Doesn’t quite have the same ring as the “faster, higher, stronger” Olympic motto, does it… But that’s what I’m getting.

The bump has suddenly passed some magical threshold. Last week all sorts of people commented on how visible it had suddenly become. Even the lady holding our pregnancy yoga classes, who’s seen me weekly for quite a while now, mentioned it.

Remember when I said I couldn’t see all of my belly any more? Now I’ve come to the point where I can’t even see my toes without bending forward a bit. If I stand facing a wall and move forward until I just touch the wall, the part that touches it first is the belly. And when I sit at my desk, the bump has started hitting the edge of the desk.

Bigger also means heavier, of course. I’ve gained about 11 kg now, which is over 20% of what I weighed before I got pregnant. Most of the time I don’t notice the weight much; it’s not like a rucksack weighing down heavily on the shoulders. But it is definitely noticeable when I have to walk uphill or upstairs, especially when I’m carrying bags of groceries – I’m huffing and puffing hard by the time I reach our second-floor flat.

Walking in general has become a lot less comfortable. First of all there is all this weight to carry around. Second, the stomach muscles can’t work as well as they used to, because they are so stretched out. Fast walking is out of the question because the muscles then cannot manage posture and breathing at the same time. I’ve always relied more on the stomach than the back muscles to keep me straight (my back is weaker, for some reason) and now that I can’t, my lower back has started hurting somewhat. One of the hormones that the pregnant body produces is called relaxin, and its most obvious effect, as the name promises, is to relax various muscles around the pelvis and the uterus. The result is a “floppy” pelvis that has a tendency to sink out of shape and thus hurt while I walk, unless I take small steps and focus hard keeping the pelvis straight.

Cycling, on the other hand, causes no discomfort whatsoever. And even though the going is slower than it used to be (probably because of the weight again) the slowdown isn’t as marked as when I walk. So I still cycle to work every day, and to the supermarket, and to the hospital, and everywhere else as well. I hope to be able to continue cycling for a long time still – I am not looking forward to switching to public transport.

I took the bus home on Friday (had a large parcel that I needed to take home) and back on Saturday to pick up the bike, and it was, above all, so terribly boring. Even though the route is about the same as when I cycle, and it takes about the same time, it felt a lot slower. When I’m cycling, I am active all the time: I am thinking of the potholes and pedestrians to avoid, keeping an eye and an ear out for cars, watching the traffic lights. On the bus I just sit there. No wind in my hair, no sun in my face. And it’s not even as comfortable as cycling!

Yoga also still feels good, so I am doing both my usual Tuesday night class and a special pregnancy yoga class on Thursdays. The Tuesday class is ashtanga-inspired and therefore quite a good workout, without any of the jumping or bouncing that more energetic classes tend to have. I’m still able to do most of the exercises with the rest of the group, just more carefully. Other asanas have to be modified slightly: in forward bends such as padangusthasana and paschimottanasana, the legs need to be further apart to leave space for the bump. Still others have to be replaced with something else completely: upward dog and anything else that involves lying on the front or strongly arching the back is out of the question. But most of it works well, and it is pleasant to be able follow the familiar routine.

The pregnancy yoga class is quite different. It is a lot gentler and slower, mostly because it needs to be accessible to women with no previous experience of yoga (or of any sports for that matter), so it isn’t much of a workout. I’ve never worked up a sweat there. The focus is almost entirely on the back, pelvis, hips and shoulders. It wouldn’t be enough to keep me in shape, but it is a good complement, and has taught me some nice back stretches.