Recovering your body and your life after having a baby.

As I stand in the playground waiting for my son to finish school I have an opportunity to chat to other mums. Equally dedicated to their children, I find that they also dedicate time to themselves and have various projects on the go and I am surprised by how people find time to do all these things. I had just started maternity leave so I was very preoccupied with keeping up with housework and things like that, just to stay afloat. However I felt pressurised by magazines etc to diet and train with my 1st child and I demanded too much from myself and my body. Second time around I took things easier.
   "I don't think this is realistic for mere mortals!"


Having a baby is hard work, looking after them is too but most of all you need rest to look after yourself. I didn't do that with my 1st and ended up over worked and on the edge. It's not worth it. Eat right, rest when you need to and feed your baby! That's up to 500 cals your body has to make a day. Don't underestimate how it drains your energy. (It's equivalent to doing ~45mins running a day)

My advice is to wait it out. It is a good to wait until they are weaned . I promise you your body will shrink back. If you must do something after 8 weeks, or when your body is feeling up to it, then work on your core and some gentle strength training moves. I also think walking with the pram 30-60 mins a day to pick up my eldest son from school helped.

My biggest advice is get a decent baby carrier. There are limitations to front carriers and I was soon researching on alternatives. After much research I would highly recommend the ERGO and my second choice would be a Mei Tai. It is the only way to keep up with the chores and keeping up being a mum of two. Unless your partner doesn't work, when you are on maternity leave, you are the sole carer/ entertainer of your children. Take this scenario, Decemeber 2010, 3 inches of snow and my eldest son (4.5 years old) was desperate to get out in it . So picture me with a 5 month old baby on my back in the carrier and also pulling a sled with my other son in it. 2 hours later my workout was sorted :-D Knackered but lots of family fun. I love my ERGO! Bit pricey but worth every penny! I use it more than the push chair, it is so easy, my son loved it and it gave me freedom. I also took it to Hong Kong with me on holiday (It is a very busy and packed city) and used it to carry my son up the peak and sightsee on trams and get around freely on the underground. It was not surprising to see lots of mums using ERGO's when I was in HK, it was the only way to get around sometimes.

With the carrier I was able to stay active until I was ready for more. That was when my son was about 5-6 months.

So do I have a figure like the picture? Not even close! I would be chuffed to have that body full stop but if you have never been like that it is a bit unrealistic? I do have stretch marks, saggy boobs and lumpy bits but that's me and I am proud of them, my body has brought two beautiful baby boys to the world.

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