first... Congratulations!!! Wow 8 years difference, how exciting for your family!

I had only been bellydancing for 5 months when I found out I was pregnant. I was able to dance until a week before I had my daughter. I did shimmy and pretty much did everything. I would not recommend floor work or back bends. I personally don't think I could get up off the floor after a while. And you don't want to put more stress on your back then you will already have.

I don't remember having to worry much about anything during the first trimester. Toward the end of the second and the entire third you have to be careful about over stretching and jarring movements.

Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. And rest when you feel tired. Don't push yourself. If you need to sit out, then do it. Enjoy your beautiful dancing body.

Congratulations, Cindy! You actually are in a better position than I was, since you've been pregnant before, and know how your body reacts. I had been bellydancing for only about 3 months before I found out I was pregnant with my first (and so far only) child. I danced through my whole pregnancy, and performed a week before my son was born.

Basically, just listen to your body. Go ahead and do everything you currently know how to do, but take breaks when you're tired and don't overdo it. During the second and third trimesters, avoid overstretching (you'll think you're more flexible than you are, and could hurt yourself) and also avoid backbends (you may fall over or hurt your back). As for shimmying, they don't recommend it towards the end of your pregnancy because it can encourage the baby to drop early and start decending through the birth canal. That said, it works wonders during labor! :)

Dancing through your pregnancy as long as everything is going well and you are not high-risk is one of the best things you can do both for excercise and peace of mind. Also, I have to believe that is works wonders on the baby - mine fell asleep everytime I went to class, and he loves middle eastern music now! One amazing thing: he actually recognized a song that we dance to within days of being born - he turned his head towards the music, became more smiley, and soon went to sleep!

Congratulations! I will just echo what the other ladies have said. Keep dancing and if it doesn't feel good don't do it. I danced through both of my pregnancies. I didn't stop doing anything until by body said "not today".

My first pregnancy ended in a missed miscarriage, and I had a difficult time dancing during the first trimester. I ended up stopping dancing altogether, and shortly thereafter lost the baby.
This pregnancy is much different, and I could tell right away because of how I handled physical exertion. I danced, performed, and taught often during my first trimester, and I was fine. A good rule of thumb for exercising in general when pregnant is to make sure that you are not overheated or out of breath. If you are red faced and sweaty, you should probably slow down and drink extra water. If you are winded and not able to speak while exercising, slow down until you can breathe easily and comfortably. The baby relies on you to maintain a good body temperature and oxygen supply. If you over exert yourself, your body will protect the baby first.....leaving you light headed, winded or exhausted. So take it down a few notches and don't push yourself, especially if you are feeling extra exhausted. I shimmied plenty in my first trimester, and simply avoided anything that didn't make me feel comfortable, physically or emotionally. I tended to do smaller, more gentle shimmies, and not to the point of super aerobic workout. I would say that shimmying in the first trimester is safe as long as you are not over exerting yourself, overheating, or ignoring your breathing. Your baby is pretty small at this point and very cushioned in your body.
If mild exercising does feel strenuous or uncomfortable, talk to your doctor to make sure that everything is OK.

Now I'm 20 weeks along (half way already!) and I've gotten rather lazy with dancing, I admit. I don't teach currently, and I have mild and short practice sessions. I've been doing much more prenatal yoga lately. I want to dance more, but it is awfully easy to get lazy! : )

I applaud women who continuously dance/teach/perform throughout their entire pregnancy. I find it harder and harder to get motivated the bigger I get!

i didnt know i was pregnant till i was 8 weeks so i just kept on going. You can shimmy just not great big huge ones. I showed my dr some of the moves we typicaly do and she said as long as your not jarring yourself of jumping up and down it should be ok. As you grow a maternity belt helps alot, it takes the weight off of your back and holds in the jiggle.
Im 39 weeks now and he just wont come out. I went the dr yesterday and told i was going to shimmy him out. she laughed and said ok. i actually danced through contractions on sunday at practice.
every pregnancy is different. i would have gone crazy if i coulndt have kept dancing but somehow there is 5 of us in my troupe in different stages of pregnancy and a few of them absolutly would not dance.
The best thing is to ask you dr. It really depends on how old school they are. and how you feel. using motherly instinct.
good luck.

You posted this all over, so although I already replied elsewhere, i hope you don't mind me reposting it here!

in general, during pregnancy you want to avoid ballistic movements (sharp, sudden, etc)- that being said, shimmies can be done softly, and many women have done shimmies throughout their pregnancies. again this comes down to the different styles of shimmy in some respects too. I would tend to avoid a knee driven shimmy, but an earthquake shimmy might substitute. you also want to be careful that you don't over stress certain muscles- for example later in pregnancy, your glutes are compensating for a lot of that new weight out front, so you might need to work on other muscle groups to counterbalance the work your glutes are getting (but I guess that is later than you are asking about)

some movements that are fine to do for some can cause serious problems in others, so listen to your own body. If it is painful, causes cramping or spotting, stop immediately! Talk to your care provider to see if there is anything you need to be avoiding due to the specific needs of your pregnancy. remember that shimmies and undulations are the two movements that can initiate labor and strengthen contractions, so if you are already having problems with contractions, this may be a movement to avoid.