Do Something today that your future self will thank you for.
For those who don’t yet know me, I’m Cristina, mother to three beautiful girls, number cruncher by trade and passionate for books and travel.
I first attended Deborah’s Physiotherapy when I got pregnant of my first born 10 years ago. I have also attended her pregnancy physiolates classes which were instructive, open-minded and energetic, leaving a really positive imprint on the whole childbirth experience for a first time mum. I really felt prepared for my first delivery and all went well. I did the post-natal classes with Deborah and my body quickly bounced back into shape.
My second pregnancy was such a different experience altogether… little did I know!! Never the sentence: “THE PAIN YOU FEEL TODAY IS THE STRENGTH YOU FEEL TOMORROW” resonated more with me.
I was living a very stressful period in my life, with a toddler to look after, a husband setting up as a freelance and doing a lot of non-chargeable work to build his portfolio, a career where I was trying to secure a promotion before going on maternity leave and, the icing on the cake, financial stress with negative equity building up due to the crisis and very challenging tenants I had at the time. All this stress resulted in me suddenly, at 20 weeks pregnant, being taken to hospital by my husband, with such a pain that I could barely breathe. I was told I had severe pelvic girdle pain. I was given a pelvic belt and put on crutches and pills to cope with the pain and eventually spend the rest of my pregnancy in bed. I was devastated!!
What did I do? I got home that day from the hospital and still in tears, desperate, I called Deborah. She calmed me down over the phone and said “you won’t need any of that and you will not spend your pregnancy in bed! Come and see me tomorrow morning, I’ll start treatment immediately and I’ll get you walking until the full term of this pregnancy.” There was such a firmness in her voice that I honestly believed “she can do it! she can get me to walk again!” I did go see her the next morning and she did warn me that the sessions would be a bit painful and breathing techniques were to be used and she was so right. And so was she right that through all that pain and soreness she did get me to walk again and the pain got lesser after each weekly treatment until delivery at 41 weeks. No pelvic belt, no crutches, no lying-in bed… thankfully! Thanks to Deborah and her hands-on physio sessions!! The recovery following birth was tough as PGP was there to stay but I did recover through her post-natal classes and treatments. And more, Deborah said if I were to ever get pregnant again, I needed her “blessing”! What she meant by her blessing had really to do with my own body being prepared for the next pregnancy.
The memory of this second pregnancy put me off about having another child for a long time, I confess. Eventually time helped memory heal and my husband and I decided it was time to try for the third baby, so I did go to Deborah for her “blessing”. She got me on 5 months of Pilates classes to get my body prepared and toned as I needed my pelvis and core strong to mitigate PGP pain. What a difference!!!
When I got pregnant, in my late thirties, with an 8 and 6 year old to mind, yes PGP did come back, at 18 weeks pregnant, but the pain intensity was way less than before as my body was fit and ready to endure this challenge. I kept doing physio sessions with Deborah, but they were not needed every week, perhaps only once per month! And kept doing her Prenatal Physio-Pilates classes all the way until 39 weeks! My body was so strong that even during the normal delivery of my third child my husband commented “I can see Deborah’s work in how strong you are”.
I enrolled in Deborah’s Postnatal Physio Programme and bounced back losing all pregnancy weight by the time my baby was 9 months old, doing physio sessions, mother and baby classes, Pilates classes and manual lymphatic drainage sessions. I would lose 600 to 800g per MLD session!! I feel strong and fit as I had not for a long time, with PGP no longer taking control of what I can and cannot do!
Do something today that your future self will Thank you for!
I am happy that 10 years ago I made the decision to take a proactive approach to pregnancy and postnatal pains and discomforts. Throughout my maternity journey, I have gained valuable tools, I have learned to listen to my body and learned how to nourish and take care of my mind and body so that they can continue to serve me for the years to come. Thanks to Deborah!!! I am immensely grateful for all she has done for my health and well-being in the last 10 years. Her dedication, expertise and commitment are paramount, and I could not recommend her more! Thank you Deborah and thank you for creating Physiofit Woman!!!
Cristina Santos
About Cristina Santos
Cristina is a loyal customer of Physiofit Woman, having attending our maternity services for 10 years throughout her three pregnancies. She truly believes in our Physiofit Woman’s mission to help women regaining their health and well-being and she has experienced all of our services first hand. Despite being a busy woman with three beautiful daughters and a demanding job in finance, Cristina embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure. She is now an Usborne Independent Organiser. Usborne books is a UK-based publisher of children’s books.
In a world consumed by technology where kids are glued to a screen how refreshing it is to read a bedtime story from a real book? Books help with sounds, colours, words and language, helping developing early literacy skills. They stimulate your child’s curiosity and spark imagination. They help with your child’s social and communication skills development too.
Cristina has known Usborne since her first born 10 years ago, through the Farmyard Tales minis and she says is lovely to witness her eldest now reading these same books to the her baby sister who is just under one year of age.
Through the years Cristina came to learn about many Usborne books, which she LOVES, and that made her take the leap to become an Usborne Independent Organiser on the 1st of July 2020. She achieved so much in ONE MONTH ONLY! It offers great work flexibility and is a great way to get to know her community, like-minded individuals and put high quality educational books in the hands of children, helping shape their future!
Her older girls, 10 and 7 years of age, are delighted and want to help all the time, which is fantastic as they are getting to experience on a small and safe scale how to be an entrepreneur. Cristina thinks this to be an invaluable learning they will carry with them as they grow. The sisters have their own YouTube cookery channel that I will share on a future blog post.
LIKE and Follow Cristina’s Facebook page and visit her website where you can browse catalogue, current offers, new titles and enter a monthly prize draw for a chance to WIN £100 worth of children books!
Furthermore, should you wish to Host a Garden Party with family and friends there are many benefits, such as FREE delivery, FREE Books and Exclusive OFFERS such as half price titles, for party order totals in excess of €150! Contact Cristina for more information or to book a party!
Cristina Santos, Usborne Independent Organiser
Email [email protected]
Mobile +353 87 623 1256 (call, text, messenger, WhatsApp, whichever one you fancy!) 🙂