Congratulations! You’ve carefully watched your diet, toned down the exercising with numerous variations, and successfully welcomed a new member of your family into the world after 9 months of hard work.
Whoa! Hold Up A Moment
Now, you can’t just simply go back to your pre-pregnancy routine so you can reclaim your body and your fitness levels. Don’t be too quick to jump back into everything.
First, make sure that you are cleared by your doctor before you start anything. This can usually be done at your six-week postpartum checkup. If you’ve remained relatively active throughout the duration of your pregnancy and feel up to it, start off slow and gentle with a low-impact activity, like walking.
Where To Start
Definitely, do not start with anything high-impact like plyometrics or heavy weight lifting.
After you give birth, your body is still filled with a hormone, called relaxin, that loosens your ligaments. Relaxin can exacerbate any joint issues through running, dancing, and jumping. It can stay in your body for up to six months postpartum and is responsible for many women’s complaints of “jiggly” and “wobbly” joints.
It might also take a couple of months before you can fully integrate these high impact exercises back into your normal routine since your pelvic floor muscles will be weakened. These muscles hold your internal organs in place and starting a high impact activity too soon might create feelings of “jostling”, or “unrest” internally.
Hold Off On Abs
Be careful of your abdominal exercises before you start any ab exercise. A common injury that happens during pregnancy is called diastasis recti. It may manifest itself after pregnancy as a “pouch”.
This abdominal separation happens sometimes in pregnancy because your growing uterus can split your abdominal muscles down the center into two or three parts.
Certain exercises that exacerbate this issue are crunches, planks, and sit-ups. Straining this injury further can cause urine leakage, lower back pain, and even a hernia. One way to check if you have this condition is to lie flat on your back.
Bend your knees and place your left hand just above your belly button. Exhale, lifting your shoulders and head off of the floor. Your abdominals should tighten. Feel for a gap where your left hand is. If you feel this gap, tell your doctor and ask him to do a physical exam. You should resume abdominal exercises gradually, and only when your doctor has given you the green light.
Ease Your Way Back In
Do be gentle with yourself. Many mothers are very harsh on themselves because they think “I used to be able to do this before I was pregnant. I should still be able to do it now!” Don’t be afraid to take things slowly, especially at the beginning.
Consider trading in your CrossFit classes for a couple of gentle laps around a pool. Instead of high-paced Zumba classes, consider a PureBarre class, or a nice long walk in the evening with your significant other and your new child.
Schedule Is Key
Lastly, if you’re a work from home mom, find your time with productivity.
Nap time and bedtime are usually the most ideal times of day to get a workout in. Whether you need to get up a little earlier than your little one or stay up a little later past their bedtime, when your baby is sleeping is usually the optimal time for you to get in some quality “you” time.
Don’t be afraid to utilize your partner or your husband. It really does take a village to raise a child.
Hiring a mother’s helper or a nanny a couple of times a week can free up some time for you to get some sleep and to unwind, knowing that your little one is well taken care of. And remember, don’t be too hard on yourself, and feel like you’re “supposed to” feel perfect and ready to go the week after your child is born.
Take the time to heal and to enjoy this wonderful time with your newborn and relish in it, for it won’t last forever.