Exercising once baby is here. Advice/Small Rant

[Lamont]

i have two weddings right after baby is due, one 2weeks after my due date then start of august when I'll be a bridesmaid so im hoping to shift some weight. So I've been researching online about exercising after giving birth and seems that if i lose more than 1.5lbs per week or 6lbs a month it can affect my milk supply for baby! I know breastfeeding uses 200-500 carolies a day and i should eat 1500-1800 calories a day (at least) but i was hoping to use my cross trainer at least an hour a day and start yogo! Kinda stumped about what to do! Will harrass my midwife i think!

As soon i mentioned about exercising on the dreaded fb all i got was you'll be too tired, you'll have too much gas, just go for a walk etc etc like everyone knows best...

So is it possible to actually exercise once baby is here or will i just be too tired for anything at all... I'm overweight as it is and really want the weight shifted surely if im motivated then I'll exercise through the tiredness? No?

 

[Smudge101]

I'm interested in this too.

I was training for a 10k just when I found out I was pregnant and fatigue and severe MS soon put a stop to that.

I've never felt so unfit in my life as i do now and I was keen to start light exercise after been signed off by the midwife - is that after 6 weeks??, with a view to running again pretty soon.

I've been told by so many people that I'm expecting too much and there's no way I will be able to do this.

 

[tristansmum]

Firstly depends on your birth. I ended up with emergency c section so it took me weeks to be able to walk properly let alone contemplate excersise. Depends on your baby. My son would not let us put him down so I basically held him for months as he would wake up as soon as he was put into his basket, cot, bouncy chair ect. Yes you will be tired bog time. For me losing weight afterwards was not a priority so I let it come off naturally and slept when my son did. If you are more determined then I'm sure you can do it. Also if you have people around to look after baby so you can get half hour to yourself. Good luck

 

[cupcakekate]

I agree with above definately depends on your birth. I had a fairly easy time of it but was still sore for 2 weeks and would not have even contemplated exercise at the time. I did find that alot of my weight 'fell off' as I was so preoccupied with new baby. I know this isn't reassuring though when you have a set time limit to lose what you want to lose. Talk to your midwife and see what she says. Ignore the facebook police gotta love how everyone becomes a know it all when it comes to pregnancy related things! xx

 

[Gertie beetle]

I'm 12 days PP and had an easy birth- no stitches- yet all I can muster is a light walk. Anymore than that and my bits get sore & I start getting lightheaded

 

[mnonie]

I know the feeling, the funny thing is that everyone keeps reminding me I have 8 weeks to get some weight off as I'm head bridesmaid for my sister 8 weeks after, I'll have to find time to make sure I walk the dog so I'm gonna use that to try and get some weight off. At the moment the plan is that OH will watch LO while I take the dog/s for a walk (about 5/6 mile round trip) x

 

[Rafferty]

I started exercising (mostly elliptical) 2 weeks PP. It didn't affect my milk supply at that point. But around 5 months PP I did lose too much weight (had some serious health problems) and that did severely reduce my milk supply, but my bmi was about 18 at that point.

I will say I had 9 weeks PP bleeding and I'm sure exercising played a role in it. I'm going to chill out a little longer this time and make sure I've healed. Bleeding forever sucked!

 

[summer rain]

If you're larger to begin with you may need more than 1500-1800 to keep your milk supply, the more you weigh, the more calories you burn. I personally wouldn't worry about it too much but expecting to have lost a lot of weight 2 weeks post natally is too much for anyone regardless of feeding method. I always recovered fairly quickly from my births but I would not be able to walk too far for a few weeks afterwards let alone do anything too strenuous. I was very overweight to start with too (on the cusp of the obese category on BMI chart) but I am confident as I eat more healthily in general these days and hope to continue after pregnancy and I am reasonably active that it will drop off in time xx

 

[aliss]

There are so many factors.

I trained until 42 weeks, had an easy home birth, and was back lifting weights by 3 weeks, back 100% to pre-partum at 5 months. Easy baby, breastfeeding, 2000 calories a day (2000! Never less, I always counted, but sometimes more). I'm 5'5 & 129lbs. Mind you, I have 10 years of trianing experience.

