Well, my dancing career is officially over until after baby arrives (and can go approximately 3 hours without needing milk). The studio I’ve been dancing at gives you a discount on classes if you pay for 10 at a time. I used up the last class on my card yesterday and can’t justify getting another one with baby coming (even though they’re good for a year) and don’t want to pay the mildly outrageous single class price.
It’s kind of bittersweet. It’s nice to know that I’ll have my Saturday mornings free for a while to be with my family but I will also really miss dancing and having that “me” time each week in which I can just focus on myself and what I love to do just for me!
Last week’s class (which I thought would be my last), I went all out. I did everything that I haven’t done since December. I jumped, I turned, I stretched and it felt really nice to be doing all those things again. Baby didn’t even seem to mind, s/he sat happily through the entire class not really making much of a peep except to let me know a few times I was squishing him/her.
Yesterday was a new sensation. I’ve been taking it easy during barre in order to ensure I can participate in the whole class, moving only as fast and as far as my body comfortably wants to go instead of pushing it to do what it used to easily accomplish. We didn’t do many jumps which is what I would expect to give me contractions. Instead, I got contractions during adagio (slow, high legs lifting exercise) and the across the floor exercises. Each time I would lose my balance and have to adjust my posture, my uterus would tighten up. It was a strange sensation to be doing balances or a promenade en attitude (slow turn on 1 leg with other leg bent behind) while having contractions.
Unfortunately though, the contractions didn’t last and as soon as I was done with class they subsided. Still no baby but it has to come out someday, right? Guess I will have to find something new to do and won’t be able to rely on ballet class anymore for the hope of starting labor.
(photo by Lili Marie Photography)
