**disclaimer: experiences
with exercise during and after pregnancy are highly individual, and the following
accounts should not substitute for medical advice.
I started working out when my son
was about 8 weeks old - that's when he started sleeping through the night.
I don't think I could have managed working out when my sleep was being
constantly interrupted! I
started out pretty slowly. I had gotten pretty far out of shape even before
the pregnancy, so I knew I had to take it slow. I tried to work out 3 times
per week. I concentrated on shorter videos for a long time - FIRM Volumes
4 & 5 got lots of use during the first couple of months.
How I fit in workouts with baby
care:
-
I made it a top priority emotionally.
Working out came ahead of housework, planning dinner and most of the other
"shoulds." My house was a wreck.
-
I set up my weights and gear early
in the day. For the first few months, I wore mostly loose knit pants and
T-shirts - I only had to change my shoes. I was ready to work out the instant
my son took a nap.
-
Get a baby monitor. I didn't have one
at first and had to work out with the baby trying to nap next to the TV,
with the volume turned practically off. Understandably, he often woke up!
Once I got a monitor, he could nap in his crib and not be disturbed by
TV noise. The length of his naps increased immediately.
-
If you can't manage a workout that
you'd planned, let it go. I sometimes wound up putting all my equipment
back in the closet without using it. No big deal.
-
Be sure you like and look forward to
your workouts. You don't need any more pressure to do something you "ought."
The perfect body sculpting workout is less important than the one you love
doing.
I am fortunate enough to be staying
home with my son, so I don't have any words of wisdom for moms who also
work outside the home. You have my awe and respect!
As for the big question - how long
did it take to get back in shape - I was in better shape than before pregnancy
within about 6 months, but since I was out of shape to start with, I still
have a ways to go at 15 months. The only permanent changes I notice are
my stretch marks (fading, but I doubt they'll ever go away completely)
and my bustline (a little lower, a little smaller, but nothing to get too
upset about.)
From: Amy
I am no doc whatsoever but I do have LOTS of experience with 6 kids.
I exercised up to the last week of my due date so I really bounced back into
my exercise more faster because I was in good condition when my baby was
born. I was able to walk out of the hospital instead of using the wheelchair
that they brought in. My doc recommended the 6 weeks of waiting to exercise
after the baby is born because it takes me a while to have the energy to
workout. You can know if you did too much if you start bleeding again once
you have stopped. I took it really slow. I really did miss exercise but
Video Fitness helped me stay motivated knowing that I could get past the
6 weeks. After the 6 weeks, I started doing very light aerobics like Buns
of Steel and Prime Power video's. Each day I did a little more( making
my 4 inch step to 6 or adding more power) and then I would do too much
and have to back off. You really need to listen to your body. It sure was
great to be able to finally do a high impact Cathe Friedrich step workout
after waiting so long! Because I breastfeed,I wear two jogbras to help
give more support for the high impact step workouts.
One other thing is that you can
do kegels right away, you don't have to wait 6 weeks for that. Although
it may be hard to do a kegal if you have had an episiotomy. I would highly
recommend Kathy Smith's Pregnancy workout video. She gives a wealth of
information on pregnancy and post partum. She even shows you what excercises
you can do right after delivery. Some that helped me were circling your
ankles around one way and then the other direction. This helped with swelling.
Also stretching your neck and back is wonderful after a tough labor. Rolling
the shoulders also helps with kinks too.
I have to say that after 6 children
and that is including a twin pregnancy w/ Diastisi recti (split abdominal
wall), My abs have taken their toll! BUT! I am getting my abs back and
even though I still have my little pouch, I am confident that it will finally
get flat with consistant ab work. I usually nurse for a year (YES! A year!)
so I don't expect to have my prepregnancy body back because with nursing,
you carry alot of extra padding. At least for me. After I stopped nursing
my twins, I definitely saw more muscle tone from all the Firm workouts!
