awesome in vacation pictures – they are definitely not quite as comfortable if you are focusing on using a pool as another venue for pregnancy workouts. What I’ve found to be my favorite to wear in the pool is a pair of light shorts and a supportive sports bra. This does necessitate being really good about putting sunscreen on your sensitive belly skin.
Workout shorts
When looking for shorts to wear in the pool, I found that there were 2 musts for me. The first was that they had to be a reasonable price. The reason for this is that I found sizing up 1, or maybe 2 sizes, worked to accommodate my growing belly. For shorts that I wouldn’t wear much beyond pregnancy and a few months postpartum, I didn’t want to spend a lot.
Another thing that makes shorts more comfortable to swim in is having them being made of really light material. I find that running shorts are typically perfect for this. There made to dry quickly, which is exactly what you need after a pool workout. This has been one of my favorite pairs to do pool workouts in. They are light and don’t feel like they are going to fall off in the pool.
Sports Bra
I’m sure some of you mamas-to-be have experiences similar to me where all of a sudden, your favorite sports bra is a bit too small. I do find that sports bras stretch a little more once they get wet, but I still don’t want it to be another level of struggle to put on before I head out for the day. Like the shorts, I also find that the sports bra material makes a big difference if you want to use it for swimming. Anything that is moisture-wicking I find tends to dry faster and hold up better to being in the water.
I’ve also found that you do not need to have the same level of support that you might need for doing high impact cardio out of the water. My favorite purchases have been sports bras that offer a medium level of support and have a very strappy back design. The strappy back design allows me to feel more water running over my back muscles. Which seriously, feels so delightful during these last couple weeks of pregnancy. Like the shorts, I found that sizing up 1 size from my pre-pregnancy sports bras often gave me the best fit.
Sun bum mineral sunscreen
Volleyball has always been my favorite sport, and I played on the beach as much as possible. It may have been growing up in the era of Misty May and Kerri Walsh, but I thought there was nothing better than spending a day out in the sand playing volleyball. But having fair skin and freckles, I quickly learned how important sunscreen was for spending a day outside where you are pretty heavily sweating.
In college, living in a coastal town, I played in quite a few beach volleyball tournaments and discovered the Sun Bum company. I was completely hooked after trying their products and have not used any other products since. Part of the reason for this is that this company focuses on making products that help protect us, but also are environmentally friendly and cruelty-free towards animals.
Swimming in a sports bra and shorts really leaves the sensitive skin of the belly exposed to the sun. After doing some research about pregnancy-friendly sunscreens, I found that physical blockers are safer than chemical ones. Which is why I use the mineral formula from Sun Bum. This protects the skin using zinc oxide and has the lightest, refreshing scent to it. It is hands down my favorite way to protect my bump from the sun!
What have been some of your fave moments from the week – let me know in the comment section below!
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