When to Exercise???

[truelife]

When did everyone start exercising after having their babies? What form of exercise did you do? What did your care provider recommend?

As a doula & CBE I have heard plenty of recommendations for exercise but wondering what everyone here has done????

[Peppamint]

Last time I resumed working out at Curves at 4 weeks pp. I got up at 6am three days a week to workout while Bill could cuddle in bed with ds before he left for work.

I still haven't do anything this time, and I'm not sure when I will. I can't afford a gym or Curves workout right now so may have to just get up early in the morning and do a fast walk or take the older kids on a walk in the wagon while wearing dd2- but that would be too hot most days.

[Marylizah]

In France, the health-care system pays for women to have physical therapy for the perineum (sp?) after giving birth, so my mw said no exercise until I'd finished physical therapy-- and I have 12 sessions that have been prescribed.

Given that I can't start the therapy until I see my gyno for a 2-month post-partum checkup, I won't be able to start exercising until the end of the summer.

That said, I get a ton of exercise just living-- we walk everywhere, and lugging the baby stroller up and down the stairs in our building is a major workout in itself....

[Vanessa]

MY OB told me that I could start as soon as I wanted to. I've been taking light walks, but nothing serious. I'll probably try to start going to the gym on the mornings when my ds1 is at his preschool.

[Peppamint]

Originally Posted by Marylizah

In France, the health-care system pays for women to have physical therapy for the perineum (sp?) after giving birth, so my mw said no exercise until I'd finished physical therapy-- and I have 12 sessions that have been prescribed.

Do tell! What is this therapy? Sounds... interesting.

[gnutter]

I have been doing these denise austin worksouts on tv-she is very annoying in the morning but its free and no one else can see me jiggling. Iswear that woman must be on perky pills though

[Marylizah]

Originally Posted by busybusymomma

Do tell! What is this therapy? Sounds... interesting.

Hum, well, it is-- as far as I understand it, there are 2 methods. The first is manual and the second uses an electric sort of wand type thing (I swear I'm not making this up!!).

But I'll give y'all more details when I start the therapy!

[KatSG]

nak

my mw won't give me clearance until 6 wks pp. she told me all the things that can happen--prolapse, etc.--if you start too soon so i am sufficiently cowed into waiting. stretches are ok, and light walking. but no aerobic and no strenuous yoga or pilates.

i'm keeping track of all my food intake to make sure i'm not making things worse. so far calories are ok (low but i'm pretty sedentary right now), carbs and fat are a little high and protein is good. i figure all that is fine while nursing.

[Brinda]

I did pretty much whatever I wanted when I wanted to. If the bleeding got heavier, I knew it was too much. I think I did walks 2-3 times a week at about 3 1/2 weeks pp. I'd love to say I still do it everyday, but it's still 2-3 times a week. I'm 6 1/2 weeks pp now. My OB said to listen to my body and use my bleeding as a guage.

[grace's voice]

Thank you SO MUCH for asking this! I asked a similar Q in the Fitness forum and didn't get any responses. I'd like to start Pilates as soon as possible (once this baby comes, I'm peeking in from the June DDC), but it is rather strenuous. I was thinking of waiting till the bleeding stops, which was 3 weeks last time, and then giving it a try and stopping if the bleeding comes back, but I may just wait until 6 weeks. I know that PP hemorrage is the #1 maternal cause of death, so I'd rather be safe than sorry! But man oh man do I want to get in shape!!!!

[~*max*~]

Given that I have PSD, I am waiting the 6 weeks until I begin working out at a gym. I am still sore if I do too much. I am trying to gradually build my strength up through light walking, isolated muscle group exercising (also light), and stretching. As a pp said, my life in itself involves a lot of physical activity already, so I feel I am on my way.

Everyone is different. IMO, the most important thing is to listen to your body and do what feels best.

[Throkmorton]

I am waiting until 6 weeks, mostly because of the c/s.
Given my current weight, i am iffy about doing any overly stenuous workouts for a while, but i think I will start walking again. Really, pushing 75 lbs of kids+double stroller should be enough of a workout for anyone. We were managing a 6Km walk before I had DD, so I think we will start up again at 2 or 3 km plus a mom+me swimming class after about 4 mos.

[brackin]

After dd's birth, I waited a while. But this time, I tried running again at 10 days pp. Bad idea. Bright red bleeding. So then, I waited until about 3 weeks pp, and everything has gone great. Also, I did a rather strenuous yoga class last week at 5 weeks pp and it felt so good. I think it felt so good in comparison to how the same class felt while pregnant, though!