Yes, I do have stretch marks. But I like to refer to them as my medals
that are permanently attached to my body. I see all sorts of gals (including
my sis) getting tattoos, I might as well have my own! I look at the treasures
that gave them to me and they are worth it!
Working out for me has always been a high priority and my husband knows it. Newborn babies, bless their hearts, sleep alot the first months of there lives. For me, it is a chance to recooperate from the toughest workout (LABOR!) and also enjoy my new baby that I'd been waiting and waiting to meet! After six weeks, I would try to workout when my baby was napping
and also my twins. I would do it when my husband was home to help with
the other three children. They know how to read and play quietly. I also
have a baby monitor to listen for the baby but in our house, the baby was
rarely put down because everyone wanted to hold her! My husband would hold
her when she was just nursed and she would sleep well. I then would let
her watch me in a baby swing when she was old enough to go in the swing.
Sometimes nothing would work and I would have to bag it. I just saw it
as a day that didn't workout and I would just pick up the next day. Since
I have made exercise a good habit, it doesn't feel right if I skip it.
The next day I try it again.
I was curious as to how long it
took me to get back into my serious exercise schedule after my baby was
born so I went back to my exercise diary. Lexie was born on July 24, 1997
and I took 6 weeks off after that. By my birthday, August 25, I was during
Firm workouts with my normal heavy weights. By September, I was doing high
impact stepping and Firms. This is obviously due to the fact that I started
my pregnancy as an advanced exerciser. So keep exercising through your
pregnancy. It will help you recover faster and help you in the long run
(no pun intended!)
Being a Mom sure has it's ups and
downs but I always keep my eyes fixed on the road ahead. I know my kids
will be teenagers in a twinkle of an eye and I will have my own gym class
to teach.
From: Mandy
Lee
When I was pregnant I walked and
worked out to Buns of Steel Pregnancy Workout. (I had to stop stepping
early in pregnancy due to some bleeding). Immediatley after my c-section,
I began doing the stomach contractions Madeline Lewis recommends in the
Buns of Steel Post Pregnancy Workout. I also walked as much as I felt able
to. At my six week checkup, my ob gave the ok to do the entire tape . I
gradually worked myself up to one of Jane Fonda's step tapes (sorry, can't
remember which one). When my daughter was five months old I started Gilad's
Sculpt and Tone and Best of Bodies in Motion. With a c-section, it is very
important to listen to your doctor and your body - it takes about a year
to completely recover from this major surgery.
As to working and working out, I'm
very fortunate that my husband is very understanding about my videos (and
Video Fitness). Get your spouse to support you as much as possible. I'm
also very lucky that my daughter is a good sleeper. Once she's down, she's
usually out until morning, so it's easy for me to exercise at night or
very early in the morning on the weekends. I make exercise a priority five
nights a week. When you're working, have a small child and a husband you
MUST take that time for yourself! And don't feel guilty about it!!
From: Nancy
Webb
It wasn't quite the miracle that Abraham and Sarah experienced in the Book of Genesis--she was 99 years
old, you know!--but when I became pregnant for the first time at the age
of 37 it was almost a complete surprise. I'd been an intermediate level
exerciser before morning sickness rocked my world (my pregnancy was high-risk).
Kathy Smith's Pregnancy Workout and March to Fitness were my workouts from
the 2nd month to the 8th one.
After my delivery via C-section, I did the
very first little section of the Buns & Abs of Steel Post-Pregnancy
workout. That was my main workout for six months. Then I got back into
beginner-level aerobics. When my daughter weaned right before her first
birthday, I discovered this website, and got Paula Abdul's tape to get
me motivated to push back up to intermediate level. The rest, as they say,
is history. And now, even though I'm still a size or two above my pre-pregnancy
wardrobe, I'm more muscular and in better aerobic condition than I've ever
been. It's been a slow, steady process, much like learning a book full
of piano accompaniments for a big production. Or, for that matter, raising
a child! Lots of unexpected breakthrough moments after weeks and weeks
of work that seems to go nowhere. When I began actually seeing and feeling
muscles, it was like they appeared overnight. But believe me, it was no
overnight success. . .:) With more time and more training, I know that
if even if I'm never a size 10 again, then I'll be the healthiest, strongest,
most powerful size 12 or 14 petite in the city of Indianapolis. Like lots
of women here, I don't believe in scales anymore--only how my clothes fit
better, and how great I feel.
