Respawning... after spawning

[trailgirl]

In May of last year, I was feeling good. I had run a marathon, increased my deadlift to 145, and had a handle on my depression. My husband and I decided to level up our lives: time to reproduce! Nine months later on an extremely snowy February morning, our son was born. He's lovely and sweet and all, but what I spent the last month of pregnancy anticipating was my return to exercise. 

 

Weightlifting was the first to go - I was off balance and dizzy, and I stopped in July. I haven't run since September (the Beat the Blerch 10K, which was awesome in spite of being four months pregnant). I managed to stick with karate until January, at which point my giant belly was just making my kata partners very nervous. 

 

This last Monday, I received the all-clear from my doctor. "Listen to your body, ease into it, and have fun," was her advice. I had to buy some new workout wear to fit my larger postpartum body, but losing weight isn't my main objective. I've really missed being active, and I want to be a good example for my son. I've done my first run-walk, and am talking to a personal trainer about working with him to get back in my lifting groove. I'm also focusing on a few healthy eating habits, and am rediscovering my love of cooking.

 

I'm thinking of doing the upcoming six-week challenge, which will conveniently fill the last six weeks of my maternity leave. This is the perfect time to craft some healthy habits to carry over into my return to work. Does anyone have any advice for exercising as a new parent?

[Jett]

Congrats on the little one, and on jumping right back into exercise as soon as you could.

 

No particular advice, since I'm not a parent yet, myself. But, it sounds like you're doing all the right things for easing back into it.