With my 1st child (also trained until delivery), no way, I was a wreck for 6 months. He had terrible colic and I was horribly sleep deprived. Bad labour, bad birth. You'll have to wait and see.

Most important thing is to not push yourself too much and remember your priorities- it's only a few months and no sense in burning yourself out. It's easy to burn out because you get a new mom "high" and most girls are shocked to see a postpartum body staring back at them. An hour a day crosstrainer? I would *personally* recommend shorter but more efficient workouts, like a kettlebell tabata. Your baby will almost certainly disturb your workouts if you try and keep them beyond 20 minutes to begin with, they are unpredictable, and breastfeeding can take a while to start.

My *only* regret with baby 1 was that I tried too much too soon. Too much pressure. Put way less pressure on myself the 2nd time and things went much better as a result!!

 

[Lamont]

Thanks ladies its more the August wedding id like a little weight off for. My bmi is just shy of 40. Ive only gained 4lb so far this pregnancy so hoping to lose weight or be bk to pre pregnancy weight fairly quickly. I want to work up to an hour on cross trainer I know this wont happen straight away so maybe ten mins 3 times a day if baby allows. Im lucky that my DH works away so when hes home for couple weeks at a time he can watch our son while I sleep/exercise but flip side is when hes away im on my own unless I have family over. I guess ill need to see what sort of birth ill have before I decide on what sort of work out might work for me and the baby

 

[d_b]

Can you just wear a floaty dress? There is so much going on with a newborn it's just not worth stressing about weight on top of everything else! Maybe get some Spanx too? My stomach was 'doughy' for months but went totally back to normal eventually.

 

[Lamont]

My bridesmaids dress has already been bought and paid for by the bride so no chance of getting it changed. I will be going for a fitting in july so hope I still fit into it!

 

[chulie]

I was in pretty awesome shape before I got pregnant and did yoga and weights all through pregnancy...I had a super easy birth and was up walking around literally 2 hours after baby...but for like 2 months after...I would try and do a light workout and for some reason would end up with horrible back spasms......took me at least 4 months before I could do any type of work out...good luck!!

 

[Macmad]

I was walking 3 times a week about 2 weeks after my cs but didn't start any full exercise program until 6 weeks after and then it was light for the first month. It will all depend on how you feel, what kind of birth you had etc. I do know another gym instructor that exercised far too soon at high intensity after her daughters birth and as a result damaged herself, she can no longer do high impact exercise. Don't want to scare you but listen to your body and take it slowly

 

[Eleanor ace]

It depends on so many factors as others have said- how you feel after birth, whether you tear/have a c-section, how your baby is. But just approach it with an open mind and if you can exercise listen to your body and don't push it .
One of my friends was back in her pre-pregnancy jeans when she left the hospital after giving birth (she was in for 2 days) and the weight kept coming off- she was 10lbs-ish down from her pre-pregnancy weight within a month!! Oh how I hate her . So you might just get lucky anyway!

 

[xsadiex]

Nothing prepared me for how weak and tired I felt for the first 3 weeks after giving birth! I wouldn't do 'proper' excercise 'till 6 weeks postpartum as it can make you bleed more. The last thing you'll be wanting to think about is excercise, having a newborn can really blow your mind . You need to heal yourself and get to know your baby, try not to worry about it yet x

 

[xsadiex]

Also you may need another dress fitting!!! Your belly will still be going down, I had a bit of a bump 2 weeks pp.
Also what if baby comes really late? Because if wedding is two weeks past your due date you could still be pregnant!!

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

I had a csection so exercise wasn't an option! I also breastfed and my boobs were humongous and constantly leaking lol I couldnt have gone to the gym or for a run. A good brisk walk with the pram would have been fine or maybe a toning DVD at home or something like that would be good?

 

[2ndtimeluckyX]

Oh and you mentioned you had a cross trainer, that will be fine! If I hadn't had the section I could of fitted in a couple of sessions on that at home, my lo slept lots the first few weeks

 

[BettyBoop152]

I have my god sons christening on 5th May.. I haven't had my baby yet so god knows how active I'll be or not.. I've bought a dress which I was able to wear at the start of my pregnancy to disguise my bump until we told the world lol so my plan is spray tan (slims you) and this dress and fingers crossed I look ok lol xx