As far as finding the time to exercise
is concerned, the only thing that's worked for me these nearly three years
past is to exercise at night after my daughter's in bed. If I exercised
early in the morning, she'd wake up and want only Mom. I had a long talk
with her dad about how important it was for me to be consistent with my
exercising, and that he would benefit by having a more energetic wife.
He has been very supportive of me. Usually HE asks ME, "is it aerobics
or weights tonight?" and reminds me of how much exercise has already helped
me. On days when I come home from work ready to kill somebody, he says,
"You'd BETTER work out tonight so we can have some peace tomorrow!" He
puts up with the fact that I only clean house on Saturday mornings or not
at all, and makes other little sacrifices, so I can do this. What a guy.
He's a keeper:) And I quit all my civic clubs and activities. Except for
church and my involvement with the music program there, my life outside
the office is my family, friends, and my exercise tapes. In that order!
As Nancy says, the recovery from
a C-section can take up to a year--it IS major surgery, after all. But
what I would want to add is that pregnancy, childbirth and motherhood do
not mean that you are doomed to frumpiness. Far from it. I bear the scar
from Courtney's birth as proudly as an Armed Forces veteran does a Purple
Heart. And as I've written to many other VF moms, what I did on June 21,
1995 was a feat of strength that Arnold Schwartzeneggar can't do no matter
how much iron he pumps.
From: Melissa
Cooper
Although I'm still on the road
to recovering my pre-pregnancy body, I hope I can answer some questions.
I have had 2 babies in the last 4 years and wasn't in great physical shape
prior to this. During both pregnancies I experienced morning sickness and
found it difficult to muster the motivation to exercise. I occasionally
would take walks or do Kathy Smith's Pregnancy Workout. I really enjoyed
her video and found the information and interviews with obstetricians to
be helpful both during and after my pregnancies. After my most recent pregnancy
which was a normal vaginal delivery in July of 1996, I started exercising
by walking about 6 weeks later. I do have a friend who stayed fit throughout
her pregnancy and was taking mile-long walks the first week after delivery.
I didn't really get into exercising seriously until 6 months later when
Oprah's book got me going.
I got down to my pre-pregnancy weight in about
6 months, but my clothes didn't fit well for a few more months. I'm still
fighting my post-pregnancy belly, but am confident that when I reach my
"ideal" weight it won't look so bad. My youngest is now 18 months, and
I've reached a plateau. I have just weaned her and hope that this helps.
My breasts haven't completely dried up yet, so I'm not sure how they'll
be afterwards. I noticed with my previous daughter that they seemed smaller
than before getting pregnant. I have also read that this is often the case.
As far as making time for exercise, my routine has fluctuated. I have found
the best solution for me is to wake at 5am before everyone else. I do have
to make sure I go to bed early enough, or I end up skipping days because
I can't get up. I stay at home with my daughters, so sometimes I have to
workout during the youngest one's nap(which isn't always predictable).
I just wear my exercise stuff around the house until she's asleep. My husband
has been fairly helpful, but he gets home late almost every day which prevents
me from exercising in the evening. Occasionally I get a walk in on the
weekends during the daytime. When my oldest was still a baby, I often took
walks with her in the stroller while she napped.
One random comment about
breastfeeding: I had read that babies often don't like the taste of breastmilk
right after exercise and was always trying to nurse right before (rather
than after). Eventually, I learned that it didn't matter. They liked my
milk anytime. Also, it's good to have a good exercise bra. I found Champion's
to have the best support bra available at popular sporting good stores.
One final comment: don't attempt floor exercises with an 18 month old in
the room, you're just asking to be bounced on.
From: Chris
Jackson
