Baby

Exercise sessions with your baby at home

mom workout

Motherhood many times leaves a woman to have no time for herself. New mothers often complain that after the arrival of the baby, their fitness regime almost doesn’t exist. Following a fitness regime post-pregnancy seems quite impossible.

You get a limited amount of time to yourself after the birth of the baby. But it is not impossible to find the perfect exercises that you can do in this limited time. It will also be a great way of bonding with your baby. It is an enriching experience.

Give your body a few months to recover before you start high-impact exercise, which is running, jogging or jumping. This will protect your joints, which take a while to recover from pregnancy.

If you exercise regularly after your baby is born, you are more likely to:

  • Feel better about yourself and be less anxious. (As regular exercise helps to ease the symptoms of postnatal depression).
  • Have higher energy levels.
  • Be at a much healthier weight.

 

  • Squats

Image source – Physical Kitchness

You must have already heard of it or have done it post pregnancy. This time you will have to incorporate your baby into this exercise. To do so, you need to hold your baby in your arms firmly. Now do the squats in a slow manner. You can also have your baby in a carrier. This will have a better hold on the baby.

Note: This is only suitable for babies who have achieved neck stiffness. Make sure they are big enough to be carried without neck support.

  • Core Exercises

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For this exercise, you must first go down on your back and bend your knees with the feet on the ground. Now, with a gentle pull, raise up the leg. Do it in such a way that the toes are close to each other and are bent by 90-degrees. To incorporate you baby in this, you can place your baby on your knees or on your tummy to give a see-saw kind of experience.

Note: You must remember to balance the baby appropriately and hold their hands firmly.

  • Planks

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Everyone has heard of this exercise. It is pretty common. You just have to balance your weight by lying down like a plank. But with your baby, you can add a fun twist here. You can place your baby between your arms and then try to balance your weight. If you move upwards and downwards while holding the plank, with every move, you can kiss your baby to make them laugh and have fun. Start it by doing it for a couple of seconds and then you can slowly increase the time. While you do this, your baby can have fun watching you and playing with you.

  • Stretching (Butterfly)

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For this exercise, you need to lie on your back. To incorporate your baby, place them on your stomach. Now lift your legs up. Make sure you hold your baby firmly right in the center. To make a butterfly, open your legs wide and stretch as much as you can. You must inhale while you stretch. Now, slowly bring your legs closer and feel the contraction of your muscles. Exhale when you are closing.

  • Stroller lunges

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For this exercise, you need to place your baby in a stroller and they must be facing you while they are in the stroller. Now to do the lunges, start by placing your left foot three feet back and your right foot forward. You must now bend your knees at 90°. While you are doing this, you can hold the handle of the stroller. To make it fun for your baby, just smile or make faces at your baby to make them laugh. Hold this position for about 10 seconds and then return to your original position. You can start by repeating this exercise 5 times on each side and then move on to doing it 10 times on each side.

  • Flying with baby

Image source – Pinterest

For this fun exercise, let your baby lie down on their back. Place a mat underneath. (They can even lie on their stomach if they have started turning on their own or crawling). Now you must take a cat position. You can now slowly raise the right leg and ensure that your leg is parallel to the floor. Now slowly lift up your left hand. Your hand must also be parallel to the ground. Hold this position for about sex seconds before returning to the original position. You can repeat this exercise five times with the opposite hand and leg.

  • Kegels

Image source – Active.com

Kegel exercise, also known as pelvic floor exercise, is the first exercise that a woman should do immediately after delivery. It wards off pelvic floor problems like urinary and fecal incontinence, problems that strike 70% of women during and after pregnancy.

Make Kegel exercises a part of your daily routine. These exercises are very discreet and can be performed at just about any time, whether you are sitting at your desk, watching television or relaxing in your drawing room.

To do this exercise, first you must lie on your back. For incorporating your baby in this exercise, you can place them on your pubic bone and hold them firmly by their hands. Now slowly tighten your pelvic muscles and then relax. You have to bend your legs at the knees and place your feet on the floor. Then slowly, lift your hips off the floor but make sure your back is still on the floor. Tighten your pelvic muscles for 2-3 seconds and then increase the time to 5-10 seconds. Now you can slowly come back to your original position. You can repeat this exercise thrice initially and then increase it to five times a day.

Focus is very important while performing Kegel exercise. Focus on tightening the pelvic floor muscles only. Try not to move or squeeze your leg, abdominal muscles and buttock during the exercise. You can breathe freely during the exercises.

  • Dancing

Image source – Pinterest

This is nothing foreign. Dancing is the easiest of all and involves most fun. It brings you closer to your baby as you laugh and move along.

You can put on some peppy music and dance along with your baby to add more fun to your play time. Dancing also improves the muscle coordination in babies and is also a proven way to keep them happy. You don’t have to concentrate on following any routine at all. Just have fun with your little one. Make sure your baby has achieved neck stiffness if you place them in a carrier. They can face you or away from you. Look in the mirror to make them laugh. There is no better mom and baby work out than dancing.

Also read: Post preganancy skin ageing

Kegel exercises – what are they and how to do them?

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