Our newly launched curated fitness programs are inspired by the fitness routines of new and expecting Mamas we love. The 30-day programs are completely customized taking their current fitness level and personal preferences into account as well as what stage they are in their motherhood journey.
Our latest prenatal fitness program was inspired by soon-to-be first time Mama Nikki Millman, VP of Community, Events & Partnerships at Hatch, the maternity clothing brand that will cover you through pregnancy, motherhood and beyond. Read on to hear about how Nikki is coping with being a workout enthusiast in her last trimester, the realities of being Type A and pregnant, and how she stays stylish while expecting.
FPC: First, congratulations! How many weeks are you?
NM: Almost 35 weeks!
FPC: How are you feeling?!
NM: Good. I can’t complain, although my feet and back hurt and I don’t sleep very well. But we are very excited to be having a kid in 30 days! What does that even mean and how are we going to get the kid?! How is this child going to come out? It’s so unknown to me! I’m a very type-A person and this is something that I can’t control. We also don’t know what sex we’re having so it will be a fun surprise!
FPC: Very exciting! You work for maternity clothing brand Hatch, so we have to ask, what does your wardrobe looks like these days?
NM: It’s all Hatch or exercise clothes! I wanted to be the kind of person that dresses up every day even when I’m just at home, but being pregnant, that just isn’t how I feel. I’m wearing a long cozy waffle dress today from Hatch, it’s very comfy and all the basics I wear like lounge pants, and underpants are from Hatch too. My boobs have gotten so big which is something that I have never dealt with before so it’s nice to have products that will take you through postpartum, like the bras and the really easy cotton lux things. I do wear a lot of sweatshirts, that’s all I spend my money on these days! Earlier on I would wear sundresses and I actually didn’t wear pants until week 32 because my body was changing so much. Now I need pants, but thankfully we have some great ones at Hatch. It was so weird when I first needed pants to find that nothing in my closet fit me anymore.
FPC: We feel you. What’s it like being pregnant during COVID?
NM: Our office is currently optional with all the precautions taken, but I’m working from home being extra cautious. I lived with my parents for 7 months out in The Hamptons and I was very lucky to be by the ocean, taking walks on the beach and having the space. I found out that I was pregnant at my parents house and then I lived with them throughout my pregnancy. I never thought I would be 34, married and be pregnant living at my parents house (lol)!
I got very sick during the pregnancy so to be able to be at home and not having to go out when I was feeling so sick was actually a blessing in disguise. I got to focus on me and I don’t know if I would have done that during normal times. The silver linings are happening and I’m having a baby in 2020! My husband also had surgery in order for us to conceive back in December and we got pregnant in march which was great and of course would have been hard to get in during the pandemic. It was a really big blessing. My husband wrote a really good article about the surgery on our site Babe. It is really good because it shows that there are two people that need to be fertile to have children, not just the Mother!
FPC: So true. I know you’ve been a friend of FPC’s for a while now, have you done the workouts yet?
NM: I was taking classes there before I got pregnant and I loved them! FPC taught me how to breathe, everyone sucks in when they inhale, which if you think about it, is the exact opposite you should do. I was just mind blown by that! Carolina, FPC’s Founder, has been such a good friend, we have gone through this together and grown together side by side using each other’s resources. I am really a fitness person that loves going to classes. What’s weird for me right now is that I have to do it online by myself, it’s hard. I know I would have gone to FPC 3 times a week, done my dance classes and yoga. I would have had more of a routine if I had been exercising outside the home, but it’s OK. I got to swim all summer, and go for walks outside the city without having to wear a mask so that would of course have looked very different if I had stayed in the city.
Fitness is a really big part of my mental sanity as well as my physical sanity for sure. It was confusing what I could and couldn’t do, especially when I was trying to take classes online, when you don’t get that personal attention. Now at 35 weeks pregnant, I just try to get up and move around frequently. I even got an Apple watch to remind me of that!
FPC: Great idea! What was your exercise routine like pre-pregnancy? Any favorite studios?
NM: I am obsessed with Forward Space, I just love to dance! They were doing classes outside in the Hamptons so I was doing it until about 28 weeks without the jumps. Just listening to the music and moving your body makes you feel so good. I also have gestational diabetes, so doing any exercise is very important to keep sugar levels down. Before I did SLT once a week and FPC, I also used to be a runner for like a year and a half. I ran a marathon and a half marathon and then I stopped. It was good, but really hard on my body. Now I’m all about the music. I even have a hard time sometimes in Yoga and Pilates when they don’t play music that gets me going, I love to sweat and I follow fitness based on the type of music that is played, but I try it all!
FPC: NYC is a great place for that! What areas do you like to focus on when you exercise?
NM: Full body. I’m very short so I used to do a lot more cardio and lifting, now I’m more about full body. I love to dance but I always incorporate the weight training and the lengthening. Toning is important for me, I love to gain any inch if I can!
FPC: Do you feel like you have to sweat to get an effective workout?
NM: I used to. I don’t nowadays. I think it’s a different workout and it depends on what you’re going for. I also think that is a commonly used misconception; If you’re not sweating bullets you’re not working out hard enough. I do think that it releases a lot more endorphins, and it makes you feel different if you get that heart rate up. But it really depends on what you are going for, I really try to be balanced in that. I tore my shoulder back when I used to lift weights too often so I had to see a PT. It is very important to give your body that time to rest in between workouts.
FPC: Agreed! Do you use weights when working out, or do you prefer body-weight only?
NM: Mostly body weight. I used to workout with a trainer and we did heavier weights, which I miss a little. I think it’s important to incorporate some of that, but I use mostly bodyweight now, especially during pregnancy. But I made it a point to bring that back a little bit more.
FPC: Are you familiar with your inner core unit, pelvic floor and diaphragmatic breathing?
NM: Yes, but I always forget. I worked with so many experts through my job and a good friend of mine who is a PT in LA. I did a few sessions with her, but I just have to rewatch the videos. I really do want to wrap my head around it once and for all before giving birth 🙂
FPC: We’ll work on that! How long are your typical workouts? How many times a week?
NM: I count it if I get a ten minute stretch in and if I walk 2 miles, but it depends on the day and my schedule. I try to at least stretch for 10-15 minutes in the morning and sometimes I do it for up to 45 minutes a day. My goal is to walk 3 miles a day. Anything else is an added bonus!
FPC: Lastly, what does your self-care routine look like right now?
NM: I was a pescatarian before and I have been craving, meat, cheese and coffee, which I haven’t had in 3 years! I also drink matcha, but I’ve been having decaf lattes 3 times a week throughout the pregnancy, and now matcha tastes like dirt. I am definitely listening to my body and I’m big on where the food comes from and sourcing organically and locally.
I also use the Hatch Mama beauty products because I trust them, I get scared about anything else. Our head of beauty at Hatch is my go-to person right now, she’ll tell me if the products contain anything that will affect me and things that you just don’t think about. I am also making sure that all my cleaning products are non-toxic, I was like that before too but even more as you bring a baby in. I’m just giving my body what I think it currently needs!
The 30-Day Prenatal Program inspired by Nikki Millman is now included with a subscription to FPC Anywhere. Not yet a member? Start your 7 day free trial now.