What to expect after baby?

[JoulesRulez]

I love excersizing, and anything on two wheels! Running is a big passion too.

I would love to know what I can realistically expect to be able to do after giving birth. How long would it take to start running again? Cycling? What will my body be able to handle?

We're thinking about getting a bike trailer so we can tow baby along, and if that doesn't work out I'm thinking about getting a fluid trainer for at home....

Very interested to hear everyone's experiences, I do realize that everyone's body is different and that things could be different for me. Just need a general idea of what it's like....

 

[Guppy051708]

Well, usually the 6 week mark is good...when the placenta detaches you can think of it like a big scab, where the placenta was located. If you move around too much, especially in the early days, you will start bleeding again.

With DS2,My bright red blood was gone by 7 days PP and then it was just brown for a few days. It went away and i thought, hey im gonna go power walking again...big mistake! The red blood came back for another few days. I had to just chill for about a week until it went away. Then i tried power walking again (about 4 weeks) and the same thing happened. I over did it, basically. So i stopped. I tried again in the middle of 5 weeks PP and it was okay then.

With DS1, my bright red didn't even stop until about 2.5 weeks PP. Then i got active (just smple walking) and it came back again. I bled with him (it slowly turned to brown) for about 8-12 weeks....but i also had a minor PPH and was severely anemic, so im not sure what that had to do with it.

 

[m0mmyCool]

I agree with pp. I Thought I was ready to start walking 5 weeks postpartum. Then I started bleeding heavily again annoyingly. I didn't try anything else for 2 more weeks and it was fine.

 

[JoulesRulez]

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I never even thought of the 'scabs' needing to heal like that, I'm going to plan on taking it real easy for the first six weeks then...

 

[Exmxb]

Well, when I was pregnant I walked a lot (we didn't have a vehicle and I worked), I had to walk somewhere the day I had him lol. I'm breastfeeding, and stopped bleeding at about 10 days. About a week after that I started walking places (like to go get something to eat) here and there, but I actually started exercising at like six weeks!

 

[Guppy051708]

Well, when I was pregnant I walked a lot (we didn't have a vehicle and I worked), I had to walk somewhere the day I had him lol. I'm breastfeeding, and stopped bleeding at about 10 days. About a week after that I started walking places (like to go get something to eat) here and there, but I actually started exercising at like six weeks!

Sorry this is OT, but are you near southern Maine? I live half a mile from Berwick!

 

[aliss]

I was able to go for long walks on day 2-3 and was back in the gym after a week (I did have an episiotomy). I worked out until the day of my induction (didn't realize I would be induced lol or I would have taken the day off!) so I was in good physical shape.

For me, my physical recovery was easy, the hard part was the lack of sleep, I had a very colicky baby who didn't sleep for 6 months - so recovery from workouts was non-existent and I was always exhausted. The sleep deprivation was my only barrier.

I would take 6 weeks off traditional exercise but start exercising right away in terms of trying to repair muscle separation, kegals, back stretches, etc. just the light stuff to recover from labour (rather than trying to lose any baby weight).

 

[Guppy051708]

Just wanted to elaborate. I felt fine! I could have run a marathon...if there i wasn't bleeding otherwise i would have done it! I felt great after giving birth. no problems there....just the site where the placenta peeled away didnt think so LOL