Getting my body back..

S

seabeewife

Active Member
I just had my first coming up on 6 weeks ago and even though I have lost all of the extra weight..I am still a bit squishy;-) and it is starting to bother me. I will be the first to admit that I did not jump right back on the clean eating wagon, especially with all of the halloween candy that has been readily available. I am in desperate need of some tips to get the fire started again and to start seeing some muscle that I have been missing..
I was able to work out with Cathe throughout my entire pregnancy, modifying of course, so I am not really sure how much of my cardio stamina has suffered. Which would be best? Hit the weight or concentrate mainly on cardio?
Any tips would be greatly appreciated!!!!
Thank you!!
 
I would do whatever feels comfortable for you at this point and just ease into the harder stuff as you get into more of a regular routine of working out. Definitely get your dr's okay first and then go from there. You just had a baby so don't be so hard on yourself!

Lisa
 
If you are nursing, it may take longer to get your body back. At 6 weeks postpartum, I remember complaining about the mommy tummy. Not sure when it disappeared on me but my youngest is now 18 months and the bulge is gone. Once you have your 6 week check up I recommend a mix of both. Once your stamina returns try some of her interval stuff. Imax 2 or 3 blasts are great because they are intense but short. You can add weight work on. Congrats and be patient! 6 weeks ago, you had a baby living inside of you.
 
congratulations!!!!!! how was the birth? i'm due in 4 wks and i'm wanting to hear good positive birth stories, not the usual horror stories you read online lol :)

be patient, your body did an incredible thing and is now taking care of a new life. keep with exercising and everything will fall into place the way it should. congrats!!!!
 
Marnie-just wanted to give you a positive birth story. With DD #1 I had a slow water leak, didn't realize it though. Did a firm tape then called the doc. Was given potossin that afternoon to induce labor. Felt fine though with mod. contractions. By 6:00 felt awful, asked for epideral, but was alreadu 9 cm. At 6:48 with about 3 pushes out came dd#1. With DD#2 felt a little off all day, but worked out, had a friend over, went to work a few hours til 7 pm. Labor progressed a little at home. Finally called doc and arrived at the hospital around 11:15. was examined to be 9.5 cm dilated. Doc broke my water and by 1:30 am with a pushes out came dd#2.
 
Thank you for your comments and tips..I will try to be patient. I tend to forget that I just had a baby..that is amazing in itself!
Here is my labor story..
I was 2 weeks overdue, so my doctor decided to induce..thank goodness! I checked in at 7am..was hooked up to the pitocin and the contractions began..they were like period cramps..nothing I couldn't handle..I was not dilated enough for him to break my water yet..so we waited while I contracted..when he was finally able to break my water..that is when the contractions started to become more intense..I was still not dilating..but was given an epidural to manage the pain..my body relaxing must have helped because I went from 2 cm to 10 cm in no time..I started pushing at 9 pm and our daughter Avery was born at 9:42 pm. I do not have a horror story to tell from the induction, like I read so many times online. I was terrified of delivery, but trust me once you get going..your body takes over and all of the fear you felt is forgotten. It was an amazing experience..life changing..and you are blessed with this amazing miracle!! Congratulations and I will say to you what my dr said to me the last weeks of my pregnancy.."STAY AWAY FROM GOOGLE" I was going in each appointment with a new fear from reading someone else's nightmare delvivery..
You are going to be great!!!!
 
shop & seabee... THANK YOU for your birth stories!!! i so appreciate it!! way too many horror stories out there! i keep taking stock in the fact that i'm in great shape (thanks to years of running and cathe workouts!!) so i'm trying to stay really positive! i did low impact step from the new 4-day split this morning and i feel great! with only 4 wks to go. do you both think that being fit made your births easier? i want to avoid the epidural, what do you think about being fit and getting through contractions without meds?

sorry to hijack this thread!!!! just feeling a bit anxious as the big day approaches (obviously my first baby :)
 
Marnie, No worries..hijack away :)

For me, I feel as if my working out throughout the pregnancy helped with the labor and delivery. I went in feeling strong that morning and had the endurance to make it through the day. Since I went ahead and had the epidural..I can't help you out on what its like without one. I would love to hear someone else's experience who did though!

How do you like the new 4 day split? I have been tempted to buy it..
 
I can tell you! I've gone through completely natural/drug-free delivery twice. When people hear that the first question is usually "WHY?" Don't really have a good answer for you. I'm due w/ number 3 and my midwife actually would like me to have an epidural this time because I hemorrage (sp?). I must have high pain tolerance or something because I was dialated to a 7 by the time I got to the hospital both times, and I didn't get horribly crazed w/ pain until around 8 or 9. Both my labors have been fast. And I never pushed more than 10 minutes, so that's pretty lucky.

As far as the natural thing goes, I think it's definitely worth trying. Just the few (very few) bad stories I'd heard from complications w/ various pain meds made me want to avoid it if I could. It definitely puts you REALLY in touch with your body. Lamaze did nothing to help me through it. There was too much going on for me to even think about it.
 
Oh yeah, it's hard to say but it definitely seems like being fit helped. Even if it didn't help physically it helped w/ mental strength. I also do Cathe and run and so much of running - and I believe labor - is mental.
 
seabee.. i LOVE the 4-day split DVD.. so many premixes and choices!! and so many new moves, all the workouts are just so much fun (and tough of course).. new cardio moves, new strength moves, it's just fantastic!

jcm thank you for responding! i really want to avoid the epidural. i think i'm tough enough to handle the pain. i've done a lot of endurance trail races (my hobby pre-preg) and i do breathing techniques and mental stamina to get through tough races and workouts. thanks so much for your input! very helpful!
 
good luck to you! you'll have to pm me or post after the baby is born to tell me how things went. and everyone has a horror story. i'll be honest - it's not exactly fun. just tell yourself going into it you can do it. but also don't fool yourself about the difficulty of it. be realistic, be positive, be prepared as you can be. laboring in the tub helped me a whole lot. so much of what happens it seems (from talking to friends) is the panic over the pain. as soon as you freak out/get scared it all seems bad. just remember women have been doing this forever. you'll be fine.
 
Seabeewife- I started with cardio for about a week, then added some weights. Don't put too much pressure on yourself; you will be amazed at how fast you are able to do what you did prepregnancy. I was in the gym alot during my first pregnancy and discovered cathe post partum. With my second I was doing cathe the whole way through, and man what a difference! Didn't take me long to get back in shape.

Marnie- You will be fine! I had inductions with both my children (little boogers didn't want to come out!). I had planned on going natural with my first; got to about 3cm and had an epi. Inductions tend to go a little smoother when you are numb. I have to say, those of you who labored without and epi you are studs. I KNEW I wanted one with my daughter; but then again my body has never had the chance to labor at its own pace. Both births were absolutely perfect though; I have the best memories of both. Nothing can describe it; just wait until you see that little face! Do you know what you're having?

Congrats to you both!!
 
Marnie-I truly believe that staying in shape made for easy deliveries with me. I was open to either epideral or natural but hoped to avoid the epideral. With both pregnancies my labor progressed quickly so I didn't need the epideral. I worked out daily and am convinced that the exercise made my pregnancies/deliveries easier.
 
thanks you guys!! (i love this forum!)

so how's this for irony.. found out baby is in frank breech position and not budging! i'm due in 2 1/2 wks so it looks like i'm going for a c-section!! haha all my worries about getting through a natural childbirth are history..

hopefully being in great shape means easier recovery!

thanks again everyone, you guys are awesome!

btw, we're having a boy and his name is Adam.. and we can't wait to meet him! he's in a funny position, looks like a v-sit pilates move :)
 
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