Introducing The Bump: Claudia Whitney

Becoming a mama is one of life’s greatest gifts and to celebrate we’re running a feature each month dedicated to a Sassy Mama-to-be and her beautiful bump! This week we’re sitting down on our yoga mats with yoga teacher Claudia Whitney and chatting about her favourite pregnancy moments, weird cravings and how she stayed healthy and happy for the whole 9 months. Her little bundle of joy Bodhi Blue Nogoy was born on 28 March, 2014 weighing 3.5 kg.

What was your reaction when you first found out you were pregnant?
I was shocked, excited and I could not wait to tell my husband.

Your funniest memory over the nine months?
I was dreaming of one last holiday before we had our baby. My husband was very busy with work so I dropped the idea and then his schedule cleared up, so we decided to fly to Bali at the last minute. We bought tickets on a Friday to fly out on Sunday. When I told people that we were travelling, I heard a few stories about airlines not letting women on flights without a doctors note.

I couldn’t get a hold of my doctor in time so I was nervous that the airline would not let me on the plane. My plan was to wear huge baggy clothes to try and hide my bump. We successfully avoided any questions about being pregnant and when we finally took our seats on the plane I was burning up from all the layers of clothes. I was so hot I had to wiggle out of my pants once we were in our seats. In the end we flew to Bali with no problems… and I wasn’t wearing pants.

Any great books and resources that prepared you for when your baby arrived?
I used the What to Expect and Pregnancy + iPhone apps to find out what was happening each week. Some books that I read were The Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy, Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth, Eating Well When You’re Expecting, and I’m Not Fat, I’m Pregnant! I used the website babycenter.com a lot. I was constantly on Google. I recommend watching The Business of Being Born. I also watched hundreds of home births on YouTube. I couldn’t stop!

What was the easiest trimester and which one proved most difficult?
I was very nauseous until I was 18 weeks pregnant. That was pretty hard. At the end of my pregnancy I was still teaching yoga and it was difficult because I was getting big and could not really demonstrate what I was trying to teach. One time I remember showing one of my students a picture of the pose I was going to teach her… it totally worked!

Did you follow a fitness programme while you were pregnant?
I taught yoga six days a week until I was 36 weeks pregnant and then I cut down to two days a week. That kept me pretty active and I meditated every day. I gained about 11 kg and dropped it pretty fast and I think it’s because all of the yoga I was doing.

Any fashion tips and tricks for maternity dressing?
Show off that bump! Borrow before you go out and buy a bunch of clothes. Buy clothes that will work after you have your baby… like a maternity top that works for breastfeeding. Find a cute black dress that you can wear out in the evening. You can always change your accessories to spice it up.

What have you struggled with most since being pregnant?
Lack of sleep.

What are your hopes and dreams for your baby?
It’s really simple. I want Bodhi to live a happy and healthy life. I want him to dream big and I want him follow his dreams. I want him to do what he loves.

Name a mama you find inspiring and why?
I honestly have to say that I find every mama I know inspiring. It’s not easy having a baby – I had no idea. I have been a mom for 6 months and I feel like a superhero – like we are all superheroes. I see my mom and sister in a whole new light. All moms – pretty much rock.

What are your thoughts about finding out the sex in advance?
I could not wait to find out. I felt like the sex of our baby was a big gift under the Christmas tree and I was 6 years old dying to know what I was getting! I begged the Doctor to tell me at 16 weeks even though she recommended waiting until 20 weeks. I found out I was having a girl and we were super excited. I had all these visions of pink and Hello Kitty and then at our 20 week appointment we found out we were having a boy. After we had our son I realised that it doesn’t matter what the sex is… you just want your baby to be healthy and happy. I often wonder if I would find out the sex again if we have #2 and I think the answer is a big yes.

Did it take you some time getting pregnant or were you one of those mamas who got lucky on the first try?
I thought I would get pregnant the first try. When that did not happen, I got obsessed with counting the days in my cycle and it stressed us out. I decided to let it go and I stopped counting and stopped obsessing and that is the month we got pregnant.

What kind of birth did you have? 
I had a natural, unmedicated labour and birth at Queen Mary. I was in labour for 24 hours. I had Bodhi at 7:30pm on a Friday night and I went on home Saturday afternoon. I had a midwife visit me at home to answer all our questions and make sure Bodhi was okay.

What helped you get your groove back after being pregnant?
I don’t think about getting my groove back… it’s more like I have a different groove now. I don’t mean like I lost myself. I’m a mom now and my whole world is different.

Any local businesses that made your pregnancy journey easier?
I worked the whole time I was pregnant so when I was finished for the day I did not have much energy for anything else. I would go straight home and stay home. A few things that really helped were to have massages and pedicures at home. Another thing I loved was having my groceries delivered.

Did you have any weird and wonderful cravings?
In the beginning I put vinegar on everything and I even drank pickle and olive juice. In the middle of my pregnancy I became obsessed with grilled cheese sandwiches. The one meal that I had to have through my whole pregnancy was salad.

All photos in the article above were taken by the extremely talented Beatrice Lee, if you’re looking for picture perfect memories of you and your bump or your family get in touch with her at [email protected].