I had a really difficult time recovering from my first baby. I was so anxious to get back to my ‘normal’ exercise routine and too ‘get my body back’ that I skipped some very important steps of healing myself first. I spent very little time rehabbing my pelvic floor and core because it felt boring, and jumped right back into advanced yoga classes full of inversions, arm balances, and backbends that my body wasn’t ready for. The result was me throwing my back out to the point of bedrest, multiple times. If you want to learn more about that experience you can check out my blog 'How I Fixed My Broken Back'
As you can image, I was very nervous the same thing would happen the second time around, and was very careful to do the ‘right thing’ this time to avoid so much hurt and pain. So, these are the things that I did differently, that WORKED!
I took it slow, and listened to my body instead of my ego. I’m the kind of person who always wants to be moving and going, but I made a concerted effort to savor those first weeks at home, laze around in my pajamas, and snuggle with my new baby. Instead of rushing into exercise, I waited till I felt ready for it.
I focused on building strength and endurance in my pelvic floor and core before I started anything more strenuous. With my first, I did some intentional pelvic floor and core rehab, but I found it quite slow and tedious, so I moved on quickly to more intense exercise, big mistake! With my second, I took the time to strengthen the fundamental building blocks of my core and floor before jumping into anything else. And it paid off! I was able to see continuous improvement, and stayed healthy throughout.
I took walks by myself. I started hiking with my first in the front carrier at 2 weeks postpartum, which in retrospect was definitely a contributing factor to throwing my back out. With my second, I found the time to go for short walks solo. Not only did it feel so much better for my body, but I would relish the quiet time to myself.
Back pain is only one symptom of not rehabbing your body properly postpartum. I meet mamas too frequently who have incontinence, unresolved abdominal separation, prolapse, and hip pain postpartum. There is very little attention given to postpartum recovery in the health care industry . While physical therapy is always included with routine hip or knee surgeries, we see very little guidance with postpartum recovery. Luckily the trend seems to be changing, and there is more and more information and support for new mamas physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
I love using what I’ve learned through my own recoveries, as well as my years of training in the field and experience working with mamas to help support them when and how they need. I’ve created a 5 Day FREE Postpartum Fitness Guide to get you started along the path to a healthy and safe recovery. Please have a look, or share with a friend who needs it.
Sending love,
Emma