Hello lovelies.
Today my little precious bundle is eight weeks old. The actual birth is a fading memory, yet I can’t believe she is two months old already. A fortnight ago I got the all clear from my OB to start working out again but she warned me to take it slow and not jump into anything heavy straight away. Somehow a fortnight passed and I still hadn’t done anything, until today.
Today, I began my post baby body journey. I have already been really conscious of my eating habits since Bonnie’s arrival as I didn’t want to upset milk supply and I didn’t want to upset her little tummy. I did manage to make her uncomfortable with berries, but this seems to have passed for now.
I know I need to do some serious work on my core to gain back control and of my pelvis. At 26 weeks pregnant I was diagnosed with acute SPD (Symphiysis Pubis Disorder.) I ended up hospitalised for 5 days, then crutches for a month and was on rest after that, so I stopped work, yoga and all movement from 26 weeks. Everytime it hurt, I was aggravating the condition and making it worse.After lots of physio and accepting the rest I was able to hold till full term and birth naturally. I only have a bit of stiffness to work through now. Needless to say my fitness levels took a major nose dive.
Before my bedrest days I was a fan of swimming, yoga and pilates. As a former elite swimmer the pool still comes naturally to me (although slower now.) I have practised yoga on and off for years and had dabbled in pilates a small amount but not until two years ago when I discovered Blogilates. I seriously love this girl and her pilates videos and it is allllllll free! The app is brilliant as all her videos are right there organised. Every month she puts out a new exercise routine to follow. She is super upbeat and happy and always gets me moving. I hope to use swimming, yoga and pilates to get my core, strength, flexibilty and overall health back on track.
Today, I went back to Blogilates Beginner’s Workout calendar. I lasted about two minutes before I realised I needed to take it back a further step. It was too much for my pelvis and core to start with. Not yet defeated I hit pinterest. In the early hours of feeding I had pinned a heap of post baby workouts and stretches, the stretches were what I was after. Along with needing to build strength, I need to stretchhhhhhh. I can feel very sore shoulders and neck building, from breastfeeding I presume.
This is what I ended up doing (I have hyperlinked the images for you.)
I started with these simple yoga stretches. I felt stiff and sore as soon as I lay on the ground. I played some relaxing music in the background to help get me in the mood. Bonnie was (and still is) napping in her bassinet.
I found these in my pinning pile after I realised my back and shoulders were sore and continued with the quiet music focussing on breath and engaging core.
Then I started working on my core. I didnt push it but made sure I could feel things working. I did lots of pelvic tilts as I felt the strongest with these.
Finally, I gave my back a really good stretch and this felt great! The towel really helped me open up my back and shoulders.
From today’s experience I am not planning on doing anything different for a while until I can get a good handle on these moves. I would like to throw in a swim or walk where I can as well.
NB – Remember to seek clearance from your doctor before starting any exercise. I am not at all an expert on fitness. This is what I have chosen to do from my experience with yoga, pilates and my physiotherapist.
What has your post baby health plan been?
x
