Anne Louise
I can’t wait to go for my first run post partum. I can’t wait for my first sweaty exercise session, where the endorphins are rushing through my body! It is such a high!
But for now I have to be patient. Pregnancy and giving birth is very straining on your body and it needs time to rest. I have even heard somewhere that it takes 9 years to recover completely, just to show how exhausting this is on the body.
Of course we don’t have to wait so long to get back in shape or to feel somewhat normal again. I think there are some exercises that you can already begin doing within hours after you’ve given birth, but you must listen to your body!
Any activity that includes running or jumping, I would sustain from for at least 6 months after birth, maybe even more. This may seem like a really long time, but you must give your body a chance to recover. You may feel ready but your pelvic floor has been through a lot and it needs time to recover. Problems can occur much later in life and you don’t want to be an old lady who can’t hold her pee! So be careful and do your kegels!
I have found a great program on a Danish website that helps you to get back in shape. The program is specifically for women who have delivered through a cesarean, where they help you physically and emotionally to recover. I would recommend this to anyone who speaks Danish and has had a cesarean www.kejserinderne.dk
It is a 8 week program. The first 4 are to kick start your body and your nervous system and the final 4 are harder exercises, where you sweat (I think, I haven’t reached these yet). I am currently in week 4 and this week is all about strengthening the back. I really need this now! I am breast-feeding, which means I am tilted forward, rounding the back for many hours during the day. This is not an ideal position for the back and I also carry around my two children a lot! The previous weeks have been about kick starting the body and mind with focus on closing the gap between my muscles in my belly and my gluts (my butt).
When Silas was a baby, he was very small. He wasn’t growing as fast as other babies and I was making fun of (or I was feeling sorry for) the mothers who had 10 kg babies they had to carry around. When Silas was 10 kgs, he was 1 year old and walking – so no carrying. Now karma is hitting me in the face with this baby. He is only 3 months and already over 6 kgs… if he continues growing like this, he will be a 10 kg baby I have to carry around…sigh. Even more important that I strengthen my back!
It is an online program so I can do it at home, when I want to or when Viggo let’s me 🙂 This is really convenient and really great to have something to do that is effective and healthy for my body while I wait and wait 🙂