As someone who’s always lived a very active lifestyle, I’m continually looking for fun and creative ways to exercise, so working out with my baby became a fun way to hang out and bond. As I mentioned in my last blog, over a year ago my friend, a physical therapist, and I launched a company called fit+giggles where we developed a postnatal exercise DVD to do just that. In the coming weeks and months I’ll be sharing with you how I’m easing back into exercise together with my baby.
Getting started…
The first few weeks – For the first 3 days I was still in the hospital with my baby. Nurses were around constantly helping me with all that I needed to do. I found that I was sitting a lot and since I couldn’t leave the hospital quite yet, my husband and I walked the halls doing lap after lap after lap pushing Wyatt in the bassinette to get some movement in our legs. We had a serious case of cabin fever. As someone who is used to moving, walking, biking, running and exercising every day, sitting in a hospital bed for hour upon hour didn’t sit well with me. I needed to move. Walking was the safest and most comfortable exercise that I could do right off the bat with Wyatt. Walking is something that, once cleared by your doctor, you can likely do as much as comfortably possible. As with any exercise program, please get the approval of your doctor before you begin right away. Not all bodies are created equal; some can do far more than others without pain, so caution and common sense should always be used when starting a new exercise program. What I’ll be chronicling in the coming weeks and months is what my body is ready for.
Once we get home we quickly got a taste of what life is like with a newborn and a 2-year old, and the word “WOW” would be an understatement. I’m finding that I’m chasing my 2 year old around while holding my baby all at the same time. This sounds like an ultra simple task, but I’m finding that a lot of balance and coordination are needed to make sure everyone is safe. I quickly experienced a number of pains and issues that I knew I could work through by exercising together.
PROBLEM: Cabin fever.
SOLUTION: Walk, walk, walk. To get out of the house, my husband and I walked a lot. We would load the 2 kids each into their own stroller, leash up the dog and head out. We would walk for about 45 minutes at a time to get the heart rate up and to make sure we weren’t overdoing it. When Wyatt gets a little older and bigger, I plan to walk with him in a Baby Bjorn or sling so that I can swing my arms, thereby loosening up my tight upper back.
PROBLEM: Tight upper back from holding the baby for hours at a time.
SOLUTION: A quick, safe and super effective exercise I do is one that I actually demonstrate in my “fit+giggles Postnatal Exercise DVD” called “tummy toning stretches”. This stretch is simple…with alternating hands; I reach up to the sky as high as possible keeping my spine straight. Alternating my hands for each reach I complete 12 reaches. For the first set I reach straight up as if I’m trying to reach the highest point in the sky. For the second set of 12 reaches, I reach up and slightly out. And for the last set of 12 reaches, I reach up and slightly across my body twisting slightly at the torso. These simple movements loosen my upper back, reducing tension in my upper back and neck.
PROBLEM: Sore lower back from rocking side-to-side over and over to soothe Wyatt.
SOLUTION: Another exercise that I find completely helpful at this point are hip sways. This is another exercise that we demonstrate in the DVD in a section called “rock-a-baby.” This is a twist or an extension on a movement that all Moms, Dads, Grandmas, Grandpas or any caregiver does. The problem with the way most do them is that an over use injury will quickly rear its ugly head. To get a fussy baby to calm down we typically hold them and swing our hips side to side in a gentle rocking motion. As with anything, if it’s down over and over day after day an over use injury will arise. So, to help alleviate this I do it in 3 different directions. First, the traditional side to side fashion that we all do in our sleep. Next I do this by rocking front to back and then lastly I calm the baby by gently twisting at my hips. I find that Wyatt likes the variety in movement and I enjoy that break in monotony by doing all 3 positions to calm and sooth my new bundle of joy.
Week 3-4 post delivery – My body was starting to feel more “normal”, however I was still taking it easy. I did more of the above but added time and distance onto my walks and incorporated some slight hills into the course. To calm my baby in a new and fun way, in addition to the three moves talked about above; I incorporated bouncing on my exercise ball. My son LOVES the up and down motion and it also challenges my sense of balance. This exercise needs a lot of focus because my arms are busy cradling my baby so any slight tipping on the ball needs to be corrected with my feet and core alone since my arms are occupied. After I started to feel confident sitting on the ball with my baby, I incorporated a slight bounce. This rhythmic up and down motion is so fun for me and very calming and soothing for the baby. I find that it works my thighs, gluts, abdominals, back and arms. I also started rolling my hips on the ball while sitting as this helps loosen and relax my now shrinking hips and pelvis.
As I mentioned before, my family and I live in San Diego, California and our county was recently devastated by wildfires forcing us to stay indoors for a few days to escape the horrible air quality. Given these circumstances we had to eliminate our walks and do more and more of the reaching, swaying and slight squats indoors to get a nice exercise program accomplished. The reaches and sways are the same as described above, however I added slight squats to the mix.
The squats again are moves taken straight from the fit+giggles Postnatal Exercise DVD (www.fitandgiggles.com) in the section called “Mommy Squats”. These moves are great not only for slightly working the thighs and engaging balance but they also engage the pelvic floor to work on tightening the muscles stretched out during labor and delivery. These muscles, when worked in a multi-directional fashion, will help improve incontinence symptoms you might be currently experiencing. To do “Mommy Squats” I squat in 2 different directions, to the side and front, with each foot for a count of 5 squats per leg in each direction. I start in a stance that has my feet shoulder width apart. To change up a basic squat, I turn my toes in different directions for each set, once to the front, out slightly and then in slightly. I do all of this again with my feet in a narrow stance, almost touching, and then in a wide stance, that has my feet out past my shoulder width. This exercise works my gluts and inner and outer thighs. To do this exercise with my baby, I sometimes hold him in my arms or I place him in a Baby Bjorn or a sling.
As the weeks go on, I’ll keep adding descriptions of what I’m doing to not only get back to my pre-pregnancy shape and comfort level but to also bond in fun, creative and active ways with my new son.
Do you have fun exercises that you and your baby are doing together?
Happy bonding!
In health,
Kim
This week we are giving away a great bra for the holidays. The Nursing T Shirt Tess Bra by Nummies. The wonderful thing about this bra is that it has molded cups that hide your nursing pads and it can't be seen under your white shirts. I have found that it is hard to find nursing bras with molded cups! 
